I just arrived in Seminyak which is slightly north of Kuta. I left Uluwatu this afternoon and stopped at the Uluwatu temple before heading here. It was under some pretty heavy construction so I don’t know that I got the full effect but the views were amazing. This temple is believed to act as Bali’s south-west guard from the evil spirits of the ocean. There is a community of monkeys that live on the temple grounds and are cute… but they are aggressive and they steal from people- sunglasses, cameras etc. Then they only give back your stuff if they get fruit, and then the staff at the temple expect payment in return for getting your stuff back. Sounds like a learned behavior to me… anyhow they didn’t take anything from me but one girl got a big bite taken out of her flip flop by one of them. The babies are really cute and tiny and I did see one really sweet little family of monkeys sitting together- mom, dad and baby.
On my way out of Uluwatu the cab had to stop and pull over because there was what looked like a parade coming down the street. I got out and watched and it turns out it was a sort of funeral procession. There was a mass of people walking, carrying flags, beating drums, singing- and one large float type structure that was being carried in the air. Inside were just a few people and the ashes of the deceased. It was really interesting because at first thought I assumed the ceremony must be for someone ‘important’ but the cab driver explained that this is how its done when someone passes away. I personally felt that it was a beautiful (better) way to celebrate a life.
Seminyak is similar to Kuta but taken down 10 notches of intensity. I really like that there is still good beach, shopping and restaurants here but not as many people or as much traffic and insanity. I checked into the same hotel that the Vineyard couple are supposed to be staying in but haven’t seen them yet and I am really looking forward to spending time here with folks from home!
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