The first night Alex, Kevin and I went out to a nice dinner at the Dirty Duck Restaurant. Alex is a big fan of duck and the atmosphere was magical. None of the tables have chairs, we sat Asian style with mats and pillows.
Our table was perched in a bamboo bungalow overlooking a coy pond. It was nice to have Kevin around, Alex and I hadn't had anyone else to talk to in a while and we had plenty of stories to share. Later that evening we walked down to a small bar and ended up inviting our waiter to join us. He was very interested in our culture and wanted to practice his English.
The next day we visited the Monkey Sanctuary were families of long tail macaques run freely. There are about 1,000 of these little guys and they are not shy at all. We purchased two bunches of bananas at the entrance but they didn't last long. The monkeys actually climb on you to reach them!
They are very friendly and are accustomed to being near humans. We saw so many tiny babies gripping tight to their mothers. I love it!!! 
I could have stayed there with them all day. The temple is ornately decorated and the natural scenery is unlike any I'd ever seen. We also visited several other Hindu temples in the area. In this area, most of the people are Hindu and they pray openly several times a day. After saying the first morning prayer, they slip a tropical flower behind their ear. Rice is placed on the forehead in the afternoon
and a jar of holy water blesses their restaurants and homes. Offerings lay on the sidewalk to keep away bad spirits. One of the temples we visited was known as the Goa Gajah Fertility Temple and people have traveled there for thousands of years to pray for the blessing of children. 
Inside the cave you can see fragmentary remains of Lingam, the symbol of the Hindu God Shiva, and its female counterpart the Yoni, plus a statue of Shiva's son, the elephant headed God Ganesha. In the yard in front of the cave are two square bathing pools with water gushing into them from waterspouts held by six female figures. 
The water is believed to come from a holy river thousands of miles away in India. To the left of the cave entrance in a small pavilion, is a statue of Hariti, surrounded by children.We also visited the Bat Temple. The cave is also said to lead all the way to India, but nobody has yet volunteered to confirm this since the bats provide sustenance for the legendary giant snake, Naga Basuki, which is also believed to live in the cave.
This ancient reptile is believed to be the caretaker of the earth's equilibrium, a belief which stems from pre-Hindu animism. A distinctly batty stench exudes from the cave and the roofs of the temple shrines in front of the cave are liberally coated with bat droppings. Superficially, the temple is small and unimpressive, but it is very old and of great significance to the Balinese. Goa Lawah Temple is one of the island's nine special Sad Kahyangan Temples, and as such it is the designated holy place to honor the God Maheswara, who resides in this section of the island. Religious processions visit the temple every day, and it is a particular focus for religious rites associated with death. 
We enjoyed learning about Balinese culture and religion. It's nice to talk with people of other religions and it helps us realize that we are free to choose our own believes.
Ubud is also home to the largest bird and reptile zoos in the area. They house all types of species from around the world.
Our favorite part of the day was seeing a pair beautiful blue and scarlet Macaws fly freely above us. It's rare to see the full wingspan of these majestic creatures. 
Of course the guys loved the reptiles and the feeding of a Komodo Dragon. 
From Ubud we took a 6 hour ferry ride to Lombok, the next island over.
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