Another excellent capture by Tom!…A video worth checking out!…A day in this life in Bali…

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Last night as we exited the bedroom to make our cheese plate, we spotted this huge Nursery Web Spider. Although their bite may be painful apparently its not life threatening.Tom was able to scoot it outside with the broom.  No screaming.  Just photos.

“Sightings on the Beach in Bali”

Tom’s video taken yesterday at high tide. It’s hard to believe how close the water comes to the villa.

Lounging in the comfy chaises facing the ocean, watching the activity on the beach is rather entertaining. Who knew there would be so much to see? 

We have dozens of photos backed up for future “Sightings on the Beach in Bali,” the heading we’ve been posting since three days after arriving in Bali. One might say, “Don’t they have anything better to do?” 

There’s not a whole lot more we need to do to entertain ourselves when several times a day our mouths are agape in awe of a new sighting, unlike others we’ve observed on beaches in the past.  Then again, maybe we didn’t pay as much attention as we do now.

Elaborate temple near the beach.

Our first beachfront location was in Belize (in Central America, formerly known as British Honduras) beginning in February 2013 when we spent over two months at the Laru Beya Beach Resort in Placencia, a peninsula village that required yet another harrowing four-hour drive from the capital city of Belize City.

There, we spent most of our days outdoors as we do now. By 7:00 am each morning, sometimes earlier, we’re situated in the chaise lounges facing the beach while I begin to sort through photos for the day’s post while Tom starts his day checking through Facebook and his email.

A mosque in the village.

Rarely, do I ever respond to emails or engage in “pleasure browsing” until after I’ve completed the day’s post. It’s so easy to get sidetracked. Instead, I focus on the post most often able to have it uploaded by 11:00 am. Then, for the next hour, I read and reply to dozens of email messages from readers, friends, and family.

By noon, having stayed undercover in the shade all morning, we’re both ready to tackle an hour working out in the pool. After the pool, we each spend no more than 20 minutes in the sun. Oddly, with this short period of sunning each day, we’re both as tan as we’ve ever been. 

South of the equator by eight degrees the sun is a scorcher in Bali. We prefer not to use sunscreen based on its awful chemical structure instead, staying in full shade for the remainder of the day.  We get a huge dose of Vitamin D in those paltry 20 minutes, a nice bit of a tan with the pleasure of being outdoors most of the day.

Entrance to Bali’s largest water park.

After drying off it’s time to get some work done, most recently booking flights and preparing applications for the four visas we’ll need over the next few months. We’re almost done with this tedious work, but with yesterday’s poor wifi signal we’re left to complete the online Cambodia visa today.

By 3:0 or 4:00 pm, we head in to shower and dress for dinner as skimpily as possible, again wearing swimsuits. Tom always wears a tee-shirt while dining which I’ve always considered thoughtful. Why is that?

Entrance to unknown compound.

The two swimsuits I’ve been wearing are fast losing their elasticity although ideal when no one but the staff is around. Tom pulls up the back of my suit several times a day while I do my share of tugging and rearranging. I only have two relatively unused swimsuits left which I’m saving for upcoming cruises. 

I may have to order a few more swimsuits when these two soon become threadbare. I’d prefer not to have to purchase swimsuits online without trying them on but that’s necessary for this life. Sometime over the next four or five months, we’ll order a new shipment for which we’re now making the list which will include swimsuits and a few other clothing items we’ll need by that time.

Lifeboat used for training exercises in Negara.

Tom has five swim trunks he alternates which are holding up fairly well. Since guys don’t have much elasticity in their suits they seem to last longer. He’ll also need to replace a few pairs of swim trunks by the end of our second stay in Bali beginning in September. 

Unless we’re on an outing or a walk, we don’t wear street clothes or shoes. In Bali, shoes aren’t worn inside the house, a tradition we’ve always favored in our old lives. 

With only one load of laundry each week we only need to hand wash the swimsuits using laundry soap which, when purchased in Bali, comes in a stiff plastic bag to avoid the use of more plastic.  The bag is a bit tricky to handle, but the concept makes it worth the effort. Few grocery items in Bali are contained in typical plastic containers.

The owner’s residence next door also used as a vacation property which is similar to our villa but has three bedrooms as opposed to our four bedrooms and has a smaller pool. 

After we’ve finished dinner by 6:00 pm, discussed and planned the next day’s meal with the two Ketuts, we give them money in Indonesian rupiah for the necessary groceries, we head to our bedroom, turn on the AC and blissfully relax in cool comfort. By 7:00 pm, we’re ready to watch a few downloaded shows or a movie. 

By 10:00 pm, I’m drifting off while Tom’s busy checking the NYSE (stock market) which opens at 9:30 pm here and closes at 4:00 am, Tuesday through Saturday.  ‘m easily able to sleep while he’s busy clicking on his computer usually until 11:00 or midnight.

Restaurant on the beach.

It’s a simple existence, albeit the tasks we must accomplish in the process for future travels. While anticipating non-stop action for the upcoming two months when we leave here in three weeks, we’re quite content to lounge now.

Today, the staff is off. We have most of tonight’s dinner prepared and ready to be reheated. Other than the salad I’ve yet to toss with homemade dressing, there’s little food prep. Tom keeps our mugs filled with iced tea and we both keep our hearts filled with the joys of the moment and the joys that are yet to come.

May you find joy on a simple day!

Photo from one year ago today, June 5, 2015:

Tom, at the miniature golf course on the ship.  He won, much to my dismay. For photos of Bora Bora, please click here.

Tripping up a trip…Staying calm and cool…

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An elaborate Hindu temple at the beach.

“Sightings on the Beach in Bali”

Yesterday’s walk on the beach.

