Indonesia
Tanjung Benoa

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    • Day 74

      Bali Indonesia Day 2

      March 2 in Indonesia ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

      I seem to have settled on 6 AM as my preferred time to wake up.

      Much to Bob's chagrin, he did a great job over the years of acclimating me to very cold room temperatures. It seems that as he gets more and more body parts replaced with metal, his tolerance for cold has been greatly diminished. The poor guy has to go sit on our balcony in the mornings just to defrost from a night spent in the meat locker that is our stateroom.

      Upon the defrosting of Bob, it was time for breakfast.

      After breakfast, I went down to guest services to check on our excursion for tomorrow. In the description, it is unclear if the whole day will be spent in a vintage 4X4 or, if the portion in the 4X4 is only a portion of the day. I was told that we would have the pleasure of spending the entire day in a vehicle not known for its smooth ride or creature comfort (Hmm I am unsure if Bali has any vehicle made to be comfortable for Bob and I). With this information, Bob, being the wise man that he is, tapped out. I asked guest services if I could get a refund because I knew that there was a wait-list. I was told that it was passed the time for cancellation. I knew that Jenni was on the wait-list so I kept the ticket and left a message for her to let me know if she wanted to go on the excursion tomorrow.

      Next I headed up to the onboard travel agent to pay for the insurance for our trip to Antarctica.

      Finally, we gathered our daypacks and headed out to our bus for today's excursion which is to the Rice Terraces and the City of Ubud.

      We walked by the ATM truck and decided that we needed more Indonesian currency. Bob took out his wallet and his ATM card was nowhere to be found. He asked one of the Viking Representatives who he should speak to about his lost ATM card. The Viking Representative contacted Port Security gentleman who said the he would contact the person in charge of the mobile ATM.

      Bob and I proceeded to our bus. We had only been in the bus for 5 minutes when the Port Security officer came onboard and said the the gentleman with the ATM security has his card and all Bob needed to do was bring identification. Bob jumped off the bus and I followed. Bob was able to retrieve his ATM card and showed his gratitude by promptly getting more money from the ATM and giving the gentleman who had his ATM card a generous gratuity.

      After that bit of excitement, we got back on the bus and began our trip to the rice terraces. As a side note, we chose not to sit side by side. Luckily, there were extra seats on the bus.

      We traveled past miles and miles of shops selling what looked like to be the same merchandise. We wondered who would buy all this stuff. The Balinese seem to be too poor to buy all this merchandise and most of the items were simply to large for tourists to take home.

      After many hours on the bus in the crazy Balinese traffic, we arrived at the Rice Terraces. The Rice Terraces were beautiful but they were cheapened, if you will, by having swings, zip lines and bikes on wires stretched across them for tourists to ride. It came across as a cheap version of Disneyland. We would have rather seen rice terraces in a village setting.

      We spent a short time view the rice terraces before we continued to the town of Ubud.

      We began our time in Ubud with a visit to a Balinese art museum. We did not find the art very compelling. In fact, we believe that the visit to the art museum was designed less as an art exhibition and more because it was a convenient place to park the buses in the busy city of Ubud.

      We left the museum and began walking towards the markets. Bob wanted to go to the open air market. I wanted to go to the covered market because I had heard stories of huge rats in the main market. I wanted to experience where the Balinese shopped, rats and all. In the end, Bob's choice won out. We had only made it a few stalls into the market when the heavens opened up. And I mean, they opened up! I have never seen it rain so hard!

      One of our favorite memories of the 2019 World Cruise was shopping in the Rocks in Sydney in a total downpour. So Bob believed this was our chance to recreate that memory in Bali. I attempted to be a good sport. I threw on a plastic rain poncho and tried to soldier on. My choice of attire for the day was a long pink sundress made of a lightweight cotton. This dress was a very good choice for the heat of Bali. It is not the best choice for a torrential downpour! The rain poncho was not long enough to cover my dress. Consequently, I found myself floundering through ankle deep water in a dress that was soaked through and clinging to me like saran wrap. The water was also wicking up under my poncho, soaking every inch of me. Every three feet, I would have to stop and wring out my dress. Bob continue to encourage me to continue. When the street started flowing and rapids began forming, I cried uncle. (I can't say that I threw in the towel because, right then, I would have sold a kidney for a towel).

      Bob had mercy and we cautious made our way back to the bus wading through deep water. I was cringing because my mind was thinking with all the filth that I have seen in Bali ...what type of diseases were we being exposed to in this water???

