Bali: Day 6

Today we headed back to Legian. So, after breakfast we packed up the bikes and hit the road. The ride back to the city was luckily uneventful. We checked into the hotel, and dropped off the bikes. Jeni then took us to another of her favorite places for lunch. Delicious, but even more spicy than we had before. Afterward she took us to another of her favorite spots, the beach club called Karma Kandara. A cliff side spa and restaurant with a lift down to the beach. We happily spent the rest of the afternoon lounging on the beach, sipping fruity drinks and swimming in the ocean.

That evening we met Esi for dinner. She chose a restaurant that was on the beach. You pick the seafood and they grill it over coconut shells and another special (secret) ingredient. The served us fish, two sizes of shrimp, calamarie, and more. Everything was delicious. The night was still young once we had finished so they took us to Rock Bar at the new Ayana Resort (formerly the Ritz-Carlton). The bar was built out on an outcropping of rocks onto the water. The waves were crashing as we sipped our fancy drinks on a lounge sofa. We were sleepy but happy by the time we returned to our room that night.

The next day was spent being lazy, lounging on the beach until it was time to catch our flight back to Oz.

Bali: Day 5

Today Matt and I took the motorbike out for a short ride in the AM. Kurt and Jeni had gotten up early to try for a bit more exploring further out. We would meet up for lunch. Matt drove the bike along all of the little side roads off the main streets which allowed us to get a closer look at the way people live. We could also see how people would set the rice out to dry on giant tarps in the middle of these streets. Even though we tried to navigate around the rice, they just motioned us to drive right across it. We also ran into school children on their way home from school. They would smile, wave and say hi to us. Some even gave us a "high-five"!

We arrived to the hotel before Kurt and Jeni affording us the chance to jump in the pool. It gets pretty hot riding around on those bikes. Once they returned we headed to the Babi Gulang for lunch. That is spit-roasted pig. So, we had coconuts to drink along with the pork, which was very tender and delicious. After lunch we decided to go for a little walk to an artist colony that Matt and Kurt had found on their first day out on the bikes. It took a few wrong turns for them to remember the way, but they were all down roads we had yet to explore and gave us more photo opportunities. One of the artists we met painted intricate designs on wooden eggs. The detail was remarkable.

After our shopping trip Matt and I headed back for a rest. Kurt and Jeni had to make one more stop at a shop Jeni had seen earlier in the day. When they had returned, they told us they had been invited by the shop owner to the local temple festival. Not something most tourists get to do here, again the bonus of travelling with a local. So, we donned our sarongs, boys too and headed off to the temple. Luckily, there are people at the temple that will tie your sarong for you so you don't look like an idiot when it falls off and you are standing there in your shorts!

 The festival was an anniversary celebration of the temple and women were arriving with enormous pyramids of fruit delicately balanced on their heads. The first part of the celebration was the blessing which was performed in groups since there were so many people. Both flowers and water were used during this part. Once the blessing was complete that group moved into the community area. Here they were preparing for Balinese dancing. The dancing and the costumes were more detailed and elaborate that what we had seen earlier in the week.

Bali: Day 4

Today we woke up and Kurt, Matt and I had breakfast together. We were finished and still hadn't seen any sign of Jeni. Turns out she overslept, so I waited for her to get ready and eat while the boys took the bikes out for a spin around the area. I wasn't quite ready to get back on the bike yet. So while they were sightseeing Jeni and I wandered the streets of Ubud going in and out of shops and checking out the monkeys that were hanging by the women selling bananas in front of the monkey reserve, and yes one managed to get away with a bunch for himself.

We met the boys for lunch at Cafe Wayan. This restaurant stretched far back behind its store front with individual table tucked in along the path. The place was like a garden complete with water features. My lunch was served in a pineapple boat, very cool, and tasty. Matt tried a Lassy (basically a fruit smoothy). For dessert we had black rice pudding which is black rice, milk, coconut and banana. Very tasty. It is also eaten for breakfast here too.

Today was Jeni's birthday, so after lunch I joined her on a trip to the spa. After checking a few out she finally found what she was looking for...a place where you could have a massage in an open air room looking out onto the rice fields. Never would have though of that, but very cool. So we both had Balinese Massages very relaxing.

