this rock-temple place was too touristy by half – and not the better for it: the beaches were dirty and the temple overcrowded – and I wish there had been less clouds so I could have grabbed better photos. I’ve put them here for sharing (so you don’t make your way down yourself!), and next time I think I might try for uluwatu, which holds another famous spot for sunset-spotting.
cascading terraces of green and scattered pavilions. even the requisite smattering of souvenir shops – we bought an indigenous instrument, a kalimba (also known as a finger piano) – add to the charm of this place. I can’t imagine what it’d be like at high tourist season, but for now it was quiet and peaceful – truly beautiful.
no elephants here – it’s so named for the grandness of the architecture, and it’s a beaut. an amazing carved stone temple, a trek amidst temple ruins and a stretch of padi fields, and the quiet beauty of balinese floral offerings.
p.s. I just realized you can see the lightning from the storm! how cool is that – long exposures for the win.
pretty good indonesian food at this beautiful (and pretty romantic) restaurant overlooking rice fields in seminyak. it’s a really gorgeous place, with large pavilions serving as restaurants, live music playing, and good low-lighting. we had a good meal here – the menu spans european offerings such as pasta as well as balinese dishes, and we went for the latter.
service was friendly and attentive, the food was tasty and came at a good pace. while the food wasn’t mindblowing, it was well flavored, and made for a nice quiet dinner away from the bustling morass of beach-side bali.
we were drawn to this store by the delicious smell of fat on a barbie – this man was sat outside a temple where a ceremony was taking place, fanning rather voraciously at a fierce flame and the sticks of marinated chicken above it.
when the ceremony was over, lots of temple-goers started crowding about to order these sticks of satay – which is when the partner decided to get a few to try. very tasty, fatty and tender pieces of chicken poked through a bamboo skewer, these were reminiscent of the satay we get in singapore – just as greasy, possibly more so, our three sticks were quickly stuffed into some brown paper and we bent over the streets eating so the oil didn’t drip onto our clothes.
not something you’d want to eat all the time, or very often at all – very much unhealthy, these things – but very local and endearing for that, as is most street food (I probably would find it difficult to say the same of fried insects and balut).
andmorefood 