Bali, Indonesia: Day 58 & 59

December 06, 2023

Since the Indonesian islands parallel the equator, we’ve had a full week of un-relenting heat and
humidity. (sorry) December begins their rainy months, so we’ve had one deluge and some threatening
clouds, but have been lucky thus far. The clouds helped with a spectacular sunset that we’re happy to
share with you.

The ship overnighted in Bali, which allowed more time to see their sights. We sailed in at noon on the
first day, allowing for lots of photos of the beaches and the fun people were already having. Wanting to
take our time and look around, we bargained for a taxi to take us to a shopping mall where there were
some stores we have back home intermingled with some exquisite locally made batiks. The heavens
opened wide while we drove, causing the ever-present motorbikes to pull over and don their rain
ponchos. The 3-4 inches of accumulated water didn’t phase them. By the time we finished shopping,
the rain had lessened; a few miles closer to the ship, the pavement was dry. Huh.

Retaking senior photos?

Our second day was pure eye candy. Bali is 90-100% Hindu (we were told days earlier that Indonesia

was mostly Islamic, but that the Hindi had fled to Bali) and the evidence was in each village and along
every street. Very little space exists between homes. Families build their own altars or extended
temples alongside their homes, so the streets look like one long wall of temples. Our guide explained
that their culture is communal: many family units live in one home and some homes have more than
one kitchen so they don’t always eat together, and any time there is a “celebration” (birth, wedding,
funeral, festival, etc.), then the family invites the community to join them. Yes, the family furnishes the
food. Yes, it’s quite expensive. Our 43-y.o. guide was careful to say that the expenses usually got out of hand and there was little opportunity to get out of the cultural funnel even though he had a good salary and owned his own SUV for tour guiding. He hinted at moving out of Bali but knew he never could…

Entrance to painting studio

We had a private tour today so we could just about go anywhere. First stop was a waterfalls about an
hour away. Road repairs meant that the plethora of motor scooters, the buses, the trucks, and the
many cars had very little space to navigate and progress was slower. There are no sidewalks, so the
storefronts of the villages we drove through were almost within reach if we rolled down the windows.
Handicrafts (large wood engravings, batiks, woven straw goods of every shape and size, artistic
paintings, etc.) lined the storefronts hoping that cars or buses would somehow stop and somehow park
to bargain with them. My eyes couldn’t track the abundance of product. Our guide said that some of
that product was exported.

Waterfall with Restaurant and Pool

Waterfall offering called Two Dragons

Waterfall with many alters and offerings

Bali has turned into a paradise for adventure-seekers and outdoor enthusiasts. Not only because of the
beach resorts, but for the hiking (mountains inland offer hikes to see sunrise at top), white water rafting,
bicycling, etc. Evidence of this is seen at many of our tourist stops where large swings take you as high as you wish to fly. No, we didn’t.

Here is an example of a swing

What did we see after the waterfalls?
 Rice terraces (our guide said, ”It’s just for show. Machines can’t get there so the harvest is hard.
Rice is grown now on flat surfaces.”)

 A woodcarving studio and gallery with intricate religious designs and flowing modern designs.

 A batik factory and gallery where two looms beat rhythms as three other women used their wax
guns to paint onto fabric for batiks.

 A small coffee plantation with a “beer flight” of 15 different samples of hot tea, coffee, and
cocoa.

Drink Flight with guide

The caption that came with the photo is "Special coffee. Too yucky to explain the process."
Now I have questions.....

 The oldest Buddhist temple in Bali, dating back to 700 AD. An earthquake in early 90s took down some of the oldest area of the structure, but the stones are lovingly piled nearby in a museum-type area.