More fun in the heat. Bali is not a big island, but it has over 20,000 temples and shrines. The Balinese practice a unique form of Hinduism in a mostly Muslim country. There are little trays of offerings all over – flowers, small portions of rice, incense, candy, etc. These are meant to please/appease the gods or demons, or bring luck or protection and are really pretty decoration for statues, temples, shops and even cars. We started off in Ubud, which is a center for the arts in Bali. We walked around town and saw temples, watched a traditional dance and of course, ate some ice cream. From there we ventured out and even rode elephants one day. The countryside around Ubud is beautiful, with lots of green rice fields. After Ubud we went to Kuta, which was by the beach. The kids took surfing lessons and did really great. Unfortunately we didn’t catch Thomas’ best ride on video. We also went to a mall and got to play video games. Our flight from Bali to Australia was our least favorite so far – we left at 9pm and got to our hotel in Cairns (by the Great Barrier Reef) at about 10am after traveling all night. Then we took a nap.