Saturday, January 6, 2018

And Yet Another Pin On Our Travel Map - Indonesia


January 4, 2018


Bali, Indonesia


Back in 2002, we were supposed to visit Bali as part of a 'Taste of Asia' tour with our favorite land tour provider SmarTours.  However, there was an issue with the bombing of a nightclub and SmarTours substituted Phuket, Thailand - we stayed at the Dusit Laguna (which was definitely a little bit of heaven on earth - but I digress...)


Fast forward to 2018, and we visited Bali for two days.


On Thursday, we docked early afternoon and had no excursion planned, but VIOLA - there are little shopping stalls with local merchandise, right on the other side of the security building at the dock.


Such fun - I purchased dresses, blouses, a purse and Jeff purchased lovely batik shirts and (suprise to no one who knows him) DVDs.  The local vendors were very friendly and a few bargains were definitely acquired.  Jeff's bargaining skills were enlisted by fellow travels and smiles were plentiful.


Here's us at dinner - in some new attire - and a 'dinner cruise/pirate ship' that pulled up next to us while we were dining in the Polo restaurant.


 




January 5, 2018


Bali, Indonesia


Now it's Friday and I've prebooked an excursion - just for the two of us - via Trip Advisor/Viator/Bali Sun Tours - called All About Ubid Full-Day Tour.


Our new friend, Nyoman (the 3rd most popular name in Indonesia - he actually has a brother with the same name), picked us up at the dock and took us to
  • A silver jewelry factory and show room
  • An amazing Hindu Temple
  • Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary
  • Coffee Plantation
  • Rice Terraces
  • A marketplace like no other
Yes, as you may have guessed, I purchased some (more) jewelry, but watching the artisans actually making pieces of jewelry was fascinating.  We had the whole place to ourselves and the artisans so it was a very unrushed experience.  The name of this amazing place was Angel To Angel.



The Hindu Temple was from the 16th century and speaks for itself.  Nyoman is pictured with Jeff at the Temple.
 

 

 



Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary - let's just say, the monkeys are everywhere (and we love monkeys)

 



 

Coffee Plantation - Jeff got to taste Luwak coffee (yes, the Luwak animal eats the raw beans, poops them out, they're processed and made into a very special coffee.  Ridiculously expensive, but we're bringing some home for Jeff to enjoy.


They also introduced me to some new teas that were delicious.


The Luwaks are nocturnal, so we didn't get to see them moving around!

Rice Terraces - how we take the production of our basic foods for granted.  These are some of the fields where the original rice plants are started.  They grow for a short while and then are pulled up, divided into single plants, replanted in other water logged fields and then they grow.  Once they have the final harvest, they go through multiple time consuming processes to end up with the rice as we know it.   They grow white, red (as we know it brown) and black rice in Indonesia for their own consumption.  They are not known to export their crops.







A marketplace like no other - Jeff was itching to stop/shop an outdoor market, however, the skies opened up (monsoon style rain - flooding) and it wouldn't have been safe to walk around outside.  So, our fabulous Nyoman found us an indoor market.  The first floor was 75% all snack foods in bags.  All kinds of yummy goodies and we helped the economy, yet again, and brought bacik a bag full.


A truly wonderful day - - LIFE IS GOOD!


Now for two days at sea and then to Exmouth, Australia.  Can't wait to see what adventures await us!


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