Long Day Walkin'

A casual morning it was indeed. Rising around 7:30 and having coffee, cereal and toast with Mr. Hartung. (To avoid any confusion, Mr. Hartung's father left early this morning, so I will simply be reffering to Richard...) Anyway, toast, cereal, coffee... Mr. Hartung gave me a small travel guide for Singapore, which I proceeded to read through over breakfast, while talking about thoughts and options for the day. Margaret joined us and gave me enough time to finish reading through the guide, and spend some time looking at a map. I looked up the locations of a number of sites we'd talked about and we came up with a plan on how to best fill our day.

Our first stop was the Jurong Bird Park. It is one of the largest in the world, home to over 600 species of birds. We were lucky with timing too, and we were able to attend 2 different shows. First however, we entered past the penguin exhibit. As many people know... I do love my penguins. So, the day was already off to a good start. Then, just around the bend we made our way to the first show, Fuji World of Hawks. Simply put... it was a hawk show. But we saw a variety of hawks, eagles, falcons and vultures all doing their own unique tricks. They varied from flipping rocks for food to catching bugs in the air, to swooping over heads of the audience. If nothing else... they are simply stunningly handsome birds.

Following that we had a bit of time to kill so we saw most of the water birds in the park. That list included a variety of flamingos, pelicans, swans and ducks. We also passed by the "African Grasslands" where there were many species of storks and herons. This led to one of my favorite moments when a stork on the monorail decided to play chicken with said monorail. It lost... not because it got hit but because he swerved first... Moving on, we then headed over to the central amphitheater for the Birds n Buddies Show. This was basically a non-birds-of-prey bird show. We saw Macaws fly through hoops, a cockatoo basically play fetch, two parrots race in collecting fruits, and a different type of parrot sing happy birthday to the crowd. It had a few aspects geared much more to small children, but it was still a lot of fun to watch the birds preform.

To keep things brief, we saw tons of parrots, toucans and great numbers of other various tropical birds. Other groups included birds of prey and the bald eagle, kingfishers, owls and more. The park is also home to a 30 meter man-made waterfall and included avery... though I found that section underwhelming. On the way out we stopped for lunch and each had some curry laksa. While the name is derived from chinese (I think) it is very popular here and can be considered a Singaporean dish. It was tasty and had just the right amount of spice to it.

We then headed into more cultural parts of the city, starting with Chinatown. According to Richard, the ethnic centers are a big part of the culture to the city. Anyway, in many ways the local Chinatown looks much like the Chinatown in any number of other cities. That said it still had the ability to appear stunningly clean and organized the way Singapore seems to do so well. Our first stop was Sri Mariamman Temple, one of the local Hindu temples. Having just been to Bali, the contrast between style in Hindu temples was Huge! While in Bali most temples seemed comprised of spires and were colored by black ash stone... this temple was elaborately painted. Every sculpture and every building surface seemed to be covered in as much color as possible. While it was so different from the Bali temples, it was still pretty in its own regard.

From there we saw Thian Hock Kent Temple and Wak Hai Cheng Bio Temple. They looked more similar so I will not describe them independently. They both had walls and roof lines crested with ornately carved decorations of men and dragons. Both were colorful but had emphasis on reds, blacks and gold. The scent of burning incense was strong, but not overwhelming. What I found most impressive was that these old and ornate structures could exist while surrounded my the most modernized architecture I've ever scene. As I looked at either temple, my eyes rose from the ground to the ornate carvings on the columns, to the ornate rooftops, to the geometric skyscrapers rising in the distance. It made for quite a contrast.

The next stop was Little India, so we walked across the river and headed through a park on the way. The park's name was Fort Cunningham Park. What we had not realized was that this park was a site itself. As we climbed the dozens of stairs to its elevated level we got great views out over the city. We still though not much of it until walking around the top level we noticed the barbed wire fence surrounding the next level up. We then noticed more and more to learn that this is and was a military site. While we caught glimpses of bunkers and cannons on our way through, the sky was quickly changing from blue to black, and we wished to be inside eating when the rain hit.

