Bali to Singapore - 18 Feb

This transfer day went very smoothly, other than being unable to contact Sut to advise him our flight was delayed until 9:50am and suggest we meet up a half hour later.  So he met us on time at 7:15am and we were just a bit late finishing breakfast. 

We did have to wait around for a bit at the airport because we were early, but it was nice to check out the shops.  It was interesting to note large ads promoting Inniskillin ice wine from Canada. 

Singapore Airlines also fed us breakfast but with the time change, it seemed like lunch to us.  The flight was uneventful despite flying through cumulonimbus clouds on the descent.  There was a massive armada of cargo ships in the harbour of this world-renowned shipping port.

Singapore is a dynamic city/island/nation of steel and concrete that has undergone tremendous transformation over the past couple of decades, while still maintaining pockets of the past like Chinatown and bugis sailors.  There is a causeway linking Singapore to Johor, Malaysia.  Many parts of Singapore are built on reclaimed land, such as the airport. 

Our hotel the Holiday Inn - Orchard City Centre is located smack-dab in the middle of a busy shopping and entertainment district, so I’m not so sure how much else we will get to see.  We also have Executive Club privileges here as well, so our meals are provided.  Greg needed to get ready for his full day of meetings on Monday, so I enjoyed myself at the gym and pool, before we had dinner. 

Farewell Bali, a true paradise.

Bali - 17 Feb

The day began with an impressive display of thunder and lightning.  But it was short lived and Greg’s idea of getting out of a good jog along the beach, was totally thwarted.  This time we headed out in the opposite direction.  Yes, I hate to admit it but we went “to the right” this time.  ;-)   It was a good choice because we saw some impressive hotels that went on and on and on, right around the point.  These hotels are all within the gated strip of hotels, secured by armed guards.

Breakfast at the Palace Club was amazing.  I tried to be extremely good with the egg white omelet, only to be extremely bad with the whole wheat toast slathered with French butter.  Suppose that ying and yan in my diet are constantly trying to achieve balance. 

There’s a gaggle of geese here that are treated with high esteem.  Once they assemble on the lawn beside the restaurant and bellow loudly, staff run to the supply of dried bread crumbs to quell the bellowing.  It really is quite amusing.  If the staff take ever so long, one brave goose will enter the restaurant as if to say, “hello, we’ve been waiting to be served for at least 30 seconds now.” 

We both ratta-tatted away on our laptops until 1pm or so, when the ocean called to us ever so gently,  reminding us that the outbound tide would commence and our time to enjoy the ocean was quickly slipping away.  We complied.

While lounging ever so lazily by the Indian Ocean, our laziness was interrupted by a watch merchant.  Greg took the bait and perused his way through dozens of watches, all knock offs of course.  Suddenly, he came upon a Rolex watch sporting a blue circumference and he began haggling.  In the end, he paid $25.  Away walked one happy beach merchant and one happy tourist who now has a cheap knock off watch that will likely outlive the two pricey ones he owns.  ;-)

Time for High Tea had arrived, so we headed to the Palace Club for treats and tea.  Afterwards we lingered there well into cocktail hour, when endless drinks and nibbles appear.  I started to feel awkward when cleaned and tidy guests arrived and we were still in our swimwear and t-shirts.  So we slipped out the back, cleaned up and headed out to dinner.

The Chess Club Beach Front restaurant called to us again, but this time we had the seafood extravaganza which was so incredibly delicious.  There’s nothing so soothing like listening to the sea rushing into the shore.  We enjoyed a short walk along the jetty afterwards before turning in.

Sorry this post is rather mundane, but it was a day of rest, and rest we did!

 One fruit I have really enjoyed here is the sweet mangosteen, with white sections hidden behind a very bitter, thick pink/ruby peel. A flower under the fruit shows how many sections will be found in each fruit, which is usually somewhere between five and seven.

 Once you say, "sure, I'll just take a look", it turns into this scene.

 High Tea time

 Do they have to make the treats look so cute?

seafood delights

Bali - 16 Feb

We had a wonderful jog along the beachfront that runs amidst a sea of Bali’s gated hotels.  It is so beautiful, you hardly hear your legs complaining.  After a dip in the pool we headed out in search of a delicious breakfast and were not disappointed.  We lingered at the President’s Club lounge to access the internet.  Greg’s Tilley hat was found by our friends at Deep Sea Diver’s Den and arrangements for getting it back are being discussed.  ;-)  The earring is still lost!  ;-(

We spent a very, very lazy day on the beach.  I was journaling while Greg was deep in engineering thoughts and scribbling away in his notebook.  We were visited periodically by local merchants selling wares such as flowers, shells, fabric/saris, watches, silver jewellery, etc.

