Agung turned out to be the best driver we ever had. We went to so many different places that the day was totally packed and we were exhausted and happy by the end of it.

When inspecting the largest single drum in the world at another Pura, we found that he'd locked his keys in the van, but managed to find a way to open it before we got back.

While we were looking around that temple we were invited to attend a Hindu priest's nephew's special ceremony the next day which would have been a great honour but we were taking the next day off to rest. (We just HAD to have one day in the entire month to do nothing. So far we hadn't yet done this)

At all these Pura (Temples) we had to wear a sarong to enter. The sarong is a symbol of purity and respect. If a woman is having a period she is not allowed to enter the temple as this would mean that she was impure. According to Christine they can always tell if you are having a period, and, even if you don't believe in karma, you'll come away with a guilty feeling if go in during that time of the month. (After all, it is disrespectful to their customs and beliefs.)

At the elephant cave temple we were taken on a tour and the guide retied my sarong the 'man's' way so that there is a long strip of cloth hanging between my legs! 

The elephant cave has been the same for hundreds of years and features alcoves where people can meditate and prayer in silence.

The tour took us through a lot of the jungle and over to some rare altars. We even saw a buddhist altar next to a Hindu one. 

One of the guides wanted an Australian $1 coin as this could be made into a pendant. 'fraid I didn't have one handy. If you've got gold coins, take them along, they're very popular.

At the stone reliefs a Hindu lady tried to bless us with water. We declined but then she said that we should donate to her for her hours of keeping the stone reliefs clean. We gave her a 5000 note which she placed on a mini altar and thanked the Hindu Gods for.

The stone reliefs had been there since the 14th century and were in remarkably good condition considering.

At another temple an old Hindu woman offered to have a photo with us and gave us flowers behind our ears.

Wearing sarongs required a donation wherever we went, unless we wore our own. We saw so many different types of temple and I was very happy to finally see something completely different to anything in my own country.

We even had time to drive through Ubud. Ubud is the artist capital of Bali and you will usually find artists at work in the field, on the street, at the parks, and out the front of the homes. Unfortunately it was drizzling when we got there so we didn't see any artists at all. But we were lucky to see, very briefly, an artist at work in her shop, which I caught on camera as we drove past.

After we got back I finally had a Balinese massage. This was my first real full professional massage ever. Needless to say I was very embarrassed. I didn't know whether I should be groaning or silent, I certainly couldn't speak Indonesian and so I just opted for silence throughout the whole deal. Even so she could tell I was nervous and we laughed a bit about it afterwards. Now that I've done it and know what to expect, the next time should be easier! The massage was very nice but it left me feeling good and awake rather than tired and relaxed.

Even so, this was definitely one of the best days!

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