Bali

We spent four days in Kuta at a resort near Denpasar, the capital of Bali. Once you've left the hotel, you are being pestered by locals trying to sell to you all sorts of things. They were even down at the beach which is why we spent most of our time at the hotel pool.

However, we did two half-day trips. The first was included in the package price and meant driving us to various local jewellers, painters or stonemasons (70 kB), all this in a beautiful setting (47 kB).

People on Bali are Hindus - unlike the rest of Indonesia which is Muslim. There are thousands of temples to be found all over Bali and you can see small shells filled with blossoms, fruit and rice as sacrifice (64 kB) just about anywhere. We did a tour to see three of these temples. What makes the 'Sangeh Temple'(76 kB) so special are the dozens of wild monkeys (67 kB) strolling around in the area. You should really watch out for them as they like jumping onto people's shoulders and it's quite difficult to get them off again. On the way to Mengwi (photo 59 kB, photo 36 kB) we saw farmers working on rice fields (photo 79 kB, photo 75 kB). The temple of Tanah Lot (53 kB) is surrounded by the sea once the flood sets in. At low ebb, you can walk to the temple and may even get to see some snakes in a nearby cave.

last update: 25.11.1999