January 14, 2016
A drive in the countryside in Bali is picturesque to be sure, though much more. Life from village to village is similar revolving around the town’s three Hindu temples, their marketplace and schools. Community.
Typical sites include roadside “warungs” or cafes, make shift fruit and produce stands, locals gathering greens for the cows and pigs, fallen coconuts to make oil, palm fronds for offerings, twigs and branches to burn for cooking and so forth. Simple gardens and rice paddies.
We first stopped into a local hardware store for vegetable seeds. Ahem, that is non GMO seeds, organic seeds - not always common or known so you have to ask. A quick drive through the botanical garden where the view of the lake is lovely, a “forest” and orchid house.
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Lake view from the Botanical garden
Left: the ferns that are midway int he trees are actually intruder nests on the trees.
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IN the Orchid house, (above) rock wall and waterfall and (below) mosaic steps and stone cafe setting
The MOST amazing microscopic orchids! A
penny for scale.
Here's the tree around which the finest orchids are wrapped.
Then at at local nursery stalls where we shopped, and marveled and or course, bought.
Two rose plants for 10,000 rupiah. That’s less than a dollar.
Spiney!
An orchid in full bloom existing only on an old branch!
Tamarillo tree.
Stop for cool beverage in this kitschy place
To our main destination, Pura Ulun Danu Bratan temple grounds where we luckily stopped for lunch while the down pour drenched everyone and anyone not under cover. Dined. Relished in the cool refreshing rain and waited until the skies cleared. Dedicated to the goddess of the lake, Dewi Danu.
then back from Hong Kong...
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