03.01.2018 BALI -INDONESIA

Arrival at the cruise terminal

03.01.2018 - BALI

Our ship arrived on time and we were up at 6 a.m. The evening before when talking to Helga I asked if it would be possible to join their tour and then go to our hotel thereafter. They agreed that would be a good idea but did not know if the car would sit 6 people. She gave me the email contact where she had booked the tour. Unfortunately the tour guide did not read my email until he was standing at the pier. The car was too small for 6 passengers. The driver suggested his brother collect us after we had gone through customs to drive us to our hotel. We agreed and arranged a tour with him for tomorrow. The price would be $65 for the 2 of us for a full day tour. Back on the ship we collected our luggage and headed for customs not forgetting to take photos of the locals singing and dancing on the pier.

 

Our drive to the hotel took approx. 30 minutes at a cost of 20$ and our driver „Dupa“ (Yoga´s brother) was very good and careful.

 

Our hotel is FANTASTIC! We are thrilled. We were greeted at the entrance and our case and hand luggage carried in by the porter. Three receptionists booked us in. Our room was not ready on arrival so we decided to head for the pool to wait.

 

It has a great swimming pool overlooking the beach and bay, is only 5 minutes from the beach and our room is wonderful. The charge is 164 Euro for 3 nights for the double room – 82 Euro per person for 3 nights! It is a very high standard hotel with a golf course in a resort area. This ist he ideal spot for some relaxation! Yippee!

 

Breakfast was not included but when I asked the receptionist told me they had a New Year special offer and would include breakfast for us. After approx. 30 minutes, in which I had already used the pool, we were informed that our room was ready. This is going to be a fantastic stay on Bali!

On the way to our hotel - Unterwegs zum Hotel

Our hotel an our first sunset on Bali

Later in the day....

We have had a fantastic day. Unbelievable and exactly how many people see Bali on the web. First of all after our swim in the pool and check-in, we decided to look at the beach and take a jump of the waves. The waves were very high and some people were also surfing. What was not so good was the fact that there were rocks on the beach and in the water and the under currant was strong. Consequently when you got pushed in to the beach by the big waves and dragged out by the under current it was easy to get injured on the rocks. We jumped a few waves and then decided to quit and walk the beach and examine the small water holes. Later in the afternoon we returned to the hotel pool for a swim and enjoyed the loungers. What was absolutely fabulous was the fact that we were able to enjoy an incredibly beautiful sunset from the pool area with refelctions on the pool!

The pool restaurant serves wonderful seafood and after a couple of local beers it is time to turn in. We do not really want to go to bed because the atmosphere on this warm beautiful evening sitting around the pool writing our reports is great. We are chatting about what we have seen and done these past few days. Re-living it all in our reports for our blog. What a romantic and wonderful end to a most enjoyable day.

 

Tomorrow will start with breakfast at 6.30 a.m. as our tour starts at 07.30 a.m.

 

2018 has certainly started in the same spirit as 2017 ended for us – full of wonderful travel advntures

 

Extra note:

I was going to enjoy a glass of wine by the pool this evening but when I talked to the young bar man who did not understand much about wines he informed me that Bali has to import all wines and the tax is very high. They only sell wine by the bottle in this hotel and although the food and local beer is really low in price the wine is not. The cheapest white wine that would cost approx.5- 6 Euro per botte in the supermarket in Germany costs 80US$ per bottle here. The Savignon that I was looking at cost 100US$ per bottle. The bar man told me no-one drinks much wine here. I can understand that and ordered a local beer!

 

Money – The Indonesian Rupiah (IDR) is the local currency

Calculating in Bali money you can feel quite rich for a while – €1 = 16.000 Rupiah. Consequently €10 = 160.000 Rupiah! With €100 I am a millionaire here!

Travelers heading to the island should ensure they have an understanding of the rupiah in advance to avoid being given an incorrect amount of change or an unfair exchange rate.

