BALI, INDONESIA

March 1, 2023 

First a little about Indonesia.   It is a conglomeration of more than 1700 islands in Southeast Asia.   The archipelago stretches a distance equivalent to the distance between Anchorage Alaska and Washington DC.   There is lots of water separating the many islands.  Needless to say the cultures and even languages are different from island to island.   Indonesian population is about 275 million, making it the 4th most populous nation in the world.   About half of the people live on the Island of Java where the capital Jakarta is located.   The predominant religion (about 87%) is Muslim, although Indonesians do not consider theirs to be a Muslim country.   In fact nearly 90% of the small island of Bali are Hindu, more evidence of the diverse nature of Indonesia.   The country is a democracy with three branches similar to ours and they pride themselves with fair elections and high voter turnout.   


Indonesia became an independent country in 1949 after centuries as a Dutch colony, initially controlled by the Dutch East India Company and then later by the Netherlands.  The Dutch exploited the unique agricultural products, primarily spices such as nutmeg, cloves, etc.   They were ruthless in putting down rebellions by mass slaughter of the natives.  (The US is not the only country who mistreated native populations.)


Indonesia lies along the equator and has temperate climate year round.   There are essentially two seasons - wet and dry.   The islands of Indonesia were created (and are still being created) by the “ring of fire” along where tectonic plates pushing against each other cause frequent earthquakes and periodic volcanic eruptions.     


Now to Bali: a relatively small Indonesian island (very roughly 70 miles by 90 miles) with a population of about 5 million. Our ship docked at the Port of Benoa which is about 10 miles from the center of Denpasar, the Capital of Bali and Bali’s biggest city.   


As mentioned, about 90% of Balinese consider themselves Hindu.   Bali is known as the Island of 1,000 temples, but in fact there are more that 10,000 temples on the island.   Balinese are thankful people and many pay tribute by making daily offerings of flowers, fruit and other items.   We saw many of these offerings in front of places of business as our bus drove through the city.   We visited the central market…not like our Central Market…in fact it was kind of disgusting with flies on dried fish and even rats roaming around (we didn’t actually see the critters but several of the people on our ship did.)  We then visited a museum that displayed items of ancient culture.   


The city has no skyscrapers as they limit the buildings to 3 or in some cases 4 floors.   The dominant form of transportation is motor bikes/scooters.   Our guide said that the average family has at least 2.   They coexist with buses and cars quite well, zipping in and out of the traffic.   Our guide said it was the fastest mode of transportation through the city.


More on Bali in our next episode as this place is so interesting we couldn’t cram it all in one sitting.  


                   At the port, the Gods welcome you to Bali


                          Somebody parked our yacht here


           Fun in the sun.   There are great beaches here.


At the market. this is one of many booths selling all kinds of food from ginger and turmeric root to dried fish.


                                 Ancient art in museum


         More ancient art.  Someone wacked his wacker


Street scene.   Motor bikes galore.   Harrowing to watch.


An offering placed at the entrance to the immigration building.   New offerings were placed every morning.  If you look closely there is a cigarette in one which represents an offering to the evil god.   Sometimes they soak the cigs in booze.   


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

BARCELONA, SPAIN

Image
April 30, 2023 Partly cloudy, high 68 deg F Barcelona is one of our favorite cities in the world.   It is a very walkable city with distinct neighborhoods such as the Old Town where Picasso’s museum and former residence is located, Gothic Quarter, an extensive beach and harbor area and the modern area where Gaudi’s basilica, La Sagrada Familia, is located.   Barcelona has some of the most striking architecture in the world. It is the Capital of the community of Catalonia, a part of Spain that has a distinct culture.   Many Catalonians speak their own language - Catalan - that some say sounds like a combination of French and Spanish. We have had the good fortune to visit Barcelona twice before.   We decided to go on our own in the morning and walked about a mile each way on the street called La Rambla in the Gothic Quarter.   It is a favorite for tourists and locals alike with shops, hotels, restaurants lining both sides of a fairly wide treelined walkway.  ...
Read more

END OF JOURNEY - FRANCE AND ENGLAND

Image
May 6 through May 8, 2023 Overcast and in the 60s Well all good things must come to an end.   Rich caught a cold and we decided not to do the 10 hour tour of Normandy from LaHavre France.    We really wanted to see the WWII Memorial and the beaches where the Allies landed and turned the tide of the war, but we’re sure our fellow guests wouldn’t have liked a 2 hour - each way - bus ride with Rich hacking away.      Our next stop was Dover England on Sunday and we took a tour of Canterbury, the town that has so many stories to tell.   Romans built the town around 200 AD and later abandoned it.   In the late 6th century, the King of the region where Canterbury is located converted to Christianity and supported the building of the first cathedral in Canterbury.   It became one of the most important centers of Christian religion outside of Rome.   In 1174 Archbishop Thomas Becket was murdered in the cathedral.  For his followers Can...
Read more

KUSADASI AND EPHESUS, TURKEY

Image
April 19, 2023 Sunny, high 65 deg F We parked in the port of Kusadasi, a resort city in Turkey and took a bus tour about 15 miles to the excavated city of Ephesus.   Ephesus is an ancient city originally founded in the 10th century BC at the mouth of the river Kucuk Menderes. (Our guide called it the “Meander” River).    Ephesus became an important city in Roman times with a population that grew to at least 100,000 making it one of the largest cities in the Roman Empire.   As the river silted up the bay, the port became inoperable for shipping and the city started its decline around 350 AD.   Wars and earthquakes contributed to its decline and it was completely abandoned in the 15th century.   Father Time began covering the city until none of the prominent structures including the Library and Coliseum were visible.   Excavation began in the late 1880s and continues to this day.     The ruins are amazing to see.   We took a ton of photos,...
Read more