A year ago while living in Trinity Beach, Australia we booked a Viking Mekong River Cruise for July 8th upcoming in a little over one month. Over these past years with 13 cruises behind us and with 10 more pending, we’ve had tremendous success and satisfaction with Vacations to Go.  

Unfortunately, we weren’t able to go through our regular cruise rep when river cruises are handled by another department. The river rep we received didn’t seem as knowledgeable as our regular cruise rep, but we didn’t complain and forged ahead.

Tourists walk along the beach area to shop at the many reasonably priced shops.

Cruise documents from Viking are not sent by email whereby other cruise lines readily make all necessary documents available online. As we’ve mentioned in the past, we haven’t been bringing paper documents to check in on cruises for the past few years when we discovered that only our passports and the reservation number are required to check-in at the port. 

When we discovered the river cruise rep has been out on medical leave off and on over these past few months, with nothing specific required until now, we hadn’t requested another rep. Now, only one month from the sail date, a new rep has taken over handling our booking.

Motorbikes line every road and highway, mostly owned by locals with some rented by tourists.

We’d asked many times via email and phone that the cruise documents NOT be snail-mailed to us to our mailing service in Nevada, USA. Alas, based on a Skype call we received from VTC during the night, the documents have been mailed to us in Nevada. What will we do with them? Pay to have them shipped overnight internationally for huge fees? That makes no sense.

Actually, the only reason we wanted the documents sent to us via email was for the confirmation for one flight included in the cruise fare. We’ll need proof of an airline ticket for the Vietnam flight when we apply for the visa in Singapore when we arrive in 24 days. Most immigration offices require proof that the visitor has a prepaid “way out of their country.” 

These little umbrellas are often used in decorating worship areas. Here, they are, outside a little restaurant at the beach.

Today, with a new contact person at VTC, we hope we’re on track to receive a document we can use when applying for the Vietnam visa. Once we have this, we’ll rest easy. In the worst case, we can have the mailing service scan and email copies of the itinerary but there again, we’ll have to pay for the scans as required by the mailing service.

Yesterday, we completed the documents for the three visas for which we’ll apply in Singapore.  Today, we’ll apply online for Cambodia which doesn’t require that we mail in our passports.

Hamburger night!  Tom had homemade burgers with cheese, fries, veggies, coleslaw while I had everything minus the fries. We’ve noticed he coughs from acid reflux at night after eating fries. No fries? No cough. Humm…what does that tell him?

This may all seem very confusing and we apologize to our readers for the redundancy and perhaps unclear representation. If you find yourself in such a pickle, please feel free to email us with questions. We’ll do our best to answer them clearly based on our experience and/or point you in the right direction for assistance.

Dolphin statue at the beach.

A dear friend wrote to me a few days ago saying, “most people would give up with all of the challenges you often face n continuing to travel the world.” That may be true for some. But, for us and perhaps others, it’s better than mowing the lawn, raking leaves, or shoveling the snow in the winter.

The beach in Lovina.

Our attention, our interest, and our enthusiasm remain constant as long as we have each other, good health, and the love and support of those who follow us along the way.  Thanks to all of you for that!

Photo from one year ago today, June 4, 2015:
“The International Date Line (IDL) explained:
The International Date Line (IDL) is an imaginary line of longitude on the Earth’s surface located at about 180 degrees east (or west) of the Greenwich Meridian.

Illustration image
One year ago, as we crossed the International dateline, we posted this map illustrating where this imaginary line is located.  For more details as we made the crossing, please click here.

Tom’s amazing photo for “Sightings on the Beach in Bali”…Impressive macro skills!…Small things…

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This is a common site on the road, a motorbike loaded with vegetation for the local’s cows and buffalo, which they harvest at no cost from the forests including designated locations in the national parks.

“Sightings on the Beach in Bali”

This praying mantis actually looked at Tom while he took this photo. Good shot, Honey!  He was as big as the palm of my hand.

When life is so simple that we spent the better part of a day watching and taking photos of the interaction between a female and a male praying mantis positioned on the infinity edge of the pool, we know we’re in paradise.

As I spent my usual 35 minutes exercising in the pool, it was hard not to notice the two good-sized creatures seeming to be keeping an eye on one another over a period of hours, long after we got out of the pool and our short stints in the sun to take cover under the cabana.

The vegetation in Bali is breathtaking staying lush and green with fairly consistent short bursts of rain. We haven’t experienced one entirely cloudy day in over a month.

As they waded in the water on the stone edge of the infinity pool I made my way as close as possible. The larger of the two which I assumed was the male, seemed to look me in the eyes, totally unafraid of this huge being in his presence. 

While in the pool I asked Tom to get the camera and take a photo of the praying mantis from the ocean side of the pool, never expecting it would come out so well.  When he got this great shot, I couldn’t stop smiling.  h, nature. Even in its most primitive form of insects, there’s magic to behold.

It’s common to see these archways upon leaving a town or village. Selamat jalan means “have a good journey” in Indonesian.

In my old life, if I’d seen anything crawling, walking, or flying in my close proximity, I’d have screamed and run for cover. Now, in this life, I can’t grab the camera quickly enough to take a photo, whether it’s an ugly scorpion as shown in this photo I took in the bathroom or a butterfly we attempt to capture near the blooming flowers.

This scorpion was in the master bath, very close to the hanging bath towels. Since that time, we have been shaking out our towels and clothing before use.

No, we’ll never have the skills of a professional photographer using the relatively inexpensive lightweight cameras we replace every 18 months or less due to humid conditions. But, taking photos nonetheless provides us with some pretty wonderful memories we delight in sharing with our readers.

Yesterday morning when Gede stopped at a few choice spots on the trip to Negara. In this short period since our arrival, he’s come to understands how much we love taking photos of the simple aspects of life in Bali as opposed to the typical tourist locations.

