We had our first proper breakfast of the trip today, Sarah is happy that there is bread with no crusts to be toasted and there is a lady making eggs to request. We have a driver booked for a half day tour to visit a list of places we picked from a board at reception. We get ready to leave for 9 o'clock and try (but fail) to lock some things in the safe. While Hannah is in reception to ask about the safe she sees our driver so we grab our stuff and head out. As we walk out the door I remember I haven't brushed my teeth so run back in and head back out the driver greets me with my name that Hannah and Sarah have provided and I sit in the front. We show the driver where we want to go but he seems to have other plans for us, he says some other places he wants to take us and he says we mustn't worry about how long is takes as it will still cost the same amount but he wants to show us a really good day. We're a bit suspicious at first, we assume he must get commission for taking tourists to certain places but everywhere he takes us we do enjoy and they aren't too pushy about us buying things. First stop is a dance. It is quite near by and about £5 to get in (expensive by Bali standards!). We get handed a piece of paper with the plot on and watch the show. It is a bit bizarre but there is an authentic Bali band playing and they are amazing! The costumes are great and there are some funny bits (a boar character gets his willy cut off!). Sarah and I enjoy the show, it lasts an hour, but it wasn't Hannah's thing. Outside is a small, town temple and the driver takes our picture (lots of times, bless him). We then go on through lots of villages. The driver is really knowledgable and loves telling us about his home island and his family. I try to talk about my family but he either doesn't care or finds it hard to understand and just carries on! We say to each other it's like we're his first ever tour as he's so happy! He explains that every village had its own trade to produce something that is exported: stone carving, wood carving, jewellery makers, painters, etc. Next he takes us to somewhere jewellery is hand made and a lady explains the process to us, and we watch a number of ladies creating different designs. We are then ushered in to a big posh shop where there is lots of jewellery and silverware. We are not pushed into buying anything but are followed around. The jewellery is beautiful but not exactly cheap so we leave empty handed and meet up with our driver. Next stop is actually something on our list and we arrive at elephant cave 'Goa Gajah' it is 75p to get in and our driver takes us to get a sarong and helps us put them on. Hannah still doesn't trust him at this point but Sarah and I love him! This is where our picture taking madness kicks in. We take steps down and at first it doesn't seem anything too great, a pond, a few huts and small cave. The detail is beautiful around the cave though. We head down some more steps and between some of the huts. There is building work going on. We pass some small shop/stalls selling their crafts and step through to the most amazing view, it is almost other-worldly and feels like we were deep in a tropical forest. There are huge trees, giant rocks, half covered in bright green moss, vines drape from the tree tops and there delicate steps leading up and down, leading to different areas of the temple. We take lots of pictures and take some time to explore, before dropping our sarongs off and finding our driver for our next adventure! The driver took us the back roads way as he said there is more for us to see. He stopped the car to pick some rice for us to see the plant. He opened a case up to show us the rice, a little bug has come in too. We headed on to hot springs. The driver tells us this is where people come to clean if they have a bad thought or a bad dream to cleanse. Again we wear a sarong and the people in the springs are fully clothed, sarongs and all! The driver explained that people visit different temples, there are earth temples, water and fire and each town had a small temple and then they visit the big temples too. He shows us where people bathe and he takes lots of pictures of us. A lady from Iran asks to have her picture with us too. Our driver shows us round to where the natural spring occurs and as it pushes through the sand it is almost hypnotic. He shows us round the rest of the temple, telling us about the people and their culture. He shows us unusual plants and points out fruits. He shows us a Jack fruit and Sarah tells him she likes them. We exit through a busy market. The people are much more pushy here and follow you around. Sarah (bravely) stops to buy a small ornament and the lady tried to get to her money. We have walked on but the driver is concerned and goes back for her. We leave our sarongs at the front, you always feel quite exposed when you take them off! The driver runs ahead and up some steps so we carry on slowly, thinking he might be getting the car but he catches up with us and explains he was trying to buy a Jack fruit for Sarah but they didn't have any. He seems disappointed. Back into the car for lunch. The driver takes us to a restaurant on the side of the road where we are greeted and taken down a small stoned path through trees and met by another lady. She leads us round and to an opening with tables under a big hut with an incredible view. There is a huge valley, lots of trees and people harvesting on the hills. We almost don't want lunch to end and to leave this place but we're excited about what else we have to see. Although Hannah did have a little extra in her sandwich, a tiny tiny slug on her plate put us all off our food a little bit. We left and the driver pulled 5 seconds down the road and we stop next door. The driver explains it is all run by the same family. This is the coffee plantation and we are given a visitors card and a tour guide takes us in. He shows us lots of plants and things they grow there, including cinnamon (off a tree!) and vanilla. They have animals called Luwak's here. He explains they eat the coffee 'berry'. It looks like a red grape. Then it is a long process for the Luwak to pass it through and poo out the coffee beans without their 'first shell'. Then they dry them and peel the second shell and dry them again and take off the last shell. Then the beans are roasted and ground down, the grinding is done in a bowl with a big stick and takes about 45 minutes (we have a go at this process) then the coffee is sieved and it is ready. It does smell lovely even though the whole process is a bit weird! We walk through to a seating area with another amazing view of the valley and are offered a small amount of all of their coffees and teas to try. We finish off the lemon tea and the sweet chocolate and vanilla coffees but leave the ginger, pure cocoa and Bali coffee after having just a small taste of each. There is an impressive viewing platform built here and we explore that for the best pictures of the view! It moves a bit as people walk around and my stomach goes over a few times! Sarah notices a long wooden/rope bridge somewhere underneath us and goes to find it, after waiting for a while, Hannah and I decide to follow and we find the bridge, another good photo opportunity- we get a great selfie! We head back up to the shop before we leave. We want to buy the poo coffee for the novelty factor but it's very expensive! So we stick to buying some of the body scrubs made here for presents. The driver takes us back, along past the rice fields for some pictures and through the centre of Ubud. He points out a palace (where I see the man I sat next to on my first flight over here!) and the market where his wife works. He desperately wants us to go to her stall but we won't have enough time. We reassure him we might head back though Ubud before we leave. I talk to him about the building work around Bali and he said it's fast growing, he jokes that in 5 years there will be no rice fields left. We really like the driver and so we arrange for him to transport us to Amed tomorrow and his family live there so he says he can stop to see them. He drops us back at the hotel.
We have arranged to do an offerings class and are a little bit late but the receptionist asks us to come back in about 45 minutes. We head to the pool and sit in the pod chair in the sun, reading and dozing (Hannah dreams she is falling and jolts awake!). At 5 we head to the restaurant to do the offerings class. The Balinese make them three times a day after they have cooked dinner and before they eat it. They put them outside their doors and at the corners of their home. They are offerings to the gods as they take from the island, they are given rice, fruit, water, wood and stone so they are giving something back. The lady makes one first, the base is made of coconut tree leaves, she uses a very sharp knife to cut out the shape from the leaves and we each have a person helping us create our offering. Small thin sticks are pushed through the leaves and back again to keep the leaves in place. Once the basket is made you fill it with flowers and an aromatic leaves. At the bottom you make an angel shape and attach a piece of dried coconut skin. The ladies show us how to make different types and my lady makes sure I put the petals in the correct place in the baskets, although Hannah and Sarah are left to it! One of the lady shows us some other things she can do and makes us a Taurus shaped offering. We giggle out way through it as we aren't very good but they actually look lovely at the end! We take them back to our rooms after lots of pictures by the hotel and us. We get ready for dinner and come back to our rooms to enjoy cards and a puzzle!! Here's to tomorrow and to our beach bungalow!!