Bali Trip - Part 2

Days 3 and 4 of our Bali experience were even more amazing.  We spent Monday on sightseeing, sightseeing, and more sightseeing!  There is truly so much to see in Bali, and we got to see a lot of it on this day.  Matt and I ended up scheduling a day trip with a driver who we had tried to hire the first day of our trip (the Hindu holiday) with no success.  His name was Gusti, and he turned out to be an awesome driver that we used for 3 different days of the trip. 

I had heard of hiring "private drivers" while planning the trip, but I pictured something like a taxi driver that would just drop us off places and wait for us to return to the car.  In Bali, however, a driver is much more like renting a tour guide for the day.  Gusti had a really nice car with great air conditioning and a cooler in the back full of cold soda and water.  He didn't just drive us to places - he went out of his way to take us through scenic areas, all the while telling us about Bali and answering any and every random question we had for him!  He also went with us into every temple and place we wanted to go, acting as an unofficial tour guide.  He explained all about the different religions in Bali, the government, the terrorism in Indonesia, the caste system that still exists today, and we even got to learn about his own family and about his son that would be following in his footsteps as he attempts to grow the family driving business.  Through Gusti, Matt and I were able to learn more about Bali than any other place we've traveled to before. 

One of the first stops of the day - and one of the most spectacular things I've ever seen - the enormous rice terraces of Jatiluwih!

There are rice terraces all over Bali - smaller ones even while you're driving through the towns - and they all have these amazing staircase-like terraces in all different organic shapes where the rice grows.  Rice needs an incredible amount of water to grow, and these steps are a way of keeping that water retained for the rice to thrive.

The shapes that the "steps" make are so unique

One great thing about Jatiluwih was that it was a little far to get to, which meant there were hardly any tourists there.  In fact, there weren't very many people there at all - Gusti explained to us that the workers that harvest the rice work only in the mornings and evenings as mid-day is way too hot in the sun for them. 

We literally went "off the beaten path" as we walked across the ledges to get right in the middle of the terraces!

Check out this panorama video clip of Jatiluwih:



Another note-worthy stop of the day - Pura Ulun Danu Bratan - one of the most famous temples in Bali.  The tall pagoda is sitting on a pretty lake with moutains in the backdrop.  In fact, it is one of the symbols of Bali, and it is also on the Indonesian currency (Rupiah). 



Matt and his 3 tiny owl friends:)

Our last stop of this sightseeing-filled day - Pura Tanah Lot - another one of the most famous temples in Bali.  Tanah Lot is known as the "Sea Temple" because it is literally sitting IN the ocean! By the way, there was no one else down on the beach here except us... we had to be different and climb down there!  And our faithful driver Gusti, ever concerned with our safety, followed:)

The one side of Tanah Lot was a black sand beach - so cool!

Tanah Lot at low tide - at high tide, you cannot walk up to the temple on land!





Probably THE most popular place in Bali to watch a sunset, Tanah Lot did not disapoint! 





Gorgeous

The following day we had planned for some scuba diving off of a tiny island called Nusa Penida.  We were warned that the waters around Nusa Penida were cold and contained strong currents.  However, we were also told that this is the area to see larger fish such as Manta Rays and Mola Mola (odd-looking, oceanic sunfish).  I'm sure we are incredibly spoiled here in Okinawa where the water is always decently warm to dive in, but when I jumped into that water for the first time in Bali, it felt like ice!  I was literally shivering most of the time, and that is even wearing TWO wetsuits on my second dive of the day!  On the positive side, the water was quite clear, and there were many, many colorful fish and coral around.  Although we never did get to see the elusive Mola Mola (Matt's still upset), we did get to dive with Manta Rays - something we've dreamed of for the past few years!

Paddang Bai - the harbor that we left from on our dive boat

The island of Nusa Penida

Our first and third dive sites - Crystal Bay.  This is where the Mola Mola were supposed to hang out, which is why we dove it twice - in hopes of spotting them.  They weren't joking about the currents here, though - they were super strong!

Our second, coldest, and best dive of the day - Manta Point - where we saw (you can guess...) Manta Rays!

So big, yet so gentle - they are beautiful creatures

Check out this video clip of us diving with the Mantas:

Tuesday night - we ate at one of our favorite restaurants of the trip - Ku De Ta.  The actual restaurant portion is super fancy, but it also has the most amazing outdoor lounge/restaurant area that is slightly more casual and trendy!  It was AWESOME!  Basically, the scene is a bunch of reclining sofa/lounge chairs with umbrellas and candles that are right on the beach.  Live music is playing, and you can order drinks, food, even cigars to enjoy on your lounge (we did all three!)  So relaxing!

