3:30 a.m. arrived pretty quickly and soon after that we were on the shuttle bus to the airport. The traffic was just as heavy as it had been the night before!! One of the best decisions we made for the trip was to buy the ‘Economy Plus’ seats on the outbound Denver – Tokyo route and the inbound Tokyo – Chicago route. LOTS more legroom and on the way back we got the bulkhead seats adding even more legroom. Outbound was a new 787,  nice.  Inbound was an old 747 which has very poor individual entertainment centers. United Airlines really needs to upgrade their customer amenities for planes used on international flights. Soon we were in the air and we began our 32 hours of traveling back to MSN, with 22 hours of that in the air!

CONCLUSIONS AND OBSERVATIONS: Visiting Indonesia was quite the trek and experience. Getting there is an issue because of the long flights. Passing the IDL and being 14 time zones different from MSN takes a bit of getting used to. Once the body adjusts . . . everything is fine.

With a population of 143 million, Java (circled in blue) is the world’s most populous island and one of the most densely populated places in the world. Java is the home of 57 percent of the Indonesian population.The traffic and mass of humanity in the large cities in unbelievable.

However it should not be surprising since Indonesia’s total population of 249.9 million, compared to our US population of 317 million, is crammed into an area substantially smaller than the US. The city infrastructure in many cases seems to be crumbling. Sidewalks and street are in disrepair and many buildings need work . . . although the skyline of Jakarta was heavily lined with construction cranes. There is lots of new construction going on and a subway will open in 2020, which will definitely help.

It was interesting during the two weeks moving  to smaller and smaller islands.

Starting with:

1 Java: population 141,000,000, 55,389,000 square miles

2 Bali: population 4,200,000, 2,175 square miles

3 Nusa Lenbomgan: population 5,000, 5 square miles

4 Nusa Cenigan: population 1,000, 3 square miles,

The people of Indonesia were very welcoming. Everywhere we went people were very excited to learn we were from the United States. Didn’t detect any animosity towards our culture or way of life. Several times when we were in the back country folks would ask where we were from and when we said the United States they repeated United States, followed by the word Obama, and a cheer!!! It is interesting, we heard more about the CIA in Indonesia and Cuba, in the past month, than we’ve heard in a lifetime. The US has certainly been busy sticking our nose in ‘places we have a US interest’, I think is the phrase we use, around the world. Got to read up more on that.

The countryside was green and beautiful. However, you didn’t want to look too close at the ground which in many cases, had lots of trash that had blown in or was left from locals. Lots of plastic litter that was going to be there for  a longggggggg time. Quite a contrast with Cuba,  we had just visited just last month, where there was virtually none.   It was a great experience visiting Indonesia, experiencing  the people, culture and FOOD.

No tummy problems although emJay did have a mild touch of  ‘Bali Belly’.

emJay’s reflections:

My head is full of travel experiences after an unplanned piling up of our three global trips to France, Cuba and Indonesia this fall. Its been rich and full and I am glad to be home for awhile now. Yet every time I go somewhere, I find myself thinking about what it would be like to live there awhile, learn the language, get to know the culture, etc.

I must admit I was a little apprehensive about Indonesia, as the culture and language were totally new to me. And of course the occasional unrest there over the years was in my mind as well. My apprehensions fell away almost immediately upon arrival. I had the feeling we were being cared for every step of the way, from the Conservancy’s  driver picking us up at the Jakarta airport in the wee hours of the morning, all the way to the hotel shuttles on our last night and morning in Jakarta. The travel industry/community there has figured out how to make a potentially overwhelming trip quite manageable and comfortable.

The people stand out in my mind more than the landscape: friendliness and customer service were notable from the folks we dealt with; curiosity; the gentleness of the Hindu culture on Bali, the little offerings everywhere, contrasted with trash in the mangroves when we rode our motorbike around the small islands.   On the natural side, the most stunning experience was to see the coral reefs and fish during our day of snorkeling. Such colors and size variations in the fish; an amazing feeling to swim along with hundreds of small fish all around you, so close you could touch them. The coral in our second spot was tremendously varied and healthy looking. That experience was a real highlight.

Meeting colleagues in another country was the highlight of the work portion of the trip. Smart, committed, passionate conservationists, working the same way we approach our work in Wisconsin. And they know how to have fun.

I feel very grateful for this opportunity through my work to visit this country that was not on our “travel list”, but now I am so glad we went there. It was a great experience that I will be thinking about for a long time.

POSTSCRIPT:

. . .  to close out the year, I got my December ride in on December 14 to complete, for the second year in a row, my membership in the Madison Bike and Bowl’s prestigious ‘At Least Once A Month Club’, biking at least once every month in 2014!

