Off the track, central Bali

28th to 30 May, Ubud and surrounds Bali, Indonesia
So I solved my transport by renting a bicycle.
No sooner had I done so, cruzing about town and I stumbled accross a festival at a temple.
Everyone was decked out in their finest traditional dress, and all the women were carrying, beutifully artistically arranged baskets of fruit and flowers.
The great thing about Bali is the ordinary everday is simply exta-ordinary.
Every doorway has a beutiful minuture offering of flowers and rice fresh every morning.
Every street has hanging decorative lamp like things down its length.
Every house has an in build temple.
Every village has about as many village temples as Irish villages have pubs.
Every field has a shrine (not an exaduration).
Every brige has a statue as each corner.
Traffic islands have giant statues.
Every child shouts hello as you cycle by.

Things aren't particularly expensive either.
My room in a home stay has a double bed and en-suite shower and toilet with ceiling fan all for 2 euro 52 cent.
I have been frequenting the same restaurant outside of Ubud because it was so good and I always seemed to be coming back that way.
Chicken in a delicious sause with rice served on a sizzling hot metal plate, you know fancy restaurant style cost 1 euro and 5 cent.
Beer can be a bit expensive 300ml bottle about 63 cent,
and my bicycle rental is running at 10,000 Rupiahs a day (84 cent),
but that was a very good deal.

So yesterday I cycled out to Tampaksiring,
the main road was a bit buisy and heading in the wrong direction so I headed onto a little back one which really gives you a good sence of the place.
Rice paddys with intricate irrigation, down and out looking dogs, chicken galore, beutiful houses, great tadition dress, pot wholes, rubbish and temples, temples and more temples.
There is no mistaking that this is quite a densely poplulated island and villages often run into each other.

Tampaksiring had a historic temple, with a holly spring, overlooked by a simple Sokarno (ex indonesian leader, spelt wrong) palace.
Then there was the really big, really old statues carved into the cliff.
The problem with the places where tourist go is that there is always someone to hassle them. On the way in I bought my temple clobber, which is a sorrong, (very David Beckham) and a scarf for around you waste, without these you would be not suitibly dressed to go into a temple. Ok well maybe long trousers could have surficed instead of the sarrong, but who can resist dressing up.
On the way out I stopped for some soup from the vendor selling to the hawkers.
We had a bit of a chat.
It was funny to see it from the other side as everyone gets keyed up to show their wares to the tourists trying to run the gauntlet.

Today I went to two villages near Ubud with loads more ancient temples.
There was a cave with an elephant mouth opening, this had tourists and loads of hassling for guide services.
Then another clif carving, smaller but more interesting figures.
This didn't have any tourists but had one old woman who does a blessing and expects a tip. "But I just payed the enterance fee", just doesn't cut it.
Then two more ancient temples one of which had a huge metal drum between 1000 and 2000 years old, the biggest single cast metal drum in the world don't you know.