The Bailey Expedition

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Quinn's Asia pages
Griffin's post New Zealand pages

Bali
May 2 -10

Bali is a primarily Hindu region of Indonesia, and we were unsure of how we would spend our time here. We took an 8 hour flight from Sydney to Singapore and an additional 2 hour flight to the international airport where we arrived a bit spaced out and disoriented by this very different society. We were immediately struck by the heavy moist air and a temperature that hovered close to 30C degrees (90+) with 153 percent humidity. Everything in Bali has a price that must be negotiated, generally in broken English (thank goodness their English is better than our Balinese). So after establishing a price for a ride to our hotel we staggered in to spend the night. The hotel that seemed to look ok when we arrived was revealed to be a lush haven the next day. Situated on the ocean just north of Kuta Beach and sporting a very nice pool we were thrilled with our selection. We spend the next day in close proximity to the pool getting acclimated. We took one expedition and that was to a local temple reputed to be one of the most mystical in Bali.

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Knowing that no one enters a Hindu temple without wearing a sarong, we negotiated the purchase of 4 batik sarongs from the local vendors. The temple was our first and therefore quite impressive (see photo). As we wandered inside we noted a gamelan and inquired if it would soon be used. The priest told us it would be used the next day for a ceremony.
Although we had planned to check out of the hotel that morning, we delayed our departure to take in this gamelan. It was our good fortune to arrive and find that this was the local village's "battle of the bands"; half a dozen gamelans paraded through the streets and did a short show in front of a pavilion. This was not staged for tourists, but was a competition to determine who went to the national competition in July. It was fun being a part of the crowd and we never felt uncomfortable or like we were unwelcome. The music was excellent.

Following this show we exited the hotel and asked a driver to take us to Ubud. This is a center for many of the craftsman in Bali and a popular spot to view temples and the countryside. Our driver was Tut, and after an hour with him we decided that we would ask him to shuttle us around the island whenever we needed transport. Because of the terrible economy, he was thrilled and we soon had all become good friends. On the way to Ubud, Tut took us to a small handmade batik shop he knew where we could see some of Bali's wonderful fabrics being produced. When we arrived in Ubud we stayed in a magnificent garden hotel overlooking a lovely pool. During the evening there was a refreshing thunderstorm and we sat on the porch listening to the rain on the tropical leaves in the garden.

We spent the night loving the garden but wishing our very small room with two twin beds was a bit larger. The next morning we moved on down the street to an amazing resort that, because of the tourist recession, was unreasonably inexpensive. The people were lovely, the room was exquisite and the pool was amazing. The kids were in heaven and it was hard to get them up and out for a day around the town. When we did get out we headed to a local park known as the Monkey Forest. This was a refuge for a local monkey population and we observed hundreds of monkeys romping in the rainforest. That evening we were able to go the ancient Ubud Palace where we observed an evening of traditional Balinese dance with gamelan.

The next morning Tut met us to drive us around East Bali. We had planned a few places and he know of a couple more so we spent the next 8 hours driving through urban areas, past countless rice paddies, through lush tropic vegetation and up into the hills overlooking the country. The views were astounding, but never more so than from the "Mother Temple" of Bali, in Besikah. This was unbelievable. Layer upon layer of Hindu shrines and temple structures culminating in a view that cannot be adequately described (that is on the right blocking the view). This was a bit of a tense visit as the locals are not too keen on western visitors, however we had been briefed by Tut on how to conduct ourselves and things went very smoothly.
The next morning we had decided to try a change in plans. It had long been Mark's desire to go to a Buddhist temple called Borobudur in Java but Political and religious tensions had made a family visit unrealistic. Today Quinn and Mark departed for Java while Pamela and Griffin remained in the good hands of the Dhyana Pura Hotel in which we have felt so at home. For the adventures of M&Q visit the Java Page.

After two days in Java Mark and Quinn returned enlightened and appreciative for being able to make the journey. The final day in Bali allowed a final spate of shopping (for Quinn's ultimate blow gun) and serious packing as we bought too many batik, masks and other chattel. Thank goodness we could rely on Tut to ferry us for boxes, mailing and back to the airport.

Bali was a magnificent island that is as close to a definition of paradise as we have yet found. The people were extremely personable, especially in the face of an abysmal local economy. The lush forests, jutting volcanos, and more temples than people, make for an astounding setting. The food was marvelous, the water was warm and we are very sad to have to depart (see more photos). However Mark will be doing some teaching in Vietnam and we must be off. Don't forget to visit our Bali Photo page.

One final note. If you are heading to Bali and you would like transportation and a guide around the island, we would like to strongly recommend Tut Nikcs. He can be reached at 081-2397-1308 or through the Dhyana Pura Beach Hotel in Kuta. We developed a close friendship with Tut in the short week that we spent time with him.