He said:
I knew we were in paradise after our first taste of Balinese cuisine in the cultural center of Ubud (65 km north of Denpasar),
our Bali homebase for our eleven-day stay. With the Indonesian rupiah still suffering from last year's financial crisis,
the two of us could hardly eat more than $7 US in one sitting, though Kim tried her darndest. The creature comforts of tasty
food and relaxed lodging are a welcomed beginning to this trip since we know this will likely not be the norm.
The Balinese are a devout Hindu people in an otherwise Muslim Indonesia. Much of their time revolves around preparing for and attending
the temple ceremonies which we witnessed on numerous occasions. Whole villages march in grand procession through the street. The women
carry decorative arrangements of fruit and other foods on their heads, while marching musicians (called
She said:
When I hear the word Bali, I think of two things...a brand of women's underwear with beautiful island women on the
sales tag and the haunting song "Bali Ha'i" from the musical "South Pacific." In the song, Bali Ha'i is a magical place
of ease and plenty, but in reality it doesn't exist, except as a popular brand of beer found on the island of Bali. But
having just spent 11 days on this island, there's no doubt in my mind of Bali Ha'i's existence. I was convinced of this
the minute I stepped off the plane and saw sky meet sea on all but the ground I stood on.
Having expected miles and miles of white sand beaches, Bali's black sand volcanic beaches were a surprise to me. The
intense equatorial heat prevented us from spending much time on the beach during the day; we found the coolest time for
exploring was early morning. One day, up before the sun, we clambered on board an old wooden boat
(He said, cont'd)
"gamelans") play a rhythmic cadence
that holds everyone in step.
Equally amazing to behold is the traditional Balinese dance performances conducted each night in Ubud's Palace. These
dancers exhibit unbelievably finely synchronized motions: a finger twitch here, an eye-shift there, a wrist-flex here.
The good and evil spirit characters in fantastical costumes who break onto the scene create quite a stir. At a more humorous
performance, we saw a shadow puppet play. Illuminated from behind by a single burning torch, baroquely ornamental puppet
figures play out classical Balinese story lines (with occasional English jokes thrown in between scenes for the tourists -
even a Monica Lewinsky reference or two - sigh).
For three days we hired a driver and circled the northern part of the Island. We went to Lovina beach to photograph
dolphins at sunrise and to the cooler volcano region of Gunung Batur where we trekked around the active steam vents
and saw the huge craters made by eruptions from earlier this century. On top, our guide, Made, boiled us some eggs and
bananas in a volcano steam vent for a snack before our descent. Made has made this trek about 2000 times, beginning 20
years ago when he was 35 years old.
Just before we left Bali we visited the lush eastern part of the island to view miles and miles of rice terraces and
to see some of the Hindu New Year celebrations at Besakih, Bali's mother temples.
(She said, cont'd)
flanked by huge wooden outriggers that resembled spider legs. Our guide, Wayan, motored us out onto the Indian Ocean where we were soon greeted
by schools of dolphins spouting off about one thing or another. Next, Wayan transported us to tuna grounds as he hoped
to catch and sell one at the market. When Randy and Wayan struck up a conversation about their love for fishing, I knew
we were in for the long haul. I was right: we were one of the last boats in. Unfortunately, neither angler was successful.
The beach bungalow we stayed in that night cost less than $8 (including breakfast!). The bathroom was the traditional
roofless Balinese style, complete with bamboo walls and a tree stump to stand on while you shower. I've always wanted
to see the Southern Cross and now I've seen it as I showered on a tree stump. My life is complete!
Seeking refuge in the cooler climates of Ubud, Randy and I filled our days watching amazing Balinese dance performances,
shadow puppet shows and sipping mango shakes in balmy outdoor cafes. The food was some of the best I've ever tasted,
despite the fact that I was stricken with a case of "Bali belly." That's right, diarrhea-cha-cha-cha. But if one has to
be ill, what better place to be than an island paradise. My charmed husband was somehow spared from this island ailment!
The island of Bali is ever changing in the volcanic area of Gunung Batur. Our guide, Made Senter, took us on a trek into
the huge outer crater where he pointed out new lava craters that had opened up a few weeks before. Our guide, Made,
tempted Randy into snapping an IPIX photo of the most impressive of these craters, the one (might I add) that was
belching out hot sulphurous steam high into the air in unpredictable gusts. With Made holding onto one arm, Randy got
as close as he could to the unstable crater rim and set up his tripod and camera one-handed. Realizing that the volcanic
rocks Randy was standing on had the potential of caving in and sending the love of my life into the fiery inferno
that yawned before us, I crouched and grabbed the trembling legs of our guide. To add to the excitement, the crater
kept spewing billows of steam hot enough to make us turn and shield our faces. It was a rather long few minutes. Having
witnessed this little episode of Randy v. the volcano, I'll never again think of Bali as simply a song or brand of underwear.
Dispatches:
Randy and Kim Kerr circled the globe in 1999 making the first 360-degree iPIX™ photographs of many of the world's most stunning places.
Their images and journal entries were previously featured as
Route360: Round the World Roaming with Randy and Kim Kerr on Altrec.com.
He said:
I knew we were in paradise after our first taste of Balinese cuisine in the cultural center of Ubud (65 km north of Denpasar),
our Bali homebase for our eleven-day stay. With the Indonesian rupiah still suffering from last year's financial crisis,
the two of us could hardly eat more than $7 US in one sitting, though Kim tried her darndest. The creature comforts of tasty
food and relaxed lodging are a welcomed beginning to this trip since we know this will likely not be the norm.
She said:
When I hear the word Bali, I think of two things...a brand of women's underwear with beautiful island women on the
sales tag and the haunting song "Bali Ha'i" from the musical "South Pacific." In the song, Bali Ha'i is a magical place
of ease and plenty, but in reality it doesn't exist, except as a popular brand of beer found on the island of Bali. But
having just spent 11 days on this island, there's no doubt in my mind of Bali Ha'i's existence. I was convinced of this
the minute I stepped off the plane and saw sky meet sea on all but the ground I stood on.
