Swimming in the Indian Ocean :-)

As my blog readers may have figured out, I have a visitor traveling around the world and he just came from Seattle (ok, Everett) Washington. Stanley Flat came from my nieces and nephew for a visit. He will go back to school in May and the kids will get to learn about all his adventures in Singapore and Indonesia. Stanley is sharing on here so the children can read about his travels - I hope you don't mind reading about them too. Now back to Stanley:

Dear N, A and N;

I went swimming in the Indian Ocean! I was SCARED! I almost got eaten by a BIG, hairy MONSTER!



I didn't though - I am still here to tell you about it.

I wonder why they call it the Indian Ocean? I didn't SEE any Indians in it.

The Real Bali

When I was young, we used to watch Monty Hall on Let's Make a Deal and later Bob Barker on The Price is Right giving away exotic trips to Paris, France, Rome, Italy and maybe even Bali, Indonesia. I always thought what wonderful places they would be to visit and dreamed of those trips as something only the rich people did.

On October 12, 2002 and March 19, 2005 Islamic militant terrorists attacked nightclubs, with suicide bombs and backpack bombs in Bali killing several hundred people - some Americans. It happened just a short few miles from where we stayed in Bali. If you would have told me 4 years ago that I would be standing on the same island that terrorists had recently attacked, I would have told you that you were crazy. If you would have told me when I was young and watching those shows that I would ever go to one of these places, I never would have believed you. I never dreamed in my wildest dreams that I would someday BE in Bali enjoying its flavor.

I remember seeing the devastation of the explosions on the TV news, thinking how horrible it was that a car bomb would drive into a club and kill so many innocent people. I remember hearing how many people were jammed in the nightclubs and thinking how outrageous it was. It did affect me in the sense that one is affected in hearing of horrible crimes, and I said prayers for those that were touched by the terrorists, however, as with anything distant my thoughts dimmed with time.

I knew I would never be near where those kind of incidents happen - never mind being within a few miles of the exact spots. I didn't realize that in a few years I would indeed be standing on the same land the bombs exploded or the effect it would have on me; the deep pain I would feel for the country and those left behind to try to pick up the pieces and make a life again.

Being in Bali, where the people are loving and welcoming, I became a witness to the after effects of the attacks. Bali depended on tourism as their main source of income. Of course, after the terrorist attacks, it is no surprise that tourism went to an all time low. Riding around the streets of Bali, there are miles and miles of shops selling handmade crafts - amazing crafts in fact. The entire island is one shop after another - beauty everywhere you look. Sadly it is truly just sitting - waiting on buyers.

Driving or walking past and looking in, around and outside the shops, we saw many people still making the crafts. We stared in awe that these crafts are not machine made; they are painstakingly made by hand in hopes that a huge contract will be bought up and the items shipped to far away countries. I will never again go to Michael's, Wal-Mart or any other place and look at these pieces of art as quickly thrown together. They are not. The people take great pride in what they make - and then try to sell it on the streets.

We buy it for peanuts here in Singapore, and in the states we buy it for a few more peanuts - and complain about it because it is too high. After seeing this country, I will never again whine about the price it takes to purchase crafts, key chains or trinkets - the price is much higher than we can wrap our minds around. Sometimes the price is life; for if these people do not sell the wares, they can starve to death.
 

I have heard on TV about company's not buying from countries that use child labor. These people grow up working. Babies, children and adults alike all work side by side each doing his own part in the family business. I didn't understand until witnessing this that it IS what they do; and seeing it I have a whole new perspective of it. I am sure there are factories where children should not work, but in Bali, families were sitting around carving together, sewing together, beading together, and chatting while they did it. While it is a hardship for them, it is also very heart warming to see them all sharing and learning their skills from each other. Our guide said it devastates them to lose large contracts because of the child labor laws; millions of pieces of merchandise sit and 'spoil' or deteriorate, the families go hungry and the poverty worsens.






Life in Bali was very disturbing for me and it has taken a bit to for me to digest. You see it on TV, you read it in the papers; but nothing can prepare you for the poverty that still exists in this world. The Balinese people work very hard – harder than I have ever worked in life. They struggle from day to day to get their goods from one place to another:
 

The children play with random things like paper and sticks to make kites, not a bad thing, but sad for me to realize my grandchildren have wonderful toys, too many in fact, and these children would have never seen the likes of my grand babies toys.
 

The families often eat off of the same piece of paper, foil, or whatever is near, with their fingers:
 

Many cannot afford vehicles, so motorbikes are their only form of transportation for the entire family. This is one of many pictures I took of people commuting - a family of 5 on their bike:

 Yes, that is a baby in the mom's arms.

They do things to ‘old fashioned’ way; I am sure they cannot even imagine the western way of mass production and manufacturing.

Sifting volcanic sand to make mortar:

Hand carving some of those wonderful pieces of wood we might see in Michael's:

Roasting coffee beans to sell:

Children in the villages are seen at a common meeting point by medical teams, not in a professional clinic. They are given checkups, shots, medicines and the parents are taught nutritional information to help guide them in raising healthier children.

The meeting point we saw looked like this:

Bali is quite a contrast from our charmed way of life.

L was telling us that the daily maid is paid $50 a month and the gardener is paid $11 a month; yet they are not taking advantage of them - they are supporting them and feeding their families. These people are not used to making more money. Steve and I give tips to our guides and drivers when we are out. You honestly would think we had given them a new car when we give them a bill or two - and they are always very polite in thanking us profusely.
 

