We arrived in Bali on our flight from Istanbul a little after 7p. Even though we weren't starting our Wakatobi trip for a few days, a Wakatobi representative met us at the gate and helped usher us thru immigration and customs. Although unnecessary, it was helpful and appreciated. We had a little bit of trouble finding our Viator ride but we soon found him. It was over an hour drive to our hotel in the town of Ubud. By the time we arrived at Ubud Village Hotel later that night, we were hungry and exhausted. They showed us to our villa room.
We dumped our bags and headed out to find some dinner. Just down the street, we found Cintas Bar & Grill. We ordered some drinks to start. Apparently they ran out of swizzle sticks.
For dinner, Brenda ordered ribs and I ordered grilled octopus which was wonderful. 
We treated ourselves to Brenda's favorite dessert, creme brulee.
And amused ourselves by making up stories about the wall painting.
The next morning we had an early wake up call as our guide was to pick us up at 8a. We scarfed down some pancakes and fruit at the hotel's breakfast bar.
Our guide was waiting when we finished. I booked our guide on Viator and this was the first time I used Viator for a tour. I read previously that Bali had been overrun with Instagrammers who flooded the tourist sites and waited hours in line to take pictures of themselves at certain places. I made it clear when I booked that we were NOT interested in any such sites and wanted to see waterfalls, temples, and terraces that were moreso off the beaten path.
Our first stop was Yana Gallery, a wood art gallery where local artists were hard at work.
I bought some souvenirs and then we made our way to Tegenungan Waterfall.
We descended the long stairway down.
There was a guy selling funny and inappropriate signs at the bottom.
Our next stop was a coffee farm. Neither of us likes coffee but we didn't know we were stopping here. I was annoyed at first but it turned out to be an interesting tour. They showed us the coffee beans that grow.
And the Asian civet which is the animal that eats these beans then poops them out. This supposedly enhances the coffee flavor. This poor animal is in a cage for tourists to see. They claim to alternate the ones in cages but I'm not sure I believe them.
The poop beans are collected by the resident "poo hunters" then cleaned and used to make coffee.
We enjoyed a tasting session of some of their coffees, teas, and hot chocolate. It cost extra to taste the poo coffee so we passed on that.
Afterwards we were off to Ulun Danu Temple. Before entering, we stopped for a chicken satay lunch at the restaurant on-site.
The Ulun Danu Temple was originally built in 1633 on the shore of Lake Beratan. The various courtyards and shrines are separated by gates.
It looked like this couple might have been taking engagement or wedding photos.
I'm not sure what to say about the remainder of the site. It looked like various structures were built for Insta-pic purposes only, like the two pictures below, I don't think they were part of the official temple complex.
We tried to ask our "guide" these questions but he didn't seem to know any history or background. When I asked him how old the complex was, his response was "very old." He just kept asking us if we wanted pictures here or there and when we declined, he got huffy and walked off. He was obviously more of a driver than a guide.
Leaving the Temple, we encountered awful traffic. Actually, traffic across the entire island was really bad and it took a long time to get anywhere. It was one of the more frustrating parts of the trip. But on the way to our last stop of the day, we encountered a "welcome celebration" while driving thru one of the villages. Not sure who they were welcoming (it was not us) but it was interesting to watch.
Our last stop of the day was Jatiluwih Rice Terraces. These beautiful, green terraces cover over 600 acres of land. I would have liked to have spent more time walking thru the terraces, where it was quiet and peaceful, than the time we spent at the Temple of the waterfall. But our "guide" was hurrying us along since traffic back to Ubud would be so bad. It was also starting to rain a bit. So we only did a quick walk thru on the path.
It was after 6p when we got back to our hotel and once again, we were tired and hungry. The traffic on the way back was brutal. Brenda really loved the restaurant from the night before and wanted to eat there again. I don't usually want to repeat on vacation but it was close and I was too tired to come up with an alternative. So we found ourselves back at Cintas.
I ended the evening with a long, hot bath and was joined by this little guy outside the window.
This featured blog entry was written by zihuatcat from the blog Escape from Reality.
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