So, we hurried our way into Little India and found our way to Tekka Market. Tekka Market is what is known as a hawkers center. That is, its similar to a food court, but more shops, smaller spaces, lower prices, better food, more options and in some ways... chaos. That said, we had no trouble walking around and found a tasty looking indian place, grabbed our food and some mango lassis and went to grab a table. All the while we expected the thunderstorm to hit... but it sort of just vanished. Anyway, dinner was great.

We then headed south through the city and the rest of Little India. We found a small mosque, but could not go in. Luckily, it was not the mosque of greater interest. We worked our way south a bit further to Masjid Sultan, the largest mosque in the area with a giant golden dome rising above the local houses and shops. Again, it was unfortunately closed to us at the time but the outside views were great. The mosque was a gentle sky blue with golden workings giving it much color and style. It was very pretty.

So, for what was our last stop of the day we headed to Raffles Hotel. The name Raffle pops up a lot here as he was the first british dude land and was responsible for much of the cities set up. Anyway, this hotel is really pretty and every room is a suite. Having housed many prominent figures, different suites slowly get named after those who stay. Charlie Chaplin comes to mind. The hotel is also known as the location where Singapore's last wild tiger was shot, though it was reportedly escaped from a nearby fair. The hotel is also the origin of a cocktail known as the Singapore Sling. So, we headed into the Long Bar for a drink. Now, being a tourist attraction, the drink is way overpriced here... but lets not gripe. Based on gin and cherry brandy, but mixed with grenadine, sweet and sour, pineapple juice and others, it was very good, though close to too sweet. However, it was a lot of fun to have it at its place of first making. Also, in a city where littering comes with enormous fines, it was fun to hang out in a bar where you drop peanut shells on the floor.

As dusk approached we began the walk back up the river. I hope to get good views of some of the harbor at night tomorrow, but having walked the river at night... this city is stunning. The way it lights up at night while remaining so clean is just dazzling. I look forward to walking tomorrow night too.

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I'm Sing(apore)ing in the Rain...

Well, it is time for another country to bit the dust. Today was an early start as we headed out to the airport. So, my breakfast was a melon from yesterday, though without a knife it was a bit of a messy process. Once more we met Made, our driver and guide, outside our hotel. He then drove us the quick 10 minutes to the airport. As a thank you we left him some of the fruit that we wouldn't have time to eat.

So, we headed into the airport...which was a bit ridiculous. First we had to have our luggage scanned at security #1. Then we went to the checkin line, where someone came to take our printouts, and then returned with our boarding passes. Then we had to go to the counter to redo check in and check our bags. Then we went through customs #1 where they collected a fee... followed in the next hall by customs #2 where we got stamped. Then we hung out for a bit over an hour before heading to our gate. However, before we reached the gate we went through security again, so we had to down the water we'd just bought. Then we went through another check in to get on the plain, but took a bus to get there... all in all, I thought the whole process could have been trimmed down a bit...

The plain ride was uneventful... so we arrived in Singapore, where it was easy to get through the airport and immigration and customs. Everything went smoothly. We grabbed a taxi and drove into the city, where we would be dropped off at Richard Hartung's apartment. Anyway, the drive drove home what we'd started to notice in the airport. Everything is so clean! On top of that, everything is very organized, so its easy to tell how clean everything is.

We arrived without trouble to Mr. Hartung's apartment. For anyone curious, he is a friend of my Aunt Lucinda's, so that's the connection. Anyway, his apartment is very nice and he, his father (here until the morning) and his wife (forgive me but I'm still working on the names) have been very welcoming and helpful. Only Mr. Hartung's father (Mr. Hartung I suppose) was home when we arrived. We had lunch with him and Margaret took a nap. I used the time to write emails, check on plain tickets and train tickets, and do some research in sites and the like for the next few countries.

When Margaret got up we spent some time talking to Richard, and then later with his wife. In between Margaret checked some things online while I read a few more tidbits. Meanwhile, and since mid afternoon, a thunderstorm rolled in. The sad thing was the view got worse. The nice thing was that the air got a lot cooler. So, we were told that most local rain bursts tended to last only a few hours. So, we were killing time. As predicted, the rain stopped, so we headed out for a walk towards the major shopping strip, Orchard Rd, and dinner.