      We got to the bus. The bus driver met us at the door to the bus with an umbrella. I thought really? There is absolutely not an inch of me that is dry!

      I might add that the pictures do not due the amount of rainfall justice. We had to put away our phones for fear of them getting ruined from all the rain.

      There were not many people on the bus. And there was a rear entrance to the bus that had a few steps and no windows. Luckily, we had purchased a dress in the market so I told Bob to hand me the dress. He gave it to me and I stepped down into the stairwell and discretely changed my dress. I had also packed a pink scarf so I threw that over my shoulders and voila, I was dry again.

      The moral to this story is that we now have another "Market in The Rain" story.

      When we made it back to the ship, I immediately jumped in the shower. Now just praying that we were not exposed to any diseases in the water we were wading through. A trip to the covered market to view the rats may have been safer!
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    • Day 55

      Incredible Bali Private Tour

      March 3 in Indonesia ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C

      Spent the day touring the area of Ubud in Bali. Unesco World Heritage Rice Terrace, Holy Water Temple (Tirta Empul Temple) Bali Coffee Plantation with Kopi Luwak (cat shit coffee) and the majestic Tegenungan Waterfalls.Read more

    • Day 73

      Bali, Indonesia

      March 1 in Indonesia ⋅ ☁️ 30 °C

      I woke up early and began to work.

      Bob sat out on the balcony and watched the sail in to Benoa Bay. It is promising to be a very warm day!

      We had lunch onboard.

      We went back to the stateroom and got our daypacks ready.

      Our tour was entitled: "Uluwatu Temple & Dinner". We made our way off the ship and were treated to Balinese music and dancing.

      At the exit to the cruise terminal building, I asked the Excursion Manager where we could find an ATM. She said that there was a truck with an ATM directly outside the terminal. Bob approached the truck and climbed up two stairs to reach the ATM. He took out 300,000 IDR. When we got on the bus, we calculated the amount and it was only about $19 US.

      We boarded our bus. We were excited to see Henry, Krystal, Jim, and Lynn all onboard. We will be having a great time with this group.

      Our excursion is: Uluwatu Temple & Dinner. The description of this excursion (with my editorial comments in parentheses) says that we will travel to the southernmost part of Bali, to the famous Pura Luhur Uluwatu. Uluwatu is renowned for its location (a forest full of naughty monkeys), perched atop a steep cliff above the Indian Ocean's crashing waves. A small forest lies at the front of the temple with hundreds of (VERY NAUGHTY) monkeys dwelling here. They are believed to guard the temple from bad influences. (They have become the bad influences!!!!). Dating back to the 11th Century, this beautiful example of Balinese architecture is adorned with traditional gateways and ancient sculptures. Marvel at the temple and its spectacular views from the outside (while hanging on for dear life to any and all belongings that may be snatched by the NAUGHTY monkeys and for held ransom). Next there will be a stop at Garuda Wisnu Kencana, a park with the largest artistic statues built in the Southeast Asia. Then continue to tranquil Jimbaran Bay. Here we will be treated to a delicious dinner of fresh seafood and watch as the sun sets on the horizon.

      This is our first time to Indonesia. We are anticipating interactions with a culture very different to our.

      Upon exiting the port area, the evidence of a very different culture was evident. There were huge statues of very malevolent creatures, traffic that knows no rules, tangles of electrical wires that would meet zero building codes, non-refrigerated, raw poultry that FDA officials would faint at the sight of, and trash everywhere. At this point, we are trying our best to be travelers not tourists.

      Prior to our arrival at Uluwatu Temple, our guide notified us that there were naughty monkeys in the forest around the temple. He warned us not to wear hats or glasses or anything that the monkeys may steal and hold for ransom. Their preferred ransom payment is in the form of food. The guide continued to warn that they will destroy and eat glasses. Bob and I took note and made sure that we did not have anything easily accessible to the naughty monkeys (similar precautions are taken for potential pickpockets). Other guests did not heed the warning. Next thing we see is a monkey grabbing a woman's glasses and running unto a roof. This woman decided it was best to start screaming at the monkey because, you know, it is always wise to scream at wild animals. One of the temple guides threw some food to the monkey and our guide nimbly leapt onto the roof of the building and grabbed the glasses as the monkey was momentarily distracted by the ransom payment. Glasses were safely returned to guest. Said guest then went on to complain about the uncontrolled monkeys. I thought the more uncontrolled entity in this scenario was the woman screaming hysterically and getting mad at the monkey. Afterall, the monkey was calmly going about his "business" of acquiring food. We were warned people!!!

