Today started at a blistering 5:30AM to make the moto trek to Gunung Bator - a volcano with the "very rare" double caldera - to beat the clouds that supposedly (ie never) come. Made the top of the mountain after several sort of wrong turns and beautiful rice fields by about 7 and explored. This volcano has a huge crater with a massive lake and many villages spread throughout - who would live inside a volcano crater is beyond my comprehension, and this is an active volcano. The view was really breathtaking and then Gabe and I had a second breakfast on a cafe on the rim of the volcano - whenever I finally post pictures you will see the view - very nice.
On to Gunung Kawi - a rock temple carved into cliffs surrounded by rice terraces - stunningly beautiful. Like Platoon and Indianna Jones with meandering sweaty tourists dressed in surongs. But the people that run this place have it wired - we had to park a 1/4 mile away and traverse down hundreds of steps into a valley with tourist shops on both sides and screaming vendors - I was suckered into an over priced water as I lost about four gallons of sweat on the walk. Once inside the temple, the place was geourgous.
Back in Ubud we just returned from the Monkey Forest that backs up to our bungalow. This monkeys are MUCH nicer than the Ulu Watu monkeys (the workers even say this) and are not interested in anything except the bag of fruit and bananas I hold. And they were very interested in this bag - so interested a gang chased me and climbed on my head and forced me to run like a little girl and drop my bag of bananas - all to the delight of Japaneese tourists. After that misadventure I learned to hide the bag of fruit and place a banana on top of the head for a baby monkey to climb and fetch - again will post pics of this at some point - and then run when the big pack alpha male starts noticing the food.
Tomorrow renting villa in Seminyak to begin the Halloween weekend and more beaches, sunsets, Bintang and Kuta....
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