Biking, Blessing, Shit Coffee, and a Cock Fight

We would start our day with an early morning bike ride. But these were not just any bikes, they we bamboo bikes, complete with shocks and a bell.

We would start out biking through the rice fields.



Not the best lighting but the views were amazing. I'm sure it was just the lighting or perhaps the angle at which this was taken but it appears Riley is slightly taller then I am. Of course I'm still taller if we are both lying down on our backs.

Bali was truly beautiful.



Our first stop was at the Gunnug Kawi temple. The temples in Bali only have one dress requirement and that is that you wear a Sarong. A kind of skirt that covers up your legs. I think we pulled it off quite well. All of the temples have Sarong(s) to rent but that can be expensive so we found it better to lease them with an option to buy at the end of your stay.

They had a nice coy pond but we were not allowed to fish.

There were a lot of people making their daily offerings.



I then discovered that this temple was inspired by plant medicine. These "guards" are found in many temples across South East Asia including the Grand Palace in Bangkok. And if you have read my Ayahuasca blog you know I have actually encountered these creatures in their realm of existence.



After having been reminded of some of the most terrifying experiences of my life we saddled up to continue our journey.

Our next stop was a rare chance to literally drink shit coffee. It's some of the most expensive coffee in the world. That is because a small rodent called the Asian Palm Civet searches out the best coffee cherries. The coffee bean is actually the seed inside of a cherry like fruit. It then eats the fruit and partially digests the seed which ferments in their intestine before being defecated. At which point some poor bloke then shifts through their excrement in search of the beans. Yeah, sign me up, I can't wait to try it. Could not be any worse then Balut in the Philippines.

The beans are then hand pealed.

They are then roasted and hand ground. Even though we helped they still made us pay to taste the coffee.

It was then time to try it. It actually tasted quite good. By far some of the smoothest pure coffee I have ever tasted. Pretty amazing considering it was recently encased in Civet shit.

Seeing how good it was we decided to try a full sampler of all their coffee and teas. And to my surprise they were all quite tasty.

We continued working our way through Bali enjoying every minute.



Checking out more rice terraces.





Stopping for Riley to get some pictures.



We would then stop at our guide's house. They pretty much live outside in the open air.

They have their own family temple and his mom was giving the daily offering.

They pretty much have everything they need, such as livestock and fruit. We would not be sticking around for sweet and sour pork tonight.



Their kitchen.

After our tour we headed out to get breakfast. Riley went with the banana pancakes.

While Uncle Chris enjoyed the breakfast of champions, Bintang.

After our bike adventure we would head to Goa Gajah. Another temple where the public is allow to cleanse themselves. At first I thought this was a spiritual cleansing but once we got there it was clearly a physical cleansing, much like a public bath. We first put on our skirts.

And then would have to wait in a very long line standing in water that was just slightly less polluted then the Ganges river. Going back and forth much like waiting for a ride at Disney World.

This was all so we could say a prayer, make a wish, or just relieve ourselves under eight water spouts.

So far my wish has not come true....

We then heard some lady screaming as a local priest was performing an exorcism on her. She was a pretty good actor and might want to try her luck in Bollywood.

Kim was hoping the last spout would have air instead of water acting as some kind of ancient hair dryer.

Being grateful I was up to date on my hepatitis vaccinations we dried off. While I'm not sure I really understood this practice it was a great experience to take part in it. These people do very much believe it to be a spiritual cleansing and who am I to judge them on that. While it may not have worked for me it clearly works for them, and that is all that matters.

Afterwards we would then meet with a local "healer" who would seal in our cleansing. This guy was the Indonesian version of Benny Hinn and gave great tummy massages. Again, while I'm open to at least trying these things it was not my cup of tea, or should I say not my cup of shit coffee, but I bet it makes for a good fertilizer.

With a nice coat of sealant on us we said goodbye and looked forward to a proper shower.

It's always fun to travel with Kim and Riley and I have enjoyed giving Riley a lot of his "first" experiences. Tonight, Uncle Chris would take the kid to experience his first illegal cock fight.

They allow cock fights as ceremonial gatherings as long as no betting occurs. But there was a lot of betting going on here and if any of us could speak the language we would have tried to get in on the action. They first equip the cock with a throat slicing razor on his leg.

With all bets in, which now made this illegal, the fight began.

Soon feathers would be flying everywhere.

Until there was a clear winner and the other one was dinner.

They started taking bets on the next bout before even cleaning up the ring.

We then headed back to our villa to clean up before heading to town for a dinner.

This place also had shisha or what many westerners refer to as hookah. Keeping with Riley's "firsts" theme I decided to order one.

Kim even tried a puff or two as it was blueberry pie flavored.

After a great dinner we headed back to our villa for a beard check. Mine was still coming along nicely but it looks like Riley's has largely gone dormant.

We enjoyed our private pool as the sun set and reconfirmed that yes we should just live here.