BALI

David had a mid-semester break at the end of February. So we took a trip to Indonesia. Island of destination: Bali.

View Bali in a larger map

The boys learned to say good morning "Salamat Pagis!" pretty quickly. And don't forget to say thank you "Suksuma!"

Here are some of the things we noticed and loved about Bali:

Roadside petrol stands. Blue bird taxis were very reliable, but everyone else drives a scooter. Seldom seen with one person. More likely - mom + 2 kids, whole family, man + 2 gas canister and a cage full of chickens, even 12 year old boys in uniform after school.

The religion is unique to Bali. Most of Indonesia is Muslim, but Bali is Hindu. But not Hindu like India is Hindu. This is more like a Hindu-ancestor worship-animist-multiple deities mix. And the Balinese are pretty devout, so the religion is every where, every day. Like, the offering.

Every morning a small offering is set out to please or appease the gods. The deities live in the mountain and the sky, so their offerings are put someplace high - like a shrine. Demons live under the ground and in the sea, so their offerings are put on the ground or in low places. Every house, every business, every space in Bali had an offering nearby.

Shrines were also everywhere. And so intricately carved. An empty throne for the main Hindu gods.

Every corner you turned there seemed to be a temple. Here's one of the 20,000 in Bali.

Bali had such an artistic culture - lots of dancing, painting, gamelan orchestras, plays, masks, shadow puppet theatre, weaving, carving. And the people were lovely. It all felt very authentic, even regal.

We've decided we need to go back someday. We missed the volcanoes and we hardly did any shopping. Anyone wanna come?

More posts on the way.