On yesterday’s trip to Negara, Gede stopped so I could take this photos of workers planted rice for the new season.

Of course, we’re far from many of the typical tourist locations which for us isn’t disappointing. We still have hundreds of photos we’ve yet to share as we continue to explore a few times a week whether on a road trip or a walk in the neighborhood, both of which are equally interesting.

Yesterday as planned, we completed the paperwork for one more of our required embassy visits while in Singapore, the 60-day extension for our second trip to Bali beginning on September 1st.  As required by the Indonesian immigration department, we must provide proof of our flights both in and out of the country during that period.

The rice paddies are meticulously designed for perfect crops.

After completion of the necessary applications and printing them on the villa’s printer, we got to work on the flights we’d yet to book. September may seem like a long time from now but time flies quickly this needed to get accomplished before we depart at the end of this month.

Finding good flight times is always tricky when neither of us likes flying in the middle of the night. We don’t sleep well on a flight making the following day challenging while we’re in a state of sheer
exhaustion. 

Note the scarecrow in another area where the workers were planting rice for the new season.

As we’ve aged staying up all night isn’t as easy as it used to be in our youth.  On several occasions, we’ve traveled overnight which after one good night’s sleep we return to feeling well and energized.

Tomorrow, we’ll share the details of our required early departures, losing a few days of prepaid rent in order to accommodate our itinerary. We don’t expect or ask property owners to credit us for a day or two early departure (or late arrival). This isn’t always a scenario we can easily anticipate a year or two in advance when booking vacation rentals and flights much later.

Calamari and prawns over a bed of stir-fried vegetables, a wonderful meal made by the two cooks that we both enjoy.

Today, we’ll prepare yet another batch of “paperwork” for the third of our four required visa
applications. We can’t wait to be done with this stuff to be able to go back to our previous level of
mindless drivel as we continue to search our surroundings for more “small things” photo ops.

May your day present you with “small things” you find interesting.

Photo from one year ago today, June 3, 2015:

The waterfall in a park in Tahiti we visited with our friends, a popular tourist attraction. For more Tahiti photos, please click here.

Movin’ right along…First one done!…More new photos…

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After reading the menu at this quaint restaurant on the beach in Lovina, it made us wish the drive wasn’t quite so far from the villa. For us, a meal doesn’t warrant a four hour round trip.

“Sightings on the Beach in Bali”

 A large fishing boat from quite a distance.

As it turned out there was an issue with the villa’s printer. We’d completed the online visa application for Vietnam, converted it into a PDF and tried to print the required two copies on the older Epson printer.

A quiet, pristine beach in the town of Lovina, a two hour drive from the villa.

The black ink had run out. The two Ketuts had no idea what to do. With the language barrier they ran to get Ribud, the lawn guy who’s also a “master of all trades” who was working at Egon’s house next door.

Looking over the old printer, Ribud, who also speaks little English took off to return 10 minutes later with another guy who’s name I didn’t know and didn’t ask. 

More views of the beach in Lovina.

As far from a bigger city as we are (the four hour harrowing drive), I didn’t expect a resolution. We assumed we’d have to wait until arriving in Singapore to print the entire litany of documents we’ll need for the visas. We dreaded the idea of taking even more time when we’d already have to accomplish getting the three visas during the one week stay.

Another interesting looking restaurant on the beach in Lovina.

The two guys left the house for about 10 minutes, returning with a wide mouth bottle of black printer ink. We were impressed they had this on hand. But, how in the world would they pour from this wide mouth bottle into the tiny opening in the printer’s black ink reservoir? 

Leave it to these resourceful Balinese workers. They made a funnel from a piece of cardboard and gingerly poured the required amount of ink into the printer. I’d gone rummaging through the kitchen cupboards looking for a funnel with no success. 

Many small boats dock at the harbor in Lovina.

They left after we expressed considerable gratitude in both words and the traditional Balinese “hands held together with a gentle bow”. In no time at all we had both sets of visa applications for Vietnam printed and ready for the new photos we had taken weeks ago to be attached to the forms. One done, three more to go.

A short pier in Lovina.

Why three more when in yesterday’s post and above, I said we only needed to do three visas? I failed to mention we’ve yet to apply for a fourth visa for Cambodia which we’ll do through a US visa service online over the next few days.

The shoreline at the beach.

Why stretch this process over days as opposed to completing it all in one day? The WiFi is slow, making the process painstaking. In our minds, it’s less confusing and cumbersome doing one such task each day when we still have plenty of time at this point.

This morning at 9 am I went to Negara with Gede, without Tom. Wanting to purchase cheese for an after dinner snack and a few other grocery items there was no reason for Tom to make the harrowing 30 minute drive (each way) when Gede and I did fine on our own. Tom enjoyed having the villa to himself for a few hours.

Fishing boats in the harbor in Lovina.

Making today’s post short enabled me to get it uploaded quickly upon my return. I leave you with more photos from our recent trip to Lovina and look forward to “seeing” you with more tomorrow.

Happy day to all!

Photo from one year ago today, June 2, 2015:

We were in Tahiti one year ago today, overlooking the sea from a bridge. We toured the city of Papeete with our new friends Rene and Geoff with whom we’ve stayed in touch over this past year.  For more Tahiti photos, please click here.

Planning for the future…Back to work…

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Houses along the river in the village of Malaya.

“Sightings on the Beach in Bali”

Low tide at the beach on a cloudy day.

Today, we need to get “back to work.” Enough of this lazy lifestyle we’ve had this past month in Bali. With all of our record keeping and expenses logged and up to date, including the cost of last night’s dinner, it’s now time to look toward the future.