 

Peter:

03.01.2018 1. Tag BALI auf eigene Faust 

6.30 Uhr wecken, allerdings war Linda dieses Mal vor mir aus dem Bett, sie wollte unbedingt ihre E-Mail checken 
ob Yoga geantwortet hatte, leider nein und so gingen wir frühstücken, nachdem wir fertig waren liefen wir in Helga
und Walter in die Arme und verabredeten das wir ohne unser Gepäck, welches wir um 8.00 Uhr den
Einwanderungs-Beamten vorführen mussten mit von Bord gehen um Yoga zu treffen und zu schauen ob in seinen
Auto 6 Personen + Fahrer Platz haben. Das war leider nicht der Fall, er bot aber sofort an seinen Bruder anzurufen der
uns um 9.00 Uhr zu unserem Hotel bringen würde, darüber hinaus buchten wir dann Yoga für den 04.01. um uns die
schönsten Plätze seiner Heimat zu zeigen. Yogas Bruder verspätete sich um 10 Minuten, in der Zwischenzeit waren
wir von 6 Taxifahrern umzingelt die ein Geschäft witterten, wir aber warteten und wurden von Yogas Bruder mit großer
Umsicht zum Resort Hotel gefahren. Ein riesiger Komplex wartete auf uns, wir waren von den netten Mitarbeitern sehr
angetan. Da unser Zimmer noch nicht fertig war wurde unser Gepäck sogleich in Verwahrung genommen, wir nahmen
die Gelegenheit wahr uns am Pool auf zu halten. Es dauerte nicht lange und wir wurden zu unserem Appartement
geleitet, ich glaube unsere Kabine past da 3,5 mal rein allein das Bad ist fast so groß
wie die Hälfte unserer Kabine.
Wir waren sehr zufrieden. Wir hatten nicht viel auszupacken, arbeiteten noch ein wenig an unseren Berichten und
suchten gegen 15.00 Uhr den Weg an die Beach. Die Wellen waren überwältigend, wir entschieden uns nach einer
kurzen Stippvisite lieber den Strand entlang zu gehen. Nach 1.5 Stunden waren wir wieder am Resort und schwammen
im sauberen Pool. Ein weiteres Highlight versprach der Sonnenuntergang zu werden. Wir nahmen unser Abendessen
entspannt ohne Störungen aus den Lautsprechern oder vom Nachbartisch im Poolbereich ein. Linda hatte sich
Käseüberbackenen Fisch mit Salat bestellt, ich bestellte eine Fischplatte, Reis und ein scharf angemachtes Gemüse.
Alles super lecker. Der Abend klang am Pool aus. Wir benötigen unserer Schönheitsschlaf, um 6.00 Uhr ist die Nacht
zu Ende den gleich nach dem Frühstück werden wir um 7.30 Uhr zu unserer Tour von Yoga, der sehr gut Deutsch
spricht abgeholt.

04.01.2018

Yoga (our tour guide) and his brother Dupa were waiting in the reception area for us at 7.20 a.m. Yoga speaks very good German and had studied the German language in Germany when he was 19 years old. We discussed our tour route and made a couple of changes. Visiting the „Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctury at Ubud“ was more improtant to me than the propsoed waterfall. I had seen a David Attenborough film about this mentioned spot and wanted to visit it myself. I am a big „David Attenborough“ fan. Peter had not read much about Bali and although I was quite interested in the temples he was not. One or two would be okay but more was not his cup of tea.

 

Our first stop was Yoga´s family home. We drove approx. 1 1/ hours heading north bound. This expeience was most interesting. Yoga explained that family life on Bali is as it was many years ago in Germany. All members oft he family live in one house until they get married and move on. Granma and Granpa stay in the house and are cared for the the family.  Families have their own temples in their garden. Yoga´s family had beautiful blue orchids attached to the trees. These orchids are just bound to a tree with their roots left visible. The high humity allows them the grow and bloom without being cared for. Yoga explained how the school system had worked when he was young and the changes now for his two teenager daughters. He told us his story about being invited to come to Germany when he was 19 years old. He had met a German tourist on the beach. After work he always walked the beach trying to improve his German and English. The gentleman in question had visited Bali very often with his wife and they invited Yoga to coe to Germany and took care of him for 3 months sending him to a language school to learn German. This helped him so much that on his return he was able to get a job in a hotel and also continue his studies. Eventually he went into tourist work and obtained a lot of experience allowing him to start us his own company. Price of our tour at the end!

We stopped at the local school and then carried onto out next stop – The Monkey Forest.

