bali and java 2011!

[ariscott]

Hi Paul... all booked and ready to go. Do you want to join us ?

[paulgila]

yeah!!!

where are we going?

[ariscott]

To Villa Bebek, of course

[paulgila]

mau fotos!

[paulgila]

most of the class consisted of australian miners & their wives who all came from the same town.

nice folks but i'm not sure they saw the sun very often.

everyone got a turn at the wok. even me.

a dewd grills the chicken that we prepared in the traditional way.

oh man,this is making me hungry!

[paulgila]

then the fun part: we ate it!

another shot from the area.

and after a lovely meal we had back to the car,where wayan waits patiently.

i snapped this pic of women hauling black sand for roadwork as we left.

[paulgila]

as we headed put of ubud on the narrow windy roads we nearly got pushed off by a large bus very SLOWLY!

wayan had moved all the way over to try & let the bus pass & as i looked out the passenger window i saw the tires

were an inch from the edge of a deep ditch with a running stream.

after that narrow escape we continued on towards sanur,where we usually stay for the last few days of the

trip. i kept seeing these big trees going by in trucks,they have probably been sold to a big hotel.

"aw,ducks!"

[paulgila]

sanur beach,one of my favorite spots.

keith richards impersonation.

[paulgila]

late afternoon walk.

lots of people fishing in the shallow water.

we found a laid-back beach cantina where we could put our bare feet in the sand

& have a beer or two.

[paulgila]

volcano looms in the distance.

bintang & peanuts!

paul & jes.

[paulgila]

cheers!

what a moon.

[ariscott]

You are having too much fun!!! Make sure you let us know next time you go....

[paulgila]

ok,donk

[Stevetoad]

Hey stop copying my avatar!!!

[paulgila]

sorry,dewd. something about a palm like that just makes you wanna climb it!

[Stevetoad]

sorry,dewd. something about a palm like that just makes you wanna climb it!

its a little known fact that cocos put out a pheromone that forces unknowing passersbys to climb it. it was out of your control so all is forgiven...

[bgl]

Paul,

Doeas this mean you're running out of photos? Or commentary? Or both? And the first volcano shot in #330 really appeals to me. Very artistic and really captures the moment!

Bo-Göran

[paulgila]

does what mean i'm running out of photos,bo?

actually we are getting close to the end,only another coupla pages

[bgl]

It's been almost four days since you posted any photos! I was beginning to get concerned!

[paulgila]

oh,i see. i always get kinda melancholy & start posting more sporaDICZLLY when i get near the end oF these threads,its like the trip is coming to an end--again.

[paulgila]

some nighttime pix that are coincidentally coinciding( )with kims "midnight moonlight" pix.

pool reflection back at the hotel.

happy adonidia trio.

[paulgila]

we went out walking to look for a nice place to eat. we passed this young dewd at a seafood resto grilling

near the sidewalk and it looked good.we went back the next nite & it was just as good as it looked.

heres the head chef. they always try & chat you up a bit to get business but they seem to

genuinely enjoy talking to bule/tourists.

next morning i took this pic of the adenium obesum collection at the hotel.

gotta love it.

[paulgila]

there are lots of delonix trees around but i never seem to be in bali when they are

all blooming!

this year i at least saw scattered blooms.

a few years ago i took a pic of a sign by the beach that gave detailed instructions on what to do if a tsunami

was occurring--in indonesian!!! the signage here represents a more "international" approach.

we passed some bikes for rent--but these were really COOL bikes with old car steering wheels!

biking is suddenly big in bali,& i dont mean for tourists,but locals! i have never seen so many balinese people

on bikes riding for fun &/or exercise.

[paulgila]

jes on the road that runs from the main street in sanur to the beach(past our hotel).

lotsa local families relaxing on the beach,that day.it may have been a sunday.

[MattyB]

whoah, Jess looks awesome in that green dress with all the green plants and her red hair is ablaze with that sun behind it. Really Cool Pic!

[ariscott]

mau fotos!

not going to happen the way we planned... but we are going anyway...

[paulgila]

a bewildering array of boats at sanur beach.

street scene near the dutch expat resto & the place we got a few good massages.

that evening we decided to go to the arts fest in denpasar.

heres a guy frying everything he can find to sell at his street cart.

and theres our driver(in the middle) for the evening,nicks brother.

[paulgila]

see,told ya that was him.

some pig that looked a bit "past its prime."

motorscooters lined up for blocks,it seemed.

on with the show!

[paulgila]

there didnt seem to be much going on when we got there so we just strolled around &

watched the people. we didnt see any other tourists,just locals.

nice grounds & it was sratting to cool off a bit.

[paulgila]

we saw a cloud shaped like a hedgehog.

some gamelan orchestras were getting ready for a competition so we sat in the bleachers

& waited for a while but they just kept "warming up." i kept yelling at them to start but it didnt help.

jes went in this building to use the restroom. she said it was scary & i dont think she meant because of the dragon.

it was more interesting to watch the audience.

we left after a while since our driver said he was tired & wanted to leave.

[paulgila]

that evening we went to the seafood grill place near the hotel. i FINALLY had some good prawns! every other time

i have ordered them in a resto they were disappointing.

jes had this ginger ale which seemed to be local & was quite good.

then we took a long walk down sanurs main street that runs parallel to the shore. alot of the bars & restos had been up-dated & looked much better than the last time i was saw them & were very busy with lotsa tourists.

ganesha looking good in green & gold.

"you wanna piece a me?"

[paulgila]

the next morning we walked down the shore til we found a nice place to eat breakfats.

the fruit was good,as always.

i bet you didnt know that heinz also made "sambal pedas."

jes scans the horizon for signs of danger/adventure!

coolest hat ever!

[paulgila]

idyllic beach scene.

the place we had a few drinks the evening before was deserted.

and for lunch there was padang food!

it waits in the window for hungry bule like me.

[paulgila]

heres what yer feet look like after trudging around in the tropical heat.

suddenly it was night-time again so we went out for a romantical dinner...

at this place.

such a sentimentalist.

[paulgila]

the happy couple.

a falling coconut got caught in these tree roots but still germinated!

next day at sanur beach.

we were getting ready to leave at 1pm but had some time to take a

last stroll.

[paulgila]

small boats at sanur beach.

how does she do that thing where the background is out of focus?!?!?

chicken watching is the national pastime,in case you didnt know.

walking takes up a fair amount of time.

[paulgila]

walking along the beach you can see the back-side of all the hotels on the main street.

hmmmm heres a good idea to steal.

i've always wondered how they made those things.

we passed tons of small warungs on the beach.

it was fairly early & they were just starting to get ready for their day.

[paulgila]

sanur beach.

blazing tropical sun.

[paulgila]

some small-ish hotels near the beach.

my advice to you is: "always walk in the shade if possible!"

construction workers act the same everywhere.

[bgl]

The germinating coconut in #355, that's pretty funny! And amazing. "How to germinate a coconut without even trying!" And the first photo in that post - definitely cute! I'm sure that's what you had in mind!

Bo-Göran