With the necessity of getting three visas while in Singapore for Vietnam, Thailand and Bali’s second visit in September, we have some paperwork to prepare before we arrive. After all, our one week in Singapore begins in 27 days. We’d better get moving.

A small shop next door to the ATM we use in the nearest village.

Each of these country’s visa applications requires proof of airline or cruise tickets showing our departure dates.  These countries want to ensure we high tail out as planned. No lingering illegals allowed.

Luckily, there’s an old printer here (soon running out of ink) that I’ve been able to use with my laptop. I can’t recall the last time we needed to print something other than the documents for last week’s visa extension, now completed.

Watermelon growing in a field, covered to protect it from the heat of the sun.

Travelers often perceive they need paper copies of tickets, boarding passes and cruise documents. We no longer keep any of these in our possession, instead keeping copies on my phone of online documents we’ve either scanned or photographed. 

Ensuring the photos include clear and easy-to-read reservation numbers, we’ve never had a problem with this. On a few isolated  occasions we’ve been asked for paper copies to which we shrug explaining we haven’t had access to a printer which in most cases, we haven’t. This is only the second vacation property where we’ve had access to a printer.

Muddy river we crossed in Malaya.

Isn’t printing becoming somewhat obsolete these days? Isn’t it mostly lawyers who continue to shuffle around hundreds of pages of documents in front of their clients? Oh, yes, and government agencies throughout the world always require paper as we’ve experienced thus far, many still using obsolete operating systems.

This is the reason we’ll need to bring printed papers with us to Singapore when we visit three embassies during our short stay. For each location for which we require a visa, we have an email with a list of the required documents. Ugh, this reminds me of my old working life, always bogged down with paperwork. We’ll be happy when we’re done.

As old as much of the architecture is in Bali, it maintains a style befitting its rich Hindu history.

Also, we need to begin looking for an RV to rent for next summer’s (2017) visit to the US. We’re hoping to pin down a suitable vehicle in Seattle, driving it across the northern part of the US to Minnesota. 

Having an RV prevents us from imposing on family members during the extended visit to Minnesota. Our kid’s bedrooms are full in their homes and with all of our luggage it would be a huge inconvenience to stay with others for six weeks. 

Tiny bananas for sale at a local farmers market.

Nor would we want to impose upon any of Tom’s siblings or our friends who may have available space. Six weeks is a long time. My way of eating, in itself, would be a gross inconvenience for which we’d never expect anyone to prepare. 

Nor would I want to be shopping and cooking meals trying to figure out how to cook for everyone since as a house guest, I wouldn’t feel right cooking only for ourselves. (I’m an awful house guest, feeling as if I need to “earn my keep” by cooking and cleaning. As a result, its more work for me to be a house guest than one can imagine, all by my own design, of course).

We spotted these sardines in the early morning for sale at the local farmers market that most likely had been caught that morning. They weren’t on ice and could spoil quickly in the heat.

We’ll be eating lots of gluten-free cooked chickens from Costco, preparing basic meals in the RV and dining out a few times a week. We’d considered a vacation home or hotel in the metro area but prices were beyond the cost of an RV.  With a small RV we’ll be mobile, can see everyone, go camping with the family and park wherever we can find a suitable spot. 

We plan to keep the RV during the six weeks in Minnesota, dropping it off before flying to Nevada for the last two weeks of our US visit before heading to Costa Rica and then…back to our world journey.

Minnows for sale at the farmers market.

Yesterday afternoon and last night it rained for hours. Surprisingly, the flies aren’t as prevalent today as they’ve been after other periods of rain. I’m trying not to use the repellent as often as during this past month which doesn’t seem to keep the flies off of me anyway. 

We’re feeling well, feeling grateful and ready to get to work. We hope you’re feeling well and grateful, too!


Photo from one year ago today, June 1, 2015:

This is the interior of a lifeboat which tendered us to the pier in Moorea, one year ago today. For more photos and details, please click here.

Part 2…A wild and fascinating cultural experience…All new photos….Do YOU have a story to tell?

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We’ve often seen balloon guys hauling these big batches on their motorbikes.

“Sightings on the Beach in Bali”

These boys fished for several hours in the heat of the sun.

Often, we share an experience in more than one post. With wifi limitations preventing the posting of too many photos and our desire to maintain a reasonable length of any daily post, a particular story or event may require multiple days of posting. Today’s continuing photos from yesterday’s post clearly illustrate this fact.

Buffaloes were lining up for their turn at the races.

Yesterday, was our 1400th post since the date of our first story in March 2012. At the onset, we posted a few photos and posted a few times a week, having no idea how many readers, we’d acquire other than friends and family over these years.

A young “jockey” in position for the upcoming race.

Much to our surprise, as our readership grew. Readers came from all over the world and began sharing our posts with their friends, relatives, and neighbors. In the stats in Blogger which we can review at any time, we’ve watched the list of countries from entries into our site grow and change over the years.

Flower petals and burning incense are lined along the road providing prayers and good fortune for the race.

This has been exciting for us. Our enthusiasm over this growth has never lost its magical charm in motivating us to continue with the telling of our ongoing story and our daily lives, albeit at times mundane existence.

The smell of the incense burning was pleasant among all the other smells.

In March 2013, one year after we started our first post (on March 15, 2012), we began posting daily as opposed to a few times each week. This feature manifested from the discovery that often our experiences couldn’t be told on a Saturday to be continued two or three days later and maintain their flow and significance.

Many of the elaborate costumes are handmade.

For many of our readers, it was comparable to reading chapters in a book. One doesn’t want to have to put it down and wait three days to read again. As an avid reader, I’ve become impatient waiting a day for the next part of a story, although each night I do so when sleepiness befalls me and I turn off my phone.

