Upon returning to Bali, we headed for Ubud, a lush, culturally-rich region located in the interior of the island. The day that we moved into our guesthouse, the family that runs it was holding a special ceremony in their family temple. From what we gathered in speaking with them, this is an event that takes places twice per year according to the Balinese calendar, in which they worship and pay respects to their ancestors. (Ancestor worship, along with Animism, Hinduism and Buddhism, are all aspects of Balinese Hinduism.) The statues within the temple are wrapped with lush fabrics, and tray after tray of incense, fruit and flower offerings are brought around the family compound and into the temple.
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| Wrapped statues in the family temple. |
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| Placing offerings in front of temple statues. |
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| Grandson dressed in his ceremonial finest. |
We loved the Ubud area, and our guesthouse in particular. It, essentially, became our home base on the island....
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| Courtyard and swimming pool at guesthouse. |
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| View from out balcony, from where we had breakfast every morning while in Ubud. |
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| Beautiful, fragrant flowers grow everywhere! |
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| We took these pics right outside our door. |
Soon after we returned to Bali, it was Diana's birthday. Joe commemorated the event by graffiti-ing on a mossy wall.....
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| "Happy Birthday Diana - Bali 2010" |
We next went down the road to the uncreatively-named Monkey Forest.....
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| On belay? Belay on! |
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| This mother held her baby with such tenderness. |
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| They soon drifted off to sleep, snuggled together. |
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| A monkey investigates the lining of Joe's shorts.... |
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| ...and finding a small hole, proceeds to use his finger to make it bigger. Charming. |
Joe, feeling right at home, easily assimilates during a grooming session.....