The people in Bali are some of the nicest in the world. When they smile at you, which is often, their entire face lights up. They thanked us over and over for being there - and seemingly were amazed that American's would come back. I overheard them thanking some other westerners (Australians?) for their visit as well.

Being in Bali gave me lots to reflect on...

...and plenty to be thankful for.

Batam - Our First Time :-)

Bloggers have a connection - some more than others. L is one that posts on my blog quite often, and I have always admired the travels they do and the adventurous nature about her and her hubby. I met L at lunch on Thursday, but she had already invited us to their place in Batam, Indonesia for the weekend. Batam is only a 45 minute boat ride away - but it seems like half a world away from the hustle and bustle of Singapore. Singapore is always fast paced, no matter what you are doing or where you are going. It is a 'full speed ahead' city - on a fast track to every destination.

Batam is quite the opposite - well at least it is at L & J's place. They own our dream home ;-) From the moment we stepped in, we were in love with their place. It is wide open to the natural world God gave us, and all of its critters. Just take a look at part of their home:










Of course the beauty of the island is part of the charm.
















The water was crystal clear - take a look at this school of minnows:




We browsed around while visiting, stopped at leisure to take pictures and relax, and laughed at silly people. Ok, so they laughed at me while I took pictures - but it was a great day :-)






And we laughed at J:




And we all dreamed about flying over the ocean:



John challenged me, but someone chickened out when I said, "Let's go!"


I don't think I got the shot J was hoping for, but I gave it my best shot. Her toes are dug in J, is it close enough? Not water, huh? Well, I think I will just have to go back and try again. Oh. Darn. ;-)




It was so relaxing to go to L & J's and enjoy their peace. Steve and I had a great visit. It is truly a Heaven on earth. I don't need to go to Hawaii anymore - Batam is beautiful.

Ok, maybe I just need to go to Hawaii so I can cross it off of my 50 states goal list and get a plate - but there is no way it can beat Batam.

Thanks L & J for a wonderful day :-)

Bali - the Quick Rundown :-)

I'm sorry it has taken me so long to post - I was offline all day yesterday and Drs appointments today. Anyway, back to blogging now - here we go:

The hotel was AWESOME! It was not so outstanding from the outside, but the inside is what counted. We were met at the top of the steps on the lobby floor (which happens to be open to the outside on the exterior walls) and immediately served tea and asked about our trip. Once we were registered and shown to the room, our jaws must have dropped open - as it is about as big as our condo is here - and soooo welcoming. I am just sharing a picture of our living area here as I intend to blog about the hotel later. You will get an idea just by seeing this picture:




Outside while eating (all of our meals were eaten in the hotel in fact) we could look over the infinity pool and out to the surf - it was so romantic and refreshing. We were greeted by name each time we were seated :-)






One day I watched a very young boy surf - isn't it amazing how he stays on the surfboard? He was awfully good at it:




Can you believe we are millionaire 3 times over? Ok, so it was in rupia's but it was still fun :-)

One Singapore dollar = 7211.54 rupiah's
One US Dollar = 10856.40 rupiah's

Yeah, now you know why we were so rich!

We initially got S $500 (US $332.17) and changed it to 3,605771.15 rupiah's!!! We came home with lots of money - I don't know if that is good or bad. You know how much shopping I do... lol... Here is a picture of our 3 million dollars - or rupiah's I guess is how you say it. Confused?

I was too :-(
*note to self, always bring money conversion chart.




This is just a quick overview, but lots of pictures, of what we did. I will get in to more detail in the days ahead. The architecture in Bali is breathtaking:











We went to several temples; Tanah Lot, Batu Bolong and the one under the presidents house. I will have to look up the name of that one, but they were both wonderful temples. Here is another picture of Batu Bolong Temple:




And Tanah Lot - I misstated (is that a word?) the temple name last night:





Can you tell our guide was not a photographer? lol... you get the idea though - we were there :-)


We learned how to pick, roast and grind coffee beans:




We stopped in a rice paddy and the ladies let Steve harvest the rice:




He didn't offer to 'shake the rice' though:



In fact, he didn't do much harvesting!


It is odd, we have lived in rice country for years and had no idea how it was done! However, something tells me in the states it is done a bit differently ;-) These women worked extremely hard with only knives and boards to harvest.


We saw layers and layers (terraces) of rice paddies:




We went to a Hindu play which represented the eternal fight between the good and evil spirit:








The music was live and wonderful:




And of course, we took time to relax and play games - which were in the hotel room for our use :-) The hotel also provided us with an iPod with music, more games, dvd's, and fresh fruit daily.




It was indeed a wonderful trip. I will start breaking it down bit by bit over the next few days. We learned so much and had such a wonderful experience - even though we were pained to see the poverty the islanders live in.

We were blessed to be able to meet the Balinese people and share some of their very difficult lives. I cannot say enough about how friendly the people are - and how much they desire to please you. It was the most relaxing, rewarding, romantic, and reality checked weekend I have ever had. We are very blessed; both here and in the states. More on all of this in the days to come.

I have had many finger tapping notes to update my blog. Though I have not had time to edit my pictures, I knew I needed to post them to keep your interest ;-) I hope you enjoy my travels as much as I enjoy traveling.