Well it has been yet another long stretch between posts ... but I thought I would share my impressions of my first overseas trip.
Dates:
7th October - 18th October 2013.
Destination:
Bali.
Travel Companions:
My dear friend Jackie, her gorgeous son, Kyle and his beautiful girlfriend, Remy.
I have been back home for a couple of weeks now and it almost feels like I was never away except that I am sporting (and maintaining) a golden tan like that I have not had for years. Funny thing is, I am really not tanned like a normal Bali Baby as I spent most of my time slathered in 50+ sunscreen covered by long sleeved shirts. A necessary thing for a fair skinned blondie like myself. :-)
So I wondered where should I start ... and I think I will provide a photo album of my trip along with some excerpts from my journal. I really just want to make sure that I have my memories available for viewing whenever I want...
I suppose just the dates and a little spiel in amongst my photos will be sufficient to get things going.
Departure and Arrival
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| Remy, Kyle and Jackie in the Duty Free area at Tullamarine Airport before departure. |
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| Jackie and me - Excited |
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| Remy, Kyle and me - Tullamarine |
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| In the plane - Ready to go- Window seat! |
So the hours leading up to departure were torturous! We were all excited to be on our way. Jackie and Kyle have been to Bali before but for Remy and I this is a first. It is all very daunting and a little overwhelming. We depart at 7.40pm. The flight is very smooth and we arrive at Bali within the scheduled time. Due to the Apec meetings being held in Bali (lots of dignitaries etc) there has been a lot of speculation about whether our flight would be cancelled, then once we departed there was talk of having to fly around in circles before landing...all of this amounted to naught really although we did have to wait for about 15mins extra in the air and then we were apparently sent to the wrong bay so had to taxi back to the runway and to the new bay. After this we got to leave the plane and finally step out onto the tarmac of the newly refurbished Denpasar Airport.
The heat hits you in the face as soon as you step off the plane, but to me this was a welcome heat. I had actually been getting cold on the plane so needed some warmth. Getting through all the customs and formalities didn't take long at all and I was surprised at how quickly we were spat out into the beehive that is bustling Bali.
We were jostled out amongst a throng of people into a sea of drivers holding up signs, offering to take our bags, offering to drive us anywhere... we smiled and said 'no thanks, no thanks' and kept moving until we came across a man holding a sign with my name on it... if there weren't so many others I may have felt as if I was someone special... lol
Into the minivan we jumped and off towards the place we would call home for the next 11 nights.
This bed was definitely much appreciated. By the time we arrived at the hotel and got everything sorted it was about 11.30 Bali time - 5.30am Melbourne time... I was tired.
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| we were both a bit tired I think... but not tired enough not to take a selfie!!! |
The next selection of pics show my first impressions of Jayakarta.. and the poolside was where we spent much of the next 10 days when we weren't out gallivanting.
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| The beautiful pool... and surrounds |
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| Omelette - Freshly made in front of me by a lovely gentleman each day. |
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| Bali Coffee - It grew on me :-) |
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| Jack enjoying the sun and a coffee. |
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| One of the lounges that we grabbed every morning (Gotta get in early!) |
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| Beautiful Remy enjoying the Bali Sunshine |
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| This little area above the pool is where they had traditional dance displays |
FUN
FUN
FUN IN THE SUN!!!
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| Beautiful Gardens throughout the resort |
The surroundings were gorgeous! The gardens were peaceful. The sounds of various birds chirping and tweeting... and at night we heard a weird sound which we discovered later was the call of a gecko. And strangely enough that is exactly what it sounded like....
Geeecc ko !
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| A Gecko - we saw heaps of them here. |
CLASSIC!
Amazing that such a tiny little reptile can make such a loud noise.
OUT AND ABOUT IN BALI LAND...
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| anyone for a pedicure? - talented young girl did the flower. |
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| Kyle and Remy by the pool |
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| little lights hanging from the tree... much better in real life |
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| mother and son <3 td=""> |
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| "Seaside" - our restaurant of choice. Sit on the rooftop eat and watch movies. | | | | | | |
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| Jayakarta poolside at night |
Yes, we did spend ample time on our phones, checking facebook, contacting friends and family, and general phone stuff.. :-)
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| enjoying the balmy evening, in a new top bought earlier that day. |
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| SO SO BEAUTIFUL.... I wish I was back there lounging by the pool!! |
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| a man in the palm- cutting the fronds away |
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| pretty statue |
mucking around and having a ball on a wonderful sunny day.
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| how do we look? |
More of the beauty of Jayakarta ... so glorious!
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| lots of motorbikes all over Bali |
Coffee Corner - The best coffee and the best Chocolate Milkshakes... we frequented this little place when we had the chance.