On the way to Yoga´s house & his home - Unterwegs zur Yogas Heim und seine Zuhause

The village school - Dorf Schule

The Ubud Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary 

Driving further north bound for approx. Another 30 minutes we passed through lots of small villages experiencing the MAD scooter drivers on Bali. More about this at the end. On arrival - monkeys everywhere! There atmosphere was exactly as I rembered it in the film I had seen. The old temple in a forest and monkeys running freely. There were monkey statues on the sides. The Ubud Monkey Forest lies within the village of Padangtegal, which owns it. The Monkey Forest is considered tob e an important

spititual and economic conservation centre for the village. The area covers 12,5 hectrares of forest containing 186 species of trees with approx. 700 monkeys.

It is also a Hindu temple complex. Over 10.000 tourists visit this destination per month.

 

The monkeys are known locally as the Balinese long-tailed monkey. The park staff feeds the monkeys sweet potato three times a day, providing them with their main source of food in the park, although bananas are for sale in the park for tourists wishing to feed the monkeys, and the monkeys also feed on papaya leaf, corn, cucumber, coconut, and other local fruit. For the sake of the monkeys' health, visitors are prohibited from feeding them snacks such as peanuts, cookies, biscuits, and bread.

There are five groups of monkeys in the park, each occupying different territories; one group inhabits the area in front of the Main Temple, another the park's Michelin area, a third the park's eastern area, and a fourth the park's central area, while the fifth group lives in the cremation and cemetery area. In recent years, the monkey population has become larger than an environment undisturbed by humans could support; it continues to grow, with the population density in 2013 higher than ever. Conflicts between the groups are unavoidable; for example, groups must pass through one another's territory to reach the stream during the dry season, and increasing population pressures also are bringing the groups into more frequent contact.

The monkeys rest at night and are most active during the day, which brings them into constant contact with humans visiting during the park's business hours. Visitors can observe their daily activities – mating, fighting, grooming, and caring for their young – at close range, and can even sit next to monkeys along the park's paths.

The monkeys have lost their fear of humans. Generally, they will not approach humans who they believe are not offering food, but they invariably approach human visitors in groups and grab any bags containing food that the humans have. They may also grab plastic bottles and bags not containing food, as well as reach into visitors' bags and trouser pockets in search of food, and will climb onto visitors to reach food being held in a visitor's hand, even if the food is held above a visitor's head. The visitor will notice the interesting phenomenon of numerous obese monkeys, a testament to the almost unbounded food supply the huge number of tourists entering the forest provide.

The park staff advises visitors never to pull back an offer of food to a monkey or to touch a monkey, as either action can prompt an aggressive response by the animal. Although they generally ignore humans who they believe do not have food, Peter & myself, they sometimes mistake a human's actions as an offer of food or an attempt to hide food. If a human does not provide the food the monkeys demand or does not provide it quickly enough, the monkeys occasionally will bite the human; in fact, monkeys bite tourists daily and videos of many of these attacks can be found on YouTube. Monkey bites are a very serious medical event given the variety of viruses monkeys carry that can be transferred to humans. For example, Herpes B virus, which frequently causes death in humans, is prevalent in crab-eating macaques, and should be assumed to be prevalent in the monkey populations in the Ubud Monkey Forest. I used my tele lens and kept my distance while other tourists did not do this. We saw two cases where monkeys jumped onto tourist shoulders and necks. Some tourists are just plain STUPID.

Park personnel carry slingshots with which to intimidate aggressive monkeys and intervene quickly in confrontations between monkeys and humans. Given the monkeys' apparently increasing aggressiveness toward humans and the risk their bites pose to human health, Balinese politicians have called for a cull (group selection) of crab-eating macaques in Bali. Authorities have not formally accepted these calls. We, Peter & I think they should educate the tourists more and not sell food for them to give the monkeys. Consequently the monkeys would not approach the humans if there was nothing to gain from such.This action would protect both the monkeys and visitors. We thoroughly enjoyed this visit and unfortunately we only had 30 minutes to see all. I could have stayed there ALL day taking photos and filming the environment.

The Ubud Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary 

Next stop – Pura Ulun Danu Bratan (approx. 1 – ½ hour´s drive further north bound.

