Osaka Japan

Osaka Japan

Well my flight left Bali on time and I had a 6 & 1/2 hour movie fest with little sleep. I was the only person who was not Japanese on my whole 747!! full flight and I was the only other nationality on board...strange..and the breakfast they served even stranger!!! I had drifted off and when I came to I was being served seaweed, some sort of fish and another thing I did not recognize..a bowl of plain noodles, and a bowl of rice with water flooding it and some yellow things floating in the rice, a small bottle of noodle sauce, one of soy sauce and yay some fruit!!!so I had a bit of fruit.

I arrive at the airport and none of the signs are in english..they are in many different symbol languages tho...and finally I find one in english!! I find my way to my gate only to find out my 4 hour layover has turned into 8 and 1/2 hours!!! Now to figure out how I am going to make my connections....sit down...breathe...imagine somehow it will work....the girl at the counter thinks she has solved my problem and re booked my flight to Laguardia..then I tell her I have another connection from NY to Burlington Vermont..???!!! now she is lost!!! I hand over all my itineraries and she tels me to have a seat!!

Osaka I can see out the window...lots of mountains and many big buildings...big city, all on the water. I can see a bunch of big long span bridges and a huge Ferris wheel!! I didn't imagine all the mountains tho....it is very hazy out here.

I walk around trying to waste time...can't even shop, everything here is outrageously priced..I know what is in all the shops tho! Try to find something to eat and there are only 2 restaurants and they have those displays of the plastic food..all of which looks completely not edible...I end up with edaname and some frenchfries and onion rings..mmmm... I cannot wait to leave!!

Bali Last Day

4.11.08
last day in Bali....
Glad I thought to look at my ticket..I was thinking I left on Saturday night the 12th...well the flight was actually at 12:50am on the 12th....friday night..yup..close one!!
Spent my last day enjoyin the pool and the beach...another beautiful and hot day....crazy that you have to lay in the shade and still end up burnt...or super brown in my case....Met an Aussie lady today in Bali to visit her grandkids, her son married a girl from indonesia, she was telling me all the stories of cultural differences and the rituals and wedding they had, very traditional Javanese...quite a story...the grandfather of the bride has a calender of 350 years and he has to check it to find out if the 2 are an excellent match..there is all this criteria..the Mom asked what if they are just a good match? grandpa said they would ship the girl of to another island until her son left for good..crazy...and the grooms whole family had to go to meet the brides family before they could marry, they thought maybe because they were different religions and it might be a problem, but really it was because he was the eldest son and they wanted to make sure their daughter was good enough for their son...Grandpa also piked the day they married based on the calender, and since the day was in February, the rainy season, they had to slaughter a chicken and so a dance and offering to the gods and stick the chicken on a pole and drive all over town so it would not rain on the day of the wedding. Very interesting stories she had!!!

3pm I was off to the Sofitel and Le Spa. I will end my vacation with a 90 minute special facial....and boy was it special...one of the most amazing facials I have ever had...actually I think it is the most amazing one!! It started with a full body massage...really nice...different than any I have had since being here..then the facial...each step had a different smell...it was the aromoplasty facail and it was!!! the smells were brilliant and relaxing and this girl had amazing hands...ahhhhhhhhh, My skin feels so good and I am mush!!

Saw a lovely sunset tonight...the beach was packed...it was Friday night and all the Balinese people come to the beach on the weekends, people were everywhere...

We decided to go back to Gado Gado again for dinner, one more dinner by the sea....and it was incredible again...we both ordered different dishes and they we excellent again..A lovely way to end my days in Bali..

Gado Gado

4.10.08
Bali is hot...did I mention this before...I just got back from walking on the beach and even tho I was swimming in the ocean every couple feet I am dripping in sweat!! Surfed and boogey boarded this am with some Austrians I met yesterday at the pool, pretty fun waves, had more fun watching this little 8 year old rippin' he was sooo good!!1 I know if this kid is not already winning comp's he will be ...He was from Australia and was out in some sick surf for hours, I have been watching him every day and it is amazing!!Lots of really good surfers here in Bali, it's so fun to hang at the beach and watch....A little annoying getting sown to the beach with all the hawkers, you get swarmed and touched and bugged...

The sand on the beach is black, and glistens like diamonds in the sun..and it's black...so it is inferno hot when you try to walk on it...I was screeching as we walked up to the hotel...but the beach and the water here are lovely....

So after my walk I was trying to lay down under my umbrella and look at the sea...and people are calling my name..interrupting my peace...it is eta, from the beach she wants to paint my nails, and Jonah and Luka who want to sell me tattoo's and paintings....So I figure I will go let Eta paint my toes, cause I promised...well......we haggle and I get ripped off and end up paying her $15 when I could go into the spa at the hotel and pay $8, but I figure I am supporting the locals......but then every other beach hawker is grabbing me, one is massaging my shoulders, one is braiding my hair, one scrubbing the other foot Eta is not working on, one has my hand and is pumicing it with lotion!!and Jonah and Luka have moved in too!!!and the brow chick, telling me I need to have my brows plucked...help!!!!So I don't make it off the beach until I have dropped $35 and that was only 3 people!!! had to bargain with the other's to get away from me!!not so much fun..but I have cute little flowers on my toes and made some people's days!!

