Today was tour day. Each area we have been to, has had at least one. It's kinda weird, to be honest. I've never really been one for tours and especially not private tours but it seems like that is what is done here. However, you don't really get a guide, it's more like a driver who organizes entrances. So we haven't really been able to truly know what we are seeing or be able to ask what is going on, unless you hire someone at the place itself. But, the language barrier is an issue and there seems to be no way of knowing if the person knows things or not. So we haven't bothered and the driver just waits for us with the other drivers; for minutes or hours, without knowing when we will be done. They make money off of it, much more than they would make in most other jobs but it still feels weird to have someone wait on you.
Today, we were off to the rice fields first! They are probably the most iconic thing in Bali. The driver gave us two options; go to the big one and pay 40k IDR or go to the more quiet one and pay a donation of 20k IDR($1 USD). We chose the latter. If this was quiet I don't want to know what loud was! There was a lot of people there but not so much that you couldn't get a picture without other humans in it! They had the selfie spots and the swing which was super interestin . We walked down to the river(which was still much deeper than we could even walk) and came back up! It was beautiful!
Then we went to the holy water temple, as the locals were completing their ceremony! So the temple was full of people actually using the temple for more than just an archaeological interest! We went back and forth a bunch but decided to try the water ceremony, or what we could figure out based on mimicking. We also had to change into special sarongs(which were different than the ones we were both meant to wear throughout the complex. I hate being wet and am not a fan of my hair being wet, so I surprised myself and Joe by fully getting wet!!
Since we went back and forth so much we reached the end of our half day tou . We could have continued and paid another $20 usd or so but we decided to relax at the hotel.
We got into the pool and after catching up on reading I surprised Joe again by getting fully underwater. My hair didnt look bad after the temple so i decided to let loose!
Next, we got ready for a dinner dance at the hotel. We went back and forth on this. Watching these dances feels weird. I felt similar at masai mara. It feels like they are offering up their culture and monetizing it. I don't mind the monetizing, but the offering is what feels weird. Also, minus mozais, this will be our most expensive meal on the trip and the food wasnt especially Indonesian or amazing. We both got a chance to try the dancing. You can decide who did better!
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