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| Butu, our driver and guide, is in the left of this photo, looking out to the ocean across the road. |
Yesterday, Gede stopped by with our passports. Our visa extensions have been accomplished with appropriate stamps inside each of our two passports. Of course, we’re relieved this is accomplished and thank Gede for making Trip 3 on our behalf. We’d written a letter on my laptop authorizing Gede to pick up our passports, printing it on the villa’s printer. The immigration officer had explained this letter would be acceptable for Trip 3 only.
The hard part has been the concept of going through this same scenario all over again when we return to Bali in September. With this in mind, I contacted the Indonesian Embassy in Singapore by email asking if we could apply for the 60-day visa while we’re there in a month. They sent back a long list of requirements but it looks like we can get this done while we’re there between June 28th and July 5th. In addition, while in Singapore, we’ll apply for visas for Vietnam and for Thailand, each of which is required in advance. We’ll be in Singapore for only one week with five business days necessary to accomplish all three of these visas.
It appears the nature of our week in Singapore has now been determined, although we’ll make every effort to go sightseeing and enjoy the city as much as possible. Surely, we’ll have some time in between waiting in line and applying for visas.
“Sightings on the Beach in Bali”
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| This funny-looking creature was scurrying across the sand. |
This morning at 7:00 am, we took “off for the races,” not expecting to return until long after our usual posting time. As a result, I prepared this final Pulaki Temple post, hoping we don’t bore our readers with this three-day story.
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| The sign posted at the entrance to the temple. f you’d like to read it, please zoom in. |
If we’ve bored you with this lengthy representation, please check back tomorrow. Our morning outing will surely be of interest to many of our worldwide readers as we embark on an unusual experience so early in the day.
There are few activities that inspire us to be out the door so early in the day, although we are both early risers. You know. We each have our little morning routine that brings us a certain sense of familiarity and contentment. Deviating from that routine can be unsettling.
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| Monkey hanging onto a pole watching the action below. |
Oh sure, we attempt to be flexible and varied in our activities as we travel the world. But, without having a home to call our own, we find ourselves especially appreciating some of the routines we embraced in our “old lives” including the showering and getting dressed for the day, the two cups each of perfectly brewed coffee with “real” full fat cream and the settling into comfy seating to begin the day with idle conversation, coffee mugs in hand.
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| One of several enclosed areas for monks to work to avoid being pestered by the monkeys. |
It’s an easy routine, one requiring little planning. That’s the whole idea about routines, not much forethought required to put them into action. As we sit here most days watching the activity on the beach in Bali, we easily see the routine the dozens of stray and owned dogs implemented in their daily lives. We’re not a lot different as humans.
As we easily recall living in Marloth Park, South Africa for three months with wild animals roaming about the house each and every day, we reveled in observing the routines of wild animals. No, they don’t shower, dress, and make coffee but they do fall into a routine of investigating their surroundings for the most likely sources of nourishment and pleasure. No, it wasn’t always about food.
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| Tangled family…mom, dad, and babies? |
Isn’t that what we do? Check out our surroundings upon awakening for some sort of oral gratification (via coffee or breakfast) and settle into our surroundings for that which provides us with the most comfort, whether it be taking responsibility in getting to work on time or for retired folks, determining the tone of our day.
It’s not always exciting and rarely mind-blowing. Most often, it’s simple activities gleaned from our personal choices and desires that find us with a smile on our faces, ready to tackle the day’s challenges, tasks, and accomplishments.
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| This cat, who didn’t seem to mind, was getting a lot of personalized attention from these three monkeys if you see what I mean. |
Even for those less goal orientated, we all begin the day anew with hope and expectation of finding purpose and meaning to what’s ahead whether it be a favorite TV show at noon, the continuation of a book we’ve been reading, or a visit with a friend over a cup of tea. It all matters.
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| At the entrance gate to the temple. |
I suppose for all of us, it’s about embracing whatever we chose to do to spend our time which has the ability to bring us some degree of pleasure, familiarity, and contentment.
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| Monkey statue at the entrance to the temple. |
Who’s to judge what others do? How easily one can fall into a trap of giving well-intentioned advice to others on what they should do: get out more, make new friends, stop eating cake for breakfast, or whatever one may find to be less than ideal per their own standards.
Unless an individual is suffering from a severe emotional or physical illness, how they choose to spend their time is up to them. Many write to us suggesting we get out more, see more sights, go scuba diving, snorkeling, and to stop living in remote isolated locations.
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| View of the beach across the road. |
Why? Why would we change what we love when we’re happy? If we don’t share enough experiences and photos each day, please tell us. We’d love to hear from you. But, in doing so, most likely we won’t change a thing. How does an idea from others inspire one to divert from contentment and happiness?
It’s this very concept that became the crux of why we’re traveling the world as we are…doing exactly what we feel like doing with the intent of fulfilling our personal dreams of experiences and gaining knowledge. In that realm is the pure pleasure of the routines we’ve established in our lives that only add to the joy.
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| Another scene of the beach across the street from the Pulaki Temple. |
So today, we’re off at 7:00 am. Why? Because we can. Because we chose to and most of all, because we can’t wait to share it with all of you!
Photo from one year ago today, May 29, 2015:
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| While on RC Legend of the Seas, there was a ceremony to celebrate crossing the Equator with King Neptune as the star of the event. Actually, it was quite hilarious. It’s hard to believe that was a year ago! For more photos and details, please click here. |