Today we head back to Bali, by Fast Boat, and then back to Jakarta for an overnight and then home!

We started the day with a ‘little’ headache from all the wine we had last night, some in our hacienda . . .

 

In packing up our stuff we found this contraption in a basket in the bathroom. Evidently a mosquito killer. You plug it in, put one of the little HIT tabs in the device and I guess it kills them dead. Not sure what it might do to human’s breathing whatever vaporizes!

 

The AC on the island was not as effective as in our Ubud villa. Although the temp was set at 16C, during the heat of the day it never got the temp much below 80F.Luckily we were not in the room much during the day. After sunset, the room cooled down and we needed a blanket every night. Nice sleeping!

 

One last breakfast the the beach front restaurant . . . they put the X-mas tree up since yesterday!

 

Great morning view from our table . . .

 

If you look close, across to Bali, you can see a very controversial high rise hotel.

 

Soon it was time to check out and we did have some help. It’s going to be hard going back to the reality of hauling everything yourself and driving oneself around . . .

 

As we traveled to Mushroom Bay, via our outdoor taxi, we passed a school that was just getting out. School kids everywhere . . .

 

And everyone had a scooter. Lots of drag races away from school.

 

As we approached the Bali coast, on our 25 minute Fast Boat ride,  we cruised by the hotel that some corporation sold the Bali government on permitting during the 60’s. There was so much local opposition to it after it was constructed, a referendum was passed that no future building project in Bali could be taller than a coconut tree!!!!

 

We tied up with the TNC staff in Bali  and went for a nice lunch at a dockside restaurant in Benoa Bay, not to far from the TNC office.

 

Here are several of the ships owned by the Indonesian Coast Guard that are operational . . .

 

. . . and here are a few patrol boats that are no longer operational. The government evidently doesn’t have a good system of disposing of old out of date items so they just park them and let them rust away!!!

 

Here are two of the program managers from the local TNC Bali field station, Haleem and Peter, who deal with the marine and fisheries programs.

 

emJay and Haleem discuss his past visit to Wisconsin.

 

Peter explains the protected areas TNC is working to develop in eastern Indonesia.

 

Their reference library of species . . .

 

. . . is a freezer full of frozen genetically identified fish!!!

 

emJay and Mizra discuss the marine program administered out of the Bali station . . .

 

Hallem joined the lively discussion.

 

After our experience at the Bandung traffic and airport we wanted to get to the Bali airport with time to spare . . . what a difference a local tourist trade can make.  The airport was large, spacious could handle plenty of air traffic and passenger shopping. The route to the concourses passes through MANY shopping areas where the goal is to separate the tourist from their last rupiahs.

 

Oh boy . . . won’t this be treat.

 

In order to accommodate large jet traffic the Bali airport had to be constructed on fill dumped out into the ocean.

 

The runways run within feet of the high tide line!!!

 

Our plane leaving Bali was an hour late. By the time we landed, cleared the Jakarta airport and were in our overnight hotel it was 9:30pm. We needed to leave our hotel at 4:00am to get through the check in process in time for our flight to Japan. It was going to be a short night!!!!

Today we were able to sleep in a little not needing to be available on the beach at 9:00am like yesterday to go snorkeling. So . . . we slept in until 7:30am. Today we would explore the island by mini-motorcycle and had hoped to get started early to avoid the heat. It gets pretty unbearable under  the open sun in the afternoon.

Needless to say, after breakfast and lounging around the pool located by the creperie, we finally decide to get going at the crack of 11:30am!!

Here we go on our mini-bike! Nobody wears helmets, there are no cars, and most of the roads are so rough you can’t ride more than 15 miles an hour. Our motorbike vendor didn’t speak any English, as he tried to explain to me the finer details of operating this Honda, and I as the renter didn’t speak any Bahasa Indonesian  . . . but who cares. We were off!!!

Here is one of the first ‘rural towns’ we passed through  on the way to the mangrove forest, not far from where we snorkeled yesterday. . .

This road was great but in the minority . . .

. . . as this is what was more common. emJay hold on to your hat!!!

To give you an idea of how often the roads may be repaved, looks like this is where the roller was parked years ago and has sat ever since.

Great flowers on the shrubs and trees as we motored along. Not likely to look like this when we get home. However I hear there is a heat wave going on in WI with temps in the 40’s!!!

Some agriculture in the rural areas and their cattle are definitely not over fed . . .

. . . woodland grazing Indonesian style!

We were heading for the suspension bridge over to Nusa Ceningan and my gps said it was right ahead. Oh and here was the crossing where all the local vendors had their signs welcoming you.

It is called the Golden Gate bridge but please don’t confuse it with the one in California . . .

