guess what these are ? answer below

Day 2 of our Bali trip was very busy as it consist of travelling to various places in different parts of Bali. The sunny weather persisted as usual but it was good in a way since rainy weather will dampen the mood in one way or another. Sightseeing is a must in Bali, particularly to the “volcanic” regions and also Uluwatu temple which is a temple right at the southern tip of Bali facing the Indian Ocean.

no, we didn’t go there. took this pic on the bus

If ever a tour guide or your event organiser ask you to bring you a sweater or jacket up the mountainous region, please, dont bring. While it is cooling up the heights of the mountainous areas, it is not that cold. From my own opinion, the hotel aircon was even colder -.- and to elaborate on the point further, it is cooling not cold. Rainy seasons around the end of year and june will be something you might need to take note of if you are very sensative to cold.

dun expect professionally made scarecrows, these will serve the purpose

Barong dance!

Before we head up for sightseeing, our guide brought us to check out a Barong dance, a must-watch if you are in Bali. I wont elaborate much on the story (google and wiki is your friend), the dance lasted for about an hour and the dance depicts a tale which is seperated into chapters.

good pose :P

a zombie appears? nah..forgot the name for this evil looking character :P

bird looking monster

nice flowers

Hibiscus ?

orchid

gold..

As most travel guides will do, there are many “villages/small towns” in Bali that dedicate in a certain kind of industry. Some are good in glass/clayworks, a certain village is good in making jewelery. Tough luck, he brought us to the town where they make silver and gold jewelery….and as every girl will like, damage is high when you go to such shops.

remember…always know to bargain!

uphill we go…

After that, our trip uphill begins to one of the biggest volcano spots that sports 3 craters. Temperature starts to get cooler as we get higher and for me, I was able to feel the pressure difference in my ears.

stopped by another shop…was intrigued by the design of its roof interior.

finally..volcano at sight

I am not sure what was the height from where I was standing, the surroundings were really cool and the breeze was definitely more than welcoming. weather’s good hence we can get a good view of it. The black mass you see in the photo is the lava that spewed out from before killing many during the time when it erupt.

We had buffet lunch there and with the nice ambiance of the surroundings, it was “romantic” in a sense. and yes, please do not expect luxurious food.

a green patch of heaven in the midst of death?

lush greenery. notice the rooftop there?

a lake nearby

nice cocoa

On our way down, we stopped by another location which is sort of a vegetation farm dedicated to mainly cocoa ,coffee and spices. You will get to preview their various coffee free (as a tourist) and there is a place where they retail the beans and spices. Man, I am in love with the ginseng cofffee, it taste awesome!

coffee beans..nice smell

coffee …

FOX!!!

They have a certain coffee which I can’t remember the name, it is made by getting the foxes to eat some fruits which contains the seeds, they shit the seeds out. Dry them and cook them under fire and grind into powder..umm..yea.  (i might be wrong)

Uluwatu… :D

This has got to be the most interesting part of our trip, Uluwatu temple. It is a place with an awesome scene facing the ocean. However, there are some rules to adhere. As it is a sacred place from their view, do adhere and wear their clothing around the waist as a matter of respect.

As for the entrance fee? Nah..not paying for me, it is covered in our travel package.. LOL

BREATHTAKING!!

waves…aint fun if got swept by one ;P

monkeys..there are lots of them

There is another important issue that one has to be aware of when you are in Uluwatu, monkeys. Yes, lots of them by the sides, by the trees . Anywhere. Families of them. Hence as a safety precaution to prevent yourself from a victim of monkey rape raep, do not wear any loose hardware and if you do, put them to the front and keep your eyes on it. I have seen a monkey snatching someone’s sunglasses right from behind. If you dangling ear rings, you know what you should do. :P

Next, do not feed the damn monkeys. While some may be ‘grateful’  (most don’t), they will prolly surround you and ransack you.

saru-san (猿－さん)

testing my zoom :P

nice shot I took, testing my zoom as well :P

thats how far we walked.. ;P

Monkey-san A

Monkey-san B and C ?

Monkey-san D with monkey-san E wondering what the thell he is thinking about

a family.. (featuring monkey san D and E)

Monkey-san F wants a DSLR camera! :D

taken with Sony Cybershot W150 for this picture

nice view as the sun starts to set… (different timing as to above pic) but diff. camera.

Another reason for us to visit the temple was this renowned Kecek dance , which is pretty interesting. Along with the beautiful sunset and scenery, it is a fave hotspot for many photographers along with tourists.

the dance begin in the evening

the evening sky…

nice costume

As usual, the dance depicts a tale and lasted for another hour. Fire performances, dances along with chants of Kecek coupled with the setting sun, it was lovely although a lil humid.

took out Sony Cybershot W150 for night shots instead..  :P

Coca Cola.. ;)

The night ended with the guide bringing us to the beach where there are many seafood restaurants. It was a package dinner and it was pretty yummy although you might struggle eating the fish in the dim light. :P  Performers are there to sing for you as well, it is not free. They will just stand at your table and start to sing. For us, they sang Teresa Teng  “月亮代表我的心” (literal translate: moon represents my heart) and Siao Wei (cant remember the original singer’s name).

Dinner was yummy but wasn’t enough for us, so we settled for …

bowl noodles ~!

Hope you enjoyed this post, gonna post the last day of fun in Bali post some time again when I am free and as for the question popped at the beginning, the answer is cocoa seeds (the one that made for chocolates, yes..it is yummy fragnant but not sweet).

^^