One more part of our Bali-extravaganza coming soon - stay tuned!!

-C

Bali Trip - Part 1

Bali is definitely a place I've longed to visit, but realistically, knew that we probably wouldn't get to visit.  Bali is one island in a very large chain of islands known as the country of Indonesia - a beautiful, yet predominantly Muslim country that has always been off-limits for US Marines to travel to for leisure.  So, you can guess how surprised (and excited) I was when they decided to take the island of Bali off that restricted list earlier this year!  While most of the countries we travel to are trips that have been brewing in my mind for awhile, this trip was a pleasant surprise for us, and it turned out to be one of the most unique and amazing experiences I will take away from our life in Okinawa.  

I think one of the best parts about our trip to Bali was how relaxing it was, while still being super adventurous.  We basically got to spend a full week living in a gorgeous private villa with our own pool, a staff that came in to cook us breakfast in our dining room every morning, and a private driver to take us wherever we wanted to go.  It was the BEST!  Not to mention how amazingly beautiful Bali is.... but I'm getting ahead of myself!  

Let's start with the private villa!  After a layover in Hong Kong, we arrived late into Bali's Denpasar airport on a Friday night.  We were greeted by our driver who took us straight to our private villa, where we were greeted with a welcome drink and a tour of our new home for the next week.  Bali is unique to many of the other places we've visited before in that it seems to really cater to couples and honeymooners.  The big thing to do there is stay in a private villa - there are WAY more villas than actual hotels - you see them everywhere, even hidden on all sorts of back-roads in the middle of nowhere!  As Matt and I had never stayed in a private villa before, we decided to embrace this aspect of Bali and go for it, which I'm SO glad we did.  It truly enhanced our Bali experience!  

View from our bedroom

Our large outdoor soaking tub (complete with rose petals - told you this place is geared toward honeymooners!)

Our AMAZING open-air shower/garden 

Our living room/dining room pavilion 

Our infinity pool that lit up at night - pretty big for just two people! (view from the sofa in our living room area)

Breakfast made in our dining room in the mornings

Enjoying the daybed by our pool

Our first full day in Bali was a Saturday, and even though I had made plans for what we were going to see that day (you know I never go anywhere without a plan), we started off a little rocky.  Unbeknownst to us, our first day happened to be a big Hindu holiday (while the rest of Indonesia is mainly Muslim, Bali is mainly Hindu).  This didn't seem like it would be a big deal for us, until we realized it was nearly impossible to get a driver to drive us up to the northern part of the island (Ubud) where we had planned to go.  Okay, not nearly impossible - it was impossible to find a driver.  So, we ended up exploring the closest town right near where our villa was called Seminyak.  Seminyak is a hip little area with a lot of fun shops and trendy restaurants near the beach.  After doing a little street shopping, we ended up getting a taxi to drive us down to the south end of the island - Uluwatu.  Here, they have some seaside cliffs and temples with roaming monkeys.  They aren't cute - they are sneaky little gremlins - don't be fooled!

Cliffs of Uluwatu

Bali has the most unique gates of all places we've been to - they are all so different!

Matt was very skeptical of these monkeys, which was warranted. They were little thieves, stealing people's purses and sunglasses right off their heads.  One even lunged right at Matt's face!  That is a "monkey protection" stick Matt is holding there - to protect US from the monkeys!  You may notice he is also wearing a very fashionable purple skirt - he loves purple:)  Just kidding - they made him wear these sarongs whenever we went to a temple to cover his legs.

Uluwatu Temple

After Uluwatu, we took our taxi over to Jimbaran Bay where they have a beautiful beach lined with all sorts of restaurants serving fresh seafood right on the sand... well, it's on a plate, on a table, on the sand... but you get it:)  We got to enjoy our dinner as we watched one of Bali's incredible sunsets on a beautiful night!

Matt on Jimbaran Beach

Fresh seafood dinner

Matt with his Bintang - SUPER popular Bali beer!