Pura Ulun Danu Beratan, or Pura Bratan, is a major Shaivite water temple. The temple complex is located on the shores of Lake Bratan in the mountains near Bedugul. Water temples serve the entire region in the outflow area; downstream there are many smaller water temples that are specific to each irrigation association.

Built in 1633, this temple is used for offerings ceremony to the Balinese water, lake and river goddess Dewi Danu, due to the importance of Lake Bratan as a main source of irrigation in central Bali. The 11-storey pelinggik meru  the complex is dedicated to Shiva and his consort Parvathi. Buddha´s statue is also enshrined in this temple.

Lake Bratan is known as the Lake of Holy Mountain due to the fertility of this area. Located 1200 mtr. above sea level, it has a cold tropical climate.

The temple was extremely well visited by tourists. We walked the area for approx. 30 minutes enjoying the atmosphere before continuing our tour in a westerly direction to the “Tegallalang Rice Terraces.

Next stop - Tegallalang Rice Terraces.

It had started to rain very heavily on the way to the rice terraces. On arrival we had lunch first. Yoga had chosen a very nice local restaurant. We very much enjoyed our food. I had chicked curry and Peter chose Nasi Goreng. By the time we had finished eating (around 3 p.m.) the rain had slowed down so that I was able to take some photos. The day before the sun had shone all day but this atmosphere was good too. Small clouds and a misty atmosphere gave the area a special note. We both felt very thrilled and privalleged to be standing here on this Unesco World Heritage site. Jatiluwih rice terraces are located in Tabanan regency, about a 2 hour drive from Kuta. They are best reached by heading up the West coast for a bit and then turning towards North Bali. Jatiluwih area is very famous for its rice fields and subak, the balinese irrigation system. The rice terraces here are stunning, giving a new meaning to the word green. They crawl up the sides of the hills like stairs leading you towards the sky. One gets a chance to witness the activities of the farmers. Due to heavy rainfall in the region it is advisable to bring an umbrella or a raincoat with you. Yoga had 2 umbrellas in the car.

The farmers here share an intimate relationship with nature: At harvest time the farmers cut the rice paddies with a traditional equipment called „anggapan“ (a traditional knife). Standing in rows they sing while they collect the harvest. Such an amazing experience to be able to witness it! We found it breathtaking.

 

 

Most people who have visited Bali say that the real Bali can be found where the rice grows. In Bali rice fields can be found almost everywhere, and the Balinese people have depended on this method of agriculture for almost 2000 years. The terraced rice fields were carved by hand, with the help of some simple tools, and are being maintained by succeeding generations. It is a must thing to do in Bali to visit at least one of the numerous rice paddies. Along with the Sacred Monkey Forest it was a highlight of the today´s tour.

Tegallalang Rice Terraces.

Next stop: Taman Ayun Temple of Mengwi

Heading southbound towards our hotel out last stop was the famous Taman Ayun Temple. Taman Ayun literally translates as ‘beautiful garden’ and is generally regarded as one of the most attractive temples of Bali. The Taman Ayun temple is situated in a beautiful park with trees and ponds, near the village of Mengwi in the south of Bali at about 8 km southwest of Ubud and 18 km northwest of Denpasar.

Pura Taman Ayun was built in 1634 by the Raja of Mengwi I Gusti Agung Putu. It is a so called Pura Kawiten or family temple, a special temple where the deified ancestors of the Raja Dynasty of Mengwi and important gods of other temples are honored.

The Taman Ayun temple is boardered by broad canals and it can only be entered via a bridge leading to a richly ornamented candid bentar, the gate which gives access to the outer courtyard (jaba) of the temple.

From this candi bentar a straight, paved footpath leads through the well maintained park past a square pond with a fountain exactly in its center.

The footpath leads on to a second candi bentar which gives access to the jaba tengah, the more elevated, second courtyard of the temple. Inside the jaba tengah one finds the walledjaba jero, the third and most holy courtyard of the temple in which the most important shrines are located, among others a number of five, seven, nine and eleven tierd meru’s.

The jaba jero is only accessible during important religious ceremonies, such as the odalan – the day on which the inauguration of the temple is commemorated.

 

Last stop – Hotel.

We arrived back a tour hotel at 6.30 p.m. After an 11 hour tour we were now quite tired. I had taken an uncountable amount of photos and thoroughly enjoyed doing so.

