From Hong Kong to Bali

Day One
December 13/14, 2009
Traveled from Fort Lauderdale, Florida to San Francisco, California.
While at the SFO airport, I’m greeted by Jeremy, Meg and Pam. We have a wonderful family moment and share a meal. What a wonderful send-off for this adventure in Asia!

Golden Gate Bridge

The Whole Gang! Jim, Meg, Jeremy and Pam

At midnight, I board my flight to Hong Kong on Cathay Pacific Airline. The fourteen hour flight promises to have it’s little challenges, but I’m so psyched about this trip, I could care less!
Somewhere along the line, we cross the International Dateline and in a blink of the eye, it’s tomorrow!

Day Two
December 15, 2009
The flight goes very well. The seats are comfortable, food is good and service is impeccable.
Welcome to Hong Kong (airport that is).

Hong Kong Airport

It’s early morning in Hong Kong, so I’m able to wander about the airport for a few hours and check out some amazing shops.

Careful! Somebody Sneezed!

This is a 3 hour layover, and welcomed opportunity to take a stroll in open spaces. The airport touts well over 100 high-end stores. No plastic tchachkies here. Only the best in haute fashion, scents and jewelry here.

Hong Kong Airport's 100 Houte Shops

At last, we’re off to Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia. I arrive four hours later in Bali, and the adventure begins. After navigating multiple customs checks and passport/visa checkpoints, I finally exit the airport to search for my driver! My dear friends and travel companions, John and Dennis, have arranged for a driver to pick me up from the Alam Indah hotel which is located in Ubud. Among the throngs of greeters behind a gate near the roadway, I scan the many signs displayed by the numerous drivers and family members. There it is! A sign entitled, “Alam Indah, JimBeau”. My nickname among friends is “JimBeau” (long story…). I approach the smiling driver and I’m surprised to find John and Dennis have traveled from Ubud to greet me. What a delightful surprise.
Although a bit fatigued from my travels, I’m energized by the sights, smells and sounds I experience over the next hour. Oh my, this is going to be a great adventure indeed!
Alam Indah, Ubud, Bali— www.alamindahbaili.com

Traditional Balinese Door (Alam Indah Resort)

Hotel Window at Alam Indah Resort

Water Lilly

Walking Sticks (Alam Indah Resort)

Pathway to our Villa

Out For a Walk

Day Three
December 16, 2009
Massage day!

Relaxing near the Monkey Forest

Bali Botanica Day Spa--- www.balibotanica.com
Flowers and offerings everywhere.

Spa Bath in Flower Petals

Preparing a New Rice Field

Community Temple (New Moon Festival)

Community Temple Rules (Read Carefully!)

New Moon Procession to the Temple

Day Four
December 17, 2009
Touring the countryside on bicycle.
PT. Bali Budaya Tour (Bali Eco) www.baliecocycling.com

Offerings for the Temple

Offerings for the Gods

The Wedding is Here!

Wedding Preparations at the Family Compound

Grandmother Weaving Bamboo Ceiling Mats

Cat Poop Coffee

Luwak Coffee, Hmm?

Not Bad

Cat Scat (Coffee Beans)

At the Coffee Plantation

Our Bike Guide

Contemplating the Volcano

Carvers Making Window Frames

Biking Through a Village in Bali

Trapped Chickens and Roosters

Heading South in Bali

In a Rice Field

Rice Workers (Not Showing Off for the Tourists)

Walking the Rice Fields

We take a van to the top of a mountain, overlooking an active volcano. After a hearty breakfast we mount our bikes for the 25Km ride (mostly downhill). Our guides are so proud of their country and culture! We travel through small villages, sample coffee (even the stuff from wild cat poop!), listen to some great Balinese music, view the preparations for a wedding, go out into the rice field and "help" (damn tourists), circle by a local temple celebrating the new moon, and arrive at a very cool restaurant for dinner, al fresco! What a ride!
{Please excuse the duplicate pictures, I have yet to figure out how to delete them!!}

Offerings for New Moon Celebration

Contemplating the Volcano

Cat Scat (Coffee Beans)

Not Bad

Luwak Coffee, Hmm?

Offerings for the Gods

Offerings for the Temple

Walking the Rice Fields

Rice Workers (Not Showing Off for the Tourists)

Grandmother Weaving Bamboo Ceiling Mats

Wedding Preparations at the Family Compound

The Wedding is Here!

In a Rice Field

Heading South in Bali

Day Five
December 18, 2009
A day of rest (sort of), and another great massage.
In the evening we all go into Ubud to a temple area to witness a traditional epic story-dance. This is a highly stylized rendition of an epic Hindu story, called the Monkey Dance. After the Monkey Dance, a single performer presents the Fire Dance.
Kecak Ramayana and Fire Dance (The death of Kumbakarna).

Day Six
December 19, 2009
A trip to the seashore. We wanted to check out a much touted seaside town recently described at the “Ibiza of Southeast Asia”. So we hire a driver (the brother of our taxi driver who brought us home last night). It turns out he is a ‘healer’ and we benefit from a first hand experience with a Balinese holy man, who also drives a taxi, by the way.

Dinner is at the Alam restaurant Laka Leke near our hotel. As part of the dinner we are treated to another traditional dance called the “Frog Dance”, a classic ‘frog prince’ story.

Day Seven
December 20, 2009
Let’s go to an island today! Today we venture out early to catch a fast ferry to a group of islands known as Lombok. We are heading to a small island known as Gili Trawangan.

There are several Gili Islands, all very small, beautiful and barely inhabited. The fast ferry crosses the strait of Wallace (where Darwin posited the separation of many species between Asia and Australia millennia ago). On the van to the ferry we meet a delightful couple from Seattle. We all become fast friends with Sheila and Stephen, who happen to be staying at the same hotel on Gili Trawangan.

In addition we are looking forward to reconnecting with Linda on the island. We met her at Alam Indah, a traveler from Davis, California.

Last Night on Gili T. Island

Dinner at the hotel with Sheila, Stephen, Linda, Dennis, John and jim (JimBeau). It was a magical evening experienced under starlit sky and crescent moon with tropical breezes wafting …………….

Gili Resort Sunset

Day Eight
December 21, 2009
A restful day on Gili.
Day Nine
December 22, 2009
Last full day on Gili Trawangan at the Luce d’alma Resort.

Please note, the entries for the next 6 weeks get a bit short...and/or non-existant. Oops, there goes Jack London.

Day Ten
December 23, 2009
Travel Day…..Fast Ferry back to Bali.
Cendana Resort and Spa
www.cendanaresort-spa.com

Day Eleven
December 24, 2009
I can’t believe it’s Christmas Eve, and we are in Bali and it will be 90 degrees later today and there is 2 feet of snow in Washington, DC!
I awoke this morning at dawn to the sounds of birds and the padding of feet outside the door.

Out in the rice field I spot workers already well into their task of the day. Hotel staff are preparing the grounds for the day. Over to the left I notice a man with a long bamboo pole, poking high into a tree. What is he doing? Aha, he’s collecting blossoms for today’s blessings and offerings.

Already, my doorway has fresh blossoms to greet me and as I walk the grounds I note many of the statues and fountains have already received their newest offerings and protections.

Tonight is extra special. Not only is it Christmas Eve in Ubud, but John and Dennis have arranged a sumptuous dinner with entertainment at the fabulous Amandari Resort. What a fabulous night! http://www.amanresorts.com/amandari/home.aspx
We began the evening with drinks on a terrace overlooking stepped rice fields and thick jungle below.