Pura Taman Ayun means the temple of the beautiful garden, and it is a royal temple surrounded by a wide moat. The rajas of Mengwi built it in 1634, as the main temple of their small kingdom, and the broad lawns, canals and pavilions give it the air of a palace garden as much as a shrine. Across the inner courtyard rise the merus, shrines with tiered thatched roofs of black ijuk fibre, some with as many as eleven levels, which represent mountains and the homes of the gods. The temple lies in the middle of a district of rice fields, and it is part of the Subak cultural landscape that UNESCO listed in 2012, because the water for those fields is managed by village irrigation societies, the subak, which have been sharing it for a thousand years.
You can see the system at work in the countryside around. Water runs from the crater lakes down through canals, tunnels and little weirs, and each farmer gets a share fixed by custom and by the priests of the water temples. The rice terraces step down the slopes in curves, and the whole landscape looks both natural and designed. Ubud, a little to the north-east, is better known for its artists and cafes, and Tabanan, close by, is a market town in the middle of Bali's rice bowl.
The riding in Bali is a lively business. Roads are narrow, crowded with scooters, trucks and temple processions, and the surface is often cracked or flooded. Traffic keeps to the left. Dogs, chickens and offerings of flowers and rice lie in the road, and you should not run over the offerings if you can help it. You need a licence valid for motorcycles in Indonesia, and the police do check. The best riding is in the early morning, when the air is cool and the rice fields glitter, and the dry season, May to September, is easier than the wet.
Fuel is sold at petrol stations in Tabanan and Denpasar, and at roadside stalls in glass bottles. Dress modestly for the temple and wear a sash, which is lent at the entrance, and move around the grounds quietly. Mengwi is a short ride from the coast, and the sunset at Tanah Lot, a sea temple on a rock, is a short drive west. Try a plate of nasi campur and a fresh coconut, and watch the ducks being herded through the paddies.