Day 2 Noodles and Monkeys

Josh's dinner

HE SAID:
Since we got plenty of sleep, we woke up at 7 am and went to have breakfast in our hotel restaurant. All I have to say is I eat noodles for breakfast. Our first meal was great and accompanying our meal was traditional Baliense musicians playing in the background. We then made our way to these meditation huts that were about 50 yrds into the ocean. We made our way through the broken coral and sea creatures (starfish, sea slugs and such) We sat in the hut for about 2 hours and it had to be the most peaceful 2 hours of my life. I have never felt so relaxed, it was def. the highlight of the day for me.

I'll skip the Uluwatu dance and temple because knowing Shannon she'll tell it in better detail then I would. I'll get down to what I know, the food. We ate lunch at a little place along the beach. I had the most amazing mixed satay that was cooked on a small charcoal grill that the satay was brought out on. Shannon had a delicious seafood synponi (symphony-that's how they spelled it) that was lobster, prawns and tuna fillet for 6 dollars. The beach is filled with these little places that are super cheap but look amazing. Now dinner, our driver told us he was taking us to a very romantic place. Which we thought was going to be a nice but expensive candle lit dinner. Boy were we wrong, we show up in a village that has 12 restaurants with the same menu and the same prices, ALL LIVE FRESH SEAFOOD. So he takes us to one at the very end called Segara (the ocean) Cafe. We walked down to our table which is 20 ft from the crashing ocean and sit at a light table lit by a small candle. Our server takes us to the front to pick our dinner from the tanks of live crab, fish, lobster and more. I chose a good size crab and Shan got some prawns. The crab was the best crab I have ever eaten. Every part of it had no fishy taste it was pure amazingness. Oh and the tom yum soup had giant pieces of lobster swimming around in the perfect broth. All in all one of the best meals of our lives as we sat by ocean. I heart Bali!

She said:

My ever-starving husband accurately described the food so I don't think there needs any more touch up of that! The day began with a perfect breakfast, relaxing meditation in our own pivate hut, and lunch by the sea. But that was only the beginning.

Our driver, Mattou, decided to take us on a tour of southern Bali, and head out the the famous southern temple called Bintar Segara. It overlooks the ocean on a 50 meter cliff and hosts a fantastic show of elaborate costumes and music like nothing I've ever heard before. It tells the story of Balianese religion with Ramayan rescuing his stolen bride with help of an army of monkeys. As the sun sets over the open amphitheater, tourists are bedazzled by the wonder of an entire soundtrack played only by the rhythms of noises made by the dances. There are absolutely no instruments. The dance ends with a spectacular fire dance where the dancer, dressed in a decorative monkey costume actually kicks balls of fire around the circle until only embers remain, and the angry gods have been chased away. By far, the most unique dance I have ever seen. We were so appreciative of the wonderful show that every sensation that followed was heightened. The feel of the warm, milky air, the taste of fresh fish caught that morning and the sound of powerful waves pounding the delicate sand. We have gotten a glimpse of what heaven is like, and the balianese call it "rumah" or home.