Any of our lives are a continuing story. Although our story may not seem interesting enough for any of us to share, we may surprise ourselves how we can find a way to extrapolate tidbits of our daily existence worthy of note by others. 

Off they go down the narrow racecourse, lined with spectators on both sides.

Our thoughts, our dreams, and our hopes all encompass a story to be told that is easily illustrated in Facebook whether its a new bloom in your garden, a smile on your grandchild’s face, or a lopsided cake you’ve baked in your kitchen, it all holds a certain appeal most of us find interesting enough to give it a “like.”

The buffaloes stayed relatively calm until the race began.

When looking through the timeline of any FB participant in our list of “friends” we can easily formulate a story of their lives as they’ve progressed over the years with events big and small, powerful and insignificant. At times, our stories are profound and at other times, outrageously humorous.

This is the queue where race participants awaited their turn.

We all have a story to tell. Years ago, Tom’s mother, Mary Lyman, narrated a book about her life and her family which was penned by an author who’d done this for many others with a desire to document their life story and family history in the written word to be bound into a book upon completion.

The buffalo’s horns were covered in these “socks” adding to the wide array of decorations.

Once completed, every family member was given a copy, a gift from Mary. Although blind, her memory was keen and her head was filled with stories that held significance to each family member in one way or another. What a gift to bestow upon one’s family! Mary lived until 98, only four months from her 99th birthday. 

Somehow we made our way through the crowds to find a decent viewing spot.

The content in Mary’s book wasn’t for the mass audience but the treasures of the stories she told will remain in the hearts and minds of her family for generations to come. 

The air was thick with cigarette smoke. It appears many Balinese men smoke although we’ve seen few women doing so.

Perhaps, there’s a story inside of you to share. It’s relatively quick and painless to start a blog. If the concept is intimidating, perhaps a savvy grandchild or friend can set it up for you. 

You need not worry about spelling, punctuation, or grammar. The flow of your words will be what matters to those who love you and those who will be blessed to read your words in years to come.

Pretty little flowers blooming along the entrance road.

And for us, these average everyday people who we are, we remain in awe of our readership that continues to grow each and every year. We thank all of you for “traveling along with us” as we tell our stories…however trivial or meaningful they may be, however repetitive or fresh they may appear, knowing we’re never alone with each of you at our side.

Tell your story!  We’d love to read it!

Photo from one year ago today, May 31, 2015:

Vacation/holiday huts set into the side of the mountain on the island of Moorea, photo taken while on a dolphin tour.  We saw many dolphins but the sea was too rough for any good photos. For more, please see here.

A wild and fascinating cultural experience in Bali…Buffalo races!…Video and photos!

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Our video from yesterday morning’s buffalo race.  Two carts took off at a time while the others awaited their turns.

“Sightings on the Beach in Bali”

This morning we spotted this large fishing boat close to the beach.  It was surprising to see how many people were on board.
Moments later they were hauling this little blue boat on board. 

Buffalo racing is a popular sport in Bali. Two highly decorated buffaloes are hitched to plowing type carts, modified and also elaborately decorated for racing, the “jockey” sits in the cart, reins in hand, knees bent, holding a leather whip, not unlike one would find with horse racing.

After our first steps out of the car, we could tell the path ahead would be congested.

Yes, there are many animal cruelty activists that are adamantly opposed to buffalo racing and we understand their intentions. But, we’re not here to judge a centuries-old tradition. 

As all of our readers well know, we love animals and are also vehemently opposed to animal cruelty.  ut, we aren’t here to espouse our personal beliefs over worldwide racing of a variety of animals,  nor are we taking a stance on such a position in this post.

We arrived well before the start of the race with many of the buffaloes still in the trucks.

We’re here to describe this unusual experience we’d yet to see in our world travels as a way of life for many Balinese and others throughout the world. Their passion, enthusiasm, and dedication to the sport arenot unlike the dedication one finds for football and soccer worldwide where humans are the target of considerably rough encounters centered around much hoopla and wild celebration.

Buffaloes aren’t intended as “runners.” Their bulky physiques and ungainly gate make them poor candidates for such a sport. But, boy or boy, can they run and it didn’t appear it take much encouragement to get them on the move.

The buffaloes were being dressed in their elaborate costumes.

Yesterday morning at 7 am, Butu, our alternate driver for the villas, picked us up for the 20 minutes drive through unbelievable traffic early on a Sunday morning.  It wasn’t as if everyone was heading to church and brunch in Bali. 

Most of the population adheres to Hinduism, with approximately 14% Muslim, 3.5% Christian, and .5% Buddhism who don’t necessarily worship on Sundays. 

It appeared that the bulk of the traffic resulted from trucks hauling buffaloes to the races and other trucks hauling various goods to the island. 

Many hands were involved in prepping the buffalo.

Weaving in and out of traffic while constantly passing other vehicles on the narrow two-lane roads is a harrowing event in itself, not intended for the squeamish. 

If such traffic scenarios are an issue for you, Bali wouldn’t be a good vacation/holiday spot for you, unless you parked yourself at a resort for a few weeks to enjoy the balmy weather and beautiful beaches. In reality, driving in Bali is not unlike the buffalo races, one wild ride, for sure!

It was equally interesting watching the prep required as the buffaloes were “dressed” for the event.

Once we arrived at the race track, we discovered a somewhat unusual aspect to racing on this particular course in Malaya.  Wherever we stood near the track, there wasn’t a good vantage point in which to see the race other than for the first 100 yards. Once the buffaloes were on their way, the vegetation and distant areas of the track only allowed us to see the bobbing flags on the carts at a distance. 