Soot arrived at 4pm sharp to take us on a surprise excursion arranged by WorldWide Quest.  Laurielle does enjoy throwing in those added touches, like the 25^th wedding anniversary treats and flowers she sent to us the night before we started our trek up Kilimanjaro.  This time, she arranged for a visit to the Uluwatu Temple located on a Cliffside, 70 meters above the Indian Ocean’s wave crashing over the shoreline.  This was followed by a beachside dinner at the Jimbaran Beach Club’s Beach Bistro Bar.

At the entrance of the Uluwatu Temple, built in the 11^th century, visitors were fitted with sari’s prior to entry and were offered for purchase, food for the monkeys.  Greg and I were provided with purple sarongs with yellow sashes.  We were told to watch our glasses, cameras, jewellery, and just about anything that was not secured to our person.  We took that advice seriously which means that Greg enjoyed a very blurred view of the temple for the most part, clinging dearly to his glasses.  I removed the one earring I have left and tucked it safely inside my camera bag.  Immediately upon entering the temple grounds, visitors are greeted by a receiving line of monkeys awaiting and demanding food.  If one did not provide bits of food immediately, they would try to steal the entire bag of food.  So best to keep it coming!  Should they succeed in obtaining your treasurers, they gladly return it with the offer of food.  Well, it’s more like they free up their hands for treasurers of their own.  Apparently, they can store food in their cheeks (like a hamster), so they keep seeking to expand their stores.

Soot then settled us into the amphitheatre for a Balinese theatrical performance, Kecak Ramayana and Fire Dance.  The coles notes version of this performance which combines ancient ritual, dance, drama, a gorgeous sunset, involves the Rama fulfilling his wife Sita’s request to catch a golden dancing deer.  While he is gone, Sita is kidnapped by Rhawana, the villain and told that Rama is dead.  Bad guys seem to be incapable of attracting women except by force and lies!  Hanoman, a white monkey with magical powers, ends up being the hero, by finding Sita and offering her a ring as a sign that Rama is still alive, just before she commits suicide in despair.  Then, in retaliation Hanoman tries to destroy the palace where Sita was held.  But the palacial giants attempt to burn him to death.  Hanoman escapes the ring of fire and creates mayhem in the village.  On stage, a ring of kindling is set on fire, and the performer jumps out of the ring, wildly kicking the burning kindling all around the stage, in his bare feet.  It was quite dramatic.  At the end Rama and Rhawana meet for a dual.  Rama wins, of course, and is reunited with Sita.  Good guys always seem to win!  During the entire one-hour production a crew of dancers chant and sing from beginning to end.  What extra-ordinary vocal chords they must have.

Afterwards we headed towards Jimbaran beach to the restaurant.  What an exquisite nighttime view of the sea, in a very private atmosphere.  We watched folks and dogs out strolling along the beach.  The menu was extremely tasty; garden salad, mushroom soup, seared tuna steaks entrée, and chocolate mousse to wash it all down. 

Thank you Laurielle and WorldWide Quest for a wonderful, surprise!

 Beach merchants enjoying a rest

 feeding the monkeys is the only way Greg's glasses remain intact

 awwwwww, a cute little baby

 awesome cliff on which the temple was built

 dancers with amazing vocal chords, each wearing a red hybiscus on their right ear

 Hanoman, a white monkey with magical powers

 Greg at Jimbaran Beach Club’s Beach Bistro Bar

Ubud to Bali (and Mt Batur hike) - 15 Feb

The wake-up call for our Mt. Batur hike was right on time, 2:30am sharp.  We scrambled around and were in the lobby promptly for our 3am pick-up.  From Xtreme Adventure Travel, Suardana, our guide and Dewa, our driver were very reassuring when it started raining about 5 minutes into the trip.  Apparently at our destination the sky was clear and star-filled.  And sure enough it was indeed.