The traffic on Bali is caotic for Europeans! I do not advise anyone to rent a car. It is very cheap to have an organised tour and be safe! The scooter and moped drivers shoot out from nowhere – they overtake cars from left, right and you get the feeling under the car and on top.

The traffic is horrendous.

photos traffic

Cost of tours -  The day before our tour our friends from the ship had booked a tour with Yoga. Helga had seen a programme on German TV in which Yoga had been the tour guide for a film team. She had written to him and pre-organised a tour for 4 people. Yoga collected them from the cruise terminal at 7.30 a.m. and took them on a similar tour to ours but with a waterfall instead oft he Monkey forest. Their tour cost 100 Euro fort he day for 4 people (€25 per person) for the car, petrol and tour guide/driver. Not included were entrance tickets to temples, parks and lunch.

Our tour – Our hotel was 1 hour´s drive south of Benoa Cruise Terminal on the West Coast near Kuta Beach. Yoga charged us €65/US$77 (€32,5per person) for an 11 hour island tour. Same conditions as above but wem ade a change of destinations on our tour. The additional cost of lunch and entrance tickets amounted to US$48 – approx. €42,- (€21 per person).

An excellent price for an excellent tour.

WANT TO BOOK YOGA ON BALI?

For those wishing to visit Bali in the future we can definitely recommend Yoga and his brother. Yoga speaks an excellent German and can even make good jokes in German. His English is not so good. His brother is a very good and safe driver. I sat up front and felt very safe all day. Dupa does a lot of the taxi driving. He does not speak German and his English is also not too good but he always has a smile on his face and understands: Stop – Photo!

Both men are very reliable, well dressed, well mannered, punctual, and have good clean and nearly new cars with air conditioning. They both also take good care of their guests. Make sure you are safe and never leave you alone. We felt very good with them.

To contact Yoga - yogabalitours@hotmail.com

 

photo yoga

2. Sunset on Bali

04.01.2018 
2. Tag Bali auf eigene Faust 
Das mit dem Weckruf hat nicht so richtig geklappt, es hatte aber keine Auswirkungen 
pünktlich wie verabredet in der Lobby zu sein. Yoga hatte sich Verstärkung in Form seines
Bruders Dupa für die Tagestour mitgebracht.
Kameratasche ins Auto und los gings. Nach 1.5 Stunden war unser 1.Stopp in Yogas und
Dupas Heimatort. Auf dem Grundstück wuchsen sie mit weitern 5 Geschwistern auf, ihr
Haus damals war eine einfache Lehmhütte. Jetzt sahen wir 4 kleinere aber feine Gebäude,
je eins für die Eltern, Dupa und Yoga sowie ein Familienhaus. Ein kleiner Familientempel
darf auf keinem Grundstück fehlen, selbstverständlich hatte die Familie auch einen im
Garten und immer auf einen Berg ausgerichtet. Weiter führte uns der Weg in den Affenwald.
Laut Yoga lebten in dem ehemaligen Urwald lange nur Affen bis aus dem Urwald ein
aufgeräumter Wald wurde und er so zu einem Touristenmagnet wurde. Die Besucher
kamen zahlreich und die Affen blieben. Heute leben dort ca. 700 Balinesische
Langschwanz Affen. Von den Rangers erhalten sie erhalten 3mal am Tag Suesskartoffeln
darüber hinaus haben Besucher die Möglichkeit Bananen zu erwerben um diese an die
Affen zu verfüttern. Allerdings kommt es immer häufiger zu Übergriffe durch aggressive
Affen und diese gehen einher mit schlimmen Bissverletzungen. Pro Monat besuchen rund
10.000 Personen den Affenwald. Es gibt Verhaltensregeln für die Besucher, leider halten
sich nicht alle daran und wundern sich dann, wie mit eigenen Augen gesehen wenn auf
einmal ein Affe auf dem Kopf einer Besucherin springt um an die hin gehaltene Banane
zu gelangen. Linda hat wieder einmal hervorragende Fotos gemacht.
 
