DAY 25 MARCH 7 BALI HIGH or BALI BUMMER?

As Carly Simon sang...ANTICIPAAAAAAATION - "we can never know about the days to come, but we think about them any way".   Ain't that the truth Carly.  Aaccording to a new study from a team of Dutch researchers, it may be the anticipation that makes us happiest. In an analysis of 1,530 people, 974 of whom took a vacation during the study, researchers found that, unsurprisingly, people anticipating a trip reported feeling more content than those not about to go on vacation.   Well, duh.  But, perhaps more interesting, people reported being happiest in the lead-up to the vacation.  And  what we experienced on our day excursion "Colors of Bali" certainly falls in line, not quite matching the "anticipation fantasy" in my head. 

  
Taking the tenders over to the dock we saw the Volcano behind the tree line.  Pleep heard about the volcano-Mt. Bromo- erupting  over in East Java last January and ashing the heck out of Bali.  He was very excited with hopes of a replay right here so he could see ol'Batur light up.  No thank you Pleep.  Bubba is not in the mood for any more eruptions-  Boca's are ENOUGH.....


 Balinese percussion orchestra music, known as gamelan, is highly developed and varied.  Pleep thought this was a fitting way to greet his arrival.

After the next "greeting" or barrage of folks selling us fabric, trinkets, drivers etc we elbowed our way to our tour bus.  Wow said Pleep.  I didn't know those Bali people were soooo ....persistent and polite?.  Do they have Amway here? 6 Hawkers to every one tourist.   One guy told me:

I have travelled to Bali each year for the past 25 years staying 6 months at a time and I must say I have never seen so many beggars in Bali as I have on my last visit.Yes it must be a hell of a way to make a living but I know for a fact that they make more money daily than people who work. So many beggars on the streets of Bali is not a good thing and I know tourist do not like to see it.

There are many old women on the streets holding babies and I know they “rent” these babies for the purpose of begging, this women are past child bearing age and it plain to see this babies are NOT theirs. I hear the Police are trying to stop the beggars on the street.

And my friend from Boca, Sandy R,  shared that  when she and Sweetie Petey were here she got separated from him and knocked about....well I guess there is one good thing about being a big gal.  Hey Bubba, come get me! No knocking Boca down but it was quite the gauntlet to get to the bus!






Then the fun began.  Who knew a bus ride could mimic  the thrill of a roller coaster?  The Pleepster was in 7th heaven as we whizzed by in the mix of what seemed like zillions of motor bikes weaving and bobbing down the road.  Ya hoo!  Boca asked the tour guide- hey whats the white line in the middle of the road for/???  And Larry kept yelling out USE YOUR HORN!   We also asked the tour guide why no blowing of horns with this traffic cluster?  Ah, we are not angry so no need to blow the horn.  This just the way it is.  No problems.   Pleep loved that we were in the front seat and had the best "view"-yikes- on the bus.  The near misses continued throughout the day and we only saw one accident.  Boca covered her eyes over and over as we tooled on down the road.  Bubba thought  it was a lot more dicey than Saigon.  Pleep?  Could barely control himself...did backflips up and down the aisle and waved to all who passed the bus.  




 I was very surprised to see a lot of garbage along the road way from the docking area to town-Denpasar.  Garbage piled  everywhere on Bali?  I asked our Tour guide about this-how could it be on one of the most famous places for it's beauty  and serenity and this?  He shared that it is against the law  to throw garbage anywhere but many of the locals don't follow the law.  I asked how the recession has effected Bali's number one source of income, tourism and he said they were down at least 30% and it has hurt the island a lot.  The excursion was a quickie (8hrs) taste of the city, Denpasar/the capital, area attractions.  

The majority of the people adhere to Balinese Hinduism.  Pleep convinced Larry and Bubs to go native.  Hey, Lar, let's do some of that Hare Krishna chant.

Balinese dances often portray stories from Hindu epics such as the Ramayana but with the heavy Balinese influence.  We had the opportunity to see a very nice performance at an outdoor theater. Pleep swore the Monkey character called him to the stage.  More Pleep Mayhem broke out.  The Barong play was about Good and Evil- Pleep take note!

Balinese traditional architecture and buildings are commonly decorated with carving and colors which express symbols of beauties and communication.  Animal shaped decoration functions as ritual symbols presented in the form of sculptures.  Pleep took great pleasure posing all day.








PER PLEEP "IT'S GOOD TO BE THE KING!







Lunch is always good with a cold local brewski!







This global destination is known for the uniqueness of its cultural artworks, including painting, sculpture, woodcarving, handcrafts and performing arts.  Hey Bubs,  do you think Susan would go for this?




I think it would look fine in our foyer....






                                                                                Back on the Bus Big Guy!

We did have some laughs and one of the "most thrilling" bus rides in recent times.  Next visit, hire the driver to take Boca straight to the Aman Resort for a little of that world famous chilling.  Bubba thought that was a good idea- I am sure he will still be looking for those topless Italiano hottie's.  The Pleepster .... PEMAKSAN BARONG DENJALAN- I'LL BE BACK!


BACK AT THE VOYAGER
A delightful meal with some new Aussie friends- Marie and Ed.
They have holidayed many times in Bali as it is only a 3 hour plane ride from Perth.  PERTH???  Yup there really is a Perth Boca. Perth became known worldwide as the "City of Light" when city residents lit their house lights and streetlights as American astronaut John Glenn passed overhead while orbiting the earth on Friendship 7 in 1962. The city repeated the act as Glenn passed overhead on the Space Shuttle in 1998.  NOW HOW COOL IS THAT!