Batik and the Temple by the sea

Today is a relax day, mostly to recover from the heat yesterday.

We left early yesterday to do some sightseeing, hit a couple of the popular shopping and view locations. Then off to a batik factory to watch the textile manufacturing process. It is a beautiful art to watch. Then we traveled south to Tanah Lot, known by most as the temple by the sea. It is straight out of a movie, beautiful and surreal.

I've included a picture of Wayan Kodang with the kids, as they (we) have been welcomed into their family. The kids have a certain celebrity here, not because of their skin and hair color, as Austrailians are common, but for their smiles. The Balinese are a very happy people, even the hawkers selling their wares are graceful and kind about their offerings, and they all too often forget their products in favor of a chat with Cadence or Shepherd.

The safety rules of Bali are decades behind the west. The picture of Cadsie and I on the bridge is as frightening as it looks... We are 75 feet above the crashing surf. No guard rails, not even a sign of warning. The same goes for the rules of the road, it's right hand drives prevailed, and while center lines are all marked, but they seem to function more as a suggested consideration. While the roads are crazy, and compounded by the 2 motorbikes to 1 vehicle ratio, it actually feels safer than north american roads. In order to survive on these roads, you have to know how to drive and be continually aware of everyone else around you. This is a stark contrast to North America, where is seems as though we forego concious driving in favor of perpetual increases in safety systems. I doubt this observation will ever influence change in the west, but it is fascinating.


Today was a great day of relaxing, we chilled by the pool, read and played. We walked a kilometer into town for lunch, groceries and coffee, and back for dinner at 'home'. It was interesting that while at lunch, we couldn't help but notice that the background music was Christian worship. We were the only ones in the restaraunt, so we asked about it. It turns out the Owners of the restaurant, a young couple, are Javanese. They moved to Bali six months ago to start their restaurant. We struck up a quick friendship with them, and are looking forward to going with them to their church on Sunday.

Cadsie mentioned that she missed her home today, but only in passing, and all was forgotten at the mention of a dip in the pool.