Bali

I am tempted to poatpone this entry until I figure out how to illustrate it -- yes, I now have a camera -- but I'm still just as low-tech so I haven't gotten that far. Can't put off Bali, though because it was so wonderful.

The decision to take this trip was made chiefly because of cost. There has been so many publicized disasters, both natural and man made, that the tourist industry has taken a huge hit. That means that great deals are available and the intrepid threesome decided that nothing too bad could happen in five days so off we went.

Trip didn't start well since heavy fog grounded us in Taipei for an extra two hours of what was supposed to be beach time but once we arrived, the weather was gorgeous. Though the sun is very hot, there are wonderful breezes all the time so it is always comfortable. The second thing you notice about Bali is how good it smells. Really, there are flowers everywhere, both growing and picked and both kinds are used everywhere for further decoration. Our hotel -- the Ramada Bintang Bali, uses bowls of floating rose petals about every 10 feet. The hotel was super in all ways, right on the beach, amazing huge pool, beautiful grounds, super staff, fabulous breakfast spread in the morning -- the whole place was great. We did have to be careful, though, because if we exceeded any of the things included in our package, we were quickly reminded that this was a 5-star resort. The first night we had dinner by the pool with entertainment in the form of Balinese dancers. That was pricey.

The next morning we went to a spa for a wonderful massage and milk and flower bath. It was quite a treatment -- foot bath with rose petals, 45 minute massage with warm oil, steam bath, rubbing with a milk based stuff -- felt like yoghurt and then a real bath in a tub with more rose petals. Really neat.

That afternoon we went for a drive to a town that is known for its artists but mostly it is a rather frantic market with people selling wonderful things but business is clearly slow and it makes them a little too aggressive.

The next day I went diving. This included a 2 hour drive through the mountains to get to the dive site and the country is indescribably beautiful. The diving was wonderful on a US Navy ship that went down in WWII. Lovely warm clear water, beautiful fish, some familiar, some not and some familiar but in different colors than I'm used to.

The last night we went to see the sunset on the west coast at a place where they have built a temple out on the rocks at the shore. Really lovely.

All in all, Bali is as wonderful as you have seen in movies and posters. It's interesting, beautiful, lots to do and see and, at the moment anyway, not crowded. We would have the beach virtually to ourselves and I was frequently the only one in the huge hotel pool. This is too bad for the locals but really nice for the traveller!