Unforgettable Sunset

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Debbie and John joined us - Matt Webster's brother for this 1/2 day excursion. We visited the principal temple of Mengwi called Taman Ayun. Like so many things... too much of a good thing really can be too much of a good thing. The temple was smaller but still very nice but at the end of the day it was still just another temple of which there a couple of thousand in Bali. Each house, each village has a temple.
We visited the monkey forrest named Alas Kedaton and that was kind of interestng. They had over 600 monkeys running in this place. You are accompanied by a guide; I'm not sure if it's to protect the tourists or the monkeys. They sure were cute. This is an area where there are also a LOT of bats. John had his picture taken holding this bat with it's wings out. It's head was as big as a chihaha (?) Of course there was a market there where we were obliged to buy something. Oh well...
The offerings are offered to the Gods every morning in a balinese home. After the morning meal is cooked an offering of what has been cooked is given to God BEFORE the family eats. The offering can be very small however it most often contains 5 elements - water; air, fire, land (where you live), power (of life) Bananas represent thanks for food; rice - for health & wealth. The offering can be placed on a very simple small piece of a coconut leaf or more elaborate - all depending on wealth and perhaps motivation. The people here accept this practice but say that this is very expensive. Every 6 months there is a temple celebration which means more offerings and are expensive. Our tour guide said that all the tourists save their money to go on vacation - Hindus spend their money on offerings to God.
Our last stop was at this beautiful significantly sized floating temple overlooking the Indian Ocean - the tide was out so we could walk along the area surrounding the temple for the most part. We never did get to see the sunrise but apparently this is seldom because of the cloudiness, rain etc. We did enjoy a beer at the restaurant overlooking the temple.. kind of funy huh... we were ready for a nice cool one after an afternoon of touring. It can be a hard days work trying to take everything in.

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