Gorgeous sunset on Jimbaran Bay... truly a magical night

After sunset - all the people eating dinner on the beach by candlelight

Our second day in Bali, we were picked up by a tour company that was supposed to just be taking us on a downhill biking tour through Bali's villages.  However, it turned out to be a full-day of awesome activities!  Our first stop on this early morning was to a Luwak coffee and tea plantation that was literally in the middle of the jungle!  They had soooo many different plants that grew all sorts of spices and seasonings like cocoa, vanilla, lemongrass, ginger, garlic, clove, and cinnamon.  After a little hike through the jungle, we were introduced to the Luwak Coffee (aka "poo coffee"), which is a sort of coffee bean that is made using Luwak cats... basically, the cat eats the beans.  The beans spend time in their digestive track, and after they poop them out, they are sterilized, cooked, and ground to make Luwak Coffee... I know this sounds gross.  It gives it a sort of different flavor than regular coffee (you can imagine), and it is very expensive.  You know we had to try it (when in Rome...)!

Different types of coffee beans, ready to be ground

We were given about a dozen samples to try - all sorts of different coffees and teas that they grow right there at their plantation.  We aren't really into coffee, but both Matt and I thought they were delicious!  My favorites were the vanilla and mocha coffees as well as the lemongrass and red rice teas.  Neither of us cared much for the Luwak Poo Coffee:(

Our view of the plantation

Check out this tiny clip of us coffee/tea-tasting:

After the plantation, we stopped for breakfast at a little Balinese restaurant overlooking the active volcano, Mt. Batur, which last erupted in 2000!

After breakfast, we geared up for our bike ride of the day, where we mainly got to fly downhill the whole time!  The weather was perfect - not too hot!  We went with a small group of Australian and Canadian tourists - there didn't seem to be very many American tourists in Bali at all.  We did meet two women from Ohio at the Mt. Batur breakfast restaurant, but I think that was it for the whole trip!  Anyway, the biking was great - we went through countless villages and picturesque rice paddies, and we even ran across a big cock fight going on!  

Riding through villages - those tall things are decorations that you see on every street in Bali - they were there for the Hindu holiday, but it seems like they have them up most of the year, as our driver was telling us there are so many Hindu holidays.  

Each house seemed to be inside a walled-in courtyard of some sort - each with a beautiful gate at the front as well as their own family temple.  Bali is commonly known as the island of a thousand temples, and it really lives up to it's name.  My first couple of days there, I felt like we were driving past hundreds right next to each other.  I couldn't imagine why they needed so many temples!  We quickly learned that each home has it's own family temple, which explained why I was seeing one every hundred feet it seemed!

Balinese children in front of one of the gates to a house

I've never been to a country where people carry pretty much EVERYTHING on their heads!

The cock fight we randomly happened to come across.  These are illegal in Bali, but they are super common. We saw so many roosters under baskets outside people's homes on our biking tour - they were all being kept for the fights.  It was sad, but Matt and I have never seen anything like it, and wanted to see the true Bali.

Warning: slightly violent cock fight ahead - do not play if you prefer not to see it!

Taking a break on the rice paddies

That night, we went back to Seminyak near our villa to have some dinner - it definitely has a fun vibe at night:)

Stay tuned for parts 2 and 3 from this incredible trip!  

-C

Typhoon Bolaven

Among earthquakes, tsunamis, and ridiculous heat waves, typhoons are just another part of living in Japan.  A couple of weeks ago, we were preparing for what was predicted to be the strongest typhoon to hit Okinawa in 13 years - Typhoon Bolaven.  With wind gusts being reported as high as 170-180 mph, even the Okinawans were preparing.  And if the Okinawans are nervous, we know it's serious!

After a week of anticipation, Typhoon Bolaven decided to grace us with its presence on a Saturday.  For most of the day, it just seemed like an ordinary typhoon.  However, it grew stronger and stronger as the day went on, and by late Saturday night, it was truly scary outside.  And it was difficult to fall asleep - it literally sounded like a freight train was roaring past our windows all night!  It is incredible how strong the wind can be.  Making it through the night, the typhoon raged on for the next day, and even went into Monday - giving us all a day off of work! - until it eventually puttered out that evening, and we were allowed to leave the house!

Satellite image of Typhoon Bolaven... we look so tiny!

The only people on the streets were the military police in their armored vehicles (in case of flying debris)

Cars that had shifted in the winds

Check out this clip I took on our balcony during the beginning of the storm:

This is a clip Matt and I took the morning after the typhoon had passed.  It used to be just a little canal, but it was a little full:

What our seawall looked like the morning after!

Although Typhoon Bolaven was the strongest storm I have ever been through, we are all very grateful that it wasn't worse and that we had minimal damage here in Okinawa:) 

-C