Unsere nächsten Besuchtspunkte waren 2 Tempel. Ein weiteres Highlight waren dann die 
Reisterrassen die unter dem Siegel des UNESCO Weltkulturerbes geführt werden. Gleich
zu Beginn steuerte Dupa ein kleines Restaurant an in dem wir unser Mittagessen
einnahmen. Super Lecker. Leider zog kurz vorher ein schweres Unwetter auf und es
regnete für eine Stunde sehr stark. Der hohe Berg verschwand auf einmal in den dunklen
Wolken und war nicht mehr zu sehen. Die Feldarbeiter stellten sich unter die Dächer der
kleinen windschiefen Hütten in denen die ehemals als Zugtiere vor dem Flug lebenden
Ochsen bzw. Kühe ihr bescheidenes Zuhause haben. Heute sind die Flüge motorisiert
und die Tiere dienen als Fleischlieferanten die vom Reisgras und dem Wegegrün ernärht
werden. Der Regen ließ
etwas nach und gestärkt vom leckeren Mittagessen setzten wir
unsere Fahrt durch die Reisterrassen fort. Das ist unbedingt ein "MUST SEE" Gebiet.
Dupa war unterstützt von Yoga ganz und gar auf Lindas Wellenlänge und verlangsamte
das Tempo oder hielt an sobald Linda ihre Kamera in Anschlag brachte. Um 14.30 Uhr
machten wir uns auf den Weg zu unserem Hotel anfangs fuhren wir über sehr schmale
Serpentinenstraßen
den Berg herunter, auf überwiegend schmalen Straßen setzten wir
unseren Weg fort, mehrere Male hielten wir unseren Atem an wenn wir Gegenverkehr
sichteten. Dank Übersicht.- und Ruecksichtnahme beider Verkehrsteilnehmer ging alles gut.
Da der Königstempel auf unseren Heimweg lag hatten wir auch hier noch die Gelegenheit
uns den im 17. Jahrhundert gebauten Tempel an zu sehen. Leicht geschafft von soviel
Kultur erreichten wir unser Hotel um 18.30 Uhr. Entspannung hatten wir bei untergehender
Sonne am Pool.
Zum Straßenverkehr, das Haupttranssportmittel ist der Motorroller. Auf ihn finden nicht nur 
ganze Familien (bis zu 4 Personen) Platz, es wird auch alles Mögliche damit transportiert.
Sie treten in Mengen auf, erzwingen immer Vorfahrt, überholen links oder rechts oft in
halsbrecherischer Manier. Die Autofahrer stehen Ihnen aber in nichts nach, sie überholen
zwar nur rechts ihre Überholmanoever erscheinen oft sehr gewagt und nicht besonders
klug zu sein. Es gibt keine Regeln, allerdings wird die rote Ampel geachtet, ansonsten
basiert vieles auf Glück.
Bei dem verhalten der motorisierten Verkehrsteilnehmer könnt ihr euch sicher vorstellen 
das es für Fußgänger fast unmöglich ist über die Straße zu kommen.

 

05.01.2018

POOL & BEACH DAY.

The first half of the day was spent relaxing around the pool (without a camera!).

In the afternoon we venturd down to the beach with my drone. I took some photos and filmed but a storm was brewing up so we returned to the pool are.

Notes on Bail;

Bali, the famed Island of the Gods, with its varied landscape of hills and mountains, rugged coastlines and sandy beaches, lush rice terraces and barren volcanic hillsides all providing a picturesque backdrop to its colourful, deeply spiritual and unique culture, stakes a serious claim to be paradise on earth. 

 

Bali was inhabited around 2000 BC by Austronesian people who migrated originally from Southeast Asia and Oceanica through Maritime Southeast Asia.

Balinese culture was strongly influenced by Indian, Chinese, and particularly Hindu culture, beginning around the 1st century AD. In ancient Bali, nine Hindu sects existed.

 

Inscriptions from 896 and 911 do not mention a king, until 914, when Sri Kesarivarma is mentioned. They also reveal an independent Bali, with a distinct dialect, where Buddhism and Sivaism were practiced simultaneously.

 

The island of Bali lies 3.2 km (2 mi) east of Java, and is approximatel 8 degrees south of the equator.

 

Bali and Java are separated by the Bali Strait. East to west, the island is approximately 153 km (95 mi) wide and spans approximately 112 km (69 mi) north to south; administratively it covers 5,780 km2, or 5,577 km2 without Nusa Penida District, its population density is roughly 750 people/km2.

