Did we have fun on Bali or what!

It was  a lumpy start to the day. The ship had warned us that the tide situation would possibly suspend the tendering operation for a few hours in the morning. They also advised that the dock was in a questionable state of repair because of a storm some time ago. As you can imagine most people wanted to make sure that they got off early, just in case. We fell into that category. As I mentioned yesterday, we five had arranged a van and driver and wanted to be sure we did get to utilize it to the maximum.

Unfortunately these five adults could not manage to keep together as a group, so there were some moments of panic as the ship announced that we were cleared and ready to start tendering. All ended well, harsh words were soon forgotten and we were all on the very first tender to hit the beach at Bali!

The dock reception was great. Balinese beauties, an Indonesian band and machine-gun-toting police. Welcome to Indonesia.





We were soon in the hands of our polite and pleasant guide-driver, Ketut Suruadi with a very modern air-conditioned Toyota Van and a written itinerary etc. Very professional. Our expectation levels were well exceeded so far. The on-foot-vendors are very aggressive here. Even before we reached the car we had made a purchase or two, and this merely attracted more vendors. The group of six had grown to a dozen and a half by the time we sought sanctuary in the car with the doors shut and windows up! Nobody was complaining though!


We headed off in the direction of Ubud, a large town some 30 Ks away. The ride there was fascinating. The roads are excellent and the traffic though busy, was orderly, we never felt in any form of danger, either from the traffic or the environment. Everybody seems to be working in Bali. Rice terraces and fields are everywhere,  from small family plots to larger commercial looking fields.




The amount of sand, that's right, sand that is being dug out of the river, transported, dumped, sifted, re-loaded and transported again is staggering. All the work is done by men with shovels. I never saw a tractor or back hoe or a bobcat. We are still dumfounded by this sand situation.

The other interesting thing we discovered by a side trip or two up into the hills and the small villages that seem to be everywhere was the amount of 'production handicrafts' that goes on. The whole family can be employed sitting on the porch or some have shelters where the work can go on in rainy weather. All the things that Bali makes and sells or exports are made by these little 'mini-factories' of entrepreneurial  hard working craftsmen and their relatives and friends.




The products run from wind-chimes, decorative mirrors, carvings, furniture, you name it and some family is producing them in the hills of Bali. The same for the silver workers. Intricate tedious work with pieces of silver in small spheres smaller than the head of a pin are made into the most beautiful designs and then melted into fine jewelry. That is the same for the batik workers and wood carvers, they work in such cramped and poorly lit areas it is a miracle that the goods produced are of such high quality.

Ketut explained to us in detail any questions we had about Bali and it's workings. We visited some temples that I do not really understand but are beautiful in their ancientness alone. One we visited was built in the 14th century.






Bali is 85% Hindu so these are not Mosques but Hindu Temples. Every home has a temple and every village has three temples. Obviously religion is a big part of the peoples life, and the ceremony of offerings is going on everywhere by every-day people, not religious leaders. They do not seem to mind us look-y-loo tourists peeking into their religious areas at all. 



We visited the monkey forest where the monkeys are somewhat eager to remove any food from people that happen to walk in there with food exposed. Jim bought some bananas from the vendor outside and had considerable fun letting these frisky critters scramble, climb or jump on his ample torso to snatch them in the wink of an eye. 





One lady had brought some Melba toast and had it in her bag. She opened the bag to get it and before you could blink, a monkey had climbed up on her and had his paw in the purse and put her cruise card and attached money in his mouth and was off into the bushes. An attendant is there to retrieve such stolen articles. 

Our lunch consisted of food we took off the ship, eaten on the run, with water supplied by Ketut. We are not afraid of eating in ports, but that can take some considerable time to search out, order and eat. We wanted to see as much of the island as possible and not be sitting for an hour.

SHOPPING: Did we have fun or what! In spite of not really needing a darn thing in our life we ended up succumbing to that deep urge to bargain and shop. Prices are extremely low here for touristy items, and I mean low. Buyer beware is the name of the game however, and never, never ask a fellow tourist "what did you pay for that?" That was the question I heard in the line up to re-board the ship however. Which of the two is the winner in that game I ask you.

Our nonsensical purchases included four boxes, two purses (each with five in it),  10 beaded ring boxes, a motorcycle, two shirts, three culottes, [ladies pant/wrap around things], two bone carvings, one monkey kite, and a table mat set. Oh yes, a five dollar Breitling watch. That is for Fellette and I. The Cutlers and Moe also dug into their pile of one dollar bills somewhat today as well. The car was our sanctuary when the vendors became too intense for us, and even then it was sometimes difficult to shut the door.



It was a wonderful and fun-filled day. The only negative thing we came back on with was the degree of corruption that has integrated their society, from top to bottom. In the government, police and the army, it is a matter of 'pay and you can get and do anything you want'. It is a shame, the Balinese are such friendly, hard working and devout people.