Here is where my current favorite part of the city settled in. I love the architecture of the city. Everything from the gutters leading to sewers, to the few condos shaping the skyline. The gutters are quite large cement trenches, shaped like inverted trapezoids that span the entire length of roads. Meanwhile there are draining canals from the road ever 10 meters or so as well as holes decorating property walls to drain into these gutters. It made for a pretty flow and the wonderful sound of running water. As for the buildings, everyone of them is unique, yet very modern. My favorite pair of buildings were both about 20-30 floors. The first seemed close to square, but every room on every floor had a semicircular balcony. It gave the building a cool coil-like/ribber effect. The next building was a huge contrast. It's base was a series of plain white columns as decor, but as it rose each apartment (or what I assume to be individual apartments) could be made out by the square shape that seemed set out from the wall. Together they looked like a tower of discs and a tower of cubes. I enjoyed it a lot.

We then got to orchard street... which was in a way mini-Vegas. Every building was some ornate shape with big glass windows or neon lights or giant screens. All the while keeping the same clean and orderly appeal. Apparently the city is actually trying to cut back on some of the excessive lighting and calm it down a bit. I'm not sure that's necessary, but I can see the appeal. From there we arrived at Ngee Ann City, one of the many mall-like buildings. and it too was very clean, very modern. We headed up to the fourth floor where we had dinner at a Thai place, and it was good. We then went down a floor for a dessert. I wish I recalled its name but it was ridiculous and had monkeys in it...

Anyway, from there it was an easy (but humid) walk back, where we settled in for a bit of quiet and bed.

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Bonus Issue: Notes on Bali

Now, I believe I did notes on New Zealand at the end of an otherwise normal blog. I then did not do any for Australia. While I had a great time there, the country is so large that I would not feel prepared to give greater tips for trip planning. Now are some notes for Bali, I will try to do an extra brief entry like this for each country I can.

Anyway, the cities just north of the airport, Kata and Denpasar, are a bit terrifying. Being there can give a lot of perspective on the rest of the country, but I found it terribly stressful. That said, it would be an easy country to go to a beech resort and relax for a week. We visit one such resort in Nusa Dua, on the southern tip of the island, another on the east coast near Candidasa, and a third in the north in a town of Lovina. Any of these would be fun and east to just sit and relax for a few days, though I'm certain that there are many more.

Once in the country though, there is tons to see. Perhaps there is a better way to do it, but we hired a driver who drove us on a terrific route. Whether or not that was the best approach, it worked out terrifically. As for renting a car and driving yourself... I would absolutely object. Driving conditions are ridiculously bad and driving styles are very different.

All that said, I think in terms of sites, our route was close to perfect. I think seeing too many temples could get very dull very quick. So we saw 2 regular Hindu temples, a Buddhist temple (very different), a floating temple (floating), and Tana Lot (highly recommended)... so we received a very diverse expose. I do wish we saw Belsik (spelling?) Which is I believe the largest Hindu temple, and at the base of the fattest peak. Anyway, other than the temples, there are tons of local things to see and either my itinerary or many tour route itineraries can give a good list of ideas. Also... I sort of wish I'd had some time to learn/do a few scuba dives. Alas...

So, food for thought is anyone wants to plan a trip.

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A Sunrise at Sunset

Well, any today was an extra early morning. We rose at 5:30 and went to catch a boat out to sea. Now... the boat was a bit startling at first. It was like a high, narrow canoe... all the things that lead to capsizing. But they were remarkably stable due tons pair of long bamboo tubes on either side. I did notice at this point/soon out to sea... that were we in the states we'd all have been provided lifejackets... different countries... anyway, as to why we were headed out to sea... we'd headed out to see dolphins at sunrise, an we did. Sadly, the sunrise was unimpressive as a result of clouds. However, dolphins were everywhere and jumping in herds... schools? Anyway, we got a lot of great views. It was funny to watch because there were about 100 other boats like ours. The dolphins would then pop up, we'd chase, and they'd disappear. We joked that the dolphins were basically bearding people...

So we returned to the hotel for the same breakfast again, and then returned to the road around 9:30, again with our driver. (His name is Made... pronounced "ma-day".) Anyway, while yesterday we saw many cultural sites, today seemed a bit more focused on great views.

Our first stop was Banjar, and its local hot springs. It was indeed quite warm and very humid there. What I found most interesting there was that the water was actually green. We also had nice views of general plants and a warm water stream headed down into a valley.

