An Elephant, A Waterfall, and a Silver Queen

Today we got up at a reasonable hour for our french braid party before we headed out on our animal adventure.  I had wanted to ride an elephant when we booked this trip and today was the day.  To be honest, it was a little less enjoyable for me because we were not in the wild with the elephants, but it was still cool to be around such majestic creatures.  The Bali zoo is super small but very cool in that most of the animals are not in cages at all.  There were gibbons and orangutans flying around, and we were greeted by a wallaby just chillin by the entrance.  I dont want to get into a full discussion about zoos, animals in captivity, and the philosophy of animal conservation, but let's just say that it was cool to see crocodiles, toucans, ostrich, and other animals up close.  They seemed very comfortable with humans, but the humans there also seemed very respectful of the animals. 

Our elephant experience involved us walking around on a seat on the elephants back as it's handler guided us around the campus.  My elephant was named Tina, and her trainer thought me and Liz's fannies were too heavy for Tina so we each had our own elephant to ourselves.  Liz's trainer said that his elephant was his second wife.  Elephants do not live in Bali, they are brought over from Sumatra, and these specific elephants were brought over after deforestation threatened their habitats in Sumatra.  The ride took us through the water and at the end we got to feed the elephants, which was super cute.  They ate whole cucumbers, whole plantains, and carrots.  I love these animals so much, it was cool to be up close.  

After this excursion, we went to a wood carving shop to do some shopping.  I really enjoy (though I know it is for marketing purposes) the demonstrations they have outside of the shops, and this was no different.  I have such an appreciation for wood carving as an art, and the work was super impressive and detailed.  I ended up buying a "carry on" wood carving which I love, but I really just need an apartment with more walls.  Carolyn bought 2 lovely elephants and Liz bought a mandala carving.  

Lunch was lovely yet again overlooking a rice terrace.  This meal was pretty par for the course, but the drinks Carolyn and I ordered were spectacular.  We got pineapple banana and coconut juice, a mocha avocacchino, and a chocolate avocado milkshake.  They were all ridiculously good.  The juice here is so amazing, its literally drinking fruit.  And when coconut is involved, you can't lose.  

We then headed to an off-the beaten path waterfall called Uma Anyar.  It is in a tiny village off the beaten path, and a community run waterfall with volunteer guides that take you down to the waterfall.  We headed down the many steps to the river, and a guide named Wayan helped us get to the greatest photo spots.  Carolyn and Liz ended up jumping off the rocks into the river too!  It was very cool to not be around so many tourists, and we chatted with Wayan for a while also.  He is from that village and wants to follow in his brothers footsteps and go to Australia to farm, making money for his family and community.  He said his first english teacher was from California, and his english might have been the best we had heard all trip.  

We headed back on the road and asked Nyoman to take us to a place to buy batik cloth.  Little did we know he would pull up to the place we went on our Ubud tour!  So on second thought I bought a bunch of Christmas gifts.  We headed back to the house and stopped for Wayan’s favorite candy- Silver Queen- and had dinner reunited with Monica, who took a chill day today.  Heading to bed early again!