Tuesday, October 6 - Part 2

Next stop today was the "warung" operated by Made's mom across the street from his family homes -- but run today by his younger sister who was there with her boys and some neighborhood kids.  It was interesting to talk to Made about how his parents travel to nearby larger markets between 2am and 5am to purchase meat and produce for their local warung which supplies an area of the local community.  Refrigeration is not available in the homes, so their food supply is purchased daily for daily consumption.

I then felt truly honored for Made to invite me into his family compound -- for lack of a better term -- where behind one large wall are family residences, including his own, as well as their family "house temple."  Made's family, like the majority of Bali, are Hindu and it has been most interesting to learn from him about Hindu customs and practices, home temples, community temples and daily offerings. A quick internet check while I'm writing this advises that 83% of Bali's population are Hindu, 13% Muslim, 2.5% Christian and .5% practice Buddism.  In the following photo I am standing in front of one of the many offering shrines in Made's family "home temple."

Made's father is a wood carver -- who makes his living carving the ornate structures found in homes and temples.  Here is a sample of his work in Made's home.

As you may have discerned by now, getting to know Made and become his friend has been one of the many highlights of this journey -- so it was fun to see some of his early attempts at sculpting (now some 10 years ago):

before he served 3 contracts in pest control with Carnival Cruise Lines and then deciding to pursue massage and tour guiding/driving.  As you can imagine, there has been much to talk about and learn from him.

After leaving Made's home, we proceeded to his community temple where we were the only visitors. During my preparation for this trip, I had anticipated visiting some of the "popular" Bali temples notwithstanding the Lonely Planet Guide Book warnings about difficult touts that detract from the visiting experience.  Thankfully, Made suggested this alternative, non-touristy temple that could be explored in the peacefulness that Hinduism represents.  In keeping with local requirements, the caretaker provided me with a sarong to cover my bare legs.  Made explained the many buildings and functions as he whetted my appetite for wanting to learn more about Hinduism.  

Afterwards, Made took me to a very typical Balinese roadside cafe where I experienced one of Made's favorite dishes -- a very spicy barbcue pig over rice.  When asking Made what home "comfort food" he missed the most when he was working on the cruise ship, it is this dish.  And "spicy" doesn't really do justice to the truly mouth burning spice that I've learned is typical of Balinese cruisine.

I wanted to get a photo of the actual pig that is sitting at the left end of the counter here -- from which our lunches were picked -- but settled for this photo with the cook. And the photo doesn't show the long tables of customers next to a heavily traveled road of non-stop truck, car and motorbike traffic.

We then headed into the serene mountains covered with lush rice fields and trees, arriving at the first disappointment of my trip planning -- my accommodations in the beautiful village of Sidemen.  Don't misunderstand, the highly rated/regarded villa was beautiful in a beautiful location -- but the reviews which encouraged my selected three-night stay were obviously written by folks seeking a serene, non-adventurous destination -- where one is restricted to the on-site restaurant that primarily caters to western travelers.  It was immediately apparent that I had booked too many days -- and none of it was able to be changed as cancellation windows had expired.  Thankfully, it is off-season in Bali and my total bill for all three nights was only $92 USD (breakfast included).

Made and I laughed about my poor choice of so many days here -- and I reminded him of one of my favorite phrases as we began to make "play it by ear" choices -- deciding to move on from the Villa the next day.  I'll give you a sneak peek at my next posting -- it was a brilliant choice as the next day would take us to an amazing beach-side accommodation where I'm writing this as the waves splash below me -- for only $25USD a night.  However, before getting on to my next posting, I should mention that my room at the Villa was lovely -- and the pool was perched to give a beautiful view of the surrounding, lucious rice fields.  I enjoyed my time there -- including a dinner and breakfast that seemed to match my feeling about the place. Photos follow but you can be sure I'll be adding my views to the otherwise glowing reviews on my "goto" rating sites: booking.com and tripadvisor.com.