Eat, Pray, Love?

Maybe in the movies, but on this trip, it's EAT EAT EAT!
Yes, it's G here again....

Yes, the Indonesian food is incredible, but incredible does not even begin to describe Bali.
What words can I use?

Tropical, exotic, beautiful, peaceful, lush, fragrant, gentle, subtle, humid, spiritual, mysterious, constant... in other words, it's the anti-Vermont (at least winter in Vermont)!

Yesterday we were herded onto a tour bus and ended up in a mire of touristy shopping stops. We finally made our escape in Kuta, a congested and chaotic little city, by abandoning the tour bus and heading back to the hotel for lunch and the afternoon by the ocean. We spent the afternoon lounging in and around the infinity pool by our villa and dined on Indonesian somethingorothers that were very very good.

Today we were taken, again by dreaded tour bus, to three shopping/crafts places where some folks shopped and Jerry and I had much more fun photographing the artisans doing their batik, jewelry making, etc. We also had some great photo moments outside of the tour centers when we left the group and wandered up the streets by ourselves. Jerry has started a flikr site for his photos and I will post one as well, probably when we get home. In the mean time, Jerry's site is: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jfon24/sets/72157626153803293/
and I have included a few of the pictures that I took, here.

The Balinese people are utterly lovely. They are kind and gentle and see genuinely happy to see us. Rather than shaking hands with you, they clasp their hands together as if in prayer and bow to you - - a practice that I think we should be well served by adopting back home. This gesture serves as hello, goodbye, thank you and you're welcome. They are also very friendly and happy to be photographed.
Bali has its share of third world glamour as well. Many dogs and some cats roam the streets - and due to cases of Rabies last year we do not touch them. There is considerable poverty and trash lined streets and waterways in the more urban areas and the cars are in various stages of dilapidation. Many people ride motor scooters and it's not unusual to see three or four people and children riding together, frequently without helmets.


Overall, however, Bali is a spiritual place. There are over one million temples on the island (so says our guide) and everywhere you look there are flower offerings, carvings and signs of a deeply spiritual people (mostly Hindu). We explored one temple today - a work of art in it's breadth, architecture and carvings. It appeared to be ancient, but it was actually only two years old - the heat and humidity age the stones very quickly and everything here (including the temples) is in a perpetual state of being rebuilt. Sarongs are mandatory at many temples. . . .


That's it for me - - J is already asleep and I am getting bleary as I write. We have another day and a half here and will be writing more posts as we recover from the jet lag.