10th Dec - Tanah Lot - Bali

In the morning Anna visited the boutiques of Seminyak, while I stayed at the villa getting some onward planning done, and having a dip in the pool.

Later in the day we were driven to the coast to visit Pura Tanah Lot (pura being the Balinese word for temple). It was originally built in 1546, as one of several sea temples dotting the south-west coast, and is now venerated by the Balinese as the most important of them, it's certainly the most visited. Built (and rebuilt) on a tiny islet immediately off the coast, it's a pretty and impressive site, though somewhat overrun with visitors, both local and foreign. To get to the temple, you first have to run the gauntlet of souvenir stalls, all selling the same tat and t-shirts. Along the the cliff tops to the south, theres a glut of under-attended restaurants, followed by the hotel with a golf course. To the north there are more smaller temples extending the site. It's also got a nice looking surf break onto a sandy beach, that was being used by a handful of locals.

We were there at high tide, so couldn't make the crossing, not being Hindi though, we wouldn't have been let in anyway.

Surfing in paradise.

The following day was our last together for a while. We reluctantly left the amazing Villa Sungai, thanking the wonderful staff, and were driven by Made for the hour to Denpasar airport. We spent some time there delaying the inevitable before Anna went up to the new International departures, homeward bound; and I stayed down in the dowdy domestic terminal, bound for Lombok (again).