From what Butu explained as best as he could with our language differences, the race of each buffalo cart is timed, determining the winner(s) who’d go on to the bigger races for the finals in several months. 

It was the look on the mouth of the buffalo on the right that inspired me to get a close-up of his teeth. Please see the photo below for details.

Here’s more information from this site further describing these events:

“Makepung is the name of a major grand prix in Jembrana, West Bali, which features racing buffalo races. Hundreds of pairs of buffaloes are teamed up together with their jockeys riding the traditional wooden ploughs that are slightly modified for the competition.

The racer buffaloes, called kerbau pepadu, compete in various open race circuits in assorted heats around the district of Melaya, leading up to the finals, or what has come to be known as the Jembrana Regent’s Cup, and the Governor’s Cup, held annually.

Makepung is derived from the base word of kepung, meaning ‘chase’, similar to the expression ‘steeplechase’. Makepung is one of the unique traditions stemmed from the agrarian life scene of the island, and is a widely enjoyed event in the regency of Jembrana, west Bali.

The grand-scale events inspired by such a simple, traditional pastime preserve the unique traditions of this part of the island, as well as to promote tourism to this far-flung western location. The competitions also provide a positive impact on other local sectors such as agriculture and farming.

The tradition has partly prevented the shift of land for farming use, and it has also encouraged the people to improve the quality of animal husbandry, raising winning buffaloes for the yearly events.”

Once we entered the grounds for the race we walked along with a narrow path weaving in and out of the rows of buffaloes. I could tell Tom was a bit concerned we’d be kicked or stepped on by the huge beasts, but I was so busy taking photos I never gave it a thought. 

This is how close we were to the buffaloes when we were able to get this close-up of his teeth. Even munching on all that vegetation causes tarter of the teeth. 

Being up close and personal was “right up my alley” and I couldn’t have been more thrilled to look in the eyes of these amazing animals, admiring their individual expressions and elaborate decorations that the Balinese people design with considerable care and attention to detail.

At no point did we see any of the buffaloes handled with any rough treatment other than the first moments “out of the gate” when their tough hides were swatted to get the show on the road. Often, while they waited for their turns, we noticed the owners and handlers petting them in a revered and appreciative manner.

Many of the costumes worn by the buffaloes were elaborate.

Now, we get it…the buffalo on the beach every day being walked to the river for a cooling soak.  For all we know, they too participate in the races. Apparently, the buffalo races have contributed to tourism in this more remote part of the island, four hours from the capital city of Denpasar.

We had to walk quite a way to get to a spot on the sidelines in order to see the beginning of each racing cart, most often starting two at a time. The walk was somewhat tedious over rough, slippery terrain with room for only one person at a time. Gingerly, we made our way to a good place to stand on the sidelines only a few feet (meters) from the track with no fence or guardrail to protect the spectators in the event of a mishap.

We ended up walking down this uneven grassy area on the right finally staying put close to the official’s tower on the left. 

We positioned ourselves a reasonable distance from the starting line when we noticed the helter-skelter nature as the buffaloes and carts took off. An official yelled something in Balinese in a loud and intimidating voice that immediately triggered the buffaloes into action. You can hear this in our above video.

After quite a while and with all the photos we wanted, we decided to head out before the end of the race since we couldn’t tell who was winning anyway. With the lines of vehicles, participants, spectators, buffaloes and carts it was evident it could have taken two to three hours to get back out to the highway.

The buffaloes were adorned and ready for the races to begin.  In a perfect world animals (including humans) wouldn’t be subject to these types of sporting events and customs.

We’d hoped to make a stop at the grocery store on the way back to the villa but Butu misunderstood taking us to a farmers market with mostly fruit, some veg, clothing, and trinkets, none of which we needed to purchase.  The two Ketuts purchase all of the vegetables, eggs, chicken, and fish each morning for the day’s meal. Next time we go out with Gede we’ll make the stop.

At the moment, we’re outdoors on the chaise lounges on a dark and somewhat dreary day. We can’t see across the ocean to Java, the Indonesian mainland, as on most sunny days. We’ve already had our coffee and are showered and in our swimsuits as always. 

The buffaloes are being led to the starting gate.  More photos will follow tomorrow.

Regardless of the weather, we’ll stay outdoors all day and swim in the pool even if it rains. The cabana provides good cover from the rain and will have slightly fewer flies than inside the house. There’s no way we can describe how bad the flies are, especially after it rains, especially during dinner. But, like everything else, we’ll manage just fine, flies and all.

One month from today, we’ll already be in Singapore. It’s hard to believe we’ve been in Bali for over a month.  How the time flies when you’re having fun!

May your weekend be enjoyable and meaningful.

Photo from one year ago today, May 30, 2015:

Rough seas aboard the ship one year ago had resulted in the closing of the swimming pool. Walking about the ship had been tricky for 24 hours as the rough seas increased.  Luckily, neither of us suffers from seasickness. For more photos and details, please click here.

We’re “off to the races” with exciting photos tomorrow…Routines we all love…Final photos of the Pulaki Temple…

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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”

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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. 

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. 

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.

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:

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.

More photos of the Pulaki Temple in Singaraja…Deciding on which photos to post…To do “good works?”

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Tom said, “Oh, here we go again…me wearing another “dress!”  We’ve found that men all over the world wear “skirts” and “dresses” as everyday wear.

“Sighting on the Beach in Bali”

This little hut is located in front of a villa down the beach. A swim platform of some sort?

Often, when we visit a specific site, we may take 100 or more photos. Although I’m still, and most likely always will be an amateur photographer, I rarely take more than one photo of a specific scene unless I want “insurance” for an unusual sighting.

