The little animal in the jungle eats the ripest beans. They are coffee beans. Then, after it comes out the other end, the beans are harvested from the animal's droppings and roasted for you to drink. They say it's the most expensive coffee in the world, costing up to $700 per kilogram (2.2 pounds)!

I pass the muslim prayer room in the airport in Yogyakarta . Muslim is the dominate religion in Indonesia, but today I fly to Bali, Indonesia, where the dominate religion is Hinduism in this country that is predominately Muslim.

Bali is the best known tourist destination in Indonesia. Many people around the world have heard of the famous Bali beaches and resorts, but maybe didn't even know it was in Indonesia. Now, you do!

I research my options of locations to stay on the island. There's a party town just a few kilometers from the airport in Denpensar. The town is Kuta. It was the scene of terroist attacks in 2002, but today is the party scene in Bali. The crowd, from what I can find out, is largely young Australian surfers and beach-goers. They get obnoxious and very rowdy. They are the 'red-neck' crowd from Australia, although the Australians call them by a different name than 'red-necks'. I forgot the name, though. The Austrailains I have met are wonderfully friendly people. I hope to visit Australia sometime . They all tell us not to judge Australia by these rowdies, so, I won't.

But, I avoid the lunacy of Kuta, Bali, and take a taxi from the airport to Sanur, Bali. Sanur is a beach town without the drunken reputation of Kuta. 

Sanur is a relaxing beach town. My guesthouse is the Cafe Locca, complete with swimming pool and outdoor kitchen. A few minutes walk through the busy streets bring me to the beach area. 

Walking along the small streets in Sanur, I noticed plates and bowls with flowers and food on the sidewalks. You had to watch where you were walking because these things were on the sidewalk in front of most buisnesses. I asked one shop owner that spoke good English about them. She said today was a special day for hindus and these were offerings. They put the offerings out every day, but today they are larger offerings than usual.

Although Indonesia is a Muslim country, here in Bali the major religion is Hinduism . Hinduism, one of the world's oldest religions, has a billion followers. It is made up of religious beliefs, philosophical and cultural ideas. The practices of Hinduism originated in India. They believe in reincarnation. Hinduisim is a way of life. Hinduism is solely responsible for things like yoga, Karma and a number of other practices.
 
Another place I want to visit in Bali is the old town of Ubud, an hour or so drive from Sanur. It is the cultural heart of Bali. In the mountain town of Ubud the buildings are ancient and the streets extremely small. There are many meditation places and many activities to help the traveler to relax. I only get a view of the place as I ride the minivan through the town one day (while on my way to do a bicycle riding tour). I will add this to my list of places to spend time in at some point.

The bicycle ride was a full day event. We rode through villages and rice fields. We ate in an authentic Balinese house. The water faucet made of bamboo was unique, I thought . 

At one point on the ride we came to a Hindu Temple. We couldn't go in because we didn't have an invitation. There were other strict rules listed on the board outside the temple. Be sure to stop and read them when you look at the photos. I took a photo of the green sign out front of the temple.

We rode past webs of huge spiders attached between trees as we were riding. The guide said they were harmless. He let those of us that wanted to play with them do so. Spiders are not at the top of my list of pets, but I wanted to play with this one.

Before the bike tour, we stopped at a coffee farm. Kopi Luwak coffee, also known as "Civet Coffee" is knows as the rarest and most expensive coffee in the world. The process it goes through is what makes it so rare and costly.

A little critter, the asian civet that lives in the wild, picks the ripest berries from the trees . The fleshy pulp of the ripest berries allow the enzymes in its stomach to percolate into the beans. Apparently, this creates an exotic flavor. I understand this process is called Lopi Luwak and the coffee is actually called "Civet Coffee". The little guy returns the beans to the forest through its feces. The farmers collect the beans for processing. The processing, they say, includes carefully sorting through the beans and washing and drying them immediately. The beans are then roasted. I sampled the coffee, not dwelling too much on it's production process, and it was very good indeed!

They had a civet in a cage but he was sleeping in his log when I passed by, so the photo I took doesn't show much of him. I did find a good one on the web to use here, though.

Walking through Sanur one day, I saw a sign that was advertising a "Midget Fight" that night. I think the term 'Midget" is politically incorrect in the U .S., but here it seems to be okay.

For the equivalent of $6, I bought my ticket and waited for night to arrive to see this fight. They danced to music during the fight and hit their opponents when they weren't looking. They put n a good show. It was more of a 'show' than a 'fight'. It was all done in fun. When the boxers would be punching at the other fighters face, they would really only be hitting the other fighters gloves guarding the face. But, the one getting hit would move with the punches as if they were real and soon fall as if knocked down.

I was sitting next to the announcer that had the microphone in his hand and he would ask me my opinion of the boxers now and then. The last fight featured a heavy-set midget fighting a normal boy but about the same height of the midget. Everyone, of course, was pulling for the thin, little boy. He would dance around the ring to the music and then plow into the midget when he wasn't expecting it. It was hilarious. They called the boy 'green pants' because of his green shorts. The announcer held the mic up to my mouth and asked me at the end of fight who I thought the judges would give the fight to. I said, "To green pants", of course. When he asked me why, I said, "Because he is the best dancer". The referee raised the hand of the winner of the match. It was green pants, alright!

In each country I visit I get different reacations when I say I am from America. In my next entry I tell you what happens when I say "America" in Indonesia!