We absolutely loved the tour! Our guide, Darta, went out of his way to tell us all the interesting history along the way and we were thoroughly entertained. We were taken to a Batik processing works which was fascinating... more- it gave us a lot of empathy for all the work that goes into the gorgeous material made by these people. Our scheduled stop was at the traditional dancing show, which was most entertaining! Amazing costumes and make up, depicting the fight between good and evil... we were glad to have been able to see this! We also went to a silver smith where intricate silver jewellery and ornaments are made.. the patience and nimbleness required are unequalled! Our next stop was at a beautiful old home in the Balinese style where they produce ancient style and modern style paintings of high quality- beautiful art! We loved our drive through the countryside and streets of villages of Central Bali where every home is used to produce amazing art of all kinds- especially woodwork, wicker, furniture, glass on wood (we called them bubbles!) made the time rush along! We arrived at Taggalagalang Rice Fields which are set into a valley in tiers- this is definitely our highlight of the tour- we had never seen rice so close up before. It all looked like a painting! Our next stop at lunchtime was at Kintamani Lake and Mount Katur Volcano viewsight restaurant. The view is breathtaking... like a picture postcard! Worth the drive to get there. The restaurant wasn't however- we kind of felt obliged to eat where we were led to view on a terrace- they would only do the buffet for us- no a la carte and this was a huge waste for us. The charge of 150,000 each was way too high for good that wasn't to our liking. We would rather have had a plate of nadia goring or a sandwich at an applicable price... a bit of a waste, I'm afraid. Another highlight was a stopoff on the way back at a coffee and spice plantation, where Darta was able to show us the living plants of all the spices we only see in bottles in our kitchens back home! The coffee is outstanding! The tea is nice too- especially the fruit tea. The special coffee is made from the poop of Luwaks (little mongoose type creatures) who eat the coffee beans and digest them. The poo is then collected and washed, roasted and ground, and the strong taste is excellent. We were able to site at a scenic spot and taste all the different teas and coffees- awesome! On the way back we made a final stop at an ancient temple which dates back to the 13th Century- Both peaceful and beautiful! The whole trip- although advertised as 8 hours, was in fact 10 hours at the finish, probably because of traffic, but also because we were the only two on the tour so we're given extra special attention! Dropped off at our doors, tired but happy, we wished we had gone our first days in Bali as it gives you a great perspective of the island!

Very nice tour.