More experienced photographers may take dozens of shots of a similar scene to later spend time sorting, editing and choosing their favorites. I can’t take the time to do this every day or, all of my days would be spent managing photos. Few photographers, professional or amateur, post photos online daily for the world to see on their own websites.

This obvious fellow was gingerly picking over an orange.

Sure, millions, if not billions worldwide (approximate world population of 7.4 billion) post daily photos on social media. At this point, I’ve had little interest in spending more time each day posting dozens of photos on a variety of social media platforms. 

Another adorable mom and baby.

Although, almost daily, I post one or two photos on my Facebook page for friends to see, most certainly as an inducement for them to visit our site. We’d love for even more readers to stop by here each day. Feel free to “friend” me on Facebook by searching for me at Jessica Lyman, Sumbersari, Indonesia. There are many with a similar name. Each time we move, I update our location at some point on Facebook.

The Pulaki Temple is diverse and interesting.

We encourage and kindly ask our readers to help promote our site with their Facebook and other friends if they’d so kindly do so on occasion, as we continually strive to increase our readership throughout the world. 

The monkeys seemed to spend a lot of time in quiet reflection when they weren’t eating perhaps inspired by the spiritual surroundings.

Increasing our readership is not about the potential income which ultimately is minuscule in the realm of things, not even covering the costs of managing our site. It’s about the opportunity to share this somewhat peculiar lifestyle with people all over the world who may find a few minutes of enjoyment or merely satisfy their curiosity as to the ins and outs of our world travel experience.

Adventurists may choose to tackle this hill. Instead, we enjoyed the view and blue sky.

It’s not that we’re all that interesting, but for those who’ve never traveled, for those who’ve traveled a little or for those who’ve traveled a lot, they may find a morsel of information we share appealing in one manner or another.

A nun worked in this caged area intended to keep the monkeys out.
Yesterday, I received a beautiful email from a young Australian man (20’s or 30’s) we met in the Windjammer Café on our latest cruise from Sydney to Singapore. We’d started chatting and he expressed an interest in our way of eating. We’d given him and his partner our business cards hoping we’d touch base sometime in the future. Alas, I smiled when I saw his message in my inbox.
It made no sense to attempt this stairway beyond its first eight steps when they were uneven and precarious, especially wearing the long saris.

As I often do when people we’ve met or readers inquire about our way of eating, I sent him a list of books to read and online resources, suggesting he find a physician he can work with that has had education in new science surrounding nutrition (not all doctors know anything about nutrition and are still promoting high carb, low-fat diets when recent study after study proves otherwise).

Scary-looking statues to ward off bullies and evil spirits.

In his own way, he’ll do diligence and find what may work for him and his lifestyle. But, for us, having the opportunity to point a reader in the direction of all this emerging science in order to encourage them, along with their medical provider, to find a path suitable for their health and needs, gives us added purpose and considerable joy.

The main entrance to the temple.

Our travels aren’t about the seeming hedonistic personal enjoyment lounging in a cabana, living a life of leisure.  Any of our regular readers are aware that our lives stretch far beyond that.

The bell tower.

And, in this life, we’ve been gifted with the opportunity to “to do good works.” However, our humility prevents us from boasting about that which we may do for others along the way. Not everything is a “photo op.” The greatest donation of time and money are those done quietly and/or anonymously without fanfare, “tooting one’s horn” or looking for recognition or accolades.

The staff at the Pulaki Temple provide food for the monkey as an incentive to keep them on the grounds during the day for tourist viewing. Bags of feed were available for sale, but we didn’t want the monkeys climbing all over us, although a few grabbed onto our legs.

The exception to this is when we promote a small, locally owned business that requires online exposure to possibly build a better online presence from our well-intended endorsement.

Blooming plants highlighted the beauty of the Pulaki Temple.

As our friends and family members in the US roll into the Memorial Day weekend, we wish everyone a safe and meaningful long weekend. For the rest of the world, stay safe and be well.

Photo from one year ago today, May 28, 2015:

Part of the “sexiest man aboard the ship” competition was to do pushups. This passenger did the most number of pushups, 66,  and eventually won the competition with his excellent dancing skills. For more photos and details, please click here.

Mastering cultural differences takes practice….Embarrassing outcome when I got it wrong…

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Here we are wearing saris standing at the foot of the steps at the Pulaki Temple in Singaraja. This isn’t the first time Tom’s worn a dress/skirt. Please see below. 

“Sightings on the Beach in Bali”

At quite a distance…a barge carrying coal, pulled by a tugboat.

On the return trip from Lovina to the villa, the second tourist attraction we visited was the Pulaki Temple as described on this website:

“Pulaki Temple or Pura Pulaki is a Hindu shrine located on the hill bank with a beautiful beach just in front of the temple located in the north part of Bali. It is one of the biggest Hindu temples in Bali situated in the coastal side west part of Singaraja town or 1-hour drive to the west from the town. This temple is set on flat land with a stone hill bank as a backdrop meanwhile the blue ocean is just in front of the temple. The holy group of monkeys is living around the temple and keeps the temple from the bad influences according to what the local people believe. These monkeys are coming from the Macaca fascicularis group or Long-Tailed Macaque. Pulaki Temple is one of the places appointed by Bali’s government as a tourist destination that you must visit when traveling to Bali in particular north part the island.”

Bat-like ears on this monkey.

We were the only tourists at the popular location during the entire visit. Our driver, Butu, escorted us through the temple having been there many times in the past with other tourists.  His English is limited, although he managed to communicate a few key aspects worthy of note. 

These two were sitting on a wall observing the activities of the others.

