On The Sea Again, I Just Can't Wait To Get On The Sea Again: Bali Baby!

We are wrapping up 3 days in Bali. I apologize for the length of this post, but there is a lot of ground to cover. The first 2 days were amazing, the third, not so much. So, let's start with the good stuff. We docked in Benoa, Bali at 1:00 pm on Monday. Our guide, Raka, picked us up at 2:00 pm.

He took us directly to the Royal Orchid Spa where Linda and I indulged in a 2-1/2 hour treatment. It truly was royal!

After the spa, Raka took us to Melasti Beach for the sunset and a Kecak Fire Dance. The dance is based on the story of Ramayana - Google it if you're interested. As you can see from the pic's, it involves many monkeys, a king, a princess, and fire. It's is great fun and we were close enough to interact with the characters.

It was a fun way to end day 1. Day 2 started with a drive up to a rice terrace. The drive through the city and villages was interesting. We saw many people making offerings at various shrines. And, of course, the roads were filled with motor bikes.

We also encountered a procession heading of people heading for a Hindu wedding ceremony.

Arriving at the Jatiluwih Rice Terraces, we were blown away by the expansive view over the rice terraces.

And, there were even nice decorations in the Lady's room.

The next stop was at Jati Wangi for Lewak Coffee. After a little tour of the grounds, it was time to sample the teas and coffees, especially the Lewak Coffee. That is the coffee made from the beans that have been processed through the digestive system of the lewak. So smooth!

Then it was time for lunch. Raka picked a nice restaurant where the three of us had a good Indonesian lunch for a whopping $15!

The final stop was the Royal Temple of Taman Ayun. As soon as we entered the grounds, we were overtaken by the serenity and spirituality of the place. It helped that there were few other people there.

After we left and were driving back to the ship, we had an interesting discussion with Raka about the spiritual nature of Hinduism and of Hindu gods. Bali is very different from the rest of Indonesia in that most of the population is Hindu rather than Muslim. Linda and I agree that Hinduism is a religion that aligns much more closely with our spiritual natures.

So, that concluded our 2 days with Raka. He is a great guide and it was wonderful to renew our friendship and to learn more about his family and his life in Bali. We are hoping that Raka returns to Oceania, as he said he was thinking about doing that. His 3 daughters are getting more expensive!

Now, on to day 3. Today we are docked in Celukan Bawang, Bali. As I think I had mentioned previously, we cancelled our originally planned 7 hour excursion to have a more relaxing day. As we arrived in Celukan Bawang, it was obvious that there was not much to do in the port area. So, after breakfast, we went for a relatively short walk. There were, of course, vendors selling "stuff" and a beach where we watched kids playing in the water. I dipped my feet into the warm Java Sea water.