Passage to the Far East, Report # 17 – Bali, Indonesia It is not possible to adequately convey to you how fantastic Bali is for us. It is a paradise! Kadek Arnawa, our guide last visit here, greets us and 2 friends. We have 2 days to explore this magnificent

island of temples – thousands of them – each family has one! Balinese people are gentle, soft-spoken and devout – prayers and ceremonies dominate every day. Each of 340 kms we travel is packed with stunning photo ops. We quickly realise we must limit photos before our cameras are

full. Specialists in sculpture, in some villages the roadside is packed with icons in the hundreds. Smelling hot bees wax, we learn of the labour-intensive process of making glorious batik fabric patterns and images (left). Kadek invites us to a residential compound to see the living quarters typical of Balinese people. Entrance to the family temple is guarded by the figures each side of Kerrell (below, left). Children traditionally have their eye-teeth filed level with others. Kadek’s colleague Wayan demonstrates. Particularly aggressive male chickens are reared for cock fighting. With his head comb trimmed short, this beautiful cock is ready once large razor-sharp knives are attached to his leg

spurs. Vehicles parked on the road mark a cock fight. A little apprehensive we ask to observe this Balinese tradition. The spectators super excited, the roar of many hundreds is deafening as the cocks face-off. We catch it all on video. Thankfully the fight is brief. At a coffee plantation we sample catpoochino. No, that is not a mis-spelling of cappuccino. Can you guess? Beans are extracted from excrement of a civet cat that has eaten coffee cherries. That coffee is VERY expensive. It’s a ‘tough’ job for collectors. The coffee does not taste like its ‘medium of transport’ (substitute your own words here). Wearing a mandatory

sarong we descent 271 steep steps to Gunung Kawi Temple. In this precipitous jungle ravine it was safer from enemies. With our 6 companions we enter via this bridge. Comparable to Petra in Jordon, this ancient temple was carved into bed rock. With modern rice varieties farmers produce 3 crops per year. Everywhere we see them working –

some planting, others harvesting – hand threshing and drying. Near the artist colony Ubud we visit the Monkey Forest, among the many finding one delicately wiping his mouth after eating, and, this new-born. Thence, off to Tanah Lot

Temple – the most photographed in Bali – perched precariously on a sea-side rock famous for sunset photos and popular with brides – as is the Klung Kung Royal Temple (purple, below, left). In contrast, Goa Lawah Temple, the most revered in Bali, has a large colony of cute fruit bats. But for Bob and Kerrell the most beautiful of all is the Water Palace in eastern Bali. With its soft music this place is magical! Having a fantastic

cruise, ‘till next we have the pleasure of seeing you, love to all, Bob and Kerrell, http://lincolnshome.wordpress.com/

mailto:kadek@balifriend.nethttp://lincolnshome.wordpress.com/