Dinner tonight at Gado Gado a restaurant I'd read about and wanted to try. It is set right on the beach and they have a spotlight on the crashing waves...so pretty...I ordered a tuna dish...wow.....it was fabulous..the chef came out after we ate, he had just changed the whole menu and only started there 2 weeks ago. He is from Holland and just took over the restaurant..we told him how impressed we were...it was lovely. Dessert was the volcano, caramel oozing out of some sort of cake with berry coulis..once again fabulous!!! Russ complained at first about the price, but there could be no complaining after the meal....

Uluwatu and Jimbaran

Day trip to Uluwatu

Today our driver Made picked us up at 3:30 and we headed down to Uluwatu a beautiful temple high on a cliff on the east coast. We stopped on the way down at a cultural center called GWK, which stands for Garuda Wisnu Kencana the tree major Hindu gods, actually I learned today the Hindu religion on believes in one God, but that God takes on different persona's or manifestations. I thought they worshiped several different gods but that is not true. Also for each family temple and city temple they include little altars to each of the 3 GWK gods. So the cultural park is basically in the works, you drive up and see the rock walls are all shaved and on the top of the hill is a huge statue of Wisnu. apparently the huge bust is only 15% of what the statue will be when it done. It will be the highest statue in the world when it is finished and it will be really elaborate and have all 3 gods. Up on top of the hill the view was incredible, we were able to see the huge mountains on the island looming thru the clouds above Kuta.

Next we head down to Uluwatu. Made warns us not to wear sunglasses and to hold on tight to everything because the monkey's here are "cheeky"!!! WE explain we have experienced the monkeys at the monkey forest and he assures us these monkeys are different!! We sarong up and head in to the temple, and the monkeys are everywhere, so are the dragon flies...very cool!! I am over taking pictures and walk by a monkey and it grabs my sarong and takes a bite, and won't let go...it starts ripping the sarong as I pull, he takes another bite, finally a man with a stick gets him to let go!! The temple is high on a cliff, with a rugged beach far below, quite beautiful..I go over to pose for a pic near the temple and suddenly a monkey runs over and rips a clip out of my hair and runs off with it!!! I go over to try to get it back and big daddy monkey starts hissin at me and showing his teeth, so instead of retreating i move at him again and then he starts running at me..yikes!!!!!!!!! Cheeky monkeys!!!!!

It is like a million degrees and we are cursing the heat waiting for the Kecak Dance show to start. We are seeing the Kecak Ramayana and fire dance, a story of Rama and Sita along with Laksanama,Bhagawan and Garuda and the white monkey Hanoman. The story is acted out by dancers in stunning outfits and the music is a choir of chanting men..tack..tack.tack.tack...just remembering the sounds.. And there was fire walking at the end of the story as well..very cool performance, all overlooking the ocean on the cliff as the sun went down over the sea...

And finally dinner!!! We head down to Jimbaran where all the seafood is fresh and everyone eats on the beach..and it's true...We picked our food, picked the red snapper and then some prawns and they take them to the kitchen and we head to the beach...up and down the beach as far as you can see are candlelit tables and people out eating on the beach, really cool scene.....And we were serenaded by the lovely 5 piece band with a bit of Hotel California and some Bob Marley...and the fish and prawns...excellent and fresh..yum..

Bali All Seasons

Bali 4/6/08

so its hot here...like really really hot!!! I try to go out and walk around and explore every morning but have to end up collapsed in some bar or restaurant seeking air or a breeze!!! I cannot stand dripping in sweat and being this hot!!! So in the water I go. The beach was fun this morning...tons of surfers and great waves for miles, the sets of waves are cool here as the ocean goes completely flat between sets and then picks up again and whammy waves!!! Some pretty rad surfers here too!

The All Seasons hotel where we are for 4 nights is smallish and very retro....The pool area is nice but not as big as I would like...but whatever...I head to the spa here for the Shirodara treatment. Shirodara is where the warm oil is poured on you third eye, it is suppose to relax you and clear your mind..and the oil is really good for your hair too....It was pretty cool, started with my hair being soaked in hot oil and my scalp, head, neck and shoulders getting massaged, then arms, hands and chest...then the oil...feels really cool and warm..I really didn't want it to stop and it was over too soon...bummer....perfect ending to the day tho....

It had been raining really hard before the spa, like downpour...and when I was walking around to get to the spa the streets out behind the hotel were completely flooded...people were still riding their motorcycles with the water up past their feet, up to the seat on the bike!!! The next street over there were people walking in thigh deep water...crazy....when I came back out the water was pretty much gone..

day trip from Ubud

Bali Day trip from Ubud

So today we are going with the brother of a guy we met at Putra, the reggae bar, last night. his name is Dara and we will spend the day with him. First stop today is in Bedulu to visit the Elephant cave temple called Goa Gajah. We suit up in our sarongs and head down numerous steps down to the temple, and it is literally a cave, people still meditate in the cave nightly from 10pm until 5am in these little carved out spaces under ground, a man was at one end of the cave meditating as we walked thru. Outside there are separate temples and the fountains with the sacred water. We walk out the back side and there are rice paddies where the food is grown for festivities that take place at the temple, down the other side and down many more steps is the Buddhist temple, the remains of the original one have fallen down into the river below but are still recognizable. We hike back up and out and pay off the little guide we had who needed money for his 6 kids....