Quite an up ramp. I was contemplating one  or two Evil Kneivel moves but didn’t think the rig had the horsepower!!!!

Alternating one lane traffic only . . .

emJay wanted to drive a little so we switched off positions. We hadn’t gone two miles when the bike ‘mysteriously’ veered into this ‘shopping center/mall’!!

While she shopped, I toured the local seaweed growers working areas and homes. The usual routine seems to lay the seaweed outside the door of your home to dry. These folks looked like they might have been on tough times . . .

But they did have a guest house!!

In sort order emJay had bought enough batik to fill up her backpack and we were soon off again. But not before I got to meet the owner and her daughter who helped emJay part with some of her Rupiah. Money well spent though in these rural shops.

We wound our way to the Blue Lagoon situated on the end of the island. This is where the movie ‘Blue Lagoon’ starring Brook Shields was filmed many years ago . . .

. . . a beautiful setting!

Where to head for high ground when the typhoon arrives !!!

Here was a type of suburb with a series of small lagoons where some of the more well off seaweed farmers seemed to live.

All this touring was making us hungry and we headed to Dream Beach for lunch but not before stopping at this cock fight event. Lots of yelling and money exchanging hands . . .

. . . we considered staying and eating at one of these local entrepreneurs ‘food cart’ type mobile kitchen attached to the back of his motorbike. I have seen these all over Indonesia and am really attracted to trying one. Maybe tomorrow????

On the way out of town we saw where some of the prize cock fighters live and train. They live in the wicker cages painted red and white.

Up the stairs was a temple we would visit  after lunch.

Soon we arrived at Café Pandan located at Dream Beach. A small resort known for their food . . .

. . . where we sat and watched the swimmers and surfers while we waited for our food.

We started with some nice chicken filled spring rolls with a hot and VERY hot sauce . . .

followed by emJay’s fried tuna fish with mixed veggies and rice . . .

. . . and my fish in tomato sauce cooked in banana leaves. YUM!!!!

. . . Oh and there was a little room left for dessert so we shared a Didan sugar cake, a local favorite filled with coconut and palm sugar. Oh . . .and two more beers too!

On the way out of town we climbed the steep steps to the local temple . . .

. . . where I was surprised by this god statue that reminded me a little of Al Jolson!

Nice time touring this large temple on the top of the local mountain.

When we arrived on island Lembongan we had driven past this cemetery and were curious to stop and explore. Not sure what the umbrellas are all about but it was clear those left behind were leaving LOTS of goodies for those on their travels beyond.

Water, candy, chocolate and a few Rupiah to by more on the journey beyond.

Some folks may have come from fewer means . . .

We traveled on and were soon above our little beach community where you can see the main drag running right through the middle of town.

Here is the route we traveled today, captured by my trusty Garmin Edge 705. Very fun and informative day to get into the back country were the locals live.

Soon we were back at our hotel where the ‘goddess of plenty’ welcomed us home as we headed to our beach front bar, throats parched from all of our touring!!!!

What a great night’s sleep last night . . . even had to put on a blanket! Over the bridge and through the pond to breakfast . . .

But not before a coffee on the settees where last night we watched the sunset!

emJay can finally get wi-fi so she checks in with colleagues at home.

We have a French chef here so the scrambled eggs were yummy and creamy. French style! With fresh squeezed  papaya and watermelon juice.

Soon we would head out on our next adventure in the Safari boat!

Since the tide was still low, the seaweed farmers were busy at work. This island’s income was exclusively seaweed farming prior to the recent arrival of tourism.

Only several years ago this is how predominate the seaweed farms were around the coast . . .

. . . but tourism is a lot more lucrative. Most of the seaweed farming has been moved to areas around the island not so involved with tourism.

Baskets of harvested seaweed are brought to shore. The seaweed is grown on a 45 day cycle, and planted rotationally, so there is a continual daily harvest.

Sample seaweed, final harvested product! One of it’s derivatives, agar, is used in making beer, jelly, Jell-O, cosmetics and it prevents ice crystals from forming in ice cream!!!

I struggle to be graceful while boarding  the boat.

Off we go over the shallow waters of the seaweed plots.

Over on the northeastern end of our island are more farms, backed by a large mangrove forest.

Looks like the Wisconsin Dells developers have arrived at remote Nusa Penida! A floating resort complete with . . .

. . . a water slide!!!

Our driver, Mr. Watan, helps me with my flippers.

The happy snorkelers. We swam in two locations, Toya Pakeh Wall at the base of the limestone bluffs that make up Nusa Penida. TNC worked here on marine conservation in our first years working in Indonesia. Then we went to Mangrove Point off Nusa Lembongan. It was amazing to see the diversity of coral and incredibly colorful fish. In clear beautiful waters.