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| Gotta love Cafe Corner - they give you cool facewashers to put on your neck |
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We had a big laugh as we walked away with the washers still on our necks and did not realise until one fell on the ground in front of us... then we had to run back to return it... luckily we had not got far.
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| the poolside bar - where we heard a multitude of Red Hot Chili Peppers hits of the nineties :-) |
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| A new outfit for a night on the town |
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| Jack ready for a lovely evening |
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| so lovely |
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| poolside at night |
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| The humidity in the air shows in the photos. (I thought there was something wrong with my camera) |
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| two cheeky monkeys |
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| Sunset - the pics speak for themselves |
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Yep, I got my hair braided...
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| On the beach... feeling suitably 'Bo Derek' |
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| a bit of fun! |
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| Met up with my friend Sophie from Java... |
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My friend Clint's girlfriend
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What an amazing experience!It was a giant day. I had my photo taken with an Orangutan, Elephant
and baby and a young tiger. I saw White Tigers and went for a ride
on an Elephant which wasn't really a pleasant experience. I felt like I
might fall off at any time!
At
Safari Park for $110 Aussie dollars we got the 'Leopard' package. This
included the following: A free Photo presented in a beautiful frame, an
Elephant ride, a free hat (good quality fabric sun hat with safari park
logo embroidered on it), a free drink (large bottle of ice tea to take with you) plus all you could eat buffet lunch. WOW!
Here are some pics of the day:
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| on the safari bus |
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| upon arrival we are greeted with the relaxing sounds of the Anklung |
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| pretty Koi pond |
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| The fish were enormous. |
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| ready to go safari!!! |
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| waiting to see the Orangutan |
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| seriously there is nothing like holding such a wondrous creature in your arms. |
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I actually cried after being so close to an
Orangutan. Indescribable emotions just welled inside of me.
Same thing
happened watching the Elephant show. I just wanted to bawl my eyes out. I
did well to only sniffle a bit. :-)
They tell the story of Man and the Elephant - depicting how man killed and maimed the elephants in their efforts to farm the land. The elephants actually acted as if they were limping and pretended to be killed by gun shots. It was amazing. The music was incredibly dramatic and the whole show brought forth so much emotion within me...
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| This is at the end of the show as the elephants leave the compound. |
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The following is an excerpt from my journal detailing the sights and sounds of the Safari Park.
Jostling, crowded, tourists everywhere, waiting at the reservation desk - the weather humid but not really too hot. So the park - It reminds me a little of the Reptile park in Gosford but more Tropical. Palm trees, birds squawking, people chattering...
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| Jackie meeting an elephant |
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| For 30000R you can buy some carrots and feed the mum and bub. |
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| OOOPs!! greedy guts grabbed them all from me. |
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| There was nothing I could do. You cannot fight an elephant |
The baby tried to grab my ankle and chew me up! It was really great getting to pat them and be so close. They really are a majestic animal.
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| so happy to be privileged enough to get this opportunity |
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| That trunk could stretch so far. What a gentle giant! | | |
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Beautiful Blue and Yellow Macaws.
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| White Tiger |
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| and friend |
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| walking muscle |
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| so full of grace - yet would rip you to shreds in seconds. |
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| Me and a young tiger. (obviously he must have been sedated poor thing :-( ) |
This statue of Ganesh was ENORMOUS!!
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| Beautiful! |
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| Taking a wander through the mist | | | | | | | | | | | | |
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On a rocky outcrop sits a holy temple - a place of beauty and peace. After our day at the Safari park we finished with sunset at Tanah Lot. We pass through giant gates, market stalls lining a cobblestone path that meanders up a steep hillside. The following pictures show the extraordinary beauty of this place.
We cross the slippery rocks through ankle deep water to reach the rock formation upon which a temple sits. If you make a donation you can wash your face and head in water coming from a spring in the rocks, then a monk puts some rice on your forehead and places a frangipani flower behind your ear and blesses you providing you with access to a little gate where you may walk up the rock face toward the temple. Access to the temple was blocked this time... maybe it was the time of day... not sure. but it was still a beautiful place to visit and an interesting experience being blessed.
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| Being Blessed at Tanah Lot. |
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| A different perspective - from above sitting in an outside cafe. |
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| a Bear cat - never seen one of those before |
And that was Tanah Lot.
Sights and sounds of a Jayakarta morning at breakfast
The gentle breeze blowing, the sound of peoples thongs scuffing across the concrete as they lazily stroll past. The tinkling of children's voices combined with splashes and the occasional excited scream. Birds (I don't know what type) chattering and whistling. Waves crashing onto the beach over and over again.Cutlery clinking together, the sound of my coffee cup hitting the saucer.
Peaceful and relaxing. I watch the long Bali grass swaying in the breeze. The beads in my hair rattle as I move my head.
