Beautiful Bali

The whole object of travel is not to set foot on foreign land; it is at last to set foot on this part of one's own earth. -- Gilbert K. Chesterton

Bali.. even the name is exotic.. and the place is even better. We got two whole days in heaven. There are no words to describe how GREAT it is to be in Bali after the train-ride, no-sleep trek across Java. The first morning we slept in late (which, on this trip, means we did not get out of bed until 8 AM….WOW). It was delicious. Then we set off to explore Bali. A few highlights from our adventures:
A. Sanur: a small seaside town with lots of westerners. We rented bikes and rode around the city. It felt great to be mobile even if the bikes did not have working gears or great brakes (and stopping meant putting down your feet and grinding your shoes on the pavement). We rode to a beach for lunch and then took a boat out to the reef and went snorkeling. There were so many fish that it was like swimming through a crowded Indian train station of fish. The fish were actually touching you because there were so many of them. Last stop was to a spa for a “fish pedicure” where we put our feet into an aquarium and little fish ate all of the dried skin off our toes and heels and sucked on the skin to bring blood into our feet. It is the oddest experience – part tickly, part sucking feeling, mainly bizarre. But it does make your feet feel better once it is over.

B. Katu: Another seaside city where we had to find the memorial for the 2002 bombing. You might remember than in October of 2002, terrorists bombed a popular tourist night club in Bali and killed over 300 people (almost a third of which were Australians). In that spot, they built a memorial which lists all of the names of the dead and people bring flowers and small mementos to the shrine. The day before, family of an Australian couple who died in the fire, had left photos and flowers in memory of this couple. It was very sobering.

C. Elephant Camp: We visited the elephant camp where a couple (husband from Australia and wife from Bali) went out and rescued almost a dozen sick and diseased elephants from the logging camps of Sumatra and brought then to Bali. They created a beautiful reserve for the elephants and you can visit to feed the elephants, ride them, take them into the pond for a swim… interact with them. It was fun.

D. Monkey Temple: We visited an Indiana Jones style temple in the middle of the rain forest in Ubud that is literally covered with monkeys. You buy fruit and bananas on your way into the forest and the monkeys clamber all over you to take (or steal) the food. In fact you have to put everything into your bag and zip it up of the naughty monkeys will steal your hat or sunglasses or anything in our hands. There were tons of baby monkeys playing and scampering about and they would come right up to you and hold your hand and take the bananas right from you.

E. Massage: And highlight of the trip… I got a massage at our hotel which was the most luxurious, elegant, unbelievable experience. Each massage table is in a private bungalow on the river where you hear the

waterfall and babbling water as the background to the massage. When I arrived they gave me sugar tea and a sweet cookie and then a beautiful and gentle woman poured warm oil all over me and gently rub out all of my aches and pains. It ends – 90 minutes later- with her putting me into a Jacuzzi, feeding me chilled fresh fruit and putting a cool clothe on my head… while I watched the river stream by in my own private piece of heaven. And the bill: $61. I am sooooo coming back to this island. It is wonderful.
Our next stop is Singapore for a 7 hour lay-over on our way to Mumbai, India. We are going to get the book of Singapore scavenges when we land and will have only limited time to get as much done as we can. Then off to India. I’ve never been to Mumbai (formerly Bombay) so really looking forward to it.

Observations from Indonesia
#1: On top of the volcano

(Mount Bromo), it is cold in the morning so we had to pile on the clothes. Nice change from the heat of Yogyakarta. While

the trip to get there is beyond awful (and actually

the worse travel experience I’ve ever had), the actual climb is very doable (nothing like Adam’s Peak in Sri Lanka

which we had to climb last year) and the sunrise is memorable.
#2: Squat toilets are horrific and are the most likely cause of chronic voluntary constipation in South East Asia. Why does Korea have great toilets with heated seats and

a short flight away in Indonesia you still have to squat down over a hole in the ground?

#3: Unless you are Indonesian

it is hard to look anything but goofy in the temple sarongs that you must wear to enter any temple. Western men just cannot seem to get the hang of walking in a

skirt.

#4: The Balinese people are kind

and gentle. They truly welcome you to their island and they take the concept of service to a new level.#5: In every square inch – literally – of Bali is a sacred statue, shrine, temple or some piece of wood or stone that has been carved within an inch of its life into something creative, scary or beautiful.

It makes the whole island an adventure in sensory overload as everywhere you look, there is something incredible to see . Each year one country grabs my heart and this year, it is Bali.