Indonesia

I met Jackie at the airport in a sprint with open arms. After an extended hug and high pitched squeals, we were in a taxi on our way to Kuta, Bali. Once we found a reasonable place to stay, we hit the beach. Kuta Beach is surfer paradise. The water was extremely crowded with blond boys on boards. The evening brought torrential  downpour, flooding the streets with at least a foot of water. We ended up running through the floods Baywatch style to get home!

The following day we explored Bali. We hired a man names Wyatt to be our driver for the day. Our first stop was to visit women making silver jewelry. Then, we were headed to a volcano! Absolutely breathtaking scenery! Mt. Batur is an active volcano in the north of Bali. We had lunch overlooking Mt. Batur, then wen to the capitol, Ubud, to the monkey forest. Monkeys everywhere! I got a banana out and had monkeys climbing me. We walked around Ubud and the palaces for a bit. Bali is the best smelling place in the world! Because of the Hindu religion, there are health offering with flowers and incense everywhere! We also went to a garden where they grow coffee, cacao, cinnamon, clove, vanilla, etc. They have a little animal that lives in the coffee trees and eats the red beans. After the bean passes through the digestive system, they collect and wash the beans to make the worlds most expensive coffee. I kept calling it poop coffee. We got to sample six different coffees and teas. They were all so fresh and strong. To end the day we went to a traditional dance show. There weren't and instruments, but about 40 men humming and chanting to make the music. They sounds were so interesting and almost creepy. Bali is so beautiful! Full of green, mountains, beaches, ancient architecture, and intoxicating aromas.

Mt. Batur

 dancers

Six am came quickly and we were on a speedboat to the Gili Islands. The boat ride took about 2 hours. We were escorted by hundreds of dolphins to our island paradise. The Gili Islands are tiny pearly off the coast of Lombok Island. We chose to stay on Gili Trawangan. There are no cars or police on the island. Transportation is Amish style, horse and carriage or bicycle. I can't count the number of naked babies I've seen riding in the basket of a bicycle here...so cute! Since there aren't police, everyone uses the honor system and if one of the 700 residents of the island commits any level of crime, that person is removes from the island and never welcomed back.

The weather hasn't been cooperating, so we have accomplished a lot of reading and sleeping. There is an amazing band that plays live music every night. They play all of our favorites ranging from the Steve Miller Band to Sublime. There is also a sea turtle conservation site on the island, so we have visited our turtle friends many times. The night sky is stunning! While living in Korea for the past year I could only see a handful of stars on a good night. I was almost dizzy from gazing at the star filled sky in awe!

 Gili Islands

 the band

Today we met our friend Ewhan and went to the other end of the island (only a 30 minute walk) for the best snorkeling. We waited out the rain with a couple beers and guitar, then raced for the water. Within 5 minutes I found a HUGE sea turtle. I followed him around for about 10 minutes. Then after we got to know each other, I decided to dive down for a feel then left him alone...it was amazing! The coral was the most bright and colorful I have ever seen. The bright purples, yellows, blues, and greens were almost fluorescent. Just as we decided to go in, we saw jellyfish! kind of scary, but so cool!

It's been a fabulous time in Indonesia! Our first stop will be hard to leave.