Arrive in Denpasar, Bali (airport code DPS) on this day.  You will be met by our local representative and transferred to the hotel in Ubud.  We meet for the first time as a group in the lobby of the hotel at 5:30pm followed by our welcome dinner.

After breakfast, we visit the Elephant Cave.  This is the site of an ancient temple that dates back to the 11th century.  It is believed it was built as a place for spiritual meditation, and it was rediscovered by Dutch archeologists in 1923.  Following lunch, we drive to a famous coffee plantation offering the most expensive coffee in the world.  Luwak Coffee is made from the droppings of the palm civet, a cat-sized mammal native to Asia.  The plantation has free coffee tasting if you dare to try it!  You can also photograph beautiful rice terraces across the valley from the plantation.

Before breakfast, and before other tourists start their day, we drive a short distance to photograph another beautiful rice terrace in Tegallalang.  After a leisurely breakfast, we then enjoy a performance of a uniquely stylized Balinese barong dance.  The costuming, the makeup, and the fascinating choregraphy will keep you captivated.  In the afternoon, we visit the Tirta Empul water temple which was founded in 962 A.D.  Balinese Hindus come here for ritual purification.

We have an early breakfast this morning, and then we driving to the Monkey Forest Sanctuary.  The long-tailed macaques are plentiful, and you will love photographing the mothers and babies.  At the bottom of the long dragon staircase, we will have two Balinese dancers model for us in various poses in this stunning jungle environment.  You’ll love this!  Afterwards, we continue to the famous Ubud art market where you will see how truly creative the Balinese people are in batik, wood carving, jewelry making, stone sculpting, painting, and more.  In the afternoon, we visit the beautiful Ubud Palace.

After breakfast, we drive about 1 hour and 45 minutes to photograph the Ulun Danu temple that was built in 1633.  The temple is used for offerings to the Balinese goddess of water, lakes, and rivers.  In the afternoon, we return to the hotel where you have the rest of the day at leisure to enjoy the amenities of the hotel or to do some exploring on your own.

This morning we will enjoy a cooking class with a local chef.  We go to a Balinese traditional market to select food for the class, and this is a great opportunities to photograph the local people.  The people in Bali are absolutely the sweetest you’ll ever meet, and they will be so happy to be photographed.  We then go back to the hotel where we will learn traditional Balinese cooking.  After the lesson in exotic cuisine, we visit Celuk village which is known for making gold and silver jewelry and handicrafts.