From there we drove to the Munduk Waterfall. From the road it was a short, but very steep hike down to the base of the fall. We crossed some very cool cement irrigation systems, that looked very much like aqueducts. Anyway, we were then able to walk all the way up to the base of the falls which was gorgeous. The falls climbed about 50-100 meters up a cliff that disappeared into the thick plant growth near the top. The falls had cut away the land into a near-perfect semicircle that opened into a large stream/small river, flowing down a few man made and into a long and forested valley. Timing was perfect as the sun came out as we hiked down and the heat made the fall's mist very refreshing.

Following that we traversed some large number of very narrow and windy roads. But, over the next hour or so we had many spectacular views of the countryside. Most notable though was the view we had over the Twin Lakes, Buyan and Tamblingan. Where we looked from, one lake was on either side, with forest in the small strip between. Behind stood a large mountain rising into the low clouds. Much of this view reminded me of the Adirondacks. We had another view of the same lakes a few minutes later... but there we were distracted by the monkeys playing around... they were cute...

We then had another buffet lunch, which was the same meal as always. It was at Ulun Danu, home of the Ulun Danu lake temple. That is, part of the temple is not connected to the mainland at all, and is seemingly floating in the lake. It is also surrounded by a botanical garden, so it was simply beautiful to walk around.

Then, just a bit down the road we visit a huge fruit market. Though, it appeared most stores all had the same selections. There, we were given samples of the Kalas (again), passionfruit, mango, dragonfruit, and like... a dozen other local fruits that I am forgetting the names of. The kalas continues to be my favorite, but the mayo was very tasty. I would say the dragon fruit was the prettiest, being a brilliant pink with intriguing shape. However... I thought it tasted a bit like a juicy beat, and was unimpressed. We then purchased a pair of kalas, a pair of mangos, 2 fruits Margaret liked, and some cashews.

After the fruit market we drove to Jatiluwih, home of HUGE rice terraces. And I mean HUGE...like mountains. A description I had (and felt sad by it... and then sorta happy) was that they were just like the great plains. Only difference being the plains represent a continuous function while there terraces were piecewise. Now... I realize that the plains are way bigger... but these still spanned every hill and plateau in site. It was quite magnificent and the irrigation systems were so simple, yet terribly efficient. I also got a brief walk through on the process of growing grass to making the food, I thought that was quite interesting.

We then headed to our last site, Tanah Lot. It is one of the more renown tourist attractions on the island. At high tide, the main temple becomes an island with huge waves crashing into it. We caught it at low tide (or close to it) and you could nearly walk there. However, even without being able to reach this part of the temple, it was beautiful just for its landscape. Cut into the rocks of the coast were stone staircases leading down to the beeches of soft black sand. The water was so warm! Similarly, the entire mainland here was a plateau with tremendous views of temple pieces of rocky outcrops and higher ground. The waves came in huge swells and crashed against the rocks in terrific splashes. So it was a great last site to have.

We then had dinner at the associated restaurant. It was a type of egg drop soup followed by a variety of fish, including a fish cut open and grilled, a squid kebab, curried clams and two king prawns. Despite the norm... the clams were my favorite. We had hoped to be sitting here for sunset, but clouds seemed to be intervening. However, before the sun vanished I ordered a tequila sunrise, as it seemed just too appropriate for the time. So, I had my sunrise at sunset! As we finished our meal, a local traveling band game and sang a few songs at our table. It was a bit awkward but fun.

We then headed back to a new hotel for the night, and from there the plan is for our guide to take us to the airport early in the morning.

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The Bountiful Beauty in Bali

Well, it was time for day 2 of Bali, and day 1 of our 2 day tour. I hope that was enough numbers. We woke early, so that we had time to pack, have breakfast and check out. Yes... breakfast was the same meal again so I will omit a description.

Around 8:30 we met up with our guide from yesterday. I did learn his name this time, Mode, though i'm a bit hesitant on the pronunciation. That said, we got in the car and immediately headed north through the traffic masses of Kuta. Having now seen more of the island I will confirm that the traffic is not so terrible anywhere else. So, the first few stops of our trip were a number of cultural experiences.

