Out of the rainforest...and back to Bali
Our time in the rainforest came to an end rather quickly bringing to a close the Sumatra part of our trip.
Our last two days volunteering were spent doing some more research tasks related to our trek, visiting the local market, and a stop at the orang feeding platform to say farewell to the ginger monkeys.
Our last night meant it was time for a party. More delicious food, and many a bintang were consumed at Wanda’s place.
And a few songs sung too.
Saturday morning came early and we were off, back along the bumpy road to Medan where our flight back to Bali via Jakarta awaited. I say back to Bali because we had a brief stopover there on our marathon journey to Sumatra. We sat at an outdoor airport bar watching the sunset and remarking on the perfect weather. Finally, it was relief from the oppressive heat of Japan and we looked forward to returning.
Our return trip took some time as we waited through a massive delay at the Jakarta airport. Fortunately we happened upon a waiting area there where for a fair price we could surf the internet, drink sprite, eat tempeh, and relax in lazy boys to our heart’s content. I liked the style, but it’s probably the closest I’ll ever get to one of those executive class airline lounges. It also marked the first time we’d seen this thing called toilet paper in 2 weeks. I considered refraining as I’d grown rather comfortable with the water style, but my 30 years of programming kicked right in.
The delay kept getting delayed. The crowd at the gate got downright rowdy with the gate agents at one point, and ended up essentially storming the plane. Enough was enough, and we were right there with ‘em as we wanted a seat too.
Another really long travel day and we finally arrived in Bali about 2am or so (that’d be a 17+ hour travel day.) Fortunately, we’d taken the unusual step of planning ahead so a taxi was waiting to take us to Ubud. The first thing we noticed in the dark night was the working streetlights, and well-paved road. We sailed up to Ubud in no time and were soon fast asleep in our bed.
The next morning it looked like this:
We didn’t get up to much for the next five days. We wandered around Ubud. Tried out the shower and flush toilet. I swam in the pool and went for a hike. Miss Yaki wasn’t up to much. To be honest, I was quite wiped myself. The rest and relax thing looked good on us.
Bali was so different from Sumatra. It’s hard to believe they’re in the same country, but that’s what makes Indonesia such a special place.
Religion is everywhere. It’s threaded deep in the fabric of life. Offerings are ubiquitous. If you’re not careful you step on them.
A religious procession or ceremony can break out anywhere. Families have their own temples inside their housing ‘compounds’.
One day, we struck out from Ubud to do the sightseeing thing. One of the guys at the hotel took us around. We checked out some traditional dance and music (we’d also gone for some the night before which seemed more authentic in its length and quality.) We visited some rice fields and temples whose names escape me at the moment. As often happens when we rent a car it rained, but was still a great day.
I loved these guys. Such enthusiasm.
Our last two days volunteering were spent doing some more research tasks related to our trek, visiting the local market, and a stop at the orang feeding platform to say farewell to the ginger monkeys.
Our last night meant it was time for a party. More delicious food, and many a bintang were consumed at Wanda’s place.
And a few songs sung too.
Saturday morning came early and we were off, back along the bumpy road to Medan where our flight back to Bali via Jakarta awaited. I say back to Bali because we had a brief stopover there on our marathon journey to Sumatra. We sat at an outdoor airport bar watching the sunset and remarking on the perfect weather. Finally, it was relief from the oppressive heat of Japan and we looked forward to returning.
Our return trip took some time as we waited through a massive delay at the Jakarta airport. Fortunately we happened upon a waiting area there where for a fair price we could surf the internet, drink sprite, eat tempeh, and relax in lazy boys to our heart’s content. I liked the style, but it’s probably the closest I’ll ever get to one of those executive class airline lounges. It also marked the first time we’d seen this thing called toilet paper in 2 weeks. I considered refraining as I’d grown rather comfortable with the water style, but my 30 years of programming kicked right in.
The delay kept getting delayed. The crowd at the gate got downright rowdy with the gate agents at one point, and ended up essentially storming the plane. Enough was enough, and we were right there with ‘em as we wanted a seat too.
Another really long travel day and we finally arrived in Bali about 2am or so (that’d be a 17+ hour travel day.) Fortunately, we’d taken the unusual step of planning ahead so a taxi was waiting to take us to Ubud. The first thing we noticed in the dark night was the working streetlights, and well-paved road. We sailed up to Ubud in no time and were soon fast asleep in our bed.
The next morning it looked like this:
We didn’t get up to much for the next five days. We wandered around Ubud. Tried out the shower and flush toilet. I swam in the pool and went for a hike. Miss Yaki wasn’t up to much. To be honest, I was quite wiped myself. The rest and relax thing looked good on us.
Bali was so different from Sumatra. It’s hard to believe they’re in the same country, but that’s what makes Indonesia such a special place.
Religion is everywhere. It’s threaded deep in the fabric of life. Offerings are ubiquitous. If you’re not careful you step on them.
A religious procession or ceremony can break out anywhere. Families have their own temples inside their housing ‘compounds’.
One day, we struck out from Ubud to do the sightseeing thing. One of the guys at the hotel took us around. We checked out some traditional dance and music (we’d also gone for some the night before which seemed more authentic in its length and quality.) We visited some rice fields and temples whose names escape me at the moment. As often happens when we rent a car it rained, but was still a great day.
I loved these guys. Such enthusiasm.
posted by Christopher S. @ 9:42 PM
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