Dewa left us and a second guide (whose name we forgot) showed met up with us.  We attached our headlamps and gloves, and set out in the pitch darkness.  The hike was not difficult, but it was very steep with skree-filled sections.  Both guides insisted on holding our hands over certain areas of the hike and this was prevalent with other hikers on the hill, so we went along with it.  However, it would have been much easier to balance with both arms free rather than one being steadied straight up in the air above us.  We passed by many dry-crop areas along the way where tomatoes, onions, chilis, sweet potato and other crops were growing.  It was difficult to get a good look at anything in the pitch dark.  Nevertheless, we plugged along the 1.5 hour steep trail and reached the summit before the sunrise.  It was awesome watching the sun come up, given that it was unclear if we would actually see the sunrise with all the clouds dancing their way along the summit.  So we were lucky they disappeared long enough for us to capture some great shots up there.

The descent did wear our knees out a bit, but it wasn’t anything comparable to Pico Turquino in Cuba.  We stopped part way down at a little hiking trail café and enjoyed some eggs, bread, fruit, and if you can believe it, lattes.  Along the way, some feral dogs (a mom and 2 pups) followed along and we fed them some eggs from our hotel-packed boxed breakfast.  The little black pup was quite assertive, stealing eggs from his nursing mother.  At the café were a troop of monkeys looking for bits and bobs of food and any chance to pick your pockets.  In a daring theft, one monkey grabbed a hiker’s bottle of coke, only set down for a moment, took off with it, gulping every last drop, before discarding the bottle down the volcano.  Now that was awesomely comical.

Before long we were at the base again and heading back to the hotel, enjoying the villages, farms and people along the way.  We encountered a traffic jam resulting from a truck carrying a load of volcano sand veered off the road into the ditch.  Within moments, villagers and other drivers came to his rescue by digging the sand out of his truck and digging him out of the ditch.  By the time we passed by the scene, which was quickly under the command of police, the driver was laughing and trying to get his truck started.  Now that’s what I call teamwork and community.

One of the most amazing hillside rice paddies we’ve seen so far, was in the village of Tegalalang.  It was just breathtaking.

Back at the Samaya, we had some lattes and juice before packing up and very, very sadly saying farewell.

Soot arrived right on time to transfer us to our hotel in Bali.  He spent a lot of time explaining his spiritual journey and how the pieces fit together so well between the physical and spirit worlds.  Although I was fading in and out of sleep along the way, his description was very similar to the Mohawk 7 stages of the soul teaching.

ur Bali hotel, the Nusa Dua Beach Resort and Spa was just incredible.  We were booked in President’s Club suites which gave us privileges in the club lounge where our meals were served and free internet was available 24 hours per day.  The courtyard where tea and meals were served was just amazingly lush and finely manicured.  The hotel gave us an upgrade to the honeymoon suite which is huge and luxurious with a dining room (including a cappuccino maker), living room, bedroom, bathroom, and powder room, with a furnished double balcony.  Wow, even if we don’t have our own pool here.  The room has a view of the pool and beach.

We settled in a bit and checked out the grounds before heading to the lounge for tea.  Ginger tea and a selection of tiny sandwiches and what seemed to be endless petit fours.  Really!  We have so few clothes with us and little margin for gaining any girth, but “what the heck” we wouldn’t miss an afternoon tea for anything.

In the evening, we were invited to the Manager’s Welcome reception where we met the Manager and other guests while being served endless drinks and hors d’oeuvres.  Now that was quite a treat and I just wanted to retire afterwards, seeing as we had been up since 2:30am!  But Greg was still peckish, so we had an ocean patio seafood salad at the Chess Club Beach Front restaurant.  Unfortunately, we were seated beside some rambunctious conference participants.  Okay, maybe I am getting old, seeing that loud and inebriated young folks talking gibberish interferes with my ability to hear Greg’s ramblings.  Okay, I am getting old because my hearing is going, not because young folks are having fun.

at summit of Mount Batir just in time for sunrise

Our guides; Suardana and ?

stolen Coke tastes so much better

 Mount Batur

 Awesome rice paddy in Tegalalang 

Ubud - 14 Feb

The day started out with a lovely dip in the pool and a bit or organizing before heading up to the Swept restaurant for breakfast; fresh pressed juices, lattes, smoked salmon, salami, fresh bread and buns, cheeses, and jams.