We were charged a nominal fee for the cost of the saris, IDR $50,000, US $3.69 (for both) which are required to be worn upon entering a Hindu temple. It was hot and humid but this level of dress wasn’t nearly as uncomfortable as it was when I wore the “abaya” and Tom wore a “thobe” when we visited the White Mosque in Abu Dhabi, UAE as shown in this photo below, coincidentally about three years ago in the latter part of May. Here’s the link to that post in 2013.

In 2013, we stayed in Dubai for two weeks in a high-rise vacation condo. Unfortunately, I was ill during our entire stay in Dubai with an awful virus and sinus infection, which developed during the prior Middle Eastern cruise.  It was during this time while I was still ill, that we visited the White Mosque in Abu Dhabi.  The temperature that day was at least 40C, 104F. The black silky fabric over my long pants was uncomfortable. Tom was OK in the cooler, lighter fabric of the white thobe.

The attendant at the Pulaki Temple dressed us, over our clothes, in the sari with the accompanying waistband.  Tom had a bit of difficulty walking with the long skirt reaching to the ground. 

Many of us have worn our share of long skirts and dresses, easily able to walk without tripping. I laughed when he mumbled under his breath about the tangled fabric around his legs, making walking up the steps difficult. 

Nice teeth!

We were both fascinated with the design of the temple, taking many photos we’ll share over the next few days.  I was particularly excited to take photos of the Long Tailed Macaque monkeys who were relatively tame but nonetheless wild animals. 

In many ways, they’re so much like us.

At night, the monkeys live in the forest behind the temple, visiting the temple during the day when they’re fed not only by the religious personnel but also by the tourists. They weren’t as pesky as we’d expected although on a few occasions they wrapped their arms around our legs. 

A baby hanging on for dear life!  Notice the little point atop the mom’s head.

We’d read stories online about tourists being bite by monkeys at temples although not a common occurrence.  In any case, it made sense to stay back a reasonable distance as we’ve learned in our travels after spending considerable time in the presence of wild animals. They are “wild” after all. =And, even tame animals, especially monkeys, can attack unprovoked.

This monkey had lost an eye.

Now on to the embarrassing part…

After we were satisfied we’d seen all we wanted to see and do at the Pulaki Temple we’d handed back our saris.  I asked for “toilet” a word commonly recognized the world over as opposed to asking for a “restroom” or “ladies or men’s room.” In many countries, the letters “WC” for “water closet” are posted at the appropriate locations.

This fellow checked us out as we entered the temple.

We were pointed in the direction of the water closet, a short distance from the entrance area to the temple requiring we walk over uneven terrain and a grassy yard without a path. An attendant followed us to collect the payment for using the WC of IDR $2000, US $.15 which Tom handed her promptly.

Opening the door to the WC, I was stunned. This was a first for me in all of our world travels to date, keeping in mind, that I try to avoid using public facilities as much as possible.  here was no toilet so to speak, only this similar porcelain lined hole in the floor as shown in this photo I found online:

Not our photo. (I never take the camera into a WC with me). Some of these squatting toilets are raised a little. The one I used at the temple was flush (no pun intended) with the floor as shown.

This isn’t a position I find required in our daily lives. And, at my age of 68, not one I can easily maneuver purely from lack of practice, although now I may start working on this particular stance.

Angry statues at Hindu temples are intended to keep “evil” and “bullies” away.

Recalling how well I mastered peeing in odd situations referred to as “checking the tire pressure” as our guide, Anderson described during our safari in the Maasai Mara in October 2103, I wondered how I’d manage this.

But, I ran into a few obstacles; one, I was wearing long pants; two, I couldn’t take the pants off without removing my shoes and the floor to the small enclosure was very wet. There was no way I was going to stand in bare feet on that floor. Plus, my pants would undoubtedly get wet as I removed them.

Cats are often depicted at temples.

As fit as I attempt to be, considering my precarious spinal condition, there was no way I could keep my pants on without getting them soaked from the floor while attempting to “check the tire pressure” which over the long drive and sipping on my iced tea definitely had become an urgent situation.

Holding onto a pole while thinking.

I challenge any of our dear female readers to undertake this position with your pants still on. If you can do this, I’d love to hear from you and how you accomplished it. Keeping in mind, there was no place to hold onto for support. Had there been, I may have been able to accomplish it.

We didn’t want to disturb the monks to discover what they were doing.  For more on Hinduism, please click this informative link.

Alas, “checking the tire pressure” resulted in my peeing all over my light tan pants. Oh, by the way, there was no light and no window in the little room. It was completely dark. I couldn’t even see “where” to aim, let alone be in an appropriate position while aiming.

Not wanting to draw attention to myself when I exited the WC, well aware my pants were entirely soaked, Tom walked back to the car close behind me. Luckily, I had a pair of shorts in the bag which I’d intended to change into at some point but never had. 

Looks like a teenager with that hairdo.

Both the immigration office and the temple require visitors to wear long pants. I changed in the car while Butu and Tom waited outside. With the seat pulled forward all the way for Tom’s legs in the backseat, even getting changed wasn’t all that easy. At this point, I was hot and sweaty from both experiences.

I placed my pants on the floor in the backseat for the remaining one-hour drive back to the villa, hand washing them with laundry soap in the bathroom sink when we returned. Whew!

Watching and waiting for action.

Was I the first female tourist that had such an experience at that or other “squatting required” toilets? Probably not. Nor will I be the last.  Embarrassed?  Certainly not in front of Tom and I doubt Butu or the temple staff noticed me. I supposed it was a “foolish me” moment, one that I’ve already found myself chuckling about. 

However, it was a lesson learned about cultural differences. Guess I’d better start working on those deep knee squats…with pants on and pulled down of course. 


Photo from one year ago today, May 27, 2015:

Tom’s miniature lemon meringue pie for dessert on the first night aboard the cruise from Honolulu to Sydney. For more cruise photos, please click here.