Tirta Ganga

The old water palace of Karagasem of Bali. Blackie Montana and I went on an adventure. I've known Blackie for three years now. Time flies. I like to tease him and call him Casanova, because he let his hair grow out since the last time I saw him, which was in February.

Before we hit up the water palace, I was on a misson to try to find a really cool ring for my grandmother at Budhakeling. The old jewelry district of Bali. Apparently the tour guide book is wrong. There is no abundance of jewels. Apparently I need to go to Gianyar, which is too far. Oh, well. Next time. So, then we hit the road to Tirta Ganga. The last Rajan of Karangasem built the elaborate water palace as his weekend retreat. Complete with views of Mount Agung, and the ocean. Tucked away amongst all the rice fields. It is beautiful. The pools of cool fresh water are rejuvenating against the intense tropical heat. Did I mention that there are little fish swimming with you. Apparently they clean the water and filter all the moss that grows in there. The water tastes really fresh. Blackie and I played cards, went for a swim, and just bull shitted around. It was fun. As good as his english is, we still have a good laugh at the language barrier. He's a good friend, great surfer, and always has a smile on his face. He's always encouraging me to push myself out in the line up and is happy to watch me catch waves. Secretly though...sometimes, I think he just likes to watch me eat shit on a big wave and come up with big gogglie eyes.