We were a bit late getting on with our daytrip in a fire-engine red jeep, but Soot and our driver (who turned out to be his brother) was very accommodating.  He was a storehouse of knowledge about Bali’s landscape, people, religions, and way of life.  He explained about education system and how the early preschoolers attend school in the morning and the high school students then use the same school in the afternoons, both getting about 5 hours of instruction per day.

The tall curved bamboo poles decorated with coconut leaves with little square offering containers at the base in front of every house are penjors.  They are erected by Hindus in Bali as part of almost every important ceremony.  They are offerings to the God in His manifestation as Hyang Giri Pati (the God of the mountain) to continue sustaining them.  According to the Sri Jaya Kasunu manuscript, the penjor symbolizes the mountain and the mountain itself is the symbol of the universe. Therefore, for the Balinese the penjor is synonymous with Mount Agung, the highest and holiest mountain in Bali.

Every 210 days, the Galungun Holy Day celebration is held.  It is an event where the Balinese honor their ancestors and pray for their departed souls.  Held once in every 210 days, one Balinese Year, the Galungan Holy Day in Bali is the day when the ancestors descend into the family temples, and are feted.  Another interesting practice is that Balinese babies do not touch the ground for their first Balinese year (210 days) of life. 

Our first stop was a visit to the Royal Temple of Mengwe built in 1634 to serve the Mengwe family.  It was surrounded by a moat, multi-roofed shrines and detailed carved wooden gates.

Although we did see numerous accumulations of garbage on the side of the road, some of which were being incinerated, it was interesting to note the recycling efforts for plastic and glass.

We barrelled down the road through small villages were we saw tons of rice paddies and dry-crop farms.  The rice paddies require constant, flowing water originating from the volcanoes, and every so often, they drain the paddy and switch it to dry-crops to prevent depletion of nutrients favoured by the rice plants.  In the mountains sported scars of a recent typhoon such as uprooted trees, fallen bamboo shoots, and landslides, of which the evidence was being cleared.

Our second stop of the day was a short hike to see the Munduk waterfall.  We saw numerous fruit trees along the way as well as coffee, cloves, eucalyptus and avocado.  The waterfall was very beautiful and some people were swimming in the pool below.  At the base of the waterfall, there was a face carved into the rock.

Okay, for those of you who enjoyed the movie “Bucket List”, there really is an Indonesian Palm Civet cat in these mountains that eats coffee cherries along with the beans.  It’s not really a cat but rather a member of the mongoose family and looks a bit like a ferret.  The beans are not digested, but the casing is fermented inside the cat, resulting in a tasty coffee bean.  The coffee beans are then collected from the forest floor and are rumoured to cost $175 American per pound.  Yum yum!

We continued along to the Bendugal area in the central highlands and stopped for lunch at the Warung Coffee Shop (Ngiring Ngewedang) which was equipped as a WiFi hotspot.  Greg enjoyed a Bintang beer with lunch and I enjoyed a delicious lemon ginger tea.  A short way from the restaurant, we stopped to enjoy a wonderful view of 2 of the highland’s 4 lakes.

Onward we pressed to Lake Bratan where we walked around Ulun Danu Temple and the park grounds surrounding it.  Again, more eye candy with intricate and detailed architecture with multi-roofed shrines and lush tropical gardens.  We took a motorized boat ride around the lake where we passed by the Bedugal Wuna Villas, accessible only by boat and available for $90/night.

One pose that seems quite popular with the tourists is standing in front of a temple and being photographed while their legs are off the ground.  Not sure why this is, but it does take several attempts to get that perfect shot.

Back at the hotel we ordered afternoon tea service, poolside in our villa.  Ginger tea and an assortment of mini sandwiches and treats arrived before I had a chance to change into my swimsuit and get into the pool.  Candle light added to the “Valentine” flavour of the day.

I enjoyed a refreshing pedicure at the Spa just before dinner and it took longer than anticipated.  But Greg, being the good sport he is, waited for me at the Swept Away restaurant sipping on beer and or two really wondering if I was going to stand him up.  It’s always good to keep them guessing I suppose!  So our 7pm reservation started closer to 8pm.