Bali's central mountains include several peaks over 2,000 metres (6,600 feet) in elevation and active volcanoes. The highest is Mount Agung (3,031 m (9,944 ft)), known as the "mother mountain" which is an active volcano rated as one of the world's most likely sites for a massive eruption within the next 100 years.

 

Being just 8 degrees south of the equator, Bali has a fairly even climate all year round. Average year-round temperature stands at around 30°C with a humidity level of about 85%.

05.01.2018 3. Tag Bali auf eigene Faust 

Heute war Faulenzen angesagt, bedeutete lange schlafen, lange und ohne Zeitdruck 
frühstücken und den ganzen Tag am Pool liegen. Allerdings verspührte Linda am
Nachmittag den Wunsch ihre Drohne über die brechenden Wellen fliegen lassenzu wollen.
Gedacht getan wir hatten nicht sonderlich viel Zeit um an den Strand zu gehen den es zog
wieder eine Regenfront auf. Die Aufnahmen gelangen wir waren als der Regen einsetzte
wieder zurück im Hotel. Wir sind in diesem Hotel bis zum 06.01. 12.00 Uhr. Wir werden
dann von Dupa zu einer kleinen Nachmittagstour abgeholt und anschließend zum
Flughafen gefahren. Wir fliegen am Abend unserem Wassertaxi nach Singapur hinterher.

06.01.2018

 

We woke early today as they was a terrible storm and heavy rainfall in the night that woke us up at 5 a.m. Fortunately we managed to get back to sleep but after an early night and enough sleep I was awake at 7 a.m. and working on our photos and reports of Bali.

 

After our later breakfast we decided to fly my drone over the golf course area hoping to get a good view of the beach. Time to pack and check out. Our collection was arranged for 1 p.m. but Dupa our driver and guide fort he day was already there to collect us at 12.20.

 

I must say at this stage that Dupa always has a smile on his lips. He is such a friendly person.

We had arranged with Yoga for Dupa to collect us from our hotel, show us a couple of places and drop us off at the airport. This worked out extremely well.

 

First stop:

 

Uluwatu Temple is a Balinese sea temple in Uluwatu, South Kuta, Badung.

The temple is built at the edge of a 70 meter high cliff or rock projecting into the sea. Though a small temple was claimed to have existed earlier, the structure was significantly expanded by a Javanese sage, Empu Kuturan in the 11th Century.

The temple is inhabited by monkeys, the same type as at the previous temple visit, who are notorious for snatching visitors' belongings. They can usually be persuaded into trading the items for fruit, although this only encourages them to steal more.

Scientist and experts on primate behavior have conducted studies on the Macaque monkeys in the area and have collected data suggesting that they learn bartering behavior. This trade is passed down to the young offsprings. New groups of Macaque monkeys introduced into the area quickly adapt and learn the new skill from the locals.

Due to the heavy rainfall in the night it was HOT, HOT, HOT. I don´t sweat heavily but today the sweat was rolling down my face as if I was crying. I was soaking wet all over my neck, back and just about everywhere. I think we must have had temperatures around 40 degrees with very high humidity. We were VERY happy to return to the car and the air conditioning.

 

Dupa then drove onto Badung beach. We disliked this beach. Found it terrible. Small and crowded. Lots of stalls selling many different beers and it looked to us like this was for locals and young people. Not our scene lying lined up next to each other in a VERY small area.

Badung  has undergone a population boom in the last decade, and has grown into the largest of the suburban regions of Greater Denpaser.  It covers Bali's most heavy tourist regions, including Kuta where we stayed. We were more than pleased that we had booked our hotel in the Kuta area in a resort. We did not like this Badung area very much and I think I would have been very disappointed if we had stayed in that area.

 

Dupa was going to drive us to the long beach at Kuta which is well known for ist beautiful beach but the black clouds drew in and it started to rain and looked like a storm was coming up. Instead we headed for the airport and stopped off at a large shopping mall on the way. It was obvious that the more well off Balinese people shop here. Prices were quite high.

 

Arriving at the airport early we were able to finish our reports and check out some items on the web.