Tourists get a closer look at seaweed farming by  the mangrove forest.

The mangrove forest at low tide. Their feet are in the water . . . their heads are in the sun.

There is a small community  of seaweed farmers at the end of the spit of land where the mangrove forest begins. We had a quiet cruise through the edge of the mangrove swamp. Mr. Watan worked hard to produce a bird for emJay, and finally we saw a small sandpiper with a longer tail, kind of a pointed fan shape. Wish Scott and Cary were here for an ID.

Big thumbs up for an incredible tour chock-full of nature.

A gentle goddess seduced us into taking a dip in the tranquil pool . . .

All of our hearty exercise made us feel deserving of some Bintang and French crepes, poolside! Emmeter cheese, Norwegian smoked salmon, scallion and peppers. YUM!

With just a ‘little bit’ of room in our tummies, left we decided to have a ‘little dessert’. Now crepes can be either savory or sweet, so Rick decided to stick with the crepe theme and had a Crepe Helene. Poached pear, pralines, chocolate sauce, caramel, vanilla ice cream and whipped cream. Good thing we went snorkeling today!!!

. . . and I enjoyed the Homemade caramel and chocolate ice cream. Two boules! No more – no less!

After all the activity, I needed a massage to work out all the knots, and headed over to our spa.

One hour latter, with all those muscles SOOOOO relaxed , I had to be  wheel borrowed back to our villa. Note the sunburn from the morning of snorkeling!

We noticed that in our courtyard, the god of vacation, had received a little offering of the monetary kind from a former visitor . . .

. . . $1000RP or about 8 cents USD!! There is a 12-20% service charge and 15% tax added to every service you are provided so it is customary to just round the bill up to the next Rupiah to leave a little extra.

After a little more relaxing we headed to the beach for a little more resting, a martini . . . and to watch the sunset

Soon it was time to eat at our own resort restaurant run by Chef  Clement Fouquere. After placing our order the amuse bouche  soon arrived. A lovely little grilled shrimp floating in a sauce and topped with fried onion straws. YUMMY . . .  but  only one mouthful!!!

I chose the 10 hour slow cooked marinated Pucha pork belly, caramelized, with a cauliflower puree,  on a base of pickle and onion chutney and balsamic vinegar reduction sauce. It was fall off the bone tender, although there was no bone . . .

. . . and Rick chose the The Crab, a mix of Lombok crab, avocado, green apple and green curry sauce.

We ordered a nice bottle of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc and after another glass our Main Courses arrived. Rick had the scallops in a coriander coulee with home made gnocchi and a clam sauce served with crispy Parmesan crisps . . .

. . . while I had the  Fisherman’s dish that included mahi-mahi and clams with coconut milk and lime zest. YUM!!!!

I was too full for dessert so Rick had to go it alone and had NO trouble taking care of the ‘It’s All About Chocolate’ cake and ice cream. He didn’t even share!

The night was beautiful  and we sat out on the beach loungers for another glass of wine, enjoying the evening breeze and watching the lights of Bali across the ocean strait.

NOTE TO DIANA: Remember, we start Weight Watchers right after the New Year!!!!

Todays posting written by guest journalist, emJay!

We woke to a glorious morning still dreaming about the GREAT gastronomic experience we had at the Mozaic Restaurant last night in Ubud. Quite and experience and a great last memory of Ubud as today we continue our journey and leave for an even smaller Balinese Island, Nusa Lembongan.

So here is what last night was all about . . . we dined at the Mozaic which is a fixed price establishment with either a 6 or 9 course serving with an option wine pairing available that we of course took advantage of during the meal. A new glass of wine with each course. YES!  It was a beautiful setting, beautiful night and beautiful wife . . .

When we arrived we were escorted into the lounge where we were able to lounge and have a drink . . .first martini of the trip for me!

We had time to catch our breath and revisit the last 10 days and all the great experiences we have shared . . .

. . . and we were able to share a little gift from the kitchen, puff pastry balls filled with white truffle cream and parmesan cheese.

Soon we were escorted to the main dining room. With a 6:45pm reservation the place was just starting to fill and by the time we left at 9:30pm it was packed! All the cutlery, chargers, serving plates and wine glasses were  changed after every course!

I was surprised how casual some of the guests dressed but I guess it is a resort town and even flip flops are ‘de riguer’ . . . however,  I ccouldn’t tell if this woman next to us forgot to put on part of her dress. Something seems to be missing  . . . or I am just not up on the latest haute couture!

Our Amuse Bouche arrived and was a yummy rolled pastry shell filled with a beef pate toped with a softened cheese. It was standing in a glass of white and black sesame seeds . . .

The seared Indian Ocean Prawns appetizer with burnt cauliflower and fresh torch ginger flower  . . .