      Prior to that excitement we briefly looked at a temple through the temple gates and had a beautiful view of the coastline. I think this stop was more about having interactions with the naughty monkeys than observing the temple.

      This was also our first experience in the Indonesian heat. The heat and humidity is, literally, breath taking.

      We were happy to get back on the bus into some minimal climate control but Bob and I are finding that we are not built for the Indonesian bus seats. Both of us could not sit in seats side by side without major overlap. For example, my shoulders overlapped to the mid-point of Bob's seat not to mention the rest of us. Now imagine that we have just been on a hike in close to 90 degree weather with 95 % humidity. We were nice and sweaty as we tried to climb into the seats built for people one fourth of our size. We looked at one another and thought how do we both sit down without touching one another because right then I did not want another warm blooded body anywhere close to me! I ended up hugging the wall of the van while angling my shoulders diagonally across the "very" large space between the seat in front of us and our seat. I said to Bob that this would be the time that a smaller wife would have really paid off.

      We traveled in our 'spacious' seats until we arrived at the Garuda Wisnu Kencana. This is a cultural park dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu and home to the largest statues in Southeast Asia.

      We began our tour of this cultural park by visiting a theatre where there was a Balinese dance and music. We were in Bali during one of their large festivals. As a result, there were a lot of children touring this park. The Balinese dancer went into the audience and pulled some young boys onto the stage. It was adorable to see these boys being embarrassed but doing their best to wiggle their bodies to mimic the female dancer.

      Next we got in line to enter the area where the large statues could be viewed. While we were in line, several of the young girls were looking at me and giggling. Next thing I knew they were all asking to have their photo taken with me. I think that they did not see a lot of tall women. It was fun to interact with them but, if the bus seats hadn't convinced me that I was built very differently from the Balinese women, the interaction with these young ladies convince me that I am near giant size in Bali.

      We viewed duplicate portions of the large statue before we walked to a view point to observe the 21 story tall monument to Garuda.

      We then moved on to the all important gift shop. The most important aspect of this gift shop was that it was airconditioned. After waiting for several guest to purchase keepsakes, we drove to a restaurant.

      We arrived late to the restaurant so we did not have the opportunity to view the sunset. Yet, we had a lovely dinner with music, dancing and great interactions with ladies selling jewelry.

      I will add that during dinner, we experienced a tremendous thunderstorm. We are visiting during the rainy season which explains the humidity and the thunderstorm.

      After dinner, we made our way back to the ship to a cool shower.
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    • Day 5

      Lembongan /Dream Beach Huts

      May 14, 2023 in Indonesia ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

      Bei Zeiten wurden wir aus unserem Hotel abgeholt. Unser Fahrer namens K. war sehr nett, lustig und konnte uns viel für unsere weitere Reise mitgeben.

      Vom Hafen Sanur ging es mit der Fähre namens Dream Beach Express zur Insel Lembongan, die Bootfahrt war abenteuerlich, je nach Wellengang spritze das Wasser meterhoch und direkt in das offene Fenster an dem man gesessen hat😅 Gott sei Dank konnte man die Fenster verschließen

      Angekommen in der Bucht von Lembongan waren wir fasziniert von dem Türkisen Wasser.
      In Lembongan gibt es keinen richtigen Hafen oder Straßenverkehr für Pkw‘s. Daher mussten wir aus dem Boot über den Strand klettern 😅

      Der Transport zum Hotel war ein reines Abenteuer: Die engen Straßen, keine Vorfahrtsregeln, keine Blinker, kein nichts und wir auf einem kleinen Golfcar ohne angeschnallt zu sein Richtung Unterkunft .

      Dream Beach Huts- wie der Name schon sagt sind wir in einer Hütte direkt am Strand unter gekommen. Es ist eine super schöne Atmosphäre und die Hütte 🛖 hat alles was wir brauchen, sogar einen Blick vom stillen Örtchen in den Sternenhimmel.
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    • Day 90

      Tschüss Indonesien

      April 5, 2023 in Indonesia ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C

      Heute Nachmittag noch die Marina erkundet mit der Superjacht eines russischen (natürlich) Oligarchen.
      Und dann abends die Ausfahrt bei schönem Sonnenuntergang.
      Nun geht es Richtung Singapur und dabei dann auch wieder über den Äquator.Read more

    • Day 75

      Bali, Indonesia Day 3

      March 3 in Indonesia ⋅ ☁️ 31 °C

      Since I knew that today would be a long day and that I may or may not get lunch ashore, I had breakfast with Dale and Jenni.

      Jenni had agreed to take Bob's place on our excursion today on the Vintage 4X4 which was titled: Soul of Bali by Vintage 4x4. So I met her in the hallway at 7:45 AM. We made our way ashore and met Henry and Krystal where we get our excursion assignments.

      It was confirmed that we would be traveling the entire 8.5 hours on what appears to be an unairconditioned vintage (1970's era) land-rover.

      Jenni and I crawled (and I mean literally crawled) to the rear seats which were less than a foot and a half high so Brenda's knees were elevated to about her shoulder level. Henry and Krystal sat in the middle seats, the guide and driver were in the front seats.

      Once everyone had crammed themselves into their assigned vehicles we were off.

      We had all the windows open but it was so hot! Our clothing was completely wet from us sweating so much. I think that this was the hottest I have ever been.

      We drove through the Capital city of Denpasar. It is evident that more care is taken to remove trash in this city but I am still amazed by the volume of trash everywhere.

      At the edge of the city, traffic came to a complete standstill as a funeral procession was occurring. We were able to get out of our 4X4 and observe the procession.

      Back on the road again, we began to get into more rural areas. Here we saw farmers working in rice fields, cattle, pigs, and large chicken 'hotels' that smelled to high heaven.

      Today's rice fields were so much more interesting to me because we were seeing local people in their everyday lives working their land.

      We stopped at a farmer's family compound. It was very primitive but had a huge area dedicated to their shrine. We were shown how they prepared offerings. In addition, they offered us coffee and a small snack. I declined both.

      Next we proceeded to a temple that was 1000 years old. The natural setting was beautiful. Jenni and I opted not to participate in the gifting of offerings. Instead, we observed all the different plants on the temple grounds.

      Finally, it was time for lunch. We were escorted on a path with moss covered stepping stones through a bamboo forest to an open air restaurant. We had an amazing lunch.

      As we were finishing lunch, it started to rain. I thought yesterday's rainstorm was impressive. It was nothing compared to today's. We tried to wait out the storm but were told that we had to go. So we donned our rain ponchos and began braving our mountain path. The moss covered stepping stones were now very slippery. As we continued, it rained harder until the path became a stream bed. We were walking in ankle deep water.

      By the time we got to the vehicles, there were deep puddles in the parking area. My white tennis shoes were totally mud encrusted.

      We hauled our dripping bodies back into the 4x4.

      The windows in the 4x4 were completely fogged up. I handed our guide one of my cooling clothes to use to wipe down the windows. The windows in the vehicle were all closed due to the rain. But, what do you know, it was semi-cool in the 4x4. I asked if it had air-conditioning. I was told yes. I then asked why we didn't use it before. I was told that it was company policy not to use it since not all vehicles had it. I said that this was ridiculous!

      While driving through the rainstorm, the sunroof began leaking a steady stream of water all over Krystal and Henry, I took out another cooling cloth and they stuffed it in the crack of the sunroof.

      The ride home was fairly uneventful now that the air-conditioning was on and the leaks stopped.
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    • Day 53

      Bali Day 1

      March 1 in Indonesia ⋅ ☁️ 86 °F

      We found Bali to be a magnificent island within Indonesia - a country that has about 17,000 islands and has the 4th largest population in the world. However, Bali is 85% Hindu while the rest of Indonesia makes up the largest Muslim population in the world. The island's rich Hindu culture holds that gods live in all natural things - from mountains and streams to pebbles on the beach - lending the island a peaceful air.

      Karma is a central theme of Hinduism, and it plays a large role in Bali culture. As an example, when the open air shops that we saw along the roadside closed for the night, they just roped off the outside area instead of doors across the shop entrance, so everything is left out in the open. They said no one takes anything because it would be bad karma.

      Bali was also our first taste of the madness that Asia calls "traffic." Scooters everywhere weaving between cars. No sidewalks, or room to park a car. Just polite little beeps as they all pass each other in organized chaos. If someone needed to cross a street, no problem. Just raise your hand and walk, but don't back up, the drivers just go around you.

      Our hugh bus weaved through town for an hour in the rain without a thought of the traffic as we approached the Tegallalang Rice Terraces in Ubud.
      As we walked above the beautiful terraced rice fields and marveled at the engineering, you couldn't help but be struck by the cultural landscape that consisted of rice terraces and water temples. The temples are the focus of a cooperative water management system of springs, canals, and weirs known as "subak" that date back to the 8th century. We were fascinated to learn about rice: planting, growing, harvesting, and final processing. The rain didn't dampen our excitement as we toured, and we vowed never to take rice for granted again.

      Finished the day at the Puri Lukisan Museum and Temple in Uday. We then went for dinner at Cafe Lotus, which just happened to have a large water temple in its backyard.
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    • Day 73

      Last day for Bali

      March 3 in Indonesia ⋅ ☁️ 31 °C

      Today was the day for temples. I have always been confused with the plethora of Hindu gods but in truth they have only 3 main gods: Brahma, the creator, Vishnu, the preserver and Shiva, the destroyer. Even though Shiva is the destroyer he recreates so he is not all bad. Nonetheless it is important to keep on good terms with him. There are also manifestations of the gods, eg an elephant for Shiva. Monkeys are viewed as defenders of the God's kingdom. And then there are the ancestors to keep happy.

      Temples attract gods into the human world, encourage them not to make trouble and placate the evil spirits. Bali has 50,000 temples. Every home, neighborhood and village has a temple of varied importance. Each temple has a drum tower to summon the community; a split gate to mark the boundary between the spiritual world and the outer world; and a pagoda for a temporary residence for the God. A greater number of roofs reflects more godly importance. The structure of the pagoda reflects the cosmic mountain where the gods live. There are often frequent umbrellas that represent power and protection

      The Hindus make food offerings to the gods to appease them. After the gods take the spiritual substance the offerer takes home the rest.
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    • Day 89

      Benoa

      April 4, 2023 in Indonesia ⋅ 🌧 26 °C

      Un peu après 07h00 nous entrons, sous une pluie fine, dans le port de Benoa à Bali après une petite navigation de 96Mn depuis Lombok
      Nous partons visiter l’île avec une voiture privée à 08h45, direction le nord . L’île est bien plus riche que Lombok.
      Nous découvrons l’art du Batik lors de notre premier arrêt, et poursuivons dans notre découverte de l’artisanat local par le travail de l’argent qui est importé de Bornéo ou de Papouasie. Nous visitons ensuite un jardin pédagogique où se trouve des cacaotiers, des caféiers, de la vanille, du ginseng, etc…
      On a vu egalement un Luwak en cage, qui permet d’obtenir le fameux Kopi Luwak coffee.
      Puis nous sommes allés à la cascade de Uma Anyar. Une superbe expérience hors des sentiers battus avec un vieux guide local, un pont en bambou digne d’Indiana Jones ( qui a quand même été emporté 3 fois par les flots depuis décembre) et en prime une magnifique cascade
      Après cette petite marche nous expérimentons la cuisine locale avec un bon Babi Guling, un cochon de lait cuit à la broche .
      Un super repas pour 13€ à trois. Nous avons fait un arrêt chez un fabricant de meubles et objets de déco. Nos valises seront un peu plus lourdes
      Un peu plus tard nous visitons le temple de Desa Adat Batuan, une merveille d’architecture Hindouiste.
      Nous poursuivons notre excursion par la visite d’une ancienne maison telles qu’elles étaient durant l’occupation Hollandaise
      Retour au bateau vers 16h30, pour poser nos sacs et direction Kuta, la ville branchée à côté de Benoa. Station balnéaire très sympa et animée, la plage est fameuse pour ses couchers de soleil, même si aujourd’hui les nuages ont un peu gâché la photo
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    • Day 72

      Bali and the Birds

      March 2 in Indonesia ⋅ ☁️ 31 °C

      Another birding trip. We hired a local guide and in the middle of the city found trees beside the road with hundreds of Eastern Cattle Egrets raising their chicks. In a large rice field we found a number of other bids including the gorgeous Javan kingfisher. Yes, my photo is a little out of focus but it was tough to catch him still.

      We ate lunch at a Balinese restaurant overlooking a rice field. Cost was 1.2 million rupiah for 6 of us. (Exchange rate is 15,700 rupiah per dollar. I keep making factor of 10 errors.)

      At night we were treated to Balinese dancers and musicians on the ship.
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    You might also know this place by the following names:

    Tanjungbenoa, Tanjung Benoa, Танжунг Беноа

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