Our first stop was in Butubulan, a bit north of Denpasar. There we attended a Barong & Keris Dance. From what I learned it is not a religious dance, but cultural and describes an eternal fight between good and evil. It proceeds through a prologue and 5 acts. In the prologue we meet the Barong, the spirit representing good in the form of a lion, and he dances with his friend the monkey. In act 1 the monkey is attacked by hunters and saved by the Barong. Then, we watch 2 girls (servants of the evil spirit Rangda) dance followed by a group of men dancing. That takes us through a bit and i'm a bit hazy on the plot details. Eventually, a girl is captured and prepared for sacrifice. She is then granted invincibility, and fights the evil spirit. But one of the evil spirits followers transforms into the evil spirit again and is too powerful. So the Barong comes to help and chases away the evil. So, neither ever truly defeats the other. At least that was the gist I got out of it. What I found interesting about Bali dance, is its emphasis on motion and position of the limbs. Much of the dance is focused in the position of the feet, hands, fingers and head (even the eyes). It was fun, though the story did get a bit hard to follow in places.

Interesting note... we then saw statues or paintings of the Baring everywhere. Temples, carvings, paintings, etc...

After the dance we traveled to a few more "local" pieces of culture. First we went to a fabric painting/weaving place in the same town. We saw a group making clothe, painting clothe, and more. It was impressive how quickly everyone worked, even when freehanding designs. Then we went to Celuk, the home of silversmithing in Bali. We got a brief walk through of the process for making jewelery. What I found most impressive is that nearly everything was made out of a combination of thin plates, wires, and beads. It seemed like such simple pieces to make such elegant things. Then in Batuan we had a similar experience with local painting, being shown the process through which a painting goes to reach completion. First a pencil sketch, then ink outlines, shading, coloring, finishing. We also saw different works at different stages which made the progression easy to see.

We then headed to a town called Mas, which is the home of wood carving. What was most impressive here is the elegance of sculptures, each one carved out of a single piece of wood. There were sculptures small enough to fit in one's palm ranging all some the size of doors. Similarly, on our way there, we had stopped by a stone sculptor, and I had a similar reaction. At one point there we saw a stone rectangular prism, next to a half-carved elephant, in front of a finished one. It was quite interesting and you could almost see how the carving occurs.

We then went to the Temple of Whisnu Gods, another Hindu temple. It appears that the spire-like structures is the architectural norm for these sites. I had two favorite parts of this one. First was the design in the grass. The ground was decorated by alternating long rows of grass and tiled brick, creating an elongating feeling in the temple. There was also a fountain and pond in the back. The fountain was simple, but the platform was shaped as a turtle. What was nice about it was it was large enough that the turtle features were very subtle until noticed, but were then clear.

After that, we went to my favorite part of Bali so far. We headed to the center of the island to Seribatu, where we visit a spice farm. En route, our drive provided us with two Kalas, or "snake-skin" fruit. It is appropriately names for it's reddish-brown and scales skin. To peel it we twist the top and the skin flaked away, revealing what looked like giant garlic cloves. However, they were very sweet, with a texture that seemed to resemble a blend between an apple and sugar cane.

Anyway, at this farm we were shown around by a pair of girls with terrific english. We saw many fruits including, but not limited to, kalas, bananas, pineapples, coconuts, papayas, and kiwis. We also saw tons of spices... again, including but not limited to chocolate, lemon grass, coffee, ginger, cinnamon, tapioca, ginger and ginseng. The garden itself was gorgeous, and had a look over a huge mountain valley, all coated in trees and a low fog. It looked very much like Jurassic Park. We got to see their process for making coffee, including the roasting and mashing. We also saw a pair of mongoose, which live in the area and are necessary in the production of Luwak Coffee (Kori Luwak). But i'll touch on that in a second.

We then sat at a table overlooking the valley. There we got to try a number of things for free. They had a bowl of chips, made from tapioca. Regardless... they tasted a bit like potato chips. Then we were given ginger tea, lemon grass tea, Bali coffee, hot chocolate and ginseng coffee. They were all very different and very amazing. We then talked for a bit about the Luwak Coffee. It is apparently the most expensive, lowest production coffee in the world. Turns out, the mongoose eat only the ripest of the coffees seeds throughout the plantation But, they do not digest the seed very much, so the seeds can be ... later recollected. They are then left in either papaya or bananas to flavor for upwards of six months. Afterwards they are roasted and mashed (and I may have skipped a step or two but this is the gist). Anyway, it was the equivalent of 3 dollars for a mug of it so I had some. It was very good... but definitely different. It had some sweet and sour to it, and a very strong coffee-bitter taste. (I've no clue how well this describes it...) anyway, another interesting fact about it is that its caffeine free entirely as a result of the mongoose.

