Nyepi

Klungkung Water Palace
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With about 140kg on the scooter, we made it to the top of the crater - slowly. This achieved, we glided down the other side through a beautiful green forest only to be stopped for us and our bike (or our trip) to be blessed, including having rice stuck to our foreheads. We didn't realise straight away but it wasn't an altruistic gesture, we should've guessed that a donation was required. Crazy thing was that they had pulled us over like they were the police!

We made a side-trip to Besakih Temple at the foot of Ganung Agung. Ganung Agung is the highest and holiest mountain in Bali, which towered over us as we approached. Besakih is at the foot of Ganung Agung and because of this it is considered the most important temple in Bali. It is big - split into numerous levels that climb up the slope. Again, we were asked for a donation for entry (€15 - they think we're from Europe and therefore our money is worth more) but we bargained it to Rp20,000.

...became quick friends with Kev the Kea - they wanted to keep him!

Paintings of punishments in the Hall of Justice
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Being the last day of the 1928 (Balinese calendar), ceremonies were being performed and as we entered the temple complex we were surrounded by music and singing. From the bottom of the complex the view is awesome, climbing up in front is Besakih Temple and behind is Ganung Agung. We were glad we had taken time to visit, even with the uphill climb in the blazing sun.

Our ride towards Candi Dasa, where we were spending the night, took us through Klungkung (the island is so small we missed the turnoff to Amlapura where we were hoping to go!). More ceremonies were being performed while we visited the Water Palace and Hall of Justice. At Rp5,000 pp it wasn't really worth it, but the town seemed interesting.  We stopped at a warung for lunch on our way out, and the family who owned it became quick friends with Kev the Kea - they wanted to keep him!

View from the scooter
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We were disappointed with Candi Dasa. There was no real beach because they had destroyed the reef for use in building and accommodation turned out to be more expensive than we were used to. We paid Rp60,000 at Ari's Homestay but the rooms were clean, the breakfast is great and they had a TV that was an essential for Nyepi, the Balinese "day of silence". All the other places that we had seen were Rp150,000+.

Near to Candi Dasa is the town of Tenganan, advertised as the most tourist friendly Bali Aga town in Bali. These people are the "old Balinese" who have rejected the Javanisation of their land. We paid a small donation to get into the town (Rp5000), but were highly disappointed when it seemed to be just one big shop and we felt like the donation was a waste. A special form of weaving, called double ikat, is only practiced here. It takes months to make and there is shop after shop selling items made this way. We thought we might find something to buy but double ikat is understandably expensive. We were almost tempted by some items weaved in single ikat, although nothing really grabbed our attention.

Kev's Balinese family
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A tradition for the last day of the year is the Ogoh Ogoh parade. Models of demons had been constructed over the previous couple of weeks (we'd seen many as we were driving around) and they were paraded down the street, fighting each other, then burned. It represents getting rid of the evil spirits from the land and we were lucky to catch a parade in a nearby village. It's worthwhile catching if you're in Bali at the right time.

Across from Ari's, on the waterfront, were a few stalls selling food. An Aussie guy we had chatted with recommended the chicken satay sticks and they were awesome! The sauce was perfect and only a little spicy. The pork bakso (soup) was pretty good, and grilled corn on the cob for veges.

Ogoh Ogoh
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Monday was Nyepi, the Balinese "day of silence". The main restrictions are: no lighting fires (and lights must be kept low); no working; no entertainment or pleasure; no travelling; and for some, no talking or eating at all. It's meant to make Bali look deserted to the evil spirits so they won't visit the island in the new year. For us it meant not leaving Ari's. It was frustrating, but we managed.

To get through Nyepi we kicked off with a huge breakfast (included in the price) and we fell in love with the homemade, spicy pineapple jam. A lot of time was spent pre-writing blog entries, in order to assuage our blog-guilt. Travel Monopoly was brought out for the first time during the day, while in the evening we watched the news and Anchorman (such a funny movie). We ate the best banana fritters for dessert. We were so full we didn't think we'd need to eat for the next week! But of course we had the same big breakfast the next morning, before searching for the elusive white sand beach in the area.

Double ikat loom
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We don't believe that the beach exists because we put a few km's on the scooter and couldn't find it. There was a decent black sand, surf beach though - not really what we wanted! After nearly making it to Amlapura, we decided to give up and use the shower back at Ari's. It was time to make it back to Densapar, then Java.