South Pacific...
Indonesia. This was an amazing experience. We docked in Padang Bai, Bali in Indonesia a few days ago. I had in port manning duty, but because we have a new lead singer and he was rehearsing all day, he shared his day off with the three of us on duty. We each had about 2 hours to experience the day. 
I got lucky and had a fabulous portion of the day. I had the second shift off and that was just as those who were off before me discovered what to do in port. We took the tender to shore where we were immediately approached by Indonesians and their wares. Floods of them. Each one pestering and following you hoping you will buy the goods they're showing. Some of them practically putting necklaces or handing hand carved goods to you without you even grabbing them. They just land in your hands. Some even proclaim they have "gifts" for you and then tell you their family woes after accepting such a "gift." We got past all these pushy sales people and made our way to a quaint little hut just down the road on the beach. 
There we met some locals who ran a snorkeling operation off their personal fishing boat. For just $10.00 per person, we donned our fins and goggles and went out to the reefs in this narrow fishing canoe. It was quite the experience. It was a beautiful sunny day in Bali and I made sure to put my sunscreen on. It was gorgeous. I snorkeled before and I still don't like always breathing through the mouth instead of the nose. However the sights were breathtaking. Beautiful coral; tropical fish swimming in schools; anemone on the floor just living. There were fish of all different bright colors and it was so peaceful just floating above it all. We were out there for a good hour before we had to scurry back in so I could get back on board once my two hours were up. Today we docked in Semerang, Java in Indonesia. We got off bright and early at 9:30am so we could take a ride out to see the Borobudur temple. It's one of the forgotten wonders of the world built in the 8th century. It was about a 2-hour crazy ride in a local taxi. These drivers are chaotic. Whoa!! I felt like I was on one of Disney's adventure rides coasting through the local jungle. We headed deep into the country past many a rice field. 
Rice fields boggle my mind because they are so neatly tiered and the plant is sitting in a pool of water. The fields look like perfectly placed leveled pools sprawling across the countryside. The ride was a little stifling since the car didn't have air conditioning. I took this long journey as a time to relax and nap in my usual traveling fashion. I couldn't see out of the windows where my seat was since they were tinted. It was fine. I would just sit near an open window on my way back and I certainly didn't want a view out the front window with the heinous driving going on. We finally arrived and I was excited to see. The desperate vendors immediately approached us. It was insane. We got to the sight and it was breath taking. 
It was huge and rising over the countryside. There were Buddhas all over the structure. The views were astonishing. It was perfect and serene. I couldn't believe the detail in the art that was engraved in this monument. It was also fascinating to know this massive structure was built so long ago without the technology we have today. We had limited time since the travel time takes so long so we took in all we could before leaving. 
The ride home was once again a roller coaster ride. There were many frightening instances where I thought we were going to collide with another oncoming car. We were cracking up and scared all at the same time. Mopeds were dodging in and out of traffic. There were loads of mopeds. Flocks of them. They just dodge in and out of car traffic. It's insane. Thankfully we made it back safe, but we had a hell of a time. We're on our way to China. The world is my oyster.
I got lucky and had a fabulous portion of the day. I had the second shift off and that was just as those who were off before me discovered what to do in port. We took the tender to shore where we were immediately approached by Indonesians and their wares. Floods of them. Each one pestering and following you hoping you will buy the goods they're showing. Some of them practically putting necklaces or handing hand carved goods to you without you even grabbing them. They just land in your hands. Some even proclaim they have "gifts" for you and then tell you their family woes after accepting such a "gift." We got past all these pushy sales people and made our way to a quaint little hut just down the road on the beach. 
There we met some locals who ran a snorkeling operation off their personal fishing boat. For just $10.00 per person, we donned our fins and goggles and went out to the reefs in this narrow fishing canoe. It was quite the experience. It was a beautiful sunny day in Bali and I made sure to put my sunscreen on. It was gorgeous. I snorkeled before and I still don't like always breathing through the mouth instead of the nose. However the sights were breathtaking. Beautiful coral; tropical fish swimming in schools; anemone on the floor just living. There were fish of all different bright colors and it was so peaceful just floating above it all. We were out there for a good hour before we had to scurry back in so I could get back on board once my two hours were up. Today we docked in Semerang, Java in Indonesia. We got off bright and early at 9:30am so we could take a ride out to see the Borobudur temple. It's one of the forgotten wonders of the world built in the 8th century. It was about a 2-hour crazy ride in a local taxi. These drivers are chaotic. Whoa!! I felt like I was on one of Disney's adventure rides coasting through the local jungle. We headed deep into the country past many a rice field. 
Rice fields boggle my mind because they are so neatly tiered and the plant is sitting in a pool of water. The fields look like perfectly placed leveled pools sprawling across the countryside. The ride was a little stifling since the car didn't have air conditioning. I took this long journey as a time to relax and nap in my usual traveling fashion. I couldn't see out of the windows where my seat was since they were tinted. It was fine. I would just sit near an open window on my way back and I certainly didn't want a view out the front window with the heinous driving going on. We finally arrived and I was excited to see. The desperate vendors immediately approached us. It was insane. We got to the sight and it was breath taking. 
It was huge and rising over the countryside. There were Buddhas all over the structure. The views were astonishing. It was perfect and serene. I couldn't believe the detail in the art that was engraved in this monument. It was also fascinating to know this massive structure was built so long ago without the technology we have today. We had limited time since the travel time takes so long so we took in all we could before leaving. 
The ride home was once again a roller coaster ride. There were many frightening instances where I thought we were going to collide with another oncoming car. We were cracking up and scared all at the same time. Mopeds were dodging in and out of traffic. There were loads of mopeds. Flocks of them. They just dodge in and out of car traffic. It's insane. Thankfully we made it back safe, but we had a hell of a time. We're on our way to China. The world is my oyster.
posted by Chris | 10:57 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home