DAY 1
We arrived in Bali around noon, and this is the view we got, as we were approaching the dock. Hundreds of boats and lots of parasailers. The weather was hot and humid. Today was our first of three days in Bali. Bali is a relatively small island shaped like a chicken laying an egg. It is home to 5.6 million people, almost all of whom practice the Hindu religion. This is interesting in that Bali is part of Indonesia, the fourth most populated country in the world, where 95% of the population is Muslim.
Here are some of my impressions of Bali. The traffic is insane. You have motor scooters, weaving in and out around the cars but yet no one gets angry and no one gets cut off. You see families on a scooter with two adults and two or three kids and maybe a dog or some groceries. Most people seem to wear helmets. In my trips through the town, there are millions of statuary stores. There are stone statues, concrete statues, ceramic statues – – there are statues everywhere. These are a very religious people who practice Hinduism. The infrastructure is extremely old , and a lot of the store fronts look like they should be condemned. The beaches are lovely.
As we got off the ship, this was what was on the dock to greet us. They serenaded us with music and dance. Today I went into the terminal to test my QR code which is what they use to get you through immigration. You just go on their website and scan in a QR code on your phone and you’re good to go. We haven’t encountered this anywhere else. So we went into the terminal and last time we were here there were a bunch of shops. But today there was only one and I found a dress which I will show later. I decided not to go on the included tour because I had done it and have no desire to do it again and it’s hot. I spent the afternoon knitting.
This is Michael talking: my excursion today was to the Garuda Vishnu, Kencana (GVK) cultural park in the Uuluwatu Temple, and it was most enjoyable. The Uluwatu Temple is located atop a Rocky promontory 230 feet above the ocean and this 11th century shrine is one of Bali’s most sacred. The view is spectacular, but what made it particularly interesting were the wild monkeys.
They are everywhere and a more scraggly bunch of vicious monkeys you have never seen. Even though our small group of 12 was pre-warned not to wear hats or glasses or any jewelry, no sooner did we get there than one of the monkeys stole one of our guest's hat, and another ones glasses. To prevent an attack from the monkeys on the guests themselves, we were trailed by a woman with a slingshot who would snap it at the monkeys anytime they came close and this actually worked.
The monkeys are much smarter than the keepers give them credit for. What happens after a monkey steals something is that the keepers then give him some food which distracts him and he drops the item he stole, which can then be retrieved. What the keepers don’t seem to get is that they have trained the monkeys to become thieves, so that they could trade in their stolen goods for food. Anyway, we managed to get through the excursion without a single monkey death, although climbing about 150 stairs in hot, humid weather was a different kind of death.
Next, we traveled to GVK. This cultural park is dedicated to the Hindu God, Vishnu, and home to the largest statues in southeast Asia. Most imposing, was a 21 story tall monument to Garuda, a mythical bird, who was Vishnu‘s companion. The exterior of the statue which rests upon a large pillar, is made of copper and brass sheeting, and is crowned with gold mosaics. There are many other smaller statues in this park which is used for major events. We even had a chance to see a dance in the amphitheater, which held hundreds of people.
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| Vishnu |
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| Garuda, Vishnu’s companion |
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| Garuda |
Uluwatu Temple |
DAY 2
Michael here: today I took the included tour, which was a visit to a very large market in the capital of Bali, Denpasar, followed by a visit to a Hindu museum and temple. I thought the market was very interesting: I saw fruits, spices, and any number of handmade items I have never seen anywhere before, and it was all quite well organized. Other people saw rotting chickens and rats all over the place, but somehow I managed to miss that. The museum and temple were very interesting but by the time we got there, it was so hot and humid that I actually had to break down and buy a fan. Keep in mind that I was also dressed in a sarong at this point, because you were not allowed to wear shorts at a Hindu temple, so a young woman put me into a very colorful sarong
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| Fan and skirt- what a fashionista |
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| Chicken feet |
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| Pea pods |
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| Statues that were part of the celebration |
I went on a dinner tour to a bird park. Yes, you read that right. Here is the description: dine al fresco and enjoy a spectacular ritual kecak dance show at Bali Bird Park. The park plays a key role in protecting and conserving the endangered avian population of Indonesia, which is home to more than 250 species. Enjoy a delicious traditional Indonesian dinner in the open air with native birds providing a natural soundtrack to your meal. Then witness a fascinating performance of the kecak, a ritual dance that recounts an epic tale from the Hindu Ramayana. On a stage lit only by torches, men chant and sway in a trance like rhythm, while colorfully costume dancers weave their way among them to tell the story.
I had been here four years ago and witnessed the same thing. But the one thing I was curious about was the birds. The blue and yellow macaw caught my interest back then, and I was wondering if maybe, perhaps he might have remembered me. Probably not, but maybe he liked my dress. He was one noisy bird! I wasn’t sure what I was eating as everything was written in Balinese. And since I had seen the show previously, I was more interested in taking pictures of the birds, so I left early.
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| This was four years ago |
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| Kecak dance |
