Trusting the universe to guide me...: Holy Land

The view of the rice paddies heading down to one of the famous temples in Bali

Adventuring around the island with LOVE

Seeing all these duckies made me happy :) They use them to keep insects out of the rice paddies

Bali is a very spiritual place and the island has many beautiful temples and sanctuaries to explore. We have tried to see as many of the major ones as we can either by hiring a driver for the day to sight see, or by having our driver stop on the way to our next location so we can have a look around. On our drive from Ubud to Amed we stopped at two beautiful temples. The first was Gunung Kawi, which Wikipedia describes as: an 11th-century temple and funerary complex in Tampaksiring north east of Ubud, that is spread across either side of the Pakerisan river. It comprises 10 rock-cut candi (shrines) that are carved into some 7-metre-high (23 ft) sheltered niches of the sheer cliff face. These funeral monuments are thought to be dedicated to King Anak Wungsu of the Udayana dynasty and his favorite queens. On the east side there are five temples that are dedicated, according to one theory, to King Udayana, his queen Mahendradatta, and their sons Airlanga, Anak Wungsu, and Marakata. The temples on the west side are dedicated, according to the same theory, to the king's minor queens or concubines.
This temple is incredible and looks like something out of an Indian Jones movie. I visited this place when I came to Bali in 2012 and wanted to shares this special place with Jess and Kai. There are many steps to get down to the temple area but it is well worth it once you are roaming around the ancient and holy site. Here are some photos:

The next place we visited was not a temple but a water palace called Tirta Gangga. According to (again, I know its not the most reputable source, Wikipedia) the name literally means water from the Ganges and it is a site of some reverence for the Hindu Balinese. Strictly, the name refers to the water palace built in 1948 by the Raja of Karangasem, Anak Agung Agung Anglurah Ketut Karangasem. It is, however, the name widely used to refer to the general area which includes the water palace and the lush rural areas around. Tirta Gangga water palace is a maze of pools and fountains surrounded by a lush garden and stone carvings and statues. The one hectare complex was built in 1946 by the late King of Karangsem but was destroyed almost entirely by the eruption of nearby Mount Agung in 1963. It has been lovingly re-built and restored and has an air of authentic royal magnificence.
The centrepiece of the palace is an eleven tiered fountain and there are many beautiful carvings and statues adorning the gardens. The area around Tirta Gangga is noted for its rice paddy terraces.

This was a magical place with giant lily pads, fountains, and steps in a pool you could walk on like you were walking on water. It was beautiful, here are some photos of Tirta Gangga:

The last temple I had on my Bali bucket list was Uluwatu temple which is on the southern most tip of Bali. The temple is built at the edge (ulu) of a 70 meter high cliff or rock (watu) projecting into the sea. Though a small temple was claimed to have existed earlier, the structure was significantly expanded by a Javanese sage, Empu Kuturan in the 11th Century. Another sage from East Java, Dang Hyang Nirartha is credited for constructing the padmasana shrines and it is said that he attained moksha here, an event called ngeluhur ("to go up") locally. This has resulted in the temple's epithet Luhur. The temple is inhabited by monkeys, who are notorious for snatching visitors' belongings. They can usually be persuaded into trading the items for fruit, although this only encourages them to steal more.

While Jess was in Jakarta handling some business, I decided to rent a scooter for the day to make my way down to see this iconic temple. I saw some gray clouds and knew I needed to make the trip quickly, but both the scooter rental guy and the weather forecast assured me rain was not happening until the evening. This ended up being quite the mission, with a downpour happening half way through my ride there. As I was driving I saw the dark ominous clouds getting closer and closer, and I pulled over to grab a poncho from the market not a minute too soon. The minute I got it over my head it was torrential rain the rest of the way. It was a wet visit, enhanced by the crazy monkeys that rule this temple and will take your stuff if you aren't careful. I also stopped at a local warung for a bite to eat, ordered what looked like some hearty chicken soup from the photo on the menu, and was served a plate with some veggies and liquid and a side of rice...freakin soup on a PLATE. I was not thrilled. Needless to say the day was a bit stressful, and while it was cool to see this temple the amount of trouble it was worth would make me question going if I had known before hand what the experience would be like. Oh well. Here are some photos anyway: