Post #156 27 October 2017

Gentlefolk,

This post describes our second visit to Bali, 8 - 14 September 2017.

We started this journey in Bali, 26 July - 3 August, then had a month travelling around Java, now back to Bali for another 6 days before flying to Perth, Western Australia.

This time we stayed in Sanur (2 nights), Ubud (2 nights), Singaraja / Lovina Beach (1 night), and Kuta (1 night).

A highlight was visiting the old Palace at Klungkung (aka Semarapura). Vera grew up in the house next to the Puri (Palace) and knew the Raja's (King's) family well (he had 25 wives!!!). Those days are long gone, but it was still fun re-connecting.

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This was the end of our 6 weeks in Bali & Java. I'll do summary comments / impressions at the end of this post.

This time we stayed in Sanur (near Denpasar), then drove to Ubud (cultural center of Bali) via Klungkung where Vera grew up.  Andre and Iis picked us up and we drove to Kintamani (lunch) and then on to Lovina Beach near Singaraja on the North Coast (home town of Vera's mother). Then back to Kuta via Sukasada and Bedugul. Bali is actually quite a small island, but its mountainous and roads are congested and slow.

View from the plane during our flight from Bandung to Bali. There is a "spine" of volcanoes which runs down the middle of Java; quite spectacular.  From the air you can also see why this island is one of the most densely populated places on earth - you can see village after village and town after town, and not many kilometers between; amazing.

More majestic volcanos.

You can see the Sea of Sand which surrounds famous Mount Bromo (2392m). We've been there a couple of times, dramatic landscape.  To the left you can see Gunung Semeru (3676m) the highest peak on Java which still occasionally blows smoke and ash.

In Sanur we stayed in a bungalow in the Inna Grand Bali Hotel.  The beach at Sanur is protected by a reef.  This was low tide and we were surprised that people could walk all the way out to the reef.  I guess it was full moon and perhaps the tides were bigger than usual - a variation of at least two meters, maybe more. 

This was a view of the beach in front of the Inna Hotel, at high tide.  You can see the waves breaking on the reef, about 150 meters out.

This was the main swimming pool at the Inna Hotel, near the high-rise hotel.  We normally used a pool closer to our bungalow.

We visited the Museum La Mayeur; these are busts of the artist and his wife.  Le Mayeur (1880 - 1958) arrived in Bali in 1932 - a veritable paradise then - and married beautiful dancer Ni Polok (he was 55, she just 15).  The house they lived in was turned into a museum (pretty run down now) which displays some of his paintings.  

Every morning we did the long walk along the beach.

A wedding party set up on the beach - pity we missed the ceremony!

Morning yoga class on the beach.

We had breakfast at this cafe on the beach.

Old friend Nuraka and his German wife Corrine live at the end of Sanur Beach.  They were both tour guides, now retired.  We met Nuraka in Vancouver in 1977 and he came with us when we drove down to San Francisco. 

Vera and Corrine in the garden of the Inna Hotel.

We had lunch with Nuraka and Corrine at a restaurant on Sanur Beach.

Lobster anyone?

The Balinese are Hindu and have many, many ceremonies.

We visited the Puri (Palace) at Klungkung - Vera knew many of the older folk and was welcomed like a long lost friend!

Vera meeting a childhood friend, Tjokorda Istri Rai, with whom she went to primary school.

Some of the younger generation men in the Palace.

Vera with Tjokorda Alit and his sister Tjokorda Istri Anom, neighbours and friends from primary school.

We had lunch at the restaurant between Klungkung and Ubud.

Beautiful rice terraces around Ubud.

In Ubud we stayed at the Saka Village Bungalows.  It was difficult to find (no signs on the road!), and far from the center of Ubud.  One big positive -we discovered  a bar & restaurant called Juno's close by.  They had an "Open Mic" night which was great fun, lots of good music & acts, including a German girl who read some of her poetry. We had dinner with David & Nadia (Nadia is the daughter of my old friend Budi Daroe in Surabaya; she married an Aussie, David is doing a year as a Volunteer at a clinic in Ubud).

Nice garden at the Saka Village.

The gardeners used hand-shears to cut the grass!

The breakfast area overlooked the swimming pool, but only 5 x 4 m, too small to swim.

We found this lovely cafe nearby Saka Village Hotel.

Coffee & cake at the cafe.

Many villas being built everywhere around Ubud - rice paddies disappearing as urbanisation takes over!

View across the lotus pond to the Pura TAman Saraswati temple at the Lotus Restaurant in the center of Ubud. Dance performances are held there at night, which must be lovely, but our hotel was unfortunately too far away.  We have come to this restaurant in the past - it's still good, but seems to have lost some of its magic.  Across the street was the main market, and the Ubud Palace (Puri Saren Agung) is close by and open to visitors.  Ubud is known for its art and culture.  Balinese are talented artists: they can play music and dance, carve wood and stone, paint, silverware - its in their DNA. The following photos were taken around Ubud.

We drove from Ubud to Singaraja via Kintamani where we had lunch.  Spectacular views of Lake (Donau) Batur in the crater of what must have been a huge eruption.  Views of Gunung (Mount) Batur (1717 m)to the left, and Gunung Abang (2152m) to the right.  Years ago I caught a boat across the lake to a Terunyan Village, very primitive with unusual burial traditions.

