Jatiluwih

 So I was in Kuta again, alone. I had something like a day off, so I got myself a haircut (for 2 CHF, btw), did some shopping, answered my mails and had lunch. At 12:30 I took off with Wayan again, to a place I read about in my LonelyPlanet: Jatiluwih.

 Jatiluwih is somewhere in nowhere: Even Wayan with his 13 years of experience as a driver had to ask for directions. It took us 4 hours on bumpy roads. But it was worth it. (Not just because of the food!)

 To really get the greenness of Jatiluwih, one has to go there. The second best way is to visit http://www.panorama.ch.vu/!

 It's like a vast, green valley out of rice terraces and tiny villages. I just loved walking through these fields, every step is rewarding.

 Keep in mind that the pictures don't even come close to reality!

 Gorgeous.

 Mhm... Bintang beer...

 Being the only guest at the hotel, the clumsy and very friendly innkeeper treated me like a king. And that's just the breakfast! It included 14 bananas, fried bananas, some kind of rice dish (~ Nasi Goreng) and an undefined appetizer. Additionally, of course, a 3dl cup of tea and a pot of coffee!

 On the 2nd day, the 2nd of May, I rented a bike. I drove through the rice fields and visited the highest temple of Bali. It was the smelliest temple I've ever seen.

 That's my first manual gear bike. 5 CHF/day.

Then, I went to one of the biggest temples of Bali: Pura Luhur Bhujangga, where I could witness to a ceremony.

Driving through villages can be an incredible pleasure!

Ubud Palace → Tana Lot → Uluwatu → back to Kuta

 Yves and Estela were planning to go to Malaysia and Jean-Paul had to go back home. We had one day left and it had to end in Kuta (because of the airport).

 We got ourselves a driver and visited Ubud palace.

 And the Tana Lot temple: One of the greatest tourist attractions(/traps?) EVER. To get there, one has to walk trough half a kilometer of souvenir shops. It was crowded. The temple itself wasn't bad though.

 Then, we went to the Uluwatu temple. I expected it to be the same as last time but there were more tourists and, strangely, the monkeys were a lot more aggressive. Still funny though, of course!

They were fighting a lot.
After Uluwatu, we drove back to Kuta. We took two rooms in the Bakung Sari Hotel again. Yves and Estela had to go to the airport at 3 a.m. in the morning. Jean-Paul and I could sleep longer since his plane would depart at about midday.

Ubud: the spa & rice fields

The 28th was our spa-day. We had our appointment in the afternoon, so we decided to explore the rice fields once again.

A pink chicken... Apparently they get ridden over from time to time so somebody decided to paint them!

This is how the streets in the countryside near Ubud look like. It never gets boring!

In the middle of Ubud, we discovered a great warung-place.

After a delicious lunch, it was spa-time. For 25$, we got: a massage, a body scrub, a yogurt lotion and a flower bath. (I didn't quite get the point of the flower bath.) Then, we could use the facilities (sauna, Turkish bath, jacuzzi) for a few hours.