. . . really woke up the palate . . . nicely paired with wine from Australia.

The next appetizer was a warm Maluku long pepper encrusted Yellow Fin Tuna block with globe artichokes . . . and of course another glass of wine from California.

It kept getting better, as the Duck breast confit with Foie Gras was delivered . . . with an Italian glass of vino.

The main course of suckling pork, young and ripe Balinese Jackfruit and mashed cheese potatoes arrived . . . with a Pinto Noir from Argentina.

After a rest of 10 minutes we were served a fresh Singaraja mangosteen sorbet, with rambutans and macadamia praline  . . . served with a nice Riesling from Germany . . .

Our dessert was an interesting basil mousse turmeric root sorbet and red wine Sechuan pepper reduction . . . served with a lovely Muscat. Nice pairing.

. . . and finally a nice little choice of petit fours . . .

. . . and soon there was only one . . .

. . . which we split.  What a nice night for our memory bank!!!

But today was a new day and we would be venturing on to Nusa Lembagan. Nice morning here, but we have been monitoring the weather north of us in the Philippines where they are having some heavy weather.

. . . not just a light sprinkle . . .

. . . we are about 1,200 miles from the Philippines about the distance from Madison to Yellowstone National Park. Enough breathing room for sunny skies . . . WE HOPE!

But . . . we felt the god of travel was with us as we noticed the offering outside out door when we left.

 

With a little rice too.

We are sad to leave Netafari but the adventure must move on . . . . Wynan walks us  to the front door to say goodbye.

We are travelling by fast boat to the island of Nusa Lembongan with the Marlin Boat Company. There are about a dozen companies like this servicing this 1/2 ride route and most of them provide transport from you hotel to the island and from the arrival point to your hotel. It’s a get your feet wet operation. It’s easy!  But not for  the drivers who had to unload our luggage as shown above . . . heavy!

The island Marlin mini bus waiting to take us to the Indiana Kenanga Villas. There are no cars on the island only mini motorcycles and a few vans like this.

The main beach strip where we will be staying.You can see the island of Bali in the background. Looks like it might be raining there!

Our home for the next three nights . . .

Of course they have the coveted TripAdvisor rating. Without one you are barely in the hospitality game.

emJay getting the lowdown from Adfrin.

The courtyard of our villa/suite.

Nice welcome, the first thing you see when you walk in the room . . .

Wild furnishings!

Big bathroom. Although it is enclosed the shower does have a large window!!!

It was time for a late lunch so we headed down to the beach restaurant, one of two restaurants onsite,  and had a ‘hearty’ lunch. All that traveling you know!!

Chicken fillet marinated in Thai sauce served with a mustard aioli sauce, (along with two Bitang beers of course) YUM!!!!

After a little settling in it was time to recline on one of the beach front settees . .

have another beer and watch the sunset . . .

Which was STUNNING!!!!

Today we decided to order breakfast in and within 10 minutes of placing our order . . .

. . . it magically appeared . . .

. . . .mmmm they say a hearty breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

. . .  Hubert, our pet snail, had reappeared for breakfast so I gave him some left over butter. When it comes time to eat him . . . he’ll be basted!

I may not have given our unique bathroom its full due in prior descriptions so here it is . . .

. . . PLENTY of hot water.

not a Kohler but their main competitor in the Asia area, Toto!

Go here for the bathroom tour!

Ready to hit the road, we helped ‘clean up’ a bit from all of our meals.

When a guest needs a ride into town it may be any of the staff who provide the lift. One of the chefs gave us a ride into town this morning and had his knives lying on the front seat. As he showed them to me he related a funny story of how he was transporting some guests from the airport to Nefatari and he had left them lying on the seat. They asked him if they to be used to protect them from bandits!!!!

The big preparation for the royal family member funeral continues. This is the temple where his body will be laid into a carved bull casket. His body will then be ceremonially carried up the ramp to this tower . . .

. . . which is still being constructed. It is now draped with plastic to keep the rain off the floral appliques they are applying. You can see the loading tower in the left of the photo . . .

By the day of the ceremony all the metal scaffolding will be removed and all that will remain will be the tower. This tower will be lifted and carried by 200 local residents from one of the villages. After 1/2 mile they will be replaced by another 200 and several more times too as they wind the street to the cemetery. His body and the bull casket will then be burned. Sorry we will miss it, sounds very interesting.

some of the sculptures that will be included on the tower, made out of Styrofoam . . .

Here is an old beauty, a Fiat.

We will be hiking along this river today out to the rice fields. Here four young Caucasian women hold some kind of spiritual event in the foreground. Might have been yoga!!!