Driving from Kintamani to Singaraja we stopped at this cock fight.  Still a popular pastime, even though the government has tried to control it.  Enthusiastic crowd, lots of money changed hands.

We stayed in the Hotel Suma at Lovina Beach, about 8 km west of Singaraja.  The north coast of Bali has black-sand beaches,  These boats take tourists out to see dolphins at sunrise.

The swimming pool in our hotel at Lovina Beach.

Vera in front of the door of our hotel room.

This design of mosquito net was not very functional, but luckily there were no mosquitos during our stay.

The next morning we spent a couple of hours exploring Singaraja.  This was where Vera's mother grew up - her father, Pak Natih, was an official in the Customs Office. We met up with Pak Komang, Vera's uncle, who still lives in the old family house. Singaraja used to be the capital of Bali under the Dutch - but don't know why because there was no natural harbour (breakwater had to be constructed).  We hoped to see some old colonial buildings, but very little has survived.  We came across this impressive old Chinese temple near the harbour.

Then we drove back to Kuta, via Bedugul and Donau Bratan.Some of the signs include Balinese sanskrit writing - interesting - don't think many people can read old Balinese these days, but I guess the government is trying to maintain culture.

Pura Ulum Danu Bratan, a 17th century Hindu-Buddhist temple dedicated to Dewi Danu, the goddess of water.

Part of the impressive botanical gardens surrounding the Temple.

From Bedugul we drove back to Kuta, for our last night in Bali.  Ita got us a great deal in the Golden Tulip Hotel.  It turned out to be a very nice hotel, with easy access to the Airport - only took us 15 minutes to get to the International Terminal for our flight to Perth.

Photo from our room balcony at the Golden Tulip Hotel, across the lovely garden to the large pool and the circular gym.  The hotels in Bali are great - you certainly get much more for your money than in Australia!!

Our last night in Bali.  Here are Vera and Andre watching the sunset.  Lots of people around, bands playing, fun atmosphere.  We've been so lucky with the weather - it has been great.

We were lucky as the sunset was probably the best we saw during our time in Bali.  Afterwards we had dinner in "24 hour Dim Sum" part of an American chain.  A great night to finish our 6 weeks in Indonesia.

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The following day we caught a flight to Perth, Western Australia - the subject of my next post.

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I'll summarise our thoughts/impressons on our 6 weeks in Bali and Java, as follows:

Overall

Most people poor, struggle, but smile and seem happy; beautiful people!

Beautiful countryside: rice paddies, coconut palms, volcanoes, etc. 

Smoker's paradise (cheap, plentiful cigarettes).

Traffic congestion, but good drivers slow & steady (we only saw one accident).

Millions of motor bikes.

Taxis cheap, but still "Grab Motor Bikes" and Uber popular.

Lots of hotels and restaurants everywhere, and inexpensive by Aussie standards.

Now 10% govt tax in all restaurants and hotels (formerly small were exempt).

Most restaurants still use MSG.

Tropical climate, lush gardens, flowers and trees.

So many people, so crowded - still don't understand how it all works (and gets better).

Bali

Bali,  Island of the Gods, still great.

Many small shops selling similar things, competitive.

So many massage parlours and beauty & tattoo salons.

Big new airport terminal

All roads are congested, slow traffic, although sometimes the traffic flows alright - why?

More mosques reflect the increasing number of Javanese.

Lot more umbrellas and chairs for hire on the beach; many surf schools; music at night.

Don't see much toplessness these days - western girls wearing tops.

Java

Lots of adverts on TV for glossy hair, but almost all women now wear hijab (so why?).

Jakarta is huge, many highrise buildings, Surabaya a few.

Trains not bad, a bit slow (like Australia) but comfortable and inexpensive.

Highways now are almost continuous housing/shops. 

Bad traffic everywhere; becaks and dokars still in most places.

Jogja = batik heaven. 

What we'll miss

Indonesian (especially Balinese) people, smiling, friendly, helpful.

Vibrant colours: flowers, trees, bushes, vegetation.

Strong flavours: fruit, food, fresh fruit & vegetable juices.

Free Wifi available almost everywhere.

Swimming in water 27 - 30C.

Sunsets on beaches.

Convenient shopping and eating, till late at night.

Inexpensive food, drinks (including beer and bottled water), taxis, clothes.

Friends and relatives, and Vera speaking Indonesian and Balinese.

What we won't miss

Smoking

Traffic

No sidewalks (footpaths)

Crowds

Heat

MSG in food

Personal questions

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I could go on and on, but that will do.

We had a really good visit.  The time went very quickly and we were never bored.  The fact that Vera had friends and relatives in most cities certainly helped; it's always nice to have a local show you around.  And we were blessed with good weather - it only rained a couple of times.

We only got upset tummies once each - and even then not too bad - so that was a great boon.

Of course, Vera speaking Indonesian (and Balinese) helped a lot in getting around.

All-in-all a most enjoyable 6 weeks.

The Simadibrata Family is planning another reunion in 2 years, so that will be the timing of our next visit to Indonesia.

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Best wishes, stay healthy and keep smiling.

Alex & Vera Olah

Canberra, Australia

Friday 27 October 2017