Back on the road..there are artisan shops everywhere no matter where you drive..and dogs everywhere..and temples.. The beauty of Bali is amazing, it is poor but everything here is beautiful and carved, Each home has a family temple, so everywhere you look in Bali there is a temple...and they are beautiful and decadent and big , many buildings, with daily offerings, all carved in wood and stone and lovely chiseled gods, it's really amazing to see, and smell, there is incense in the air always.

Our next stop is Pejeng and the rock temple. We walked down so many steps to get to this temple, I started feeling faint when thinking of climbing back out....not kidding...It is like 98 degree2s with 110 % humidity!!!! I was dripping when we got 1/2 back up.and with no breeze it is ridiculous, I am really not good with heat!! The temple was really cool tho!!!

We stopped at a coffee plantation next where they had every plant and tree you could imagine, herbs, oils spices,coffee's teas, chocolates, very beautiful and lush.

We started to climb, gradual climb and then we were on this skinny road the crater rim looking over to Mt Batur and active volcano. We stopped here on the rim in Kintamani for lunch with beautiful views of the volcano and lake Batur at it's base, quite spectacular. Now back in the car just as the afternoon rains come and we drive in a downpour back down the mountain. We pas thru Batubulan, meaning stone moon, this is where all the stone carvers are...miles of stone carvings line the road...huge Buddha's and statues down to little bitty one's, shop after shop, it is truly amazing how many artisans are working in this country. We pass next into Mas and all the stone carving turns to woodcarving.....on and on along the roadside.....

We pull over at Bukit Jambul for a stunning view of the rice terraces....it is amazing...but quickly we are swarmed by people trying to sell....and they come in 10's...so quick back in the car and keep moving..too bad absolutely lovely and peaceful here...

Back to Tjampuhan and out to dinner at Three Monkey's...a fabulous place to go if ever you are in Ubud....Lovely atmosphere set out in the rice paddies with umbrellas and nice lighting and the food was delicious!!!! Lovely last evening in Ubud.....

Monkey Forest.Ubud

4.1. Ubud

Got up today and headed over to the monkey forest and temples. Ok..monkeys everywhere!!!! Big, small,babies,newborns, all in this forest with temples down every path. The monkeys were pretty tame and unaffected by humans, very curious. I sat down and one jumped on my lap and climbed up on my shoulder and then head, his little hands were soft and warm like a person, he grabbed my chin with his hands and just looked in my eyes, then hopped on my shoulder and started chewing on my ear and earrings, when I covered them he started grooming my hair, I am gonna be in alot of photos of Bali and the monkey forest as a big group of people had gathered!! He was a cool little monkey!! We walked around looking at the temples and amazed at all the monkey's everywhere going about their business, grooming and wrestling and fighting over food, it was pretty cool being in there forest and watching how the live and get on. The temple was spectacular!! again as I was trying to get photos of it a monkey jumped on..he started jumping up and down on my shoulders and head..Russ has some pretty funny video of this monkey having a great time on me!!! There were only 2 that frightened me...one that was holding my hand and then started showing his teeth..may have been smiling I don't know but it was freaky!! and then the big male...I had picked up a bunch of bananas off the ground and was walking down the path when this big guy comes running at me and tackles my hand and grabs the bunch from me...he takes them and I am left with 1 in my hand and walk on..only to hear someone yell lookout and he comes running up from behind and swipes the last one!! bugger!! This is why all the drivers said don't buy the monkey food!!!!

Left the monkeys and headed into Ubud for some walking around, shopping and lunch before our 2pm spa. Lots of family temples, galleries, art and markets, nice little village. Russ stops to buy a book and a local guy tells me of a cremation ceremony starting at 1pm up the road...kinda a rare thing for tourists to get to see and a big part of the Hindu Culture. We head up that way and there is a huge float all decorated and a life size white cow all decked out in flowers and gold, tons of people are gathering and it will be a huge procession. a lady keeps pestering me and telling me we need sarongs and that she will sell them to me...it is still 40 minutes away and I take some pictures..she says I really need a sarong and that is is very big deal...apparently the dead person is inside that big white decorated cow and the process thru town and light the cow on fire and burn the cow and the person...I will post a picture of the cow...but think I really don't want to watch a person burn!!! We leave to get some lunch and make some decisions on the cremation!!

Went to Nomad for lunch on the main street, had some fried leaves as an appetizer!, the seafood curry was really nice, and coke is less expensive than diet coke...just weird...back to the Ubud Palace to catch a shuttle back to the hotel...

Here's my description of my afternoon..."The epitome of Balinese massage: detoxifying & stimulating herbal skin preparations flush away all tension, followed by a cooling yogurt rub for Ph balance, with the final touches of a Bali flower bath and fresh pressed herbal tonic"...2 hours..traditional Mandi Lulur..ah it was all that...