Bali has called me

After leaving Australia, we spent an entire month in the Indian Ocean and Indonesia and 18 of the days were Sea Days. Ordinarily we would not spend this many days at sea but the worldwide fuel constraints have encouraged us to go slower to preserve what we have on board and arrive at ports that have the capacity to provide fuel to us. That has also allowed us to stay longer in some ports than we originally had planned. We, the Residents, really enjoy the longer stays as we get to explore more of the outskirts of town rather than just the shopping areas. I had no idea that Indonesia was so spread out. It is actually composed of 17,508 separate islands and only 6,000 of them are occupied. We got to spend time on 6 different islands and were excited to enjoy 2 separate visits to Bali.

On our first visit to Bali, which is the capital of Denspasar Island we had a terrific welcome. The Water Boats came out, the sky was blue, and there were people having water-sport fun everywhere. The Ski-Do vehicles were circling our ship and waving as if they had never seen a Cruise Ship before. It turned out that they had not had one in almost a month and they were surprised to see us. We are a small Cruise Ship line so we don't get much attention sometimes. The port is called Benoa Bali and is actually quite away from the "town center". But I did manage to walk to the lovely Benoa Marina Bali for a nice lunch checking out some beautiful visiting Mega boats. On the way back I found an amazing statue of exactly what I don't have a clue. While I was walking back the music/chants of the Muslim Call to Prayer, which is performed 4 times a day, was emanating from the statue. Indonesia is primarily a Muslim country but the other significant religions are Hindu and Catholic. I was very happy to see the Fuel barge along side Odyssey "bunkering" (that's ship lingo for "filling up the tank".)

One afternoon while in Bali we had a Dance Troupe of about 10 dancers join us on the pool deck for some local entertainment. Not only were they beautiful, they had the most hypnotic eyes and long fingers and nails you ever saw. At the end they convinced several residents to come up and dance - thankfully I was far enough in the back that they never saw me.

A couple more sea days and a one day stop at yet another small kinda trashy Indonesian island. So I didn't get off and go visit. That is another advantage of a 3.5 year voyage, I don't have to see everything. But once a month, on a Sea Day, is the gathering of the Wine Tribe.

This month it was hosted by myself and Diana. And to make it even funnier, we did not discuss what we planned to wear and we both came in the same dress (slightly different). We bought from local ladies selling clothing right outside the Port Terminal. We had a nice turnout and the Chef did a great charcuterie board for us. Funny story: I went to the Food & Beverage Manager to order the food. I asked for a Charcuterie Board and his response was "You want what kind of board?" I repeated myself and then realized that I should have said "Cheese Tray". He did recognize that. A couple of years ago I didn't know what a Charcuterie Board was either! And the sunset watch in the Observatory was gorgeous.

I took another interesting tour on the ship one day. A couple of weeks before I had done a Kitchen Tour. I had no idea that the kitchens had an escalator going from the main kitchen to the 4th Deck restaurant and to the 6th Deck Buffet. It is amazing the number of Maritime rules they have to meet in order for us to remain healthy. But this week, I went on a tour of the Engine Room and Command Center. The number of gauges, monitors, and pieces of equipment that 4 men are watching constantly is unbelievable. And that goes on 24 hours a day. We have a wonderful crew and led by our wonderful Captain Val. Isn't he handsome?

And speaking of the Kitchen. I don't know who or where he got his training, but someone knows how to carve up a fruit or vegetable and make it look awesome. The fresh Tuna was grilled that night on our outdoor grill. It was awesome. Can you believe that beautiful flower carved out of a watermelon?

Ya know, I figured on this trip I would see a lot of UNESCO sites, and a bunch of Temples and Shrines. Never did I think I'd see a Tasmanian Devil AND a Komodo Dragon. Both of which are right up there with REALLY UGLY and fierce looking. We visited Komodo Island which has the biggest population of Dragons in the world at over 1,000. And there are less than 2,000 in the entire world. No one lives on Komodo Island and it is a National Park. You cannot get on the island without a Guide and you wouldn't want to. I have a video of two of the Dragons fighting that I am going to put here and I hope you can see it. There are also deer, water buffalo, wild boar, racoons, and other small animals living on the island. I don't know if they are brought to the island or not but since the Dragons are carnivorous, their food had to come from somewhere. Their bite is not what kills you but their saliva. There is one picture that looks like a big mound of grassy dirt. That is their nest. The female digs in the ground making a big hole and build up the sides. Then she lays about 30 eggs down in the hole but only 10-15% will live to adulthood in 2-3 years. They are huge (adult males are around 230 pounds) and evidently can run very fast. They live up to 20-40 years. The Guides that walked with us in front and in back had very long pronged heavy sticks to fend off the Dragon if they approached us. I saw 8-10 during the 2 hour hike through the forest.

After Komodo Island we returned for ur 2nd visit to Bali. This time I did more shopping and eating at local restaurants. Our "driver/tour guide" took us to a Batik warehouse where my friend bought lots of gorgeous material. Then we stopped for Indonesian BBQ pork ribs at Naughty Nuri's. Really good. And then shopping. Indonesian prices are extremely low so it was fun. I bought a framed wall hanging for my villa (less than US$8) and a butterfly kite (less than US$5) to hang on the wall of my balcony.

There is so much to like about Indonesia - the sunsets, the mountains, the people - but the trash is everywhere - in the street, on the roads and the water. It is really a shame.

Our last important stop in Indonesia, at least for now, was Semarang on the island of Java. The history of the town goes back to the 9th century but in the 1500's it became recognized as an important fishing village and one of the first Islamic schools was built in 1547. We visited two temples in the area. The 1st was Borobudur. It was built in the 9th century and is a Mahayana Buddhist Temple. The Temple consists of nine stacked platforms, six of them square and 3 circular and topped by a central dome. The dome is surrounded by 72 Buddha statues. It is the largest Buddhist Temple in the world. The reliefs are very intricate, and each tells a story. Our guide explained that the different position of the Buddha's hands had a different meaning. I climbed up the steps to the 6th level but decided I was good. I'd seen all the Buddha's that I needed to. The construction boggles your mind - how did they do that? Reminded me of Chichen Itza in Mexico and Machu Picchu in Peru. They provided each of us with rubber soled sandles because they feared that the stones imbedded in the soles of the visitors shoes would erode the stones of the temple. You mean the stones that have been there since the 1500's. OK?.

The other temple we visited was Prambanan. It too was built in the 9th Century but it is a Hindu Temple. It is the largest Hindu Temple site in Indonesia and the 2nd largest in Southeast Asia, after Angkor Wat in Cambodia. The Temple compound originally consisted of 240 temple structures and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. As of early 2023. only 6 of the original 240 have been reconstructed. Much of the original stonework has been stolen or reused elsewhere, or completely destroyed due to earthquakes, volcanos, and time. The Indonesian government decided to rebuild the shrines only if 75% of the original masonry was available. In 2006 a 5.9 earthquake hit the Compound and the peak of one Temple toppled. They left it where it fell as a silent witness and memorial of the destruction to the Temple. In 2019, the grand Abhiseka sacred ceremony was performed here. This ritual was held for the first time in 1,163 years after the Temple was founded in 856. The Abhiseka ceremony was meant to cleanse, sanctify and purify the temple, restoring it to its original function as a focus of Hindu religious activity. It was another amazing site.

I hope this isn't too much of a history lesson but I learned a lot so I'm sharing something besides interesting pictures. I'm on my way to Singapore. More about that soon. and points beyond.