After our tough day at the spa we joined the boys to watch a Balinese dance performance. The Balinese are known for their unique style of traditional dance which is used to tell stories. It is marked by the distinctive eye movements and footwork and brilliant costumes. Afterwards we had dinner to celebrate Jeni's birthday. This restaurant also had the other Balinese beer, Storm. This one came in different varieties and had a bit more taste to it. We were hooked.

Bali: Day 3 to Ubud

Our goal today was Ubud, we had told Jeni we would wait for her to drive up there, as she had an early business meeting.  After a lazy morning, we decided to fuel up the bikes.  We cruised around until we found a proper petrol station, opting not to purchase the petrol in the absolute bottles from the roadside stands.  Once the scooters were topped up we attempted to get back to the hotel.  We took a circuitous route and at one point we found ourselves separated from Kurt.  Fortunately we managed to find our way to the beach and from there back towards Leigan and our hotel.  Kurt arrived not too long after.  After a yummy Indonesian lunch at Three Brothers we took off on the trip to Ubud.  It took approximately 2 hours to get there and the highlight was getting stopped by the police at a registration check point.  My fake international driver’s license passed the test and we were back on the road.  (By the time we learned we needed get an international license it was too late to get one.   Apparently if you don’t have one you just bribe the policeman with 50,000 rupiah (~ $5 USD.)  Good thing we didn’t have to bribe a policeman.

Once in Ubud we took a quick spin around the center and then found a place to stay.  The neat thing about Bali are all the temples they have around the place.  They practice Hinduism and every home and building has a small, with some having a larger more elaborate, offering area.  Our hotel had some very neat statues and arches where they placed their daily offerings.

For dinner we went for a local special called crispy duck.  We choose the Dirty Duck restaurant, because it was supposed to have the best crispy duck in town.  It was a real neat place; we sat outside on an elevated platform at the edge of a rice field.  The duck didn’t look like much more than an overly fried breast and wing, but did it ever taste good.  We also tried berem, the local liquor.  It went down easy considering it tasted like lemonade, but a bit more potent.  We topped off the meal with a rich chocolate cake for dessert.  Very decadent!

Bali: Day 2

Today Matt got up early just after rainstorm to catch some waves while the rest of the world slept. Later we met up for breakfast to plan our day. Matt and Kurt were going to rent some motorbikes (the local preferred mode of transport) and take them for a spin to get used to them. Once they had the bikes, we grabbed some lunch. Our first Indonesian lunch consisted of a dish called Gado Gado. It was steamed vegetables (called salad) served with a sliced hard boiled egg and fried tofu all topped with peanut sauce. Yum.

After we were fed, we decided to take the bikes out to get petrol, (which was purchased by the roadside out of Absolute Vodka bottles). We also purchased some helmets as those that came with the rentals were more for novelty than protection. After we were properly outfitted, we went back to the hotel were our new friend Jeni was going to meet us for a trip to Tanah Lot, a nearby coastal temple which we hoped to catch a sunset.

The ride was about an hour, but due to the overcast nature of the day, we did not have much of a sunset once we arrived. We did get to enjoy our first taste of the countryside and rice fields getting out of the city finally. Arriving during low tide meant we were able to walk up to the base of the Temple. At high tide it is surrounded by water. This Temple is not open to the public, but we were able to appreciate the view from the base and walk along the nearby cliffs that jutted out parallel to it.

As it was getting dark, we hit the road to make it back to Legian before dark and rain set in. We accomplished neither. Fortunately we made it back unscathed and only took a couple wrong turns. For dinner we met Esi at one of Jeni's favorite Warungs, a kind of like a buffet restaurant. Jeni and Esi helped us pick out some of their favorite foods, as well as some local specialties. Another delicious try at Indonesian food.