So, that was a lot of dun, and on our way our we saw some chili plants. Our guide joked about trying one and I asked if I could take one for lunch. I was given about 6. Anyway, we drove north to Kintamani to have lunch at a restaurant overlooking Bartur volcano and its respective crater. It was quite a view, including ridges everywhere, a lake in the depth of the crater, black earth from lava flows, all surrounding the volcano itself. As we looked over this view we had a lunch buffet, though mostly the same things I've been eating every meal, which in this case meant I wasn't missing out. As I sat down I did not Heep the warning on the pepper. So, I threw one in my mouth and bit. At first it wasn't so bad... but it got worse and worse and worse... eventually I was crying and my lunch was halfway gone. I did not taste lunch until the last few bites. I will say, the pepper did have good flavor, until I lost all sense of taste. (Temporary loss).

That was the end of the sites. We then had a long windy drive through some mountains to the north coast of the island and a town of Loving. There we stayed in a very nice resort/hotel, right on the beech. We walked around a but and heard a thunderstorm coming, so opted to have a small dinner in the open but covered dining area, with some cocktails and listen to the storm. All of this came to fruition... except the bartender was away so there were no cocktails. Quite a sad story, but still a nice time.

Moral of the day... when warned about peppers... take heed...

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East Side!

Well this morning I was woken up by a torrential downpour. For all that I enjoy listening to rain... it is not very motivating when you plan to do outings most of the day. But, we got up and scurried over to the restaurant associated with the hotel for our free breakfast. Breakfast was the same thing as last nights dinner. I had heard that this dish had a tendency to be breakfast, lunch and dinner... and it nerved nicely as at least two of the three. I also had some fruit and coffee to go with it.

We returned to the room, where we would then book our activities. Last night I'd read through 4 pamphlets, all advertising many tour options. I had found a 2 day, 1 night option that looked very appealing. So we had planned to book that for tomorrow and hire a car and drive for 6 hours from the same company. So we did... then we spent some time looking up a few places to go today that would not be on our two day tour, though as it turns out we really just took the driver's suggestions.

The driver was very friendly when we met him... though I neglected to remember his name. He successfully navigated then numerous motorbikes on the road and got us out of Kata. Turns out that the traffic is at its worst in Kuta... Anyway, the tour tomorrow follows a mostly north loop, so we planned to do some of the southern tip and the east coast.

Our firs stop was the town of Nusa Dua. On the way we passed a golf course and dad... I reminisced about playing... anyway, this town is one of the more vacation resort areas on the island from what I could tell. It seemed much more expensive and much more family vacation oriented. But, first we stopped at a huge roundabout. Not because of many traffic lanes but the round about was centered on a quite fantastic fountain. After the fountain view we heads out to one of the beaches. The sand was soft, and you could see the strip of golden land curve out of site around the far trees and bends. It was quite nice and enough to appreciate why people might go to Bali for the beeches.

After the beeches of Nusa Dua, we headed north a bit to Hanjung Benoa, which is another beech and home of many water sports. For us, we took a glass bottom boat out over a small reef, were we tossed bread in the water and could see hundreds of zebrafish swim around under the boat. Occasionally the were larger fish too but they were hard to identify. I can vouch it was no snorkeling and one day I hope to scuba dive, but for now this sufficed. The boat was en route to Turtle Island, known for its sea turtles. Now, its more of a really cool fretting zoo. They did have many sea turtles of many types and ages. Apparently they help when they lay eggs and then release them, but they keep a few. We got to hold two, and they got bigger quickly. Then we fed a 70 year old, and a few a bit younger. They were too big to hold...

Then they had other animals too! First we visit an iguana, and got to hold him. Then, and possibly my favorite, was a sea eagle. It was a magnificent bird. Very protective of having its head scratched, but very lenient elsewhere. We were offered the chance to hold a bat... but that seemed like a bad idea so we passed. We hung out with some toucans though and saw a few tropical birds. The last stop was with a python who we got to hold. They are intimidating creatures... we ended the island by each drinking/eating a coconut. It was tasty.

