Cheechuk

This cheechuk was on the wall outside our room this morning. Our landlord asked me this morning if Laurie and I would like to go see some of the preparations for a royal cremation that is coming up in a couple of weeks. We walked up the street a little ways and then went down a side lane to where a group of men were preparing a huge cow that will be used in the cremation. The cow is made of wood and fabric and will be burned during the cremation. The cow and the platform it will be carried on were being prepared right beside the private residence of the royal family. Our landlord asked if we would like to see the royal residence. We certainly said yes so he took us inside the royal compound and we got to see the fountains and the many carvings there. While we were in the royal compound, our landlord asked some of the men there to turn the water on so that we could see the fountains work. The carvings in the yard of the palace were just incredible so I took a lot of pictures. I forgot to take any with my phone so I won't be posting any right now but I will try to post some later.

Yesterday we hired a car and driver to take us to go see some temples away from Ubud and we also went to a market. We stopped by a weaving center to see women who were leaving ikat cloth. Last night we went to watch a dance at the temple that is very close to our hotel. We saw a dance the night before last as well.

Today is our last day in Bali and tomorrow we fly out. Our landlord has asked us if we would like to go see a ceremony at a temple outside of a Ubud this evening, so we will dress in sarongs and go with him. It is difficult to express how nice our landlord is. We would never have been able to see the royal compound if he hadn't invited us to see it. He seems to know everyone in the neighborhood and is a leader in his temple, which is where we saw the kecak dance last night.