Bali

We arrived in Bali late Saturday evening. After making our way through the airport, we arranged for a taxi to take us to our hotel. The ride was to be the first of many adventures. Pulling out of the airport we were faced with hordes of traffic, mostly motorbikes and some cars. The narrow roads were marked for lanes which seemed only suggestions rather than firm traffic laws. One way streets were also merely recommendations that pertained to the cars, definitely not the motorbikes. The locals on motorbikes sped, weaved and cut their way through lines of traffic. Many were not wearing helmets. We arrived about 30 minutes later, not too worse for the wear.

The next day our agenda entailed: get breakfast, get water, get money, get to the beach. Which we did. We were able to stock up on drinking water and change some money into rupiah just down the street from our hotel. Afterward we grabbed our things and headed out to the beach. Spending some time wandering down the beach we picked a spot and Matt was able to haggle us the use of some chairs and an umbrella for the day. I settled in for some serious relaxation and Matt went to check out the surf school, owned by a Balinese world champion surfer (turns out his American parents had moved here from Hawaii when they were young). Matt was able to arrange for a lesson the next morning and borrowed a board to have some fun that day.

Our lunch was provided by an older woman walking up and down the beach with a fruit basket on her head. We had some bananas (tasty little ones, unlike any we'd had before) and a pineapple which she peeled right there with the machete she was carrying around with her. Delicious! Our friend Kurt was to arrive around 4, so we headed to our hotel pool around then to wait. When we hadn't seen him by 4:30 Matt decided it was time to try the local beer, Bintang. Not too long after Kurt arrived along with his friend Esi, who is from Jakarta, but moved to Bali a few months ago. After introductions, she went to pick up her friend Jeni also from Jakarta who was in Bali on holiday and staying with her.

We spent sunset on the beach along with the dozens of other locals who were flying kites, playing soccer and hanging out. After dinner we headed to the very posh Ku De Ta where we managed to acquire a lounge sofa for 5 overlooking the beach. We were quickly learning the benefits of being with a local...things are cheaper and you get better service. After drinks while watching the waves, we headed home for the night excited to explore the area a bit more the next day.

Northern Territory: Darwin

Today was Saturday and we had a late evening flight to Denpasar, Indonesia, so we had the whole day to explore the city of Darwin. We awoke after a long, restful, mozzie-free night’s sleep feeling recovered from the heat of the previous day. After storing our luggage in our car we headed out on a walking tour of the city. It started at the Smith Street outdoor mall in front of a historic hotel. We did not get far. Being in the capital of the Northern Territory (where the largest proportion of inhabitants are Aboriginal) we were in a hotbed for Aboriginal art. Numerous galleries lined the streets here displaying work produced by artists of the region, some famous with works selling for thousands and other lesser-known or up and coming artists. Having just come from Kakadu and seeing rock art first hand, we were beginning to have a new understanding of the different types of art produced. So, we spent some time browsing the various shops, searching for a painting.

We eventually found time to continue on the tour, seeing the harbour and the WWII memorial (the US lost ships and men in the harbor in a Japanese bombing.) Most of the historic buildings were destroyed though, since Darwin had suffered devastating damage after Cyclone Tracy over Christmas 1974. That afternoon we learned a great deal about the storm at the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory. After a quick dinner of fish and chips we headed to the airport to catch our flight to Bali, our first flight out of the country since arriving and our first time in Asia!

Northern Territory: Kakadu National Park

Late in the afternoon on Thursday we finally arrived in Darwin after a long day in airports and airplanes. Following a brief stop at a pharmacy to pickup and inject a vaccine for our trip to Indonesia (Matt's parking lot medicine), we headed out to Kakadu National Park. We arrived in the park after dark and the mozzies were on the prowl, so we had a pint of beer at the hotel bar and headed to sleep.

The next day, we had an early start as Kakadu is huge…20,000 sq km. It is also on the World’s Heritage List, not just for the ecology of the area, but its Aboriginal cultural significance. Technically dry season starts in April, however, this happens to be one of the wettest years on record and many of the roads open only in the Dry were still closed. This meant less of the park to have to cover in a short amount of time.