Good Bye Bail. We enjoyed our stay and had two very good tour guides who looked after us very well and made sure we felt very comfortable. This fact alone and the fact that we had a great hotel made our visit most enjoyable.

 

Our flight to Singapore was very good with KLM. We enjoy flying with KLM as we feel the safety and comfort standards are high. Our flight got into Singapore at midnight so we decided to take a taxi to the cruise centre.

 

Important at this stage is to point out to those who have not been to Singapore – this is classified as the cleanest city in the world and it really is very refreshing to arrive at such a clean airport, get into a clean taxi and be driven through the enormously clean streets of Singapore by a well dressed, polite and clean taxi driver. Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, India, may all have their flairs but the cleanliness and hygiene that we Europeans are used to are sometimes difficult to come by in these countries unless you are travelling high style.

 

Our taxi saw that there were no ships at the first cruise centre and as we drove into the second pier I saw our Aida ship. We went through customs and our cases were checked and headed the ship´s entrance gate where we were stopped and told that our boarding cards were not valid. As we had had this problem previously we looked around for an officer of the crew and at that moment some other guests came to the gate and told us we were at the wrong ship! This was the Aida Bella and not the Aida Cara. Thank goodness they knew where our ship lay at anchor. It was at the Harbour Front Pier. We finally made it on board and fell into bed at 1.30 a.m.

ULUWATU TEMPLE

PADUNG BEACH

OUR HOTEL BEACH

DRONE PHOTOS OF OUR BEACH & HOTEL

Peter:

06.01.2018 4. Bali auf eigene Faust

Lange vor dem Frühstück so gegen 5.00 Uhr wurde ich durch heftigen Regen wach.

Wir sahen unsere Nachmittagstour schon weg schwimmen. Gegen 9.00 Uhr klarte 

der Himmel auf und es waren die erste blauen Wolken sichtbar.

Jetzt erstmal frühstücken. Danach hat Linda noch 2 mal die Drohne fliegen lassen können bevor wir uns ans packen machten.

Jetzt warten wir auf unseren Fahrer der uns noch einige Sehenswürdigkeiten in der Nähe des Hotels zeigen wird bevor wir dann zum Flughafen gefahren werden.

Dupa war wieder sehr pünktlich, Linda brauchte noch etwas Zeit bevor wir zur ersten

Sehenswürdigkeit aufbrechen konnten. Unsere Fahrt ging gen Westen zu, ???

3 mal dürft ihr Raten .............. einen Tempel, es war allerdings der wichtigste für die

gläubigen Hindus Balis. Er steht wunderschön auf einer Felsformation direkt am Meer.

Durch den Monsunregen in der Nacht sowie am Vormittag hatten wir zu den gefühlten 

40 Grad auch eine sehr hohe Luftfeuchtigkeit. Der Schweiß kam aus allen Poren 

wir waren froh nach 1 Stunde wieder im klimatisierten Auto zu sitzen.

Unser nächster Stopp sollte die angeblich schöne  "Lubyanka Sait Beach sein.

Unterwegs sahen wir sehr viele junge Europäer zum Teil auch auf dem National - Fortbewegungsmitteln fahren.

Zur Beach mussten wir einen sehr schmalen Felsgang hinunter steigen, die Beach selber war furchtbar klein, dreckig und voller Menschen, dazu noch ein paar  Händler.

Wieder oben angekommen musste Dupa auch noch fürs Parken bezahlen. Eintrittsgelder für alle Sehenswürdigkeiten war gang und gebe Tempelanlagen waren da nicht ausgenommen. Ich glaube allerdings das nur die Touristen abgezockt wurden.

Der Stopp war mehr als SCHRECKLICH, gar nicht auszudenken wenn unser Hotel in der Nähe gewesen wäre.

Eigentlich wollten wir jetzt noch den angeblich schönsten Strand der Region ansehen,

aber es fing wieder an zu regnen und wir schauten statt dessen noch im größten

Einkaufscenter vorbei, sehr viele westliche große Ketten waren dort vertreten,

zudem war es teuer und so fuhr Dupa uns zum Flughafen von wo wir um

21.30 Uhr Richtung Singapur abheben werden um gegen 1.00 Uhr wieder auf unserem Wassertaxi zu sein.