I'm sitting here in Ubud having spent the day driving south back across the island with Gede Ari and his wife Kumon. The highlight today was a stop at the Unesco World Heritage Site of Jatiluwih where there is an exceptional array of terraced rice fields. We had invited our young couple to be our guests at lunch which we enjoyed from a restaurant overlooking the rice fields. Quite the sight in spite of the on and off rain. Unfortunately, I'm having a data transfer problem tonight and can't transfer today's photos to my iPad at this moment...so no photos...except Annemarie took a few, so here are her shots...the small part she saw at least!
After lunch I left the others to enjoy coffee and went for a walk through the terraces. This proved to be a wonderful way to see the fields and also to stretch my legs after our limited walking of late. This was a great way to spend the day and we are presently residing in a lovely villa for the next four nights which was a retirement gift for Annemarie from the kids and I. Nice that I get to participate!
However, this post is really about yesterday. After a lazy morning of snorkelling and munching on a meal or two we were picked up late in the afternoon by Ari and his cousin and taken to his parent's house where we were expected for dinner! Along the way there some shopping to be done. The first stop was the fish market where we were told to stay in the car because the if the owners saw them with tourists (us) the negotiated price would jump considerably. Always supportive of a bargain, we did stay in the van, but watched the process from a distance. The next stop was the super market which was tucked away so deeply along a city street that we would never have found it on our own. The reason for this stop was to allow me to purchase wine and beer to bring to dinner. We were told not to bring anything, but when we told Ari that this was our custom, he readily agreed. Now the rules for buying beer and wine in stores have just changed in Bali to help reduce accidents and incidences, so it turned out that we couldn't buy our supplies at this particular grocery store. Fortunately we were able to do so at the small store in the family village...no wine available, so I bought a significant supply of the large 750 ml bottles of beer and off we went to Ari's cousins house...where we had visited with he and his family a few days earlier (see earlier photo). While we watched, Ari's cousin climbed high up into a coconut tree...it was actually very high...and he picked about four huge coconuts. Can you see his arm?
From there, Ari invited us to walk through his village and out to his parent's property so that we could meet the locals and see some of the stunning scenery. The beer, fish and coconuts continued on to the house without us. So there we were minding our own business, meeting and greeting when we were joined by part of the neighbourhood juvenile bike squad! Five of them at least...
We continued along our way through the country side. Very beautiful...and indeed the neighbours did call out words of welcome and wave it us. It was very nice to be welcomed as we walked along.
The Bali Bike Gang continued to tail us after I used my tried and proven technique to make friends in developing countries...take their photo and show it to them. Guaranteed positive results. They followed as we ended up at the local elementary school.
Pretty basic class rooms...
We walked on...
As we walked our numbers continued to swell....a regular parade was developing!
These fields belong to Putu, Ari's father.
Finally we arrived and the chopping commenced in earnest. That's Ari's father Putu on the right and his cousin on the left. 
What they were preparing was drinks for Annemarie and I. 
The freshest coconut milk one could ever wish for! It was brilliant! Then the cooking started. This is Adis uncle who has the fastest knife in town and is the best chef in the village.
Ari's wife, Kumon, preparing something hot...
Then it was time to help Ari's other uncle prepare the sauté. It's pork, hot chilies, spices and coconut all massed up together and put on strips of bamboo to cook over the BBQ.
Speaking of the bbq, they built the fire just outside the kitchen door and fuelled it with the husks from the coconuts. 
Fish was on.
While things were cooking I went up stairs to see what was happening on the roof, and ended up showing a few photos and short movies from our trip. An appreciative audience!
Ari and his father then put each of us on the back of a motor bike and speed us up the road to the home of the couple whose wedding we had attended the prior day. This was before dinner was served. We were warmly welcomed to a celebration well underway there. The celebration was for their new child who had reached his third month, a special moment in each family. What was really unusual is that the entertainment was provided by traditional puppeteers. 
We were treated as honoured guests and placed directly in front of the screen...this is shadow puppetry. Coffee and delicious sweets were provided and we were given quite the show. At one point I gave up my seat to the new bride and her baby and was invited by an old fella holding his grandson to sit behind the screen where I could watch the backstage show unfold. Sandals off I sat cross legged for quite some time on a bench. There is the main puppeteer who uses hand carved leather figures and props including large sugar cane posts to hold his puppets in place. He has an assistant behind him to pass the various puppets forward and there are two musicians playing all the music on what appear to be ancient xylophones with pipes that the bang with sticks. The puppeteer makes all the voices, sings the songs and tells a story that is never the same twice. Lots of laughter from the surrounding audience, at least those who understood!
Ari told us that when he was a kid, not that long ago, that this was the only entertainment available. Now with TV and video games it's more difficult to keep these traditions alive in some villages. Certainly this will be a challenge in the coming years, to keep tradition while moving forward with technology.
Once we had said our goodbyes to the wedding family, we rode back down to the house for dinner, to find that everyone else had already eaten and were well into my beer!! They had cooked us a partially separate meal to somewhat reduce the spice load, knowing full well that our stomachs wouldn't be up to the challenge. The locals eat their food very heavily spiced and it's so hot! We ate with Ari while his father kept us company. Eating was in the traditional Indonesian manner, right hand only, no cutlery. We had some fun with this process, believe me! 
The food was excellent, and yes, still very spicy. My stomach is still recovering today. Then it was time for dessert, talk, beer and party games!
Look very closely at this...very closely. 
I've never seen anything like it! Ari's uncle the chef does this when he drinks a bit too much, and he had done so tonight! Ari told me that he had never seen this before either and he was equally amazed.
Once dinner was over Ari drove us home in the pitch dark with lightening flashing all around us. It stormed and rained all night!
We will hang out here until Saturday when we fly to Seattle and then take the ferry home. If the weather permits we plan to climb the local volcano. However, the rainy season arrived late this year and appears to be departing late as well. No point in getting up at 4am to hike up if the peak is covered in cloud as it has been every day since we arrived. If it keeps raining I'll have time to work on my new party trick!