The Valentine’s Dinner was so over the top, just like everything else around this hotel; sparkling wine, poached prawns, foie gras, white asparagus, sorbet, lamb, lobster, and mouse.  The Manager, Wayan Sumabara, dropped by to see how we were enjoying the dinner and was pleased to know we thought it was extraordinary.  Apparently they served this very meal at New Year’s as well and thought they would offer it as a special Valentine’s day treat as well.  Upon the server’s advice, we opted for the Balinese rose rather than the white.  It was delicious and surprisingly dry and it was a good coordinating colour on this Cupid’s favourite day.

We turned in promptly after dinner because our wake up call at 2:30am was not a long way off.

 Royal Temple of Mengwe built in 1634

 Royal Temple of Mengwe built in 1634

 traditional bamboo roof uses no nails

 awesome rice paddy

 at the Munduk waterfall

 a penjor

 at the Ulun Danu Temple on Lake Bratan

A very special Valentine's Dinner - our 29th one together!

Cairns to Darwin to Bali to Ubud - 13 Feb

This was mainly a travel day.  We packed up and headed to the airport around 11am.  The cab driver gave us some good tips for Indonesia; like how folks appreciate tips in Australian dollars and coins and how monkeys will pick pocket you.

I lost one of my earrings, likely in the Cairns airport.  I figure I brushed it out of my ear while brushing my hair.  Oh well, it happens.  Greg lost his Tilley hat somewhere on the trip back from the reef either on the SeaQuest or in the transfer van.

We spent over 4 hours in the Darwin airport and surprisingly the time went by quite quickly.  I tried to upload some pictures to DropBox but the internet was extremely slow so synching may take awhile. 

We are a bit excited about this leg of our journey because the potential for language barriers and faux pas of local customs begins.  Okay, so knowing that one does not use the left hand to give or receive, handshaking is customary for both genders, crooking your finger to call someone is unacceptable, and smiling is the national pastime, we anticipate other customs will be drawn to our attention should we act uncustomarily (is that a word?).  

Wayan Soot our guide was waiting for us at the airport, around 10pm, and we were very glad to not be driving in Bali.  Scooters, trucks, cars and pedestrians all compete for space on the road.  There is a complex system of honking to notify competitors of your intentions so everyone is on the same page and collisions are avoided, despite the tight negotiations for space.

We arrived at the Samaya Resort and Spa in Ubud within an hour to an incredibly warm reception.  Check in was a breeze and we were taken on a tour of the facility via the golf cart shuttle, up an down steep walkways.  The hotel is built on the side of a hill along side a river.  Upon entering our villa, with jaws dropped, we were then given the tour of our villa.  The facilities were over the top with a spacious living area and bedroom combined, a large bathroom with whirlpool tub, his and hers sinks, closets, shower and commode rooms.  But the real surprise was that our living room opened up to our own personal pool, patio, and large daybed, all surrounded by lush tropical plants and trees.  After a description of the activities and facilities available for our use, we immediately regretted our decision to only spend 2 nights here with a full slate of our own activities.  How we wished we had opted to stay longer.  So we wasted no time finding our swimsuits and jumping into the pool before retiring.

Cairns - 12 Feb

This was a day off from tourism with no trips planned and no adventures to seek.  I blogged and Greg worked until the afternoon heat beckoned us to the pool where we cooled off and got a tiny bit of exercise. 

We had an excellent Skype conversation with Aidan and Andrea who are in Belleville for the weekend.  He is standing on his own now and still chirping da-da-da-da, despite mom-mom-mom being the apple of his eye!

We headed out to a nearby Laundromat because our hotel washer was out of order.  The Laundromat was operated by an Aboriginal woman who told us of a trip she took to Missouri where someone thought she was from Calgary.  Can you imagine?  With an Aussie accent?

Feeling a bit peckish and needing to kill some time while the clothes were washing, we ducked into the local Domino’s Pizza for a small low-fat pepperoni and cheese pizza (really, is there such a thing?).

We took a nice walk along the promenade in search of a good restaurant for dinner.  There’s so many to choose from and we got slightly distracted at the Night Market.  Eventually we chose the Rattle n Hum bar and grill.   I had the salt and pepper calamari with salad and Greg had a reef and beef salad. 

The weather is just amazing although near the top of the “hot” meter.  But we are enjoying it so much more after talking to Drew who is shivering in minus 30 in Ottawa.  It’s all about perspective. 

After wading in the Lagoon, an enormous salt-water pool on the promenade, we headed back to the hotel and said farewell to Cairns.