To my right a beautiful gentle and quiet Balinese lady sits all day painting the most intricate of eggs. Her husband sketches the outline designs and she completes them.
I ask her if I can join her and she is kind enough to give me an egg to
paint... I spend the next 5 hours sitting with her and painting. This
was a highlight of my time in Bali. Her name is Made (pronounced Marday)
and her husband is Agus (pronounced Agoos, 'oo' as in book). These are pics of us and the spectacular eggs. I couldn't resist and bought a
few.
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| The egg I painted :-) (Actually I coloured it) |
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| A small egg - Cats |
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| Another little egg - Barong (so intricate) |
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| The Large egg I bought - Yes I love fish. This one is sooo beautiful. |
Below: Made, Agus and a lovely gentleman named Hardika (Dickie Donkey was his nick name! I didn't ask why!!!)
Exploring Bali- Pics taken whilst driving
Well I wasn't actually driving, I was a passenger when I took the following shots. Let me try and describe it to you...
The sights and sounds of the drive through Denpasar - loud and noisy - the air is filled with the growls of motorbikes zooming past. The traffic is crazy; people do not stick to their own lane, scooters and motorbikes whiz past so closely that you could touch them. There seems to be no age limit to speak of when it comes to riding scooters. I see one fly past with 3 children squeezed onto it. The driver is about 9 at a guess and there is another child about 7 behind with a toddler sandwiched between them! All standing on the scooter and driving through the mad traffic. One thing that amazed me was there is NO road rage... none whatsoever... people just move along and make way for each other it works really well. Cars, bikes, trucks all flow seamlessly around corners turning in all directions, criss-crossing in front of each other, occasionally forced to stop because a taxi has stopped in front to pick up or drop off somebody.
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| KFC - its everywhere! |
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| Bikes everywhere |
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| I don't know what this was but it was interesting |
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| such intricate fences and gates to many places... like the one above. |
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| I love the statues everywhere |
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| This building was amazing |
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| a dinosaur? |
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| people meditating in a park |
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| the traffic in front of us |
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| kids in school uniform - school has just finished. |
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| This Guns n' Roses bus was pretty cool. |
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| This was a common sight - ladies with babies on motorbikes. Wow! |
From the drive to Tanah lot...
As we move from city through to the outskirts of Denpasar the streets are lined with makeshift food outlets, open shops (ie. shops with no windows like market stalls). Although the traffic remains crazy now rice paddy fields line the sides of the roads, interspersed with Nurseries and bamboo lots, stone masons, little rickshaws selling corn, campfire BBQ's set up on the sides of the road. The road becomes narrower.
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| Lush green fields - tropical palms- Aaah Perfection! | |
Memories that will last forever...
Finally the last selection of shots range from around the streets of Seminyak down to Legian, Legian Beach and fun nights of food and meeting people. I had a wonderful time in Bali... Until next time...
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| Jayakarta gardens |
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| Poolside lounges at Jayakarta from the gazebo perspective |
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| Outside Jayakarta - The road then the beach. |
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| Bikes line the street - you can catch a lift anywhere for a price... |
I saw a little shop whilst driving back from Tanah Lot and so caught a motorbike ride to Seminyak a couple of days later so that I could buy my doggie Spike a little outfit.
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| Spike in his Bintang singlet |
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| Dog accessories store |
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| loved these lifelike tiger statues |
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| more ornate gateways |
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| There was a traditional ceremony happening.. I managed to capture a shot. |
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| The Shrine remembering the victims of the Bali Bombings. A very solemn place. It has a haunting feeling about it. |
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| weird fish statue - I liked it |
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| Gorgeous Remy |
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| Wayun Dylan and his dog Dylan. |
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| The beach outside of Jayakarta |
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| Bars on the Beach |
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| lounges for lounging on the beach |
Jerry's Bar which we frequented during our stay.
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| just walking the dogs |
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| beautiful cloud formations |
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| call that a sunset! lol |
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| lovely | |
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| Serenity | |
The beach:
Sadly it is very dirty and littered with rubbish. It would be stunning if not for the trash.
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| some of the locals on 'locals day' which is Sunday |
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| Our last night |
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| A couple of panorama shots. |
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| A sketch I did of the pool at Jayakarta |
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Thanks for the memories Bali ... you were blissful!!
If you have got this far... WELL DONE!!! as that was a mammoth entry... my final shots are just of Jackie and I back in Tullamarine... welcomed by Jack's gorgeous sister Nicole, her nephews and beautiful twins.
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| Me and Jackie's little girl Cheyanne. |
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Thanks for following my awesome journey. Hope you have enjoyed my pics and snippets. xxxxoooo
Coffee Corner - The best coffee and the best Chocolate Milkshakes... we frequented this little place when we had the chance.
