Jalan-jalan with Uncle Bruce & Aunt Bobby

After getting slightly turned around finding my way to their lovely hotel in the morning, I picked Bruce & Bobby up and we got on the road for what was to be a full and fun-filled day of touring around Bali...

We started off in the general direction of the great sea temple of Ulu Watu, and did arrive there around mid-day after a quick visit to the post-office, and a side-trip to Dreamland Beach (which has huge developments in progress and unfortunately is nothing of the secret isolated dreamland it once was!?). The Pinctu statues, which would dwarf Goliath, were the most impressive thing about that area.




Ulu Watu -- Luhur Ulu Watu (literally "Heavenly Rock Headland") is one of the six sea temples of Bali. Teetering on sheer cliffs over the Indian Ocean on the most south-westerly point on the island, the temple's dramatic backdrop makes it feel like a place of immense importance. We didn't have any issues with the monkeys... but there are plenty of signs warning of their potential aggressive behaviour! I think it was siesta time, and with the intense heat, they were hiding out in the cool shade of the bushes. Ulu Watu was also B&B's introduction to geocaching! There was an Earthcache there which Bobby led us to like an expert gps-user (I realize that an Earthcache is not the best introduction to geocaching, since there is no actual cache... just a series of questions to find the answers to)! (Of course, we tried another one later in the day as well, at Tanah Lot, and it was a bust as well - I hope they'll get a chance to try another some time - especially with all the traveling they do, it'll probably take them to a lot of neat places they wouldn't otherwise know about!)









On the way to Tanah Lot we passed a few rice fields that were in the process of harvest... so we stopped to get a close-up view. Although I'm not much of a tour-guide for Bali (having only been here about a month myself!), at least I can speak the language and translate to ask questions of the people we met along the way! The rice they are currently farming in Bali is the new 'improved' species which yields three harvests per year (the traditional rice yielded only two, although they say it was of a better quality). Interestingly enough, migrant workers come from Java for the harvests, since they will work for lower wages than the Balinese!

We arrived at Tanah Lot just in time for a sunset that was not to be (although we were treated to a beautiful deep red eye in the sky just before it slipped over the horizon, the clouds prevented us from seeing the glorious post-card picture Tanah Lot). It also happened to be high tide, and we can now understand where Tanah Lot got it's name (literally "Land in the middle of the sea"): the temple itself is seated on a rock out-cropping that is isolated by the sea at high tide... but we enjoyed the view of it, and B&B bought some beautiful kites (or as Bruce called them, his 'new packing challenges'!).

On the way home we stopped for a sea-side dinner in Jimbaran, the traditional fishing village that has turned into THE fresh sea-food dining area of Bali. Our table was literally less than 15 meters from the surf, and B&B spoiled me to a delicious lobster and squid (and chicken) dinner.

I guess you can tell by the length of this entry that it was a fabulous day - so enjoyable hanging out, and visiting all day. How exciting to meet up with family so far from home! I can't wait 'till B&B plan their next trip, and perhaps come back to visit again! We should be getting a house of our own soon, with an extra room (nudge nudge wink wink hint hint), to entice more family to come visit!

It was after 12 when I arrived home to the news that my departure to Sorong was the next morning. Having not yet packed for the trip, and with a few loose-ends to tie up before leaving, needless to say, I was a little short on sleep by the time I was off to the airport at 6 am!!! Luckily I got a super-comfy hotel room for my transit in Makassar, and arrived in Sorong fit-as-a-fiddle!


B&B even introduced ME to something new: the ginger fizz... yummy!




P.S. Bobby, I hope you haven't been getting eaten alive by mosquitoes... I found your bug spray in my bag on the way to the airport!