From there we drove quite a ways up the east coast to Goa Lawah. A large temple (Hindu?). It had many open spaces and huge black spires. I did learn that the stone used for the spires comes from volcanic rock and ash. This temple also had some connection to bats, as there was a large bat emblem on it and had a cave... with like a million bats in it. That was a bit creepy.

We then went up just a bit further to Candidasa, a small ocean/beech town. Not like the southern towns we saw where the beech was so prominent. Here it seemed thinner and...blacker... I assume from volcanic presence. But, here we saw another temple, though very different from Goa Lawah. This was much more plain, with large staircases to small and simple altars for worship. While in Chandidasa we stopped at a very nice hotel restaurant for dinner. Apparently the owned was a friend of our guide. I once more had the same dish I've been having... it was an accident as I picked an item with a name, but did not realize it was the same name. At least its good...

So then we headed back. A few comments... yesterday I said that the trees grew right to the waterline along rivers. That's false. The trees simply grow into the rivers. Plants here seem to have no concern for frowning on land or in water. Also, while i've learned why so many sculptures and structures are black, I don't yet know why so many rooftops are red. Unknown, but red ornate tile roofing is quite common here.

Anyway, our guide returned us here and I belove he is also our guide for the next two days. Its nice, cause I did like him.

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Heading North

So, today was sadly our day to leave Australia behind us. Though there is still so much to see that I might just have to return someday... anyway, the morning got off to a bit of a rocky start, but we got to our flight on time so all was well. Our first stop was in Melbourne again... where we would connect to another flight that would take us north to Bali. Sadly that flight ended up about an hour delayed, although I do not know the reason. While we waited we got some breakfast; bacon, egg and cheese on foccocia. Interestingly, the bread was more like a roll than I expected and the bacon was far more like ham than I expected. That all said and done... it was quite tasty.

So, the flight itself was 5 hours, and fairly uneventful at that. I read a bit, wrote some notes and reminders, slept a bit, had a short nap. The usual plane activities. As we reached the coast of Bali I looked out the window to quite a lovely site. It reminded me of a child who really didn't want to draw green for trees in the ocean, so he took a yellow crayon and drew a big yellow border. That was Bali. A mass of green that ran all the way to the water's edge on rivers, but on the coast there was a solid beech that ran for as far as I could see along the border.

So we got off and in the airport had a bit of a struggle getting our visas. Not that there were issues, but finding where to go/what to do was not at its easiest. Then we got through baggage and customs with no trouble. Once outside, we wanted to find a place to sit and figure out where to go, but before that we had to fend off a hoard of taxi (taksi as its spelt locally) drivers. Eventually, we decided we did not know enough so I went to a hotel booking window and got us a place in Kuta for 2 nights and a taxi to get there.

Driving was terrifying.there seem to be two types of vehicles; taxis and motorcycles; and the taxis are trying to get around quickly while the motorcycles tend to pass on both sides at the same time. The roads are narrow and as far as I can tell lanes have limited meaning. But we arrived safely. The hotel is nice enough, with a quite nice restaurant next door. I'll admit the outdoor scenery is pretty stunning but inside its... fine. We took some time to take a breather and get some ideas for the 3 full days we have here. I think the hope is to take tomorrow easy and then take a 2 day tour of some key sites on the island (note... the whole island is the size of Delaware...). We'll see how the plan unfolds.

We went nest door for dinner (food/drinks are obscenely cheep...). We both had the same thing, as we were told it was a very Indonesian dish and looked pretty good. We got a type of puffed potato chip, some stir fried veggies, and a type of chicken kabob surrounding a mound of fried rice with shrimp and a fired egg on top. Not a combo I would have thought up but quite tasty.

In the evening we tried to go for a walk to the beech but had trouble finding it. There seems to be one main road and a small handfuls of narrow windy backroads where the motorcycles drive in large numbers. It was pretty uncomfortable, and when we worked our way back to the hotel we were both pretty relieved. Being a bit jetlagged (3 hours gained on the day) I think its a good night for an early bed and an early start tomorrow.

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