We toured the local temple as the construction crew who was building a new roof on the place was having their lunch break. Very impressive with the many side altars and ornamentation. Got to read up more on these.

Here was an offerings graveyard where in the morning they are all swept up and thrown away. Some still have some yummy rice and meat on them though and the local pups makes their rounds for breakfast!

Some  of the little shrines are very picturesque.

Like many tourist towns, it doesn’t take long to get out of town, and as we headed north on the trail to the rice fields, emJay stopped at one of the shops in the rural area to buy some batik.

Another nice shrine along the route . . .

. . . which is all about rice . . .

emJay blazes the trail with rice paddies and irrigation on the right and left . . .

Seems like rice farming may be quite lucrative for some!

The paddies are separated by walls of mud and roots . . . and are flooded and drained several times during the growing season.

This chap is doing VERY well . . . just like your typical American farmer except instead of looking out over corn field it is rice!

This guy followed us for quite a distance and took refuge in the shade whenever we stopped.

Opening a diversion ditch . . .

Time for some bird watching  along the way too . . .

Tending to the soil . . .

. . . and the final process after cutting and drying . . . hand thrashing over a screen . . .

. . . the rice would then be bagged brought to a central area and transported out  . . .

by motorbike!

Heading back into town we were getting hungry . . .

. . . and as we passed this offering to the god of rice I wondered if the god might not be willing to share some of his Ritz crackers!!!

New construction was everywhere. The economy of Ubud is booming. Most construction is poured concreted columns. Columns and floors are held up by bamboo poles until they are cured. in the US we use the same method but use telescoping metal poles to hold things up while they dry. The women were carrying the mixed concrete to the site in baskets balanced on their heads!!!

Wifi is EVERYWHERE and any merchant or store needs to have it for their customers to stay competitive. Even here out on the rice trail, the Pomegranate Café that featured wifi and had their router/hotspot right out in front to prove it!

It was clearly apparent our rural rice field tour had ended and we were back in Ubud when we started seeing stores like this . . .

This was a funny name. Only saw women’s clothes inside. Maybe the woman shops . . . and the guy pays???

There was lots of produce available too, in the local market.

Quite a skill to do this whether carrying groceries or cement. One must need a strong neck.

Soon we were back at our cabana where right outside our door was this bamboo growing. Nice!

It seemed like there might be  time for a nap before dinner . . .

but instead we ordered a couple of beers (no vino available yet as their supplier has not come) and took a swim.

Then time for a shower and getting ready for a BIG dinner event tonight. One of the local kitties had stopped by . . .

. . . and like cats everywhere, didn’t give us a second look!

A  very peaceful evening for sleeping and when we woke up it was bright daylight. Let’s look around . . . The pathway leading to the entrance of the walled villas. Very private . . . can’t see in, can’t see our . . .

The entrance to Pucuk. Even has a door bell . . .

emJay still in her PJ’s getting ready for a little morning wakeup dip . . .

. . . our front porch

Click above to see a video tour.

Guests can either eat in the restaurant or have breakfast room service. We thought we would try the restaurant option today. By the parade of trays exiting the kitchen it looked like most guests chose the eating-in option  . . . tomorrow! Above is a table on an island available for breakfast, lunch or dinner. We chose the elevated restaurant.

Great flowers everywhere . . . this is plumeria we believe…

. . . another beauty with intricate details.

emJay ordered the banana pancakes, palm sugar syrup and bacon.

Like many of the guesthouse/villa options the Netafari is about three miles out of Ubud, nice and quiet, and offer free shuttles to and from town whenever you wish. All of the service industry pays into the Chamber of Commerce and part of the agreement is as a  visitor you can go into any store, shop, etc., that has a phone, and ask them to call your hotel for a ride back. Nice!!!

One our neighbors . . .

In town there are many temples to visit  . . .

. . . and many of the entrance statues have been dressed by the holy man for an upcoming ceremony, held every 210 days. The belief is that the statues dressed are thought to be magically charged.

After a brief walk about through the market, where there were hundreds of vendors selling everything we didn’t need, it was time for a gourmet lunchy at the number one rated restaurant in town the French, Locavore. As the sign on the chalkboard behind emJay says, they are full for the night. We were lucky to get lunch reservations.

The restaurant opened at noon and the kitchen was already a flurry of activity . . .

The chef’s gift to the table was lightly fried spinach leaves and marinated mushrooms, with a sweet potato puree . . .

. . . another gift from the chef was a pureed tomato sorbet served on top of a sweet cherry tomato. A hot tomato consommé was poured into the bowl around the sorbet. It was a hot/cold thing going on in your mouth at the same time. NICE!

