Last Week in Bali - Oct. 27, 2010

Oct 27, 2010

Steve and I returned to Sanur this week and enjoyed one last week in Bali. We didn't really do anything out of the ordinary… just enjoyed ourselves… went for massages (had a few… enjoyed them all… even the one that left me with bruises), yummy food, lots of walking, lunch on the beach, people watching, reading… just hanging out in general.

It doesn't rain often... but when it rains... it pours!

One day we were lucky enough to see a cremation procession. All the friends and family walk through the streets with offerings on the way to the cremation site (at the beach I think). They carry the coffin with them draped in white cloth, and built up with various other decorative things. We saw two coffins in this particular processional. One was fairly simple, but the other was quite decorated and the coffin was higher off the ground. I guess it depends on how much money your family has as to how elaborate your cremation will be. Apparently, these are also joyful occasions, not the somber occasions we are used to.

We have really enjoyed Bali, and highly recommend it for those of you who like to travel, but we are ready to move on and see something new. We leave for Vietnam tomorrow!

Side note: Steve is 6 feet tall… which is quite tall in Bali. This has lead to a few incidents of bumping his head. For instance he has to duck to walk through the door of our hotel room. He even managed to bump his head on a light underneath a tree branch when we were walking down the sidewalk! If you’re taller than the average Indonesian… watch your head!

Things we liked about Bali:

1)   The people. Everyone always has a big smile on his or her face. These are the kindest, gentlest, friendliest people we’ve ever met.

2)   The weather of course. In our quest for the endless summer we haven’t been disappointed yet! Weather has been hot everyday. Once in awhile I take my sweater out with me at night thinking I might need it (habit!)… but I haven’t actually worn it for the four weeks we’ve been here. Those of you who know my usual state of "coldness" can appreciate how warm it must be for me to never wear a sweater. This isn’t to say it hasn’t rained… oh, it’s rained! But… when it rains here it rains really hard and then goes away in about ½ an hour… and then it’s sunny again! Also, when it’s raining… it’s still warm outside.

After getting caught in a rainstorm!

3)   Seeing a totally different culture. It’s interesting to see the temples, sights and cultural dances… but it’s also just fun to watch people in their everyday lives. Everything is very relaxed here, family is very important and there is a lot of smiling.

4)   The landscape. Bali is a naturally beautiful place. The trees, the parks, the waterfalls, the ocean… it is just a lush tropical paradise.

5)   The food. It’s delicious and it’s cheap. Even after four weeks we’re still surprised when we get a bill in a restaurant where we’ve had drinks, lunch and maybe a dessert or appetizer and it’s around 11 dollars. (This isn’t to say that I don’t miss multigrain bread, skim milk and fresh veggies… of all the things to miss, who would have thought it would be those???)

One of my favourites! Chicken satay grilling at your table💖

6)   Steve loved the monkey forest. He could watch the monkeys for hours. They are so strong, so agile… they will blindly leap from a tree limb high in the air knowing they’ll eventually catch something on the way down, and then effortlessly bound to the next branch or vine. He also liked watching the little ones wrestle with each other… it was very cute. (I personally found the monkeys a bit frightening!)

A baby monkey!

We had a great time in Bali, and are looking forward to our next stop in Vietnam!