The Neka museum, like the Agung Rai, is contained in a collection of attractive buildings set among lush, well-groomed grounds. And like the Agung Rai, it's all art with a Bali theme.

Building one (of seven) starts out the tour with large paintings full of immense detail and depicting the lives of the Balinese people. Some are classic scenes --- temples, cremations, offerings, bathing bare-breasted women, etc. --- but the most fun ones include modern components, such as tourists with cameras and police raiding illegal cockfights. One painting features a plane that landed in the water, a true story, and shows people crawling out and islanders coming to the rescue.

While we were hiking yesterday I talked to a couple of fellows who were busy working on large pieces that fit this genre. Both told me it took them many months to get in all the details. Just wish I'd room to throw one in my luggage.

As you proceed through the museum the art and occasional sculpture evolves into more traditional subjects, such as pretty women (or men). Most of the art dates to the past fifty or so years and shows influences from European styles. It is all quite beautiful, it's cheap at about $7 Canadian, and it is a good way to spend a couple of hours. If only the buildings were air conditioned.