I had the Sorrel Duck Egg soup as a starter that included a poached duck egg, with a pureed Sorrel consommé and small potato croutons. Great flavors.

emJay had a roasted beet appetizer. Her entrée was a piece of Queen fish with fresh mussels surrounded by green and carrots. A foam infused clam broth was then poured over the whole works.

My entrée was a nice piece of barramundi topped with a fried soft shell crab surrounded by greens and veggies topped with a cauliflower coulee. YUM!!!!!!!!!!!!!

emJay had not had enough and went with the five servings of chocolate dessert. I was full but our waitress brought me a small scoop of white chocolate mousse just so I didn’t feel left out. emJay was to start from the left and progress to the right going from sweet to bitter chocolate. First up was white chocolate mousse, followed by a warm sweet chocolate mousse, followed by a chocolate liquor followed by a slightly bitter chocolate mousse and finally a dark chocolate beignet. A meal in itself but she finished the whole thing!

As we walked out and back through the market we saw these two chickens in the entry way of a shop. Word was they had been told they had a job for the night . . . unknown to them it was on someone’s plate!!!

It started to rain but we headed over to a temple located on a lotus pond. Beautiful, even more so in the soft rain . . .

Inside the courtyard were artisans working on icons including this large puppet . . .

The inner temple.

An interesting note is that Bali is the major stronghold of Hindi in Indonesia. A practice that takes place all day is the placing of small offerings to the gods that are scattered everywhere. Placing them outside of a temple makes sense but why they are also scattered all over the city remains a mystery. They are refreshed several times during the day. Here a young woman appears with her gift tray and leaves an offering. In the morning they are all swept up and it starts all over again . . .

. . . some include food for the god’s like this one. mmmmmmmmmm . . . do I look like a god!

Some of the motorcycles even have an offering placed on them behind the license plate. I bet it’s the ones they rent to tourists. Good luck!

What . . . where did this gem come from . . . did we time warp through a black hole back to Cuba???   Actually, it was parked outside the Havana Cafe where they offered salsa dance lessons every Tuesday and Saturday.

Local urban forestry staff working on a planting project along the main drag . . .

. . . they just plug them into the ground, add some support and wait for the rain to bring them back to life.

Here is a fun shop we saw along the way. I thought it should be Flipper but they left out the ‘l’.

One of the local royalty died and there will be a HUGE event, unfortunately for us the day after we leave. The body will be hoisted on top of the bamboo tower that is being constructed and moved by over two hundred men to the cemetery . . .

. . . here was a parade preceding the event that was honoring several of the royalties’ granddaughters.

oh . . . one does see some Western influence even here in Bali. And of course there was the requisite Starbucks which has really made a presence here, all  over Indonesia. When you walk by one they are mostly filled with what looks to be Americans and Japanese.

After a big lunch and walking around it was back too the shack for a little swim and nap. Got to get ready for tonight . . .

. . . when we attended a local Bali music and dance troupe presentation . . . and it was quite a show.

. . . the girls were beautifully made up  . . .

. . . and there was even a demon, who wore a mask. Sort of creepy!!!

Click above to see part of the show.

After the show we had a few hunger pangs, even after having had the large lunch, so at 9:45pm, we ordered a little snack and a couple of Bitang beers. Like happened several time in Cuba, the Nefatari had run out of vino. We may have been drinking too much these last several days.

Today we leave Bandung and jet down to Bali, a quick 1 1/2 hour flight, but getting there would be the fun part.

At breakfast, I opened the English printed newspaper The Jakarta Post, and to my surprise on Page 2, right under an article about Russia, was a touch of home. DATELINE: Mayville, WI. Small world. I wonder if the kids were our riding buddie Dave E’s grandkids!

emJay says goodbye to her new friend Astrid, the TNC Executive Assistant to the Country Director, Rizal. Fitri and Astrid were REALLY instrumental in making our visit go VERY smooth, handling all the logistics for us.

The estimate was 1/2 hour drive to the airport but it ended up taking over an hour. The traffic in Jakarta, and now Bandung is UNBELIEVABLE, though we did make it in time. For an urban area over over 4 million, the airport was about the size of the one in Baraboo. The one door in was blocked by a uniformed officer who checked everyone’s ticket before allowing you to enter. Then your luggage went through a metal detector for which I did not see an operator.

A mad dash to the Air Asia counter and soon we had our tickets on hand and headed upstairs to the one and only gate. Crowded and loud! We passed our goodies through another metal detector. As I picked up my goodies from the conveyor belt I noticed the woman monitoring the detection monitor was checking email on her smartphone!!!!

Soon our plane was called and we walked out on the tarmac to our plane . . . trouble was the plane on the left of the picture was just taxiing in from the runway . . .

. . . nobody seemed too concerned about it and we just ‘moved to the right’ as it passed by!

