Adventures of Beth and Dan: “You don’t need MAGIC to disappear. All you need is a DESTINATION .” Unknown

Bali is part of Indonesia. Indonesia has 10,000 islands. The area around the port was dirty and heavily congested with very poor looking shacks and buildings. Many of our stewards and ship workers live here and will get to visit their homes and families. We can certainly see why they choose to work away from home. It is a democratic country. There are 4.5 million people in Bali. There are two active volcanoes on the island. Right now people are evacuated around 6 meters of the volcano that is causing the most concern. It is becoming less threatening. We are within the Ring of Fire with earthquakes and volcanoes. There are 2 million motor bikes in Bali. As with other countries whole families will ride on them at once. Insurance here is expensive and doesn’t always pay when you have an accident. We docked at Bali at 4 am today. It was raining and foggy. We headed to several temples with a private tour. We gave our steward the day off and also part of the room tips we would have given him at the end of the cruise. The biggest industry here is tourism. More than half of the people work in the tourism sector. Most people eat rice three times a day and their rice is imported now from Vietnam and Thailand. Most of the island is Hindu. Bali used to be owned by the British, Dutch and Japanese. The first tourism was established in 1920 with a cruise ship coming with tourists. The airport was built in 1969 so before then people really only came by ship or boat. Every home or business has a spirit pole. This is to ward off evil spirits and to be displayed during celebrations. They are unique and often times colorful. All buildings in Bali must meet their traditional style so no hotels can be taller than a coconut tree. Every village has three temples in them. Our first stop is a Brahma temple. Each house has a small temple and they pray three times a day. Almost every home has a dog! They say it is for security. Bali has a big kite festival in August to celebrate their independence. We have to wear sarongs for the temple and they will provide them for us.

We toured the Elephant Cave Temples. The elephant is a sign of good luck and good fortune. This temple area which was discovered

by Dutch in the 30’s. It was used by the royal family in the cave part to store items they used for worship and also an alter was located within the deepest part of the cave. There were also ornate fountains in the outside courtyard used for bathing. After this temple we headed to the Spice Garden where they make and sell herbal teas and coffees. The grounds were located above beautiful lush rice fields. There was a tasting area where they served us a sampling of their teas and coffee. They also showed us how they make the Civet coffee.. this small animal eats a coffee bean and then their digestive system dissolved the first hard core layer. Then they excrete the seed and they harvest it and cook that remaining coffee seed to make this unique coffee which is very expensive to buy. While we were walking in the area Dan found Locust casings and people in our tour were amazed. The guide told us in Bali they have the endangered bird the White Starling. He said you would not find it in the area we were in. After the two temples and spice garden we were taken to an Indonesian open air restaurant. The area was nice but the meal was duck and it wasn’t very much or tasty. We were hounded by locals everywhere we went selling trinkets, sarongs and souvenirs. Our group decided we were done with temples and several wanted to be taken to a craft market area so off we went. Our tour was in a crowded 15 passenger van and not comfortable for Dan and I as we were smashed in the very back seat so when we finally arrived back at the port during a rain storm we were happy to get out and get back on the ship. Our next day would be a sea day and then Komodo Island.

Wearing outmr sarongs so we can get into the temple!!

Spirit poles

Very ornate temples decorated for celebrations and offerings

Some buddahas have open mouths and even teeth showing

Some appear feminine

Very colorful

These petals were fragrant and everywhere in pinks, white and yellow. A old woman was sweeping them and collecting them to give to others to use as an offering.