The focus of the day was to see some of the unique features of the area including the geography, geology and rock art sites. We started in the Yellow Water region which is known for its wetlands. Since much of the access to this area was closed we checked out the Warradjan Aboriginal Cultural Centre to learn a bit more about the local Aboriginals. Our next stop was the Nourlangie Region. Here we were able to walk past many rock art sites and a hike to a lookout over the Anbangbang Billabong (a dry season residual lake). The temperatures were already hitting the low 90s with high humidity and the mozzies were out in full force. We began having flashbacks of summer in Rocky, so we decided to head back to the air-conditioned car. After lunch we headed to the East Alligator region which has rainforest in addition to floodplains and more rock art. We attempted a rainforest walk along the East Alligator River, but within 5 minutes we were swarmed with mozzies the size of fruit bats so we decided to head to Ubirr. Here we saw more rock art and climbed a rocky outcrop that overlooked the Nadab floodplain. The view was spectacular. You could still see waters that hadn't yet receded and the rest of the valley floor was emerald green.

It was getting late in the day, so we hit the road to Darwin. On our way out we saw some smoke and fires that are common here during the dry season. These controlled burns have been performed by the Aboriginals for centuries for hunting and environmental management. We arrived at our hotel after dark and took a much needed shower before heading out for a delicious dinner at a Turkish restaurant.

The Rajniks

We had the pleasure of hosting Kitty and Larry (Mom and Dad) for a couple of weeks in May. This gave us the opportunity to show them around Central Queensland. It also gave us an excuse to check out some new places. The first weekend they were here, we drove north toward Mackay to the Eungella National Park. The Broken River runs through this rain forest and is a permanent home to many Platypus. Arriving at dusk, we were just in time to see them head out for their nightly meals. We had enough daylight left to observe them swimming and diving under the water for about an hour. They were a little tough to spot at first since they come out in the worst light and they are not that big (50cm at the very largest). Once we got the hang of looking for the ripples in the water and used the binoculars, they were much easier to spot. Staying at a cabin right at the river we were able to enjoy a delicious evening meal and I was able to get up bright and early (while everyone else slept) to view the morning antics of the little guys. I also had the opportunity to see the bright blue kingfisher bird which is commonly found around the platypus.

We also had the chance to go back to Great Keppel Island. Matt and I hadn't been there since the heat of the summer, so the cooler temperatures made it nicer for further exploration of the island. We started off with a glass bottom boat tour around the island when we arrived. This tour educated us on the names of the different types of coral found locally and the fish as they swam under our boat. Afterwards, we hiked over to Monkey Beach where there is reef not far off the beach. We snorkeled until we were thoroughly chilled by the water and saw some pretty amazing corals. We also convinced Mom and Dad to try snorkeling for the first time. They loved it!

The Dreamtime Cultural Center is Rockhampton's museum dedicated to educating people on the Central Highland Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders. The local indigenous are well known for their stencil art some of which was on display. The tour discussed the history of the people, their mythology and tools of their day to day life. We finished off with an education on playing the didgeridoo and throwing a boomerang.

There were a few other spots we checked out worth mentioning as well. One was the Cooberrie Park Wildlife Sanctuary where we were able to pet a kola, hold a Komodo dragon and take photos with a python. The Central Queensland Military Museum was full of memorabilia from several wars. There was also a good bit of American memorabilia here as General MacArthur chose Rocky as an important military base in the Pacific front of WWII. Finally, the Archer Park Station and Steam Tram Museum has the Purrey Steam Train, which they operate every Sunday morning, and interesting exhibits on the history of the station and the steam train in Rocky.

A Day at the Races

One thing that is fairly common in Australia is horse racing.  It just so happens that Rockhampton is home to Callaghan Park which is one of "the largest provincial thoroughbred racing Clubs in Queensland".  It is quite a popular way to spend a day for an Aussie, dressed to the nines at the track.  So, today Laura and I decided to put on our finest and go to the track to watch the the horses races ourselves.  If only we had proper hats to wear, then maybe we could have competed with the locals!

There were 6 races on for the day and we arrived with enough time before the first race to check out the horses and place our bets.  We didn't have a much of a clue about betting and still don't really, but we managed to do okay.  Laura had a knack for picking winners and came out on top for the day.  I didn't pick a single winner.  The picture of Laura here shows her with a winning ticket in her had waiting for the race to get started.