Soon we were in the air, looping around Bandung, and heading east to Bali.

Air Asia must size their seating for their average Asian customer who is not 6’2”. NO LEG ROOM and my knees pressed into the seat the whole ride.

We landed in Bali which because of its tourist jumping off point had a HUGE airport . . . and they were ready for Christmas even though Christians make up less than 6% of the population. Our driver from Netafari Villas,  Catah,  was waiting for us and we were whisked to the villas in 1/2 hour’s time.

After we checked in, and enjoyed a welcome cocktail, we were escorted our villa, Pucuk, and its welcoming front door.

The main room . . .

with lots of room . . .

. . . and an open outdoor bathroom!!!!

Here is one of the outside sitting areas by our pool . . .

. . . our pool!

We had not eaten, it was 9:00pm and too late for us old folks to go into town, so we order room service from the Netafari kitchen Two entrees and two glasses of wine for about $12USD!!!! It will be interesting to see what the rest of the place looks like tomorrow.

I had some travel plans to change today because we decided to change one of our locations from a beach side resort on Bali to a beach side resort on another island, Nusa Lemgonan. Got some good advice from the Bali director. Soon it was time for lunch. I met emJay in the restaurant and implemented my lunchy, and dinner routine I have developed.

I follow here through the line and check out what there is being offered . . .

. . . the in an effort to treat my medical situation (READ: terminal sweet tooth) I peruse the dessert area next to see how much I should have for lunch, ensuring there is enough room for a goodie or two. My goal is to return home at at least the weight I left.

. . . today’s lunch winner!

emJay’s plate, not mine . . .

I ‘scrimped’ in order to enjoy these two yummies.

Each day around noon there seems to be a 15-30 minute storm . . . and here it came right on time. No lightning seen, but BIG TIME thunder.

But the Indonesian’s are set up for it. There is not usually much wind the the rain falls straight down. Wide 12 foot wide roof overhangs keep the rain out of the interiors. As you can see, life, and lunch goes on . . .

. . . and there are automatic rain shades that descend when the rain starts.

Then emJay was off to her meetings. This afternoon she would be co-presenting with Fitri, the Human Resources Manager for the country program. She and her staff did a GREAT job setting up this meeting. Firti has actually traveled to the US, shadowing several state meeting planners to pick up ideas. She is a quick study!

One thing Fitri learned in the US is having goodies at each break out session. Not only sweets but dumplings, meatballs, etc. Here you can see what emJay gravitated to!

On the job . . .

This afternoon the group had a team building exercise using a local entertainer. Sort of a young Indonesian Don Ho.

He did  wonderful job engaging the group. The final outcome . . .

. . . with some co instruction by the country program Terrestrial Program Manager, was the gang playing a song using bamboo instruments. Each employee had an instrument that played one note and had an assigned number. When the number was pointed to on the board, you shook the rattle.

See and hear the result above.

There were group photos of each  office and island represented. It was a great afternoon.

The evening dinner was superb, as usual, and included an appearance by one the the country programs trustees who addressed the group in Indonesian and English.

Meetings tomorrow morning then once the conference ends, we are on the way to Bali!! Stay tuned.

We are sort of back into our old sleeping habits. I get out of bed early, and my place is usually immediately occupied by our poochy, and have breakfast while emJay and Daisy sleep in a little longer.

Breakfast at the Padma starts at 6:30am so up I went to the rooftop restaurant.

Nice view from the restaurant.

Some people need a little exercise before breakfast. Sunrise yoga offered daily on the apron round the pool. Got to try that tomorrow.

Here is a nice little idea for bicycle panniers . . . seems sort of Frenchy!

A wide assortment of foods, western and Indonesian available at the HUGE buffet. So much food . . . only one tummy!

It’s quiet at this time of the morning . . .

Breakfast with the Jakarta Post, English version.

Usually by the time I’m done emJay show up and I will continue to have coffee with her. The she is off to her meetings and I am . . .

. . . off to the pool??!!!

At the buffet tonight there was a great talent show put on by 10 groups that formed among the staff. The shows are quite popular at events like this and many have been practicing for some time. Rizal, the country director for Indonesia, had been in the private banking sector before coming on with TNC said that even at his banking conventions,  talent shows were a BIG deal with some of the participant’s even hiring acting coaches and spending LOTS of money on props!!!

Tonight’s show centered around the environment with many of the groups singing, dancing or playing out little skits, complete with music and PowerPoint animations. The non-Indonesian visitors at this conference served as the judges ranking the groups talent, ambition and skills with a score from 1-100. The results will be announced before the meeting is over. Most of the groups had us all up dancing and trying to sing along with their finale. The Indonesians are REALLY fun people!!!