Beautiful Bali, part I

We are enchanted with Bali… the architecture, the landscape, the many temples, the warm smiling people, contributing to a wonderful energy. We are anchored in Lovina Beach on the north side of Bali... quieter than the partying, shopping, and beaching down south where most tourists go. Sail Indonesia festivities were rolled into the Lovina festival "Lovina with Love" and we enjoyed some lovely dancing at the welcome ceremony.

We hired a car and driver to take us to the town of Ubud, which started as an artist community and has grown to be the cultural center (and a tourist center) of Bali. It is a few hours south and over the mountains, and we stopped at a strawberry farm then a lovely temple by a lake on the way.

In Ubud, we enjoyed some wonderful restaurants and two dance performances. The first was the "Legong" dance which took place at the Ubud Palace. It was wonderful despite the fact that we weren't really sure what the story was all about. The second performance we saw on the following evening in a small village a ways out of town. It was the "Monkey Chant Dance" and instead of instruments a chorus chanted. They did in fact sound like monkeys chattering at times, which was the desired effect.

and speaking of monkeys... stay tuned for Beautiful Bali, part II... monkey business!