We landed in the city of Denpasar, on the island Bali, in the country of Indonesia at 1:00 AM Thursday, November 16th.

The first step was to get through customs.  It is official policy, but not always practiced that you have to have an airline ticket out of Indonesia before you are granted entry into Indonesia.  We had no such ticket because our next flight is from Bangkok to Kathmandu. We plan on traveling through Indonesia by land (with island hopping in between) into Malaysia or Singapore.  When we were standing in line (with a sign over us warning of the death penalty for importing drugs) we noticed that the customs officer in control of our line was asking for onward airline tickets, but the customs officer in charge of the line next to us was not.  Needless to say, we switched lines and got through. 

Then we waited at the wrong baggage claim area (the language barrier confused us right off the bat) until Joel went looking elsewhere for the bags and found them laying out in the middle of the terminal floor with people walking all over them.  How they ended up there we have no idea.

We we got out of the terminal we saw a young Indonesian man holding a sign that read "Joel Sward".  (We had called ahead and booked a place that provided transportation from the airport.)  Our driver was very nice and he told us everything he could about Bali (with his somewhat understandable English) within the one hour drive from Denpasar to Ubud.

We were glad to plop down in a mosquito net bed at the Honeymoon Guesthouse. The Honeymoon Guesthouse is a beautiful place.  Strange statues, beautiful gardens, hand-carved intricate woodwork and so much more.  You really feel like you are in another world.  Children laughing and playing as strange birds fly around your open air bungalow.  When this is combined with the wonderful staff at your beck and call it is truly an amazing experience.

A standard room at the Honeymoon Guesthouse costs 150,000 rupiah a night, which is equivalent to about $15 (US).  This is actually a step up from the typical losmen (home stay) which can be as cheap as 50,000 rupiah or $5 (US), but it is definitly worth it.  The incredibly nice people who run the guesthouse also run the Casa Luna Restaurant,Indus Restaurant and Honeymoon Bakery so you get an awesome free breakfast and amazing meals delivered to your room at unbelievable prices (about $5 US for a dinner for two.) They also hold cooking classes right in the garden of the guesthouse.

The current exchange rate here is amazing.  For $1.00 (US) you get 10,000 rupiah.

We spent most of the day Thursday walking around Ubud, the cultural center of Bali.  It is amazing.  You just have to let it all soak in.  The beautiful temples, shop after shop with exotic clothing and art work, the hawkers (guys who solicit you for business) yelling "transport - transport!" and so much more.  It's almost impossible to put it into words.  The best way to describe it may be simply -- culture shock!

Friday, November 17th, we spent some time at a cyber cafe, so we can bring you this wonderful web site.  Then we had a late lunch at The Dirty Duck.  Later that night we went to a Fire Dance.  It was an amazing example of traditional Balinese dance.  Over 100 dancers were gyrating, twisting, singing, groaning, shreaking and every other possible expression humanly possible of the body, mind and spirit.  Elaborate costumes, colorful body paint and terrifing masks were the order of the night.  The finale featured a Balinese man, apparently in trance, walking through and kicking a huge pile of burning coconut husks all about the stage.  It was amazing.

We decided to use the experience we gained back on Rarotonga, The Cook Islands, and rent a motorbike.  It only cost 20,000 rupiah per day ($2 US).  Riding on a motorbike on Bali is much more difficult than on Rarotonga.  The traffic can be terrible and the road conditions are appalling.  Driving a motorbike on Bali is definitely only for experienced drivers and the brave at heart.

Saturday, November 18th, we went for a walk in rural Ubud.  Our journey took us by a huge river gorge, through a lush tropical forest, by amazing rice paddy terraces and through the real Bali - small villages filled with artists, sculptors, temples and the friendly Balinese people.  We found an amazing ink drawing at a small art studio right in the middle of the rice paddies.

Sunday, November 19th, we jumped on our motorbike and drove to The Monkey Forest.  This religious sanctuary is filled with monkeys.  They will run right up to you looking for a free lunch.  At the entrance we bought some bananas to feed them.  Right away a monkey dashed at Joel, who was holding the bananas.  Joel thought better of holding a bunch of bananas as the monkeys were closing in.  The lucky monkey who was first got a bonanza -- a bunch of bananas to himself or herself (it's hard to tell).

Just outside theThe Monkey Forest we found a wood carver who had some amazing pieces.  We bought a buddha statue that took him seven days to carve and a unique Balinese Princess.

Then we saw some amazing traditional and modern Balinese art at the Agung Rai Art Museum. Then we went to look for some treasures at the Agung Rai Art Gallery (they are two separate places).  Later that day we bought some Balinese clothes because everything we owned was wet. (It's so humid that the clothes just don't dry.)  On the way back to the guesthouse we got trapped in a huge monsoon down pour (a daily occurence during the wet season).  Driving the motorbike through a foot of water is a real experience. 

We arrived in Indonesia right at the start of the rainy season which runs from approximately November to March.  The mornings are generally clear (hot and humid) and around 1:00 PM it starts to sprinkle.  The sprinkle gradually turns into a huge down pour that lasts about an hour.  The rain will then totally stop or continue lightly through the night.  After the down pour it is much cooler, but all the moisture makes it that much more humid the next day.

Later that night we got a two hour Balinese massage and body scrub followed by a milk bath with flower petals for Lisa and an herbal bath for Joel. All for $8.00 U.S. each at the Milano Salon! Highly recommended.

Monday, November 20th, we went to the Neka Art Gallery.  Then we went to the Goa Gajah (Elephant Cave).  After the Elephant Cave we hired a young Balinese man (we paid him 20,000 rupiah) to guide us through the rice fields and a nearby village to Yeh Pulu.  Driving back to the guesthouse we again got caught in another huge rainstorm (although this time we were smart enough to bring our rain coats). That night we had a fantastic dinner at Satri's Warung.

Tuesday, November 21st, Lisa took the Casa Luna cooking class from 8:00 am to 1:00 pm. The class started with a guided walk through the market where they were told about the strange foods being prepared and learned what the names of the many different tropical fruits and vegetables were. They also sampled several items including fish satay and coconut crepes all while each stall owner tried to sell them their wares. " I give you special morning price."  Although the market doesn't look that sanitary, the food was delicious. They also purchased a few items to cook for lunch and then returned to the guesthouse to cook and eat a really delicious five course Balinese lunch outside under the bamboo roof. It was all washed down with homemade rice wine with lime. Yum!

While Lisa took the cooking class, Joel hired a taxi to take him to see Gunung Kawi.  Later in the day we worked our way through the Ubud Market.  We were lucky enough to come across two amazing finds, a huge wooden buddha mask and a intricate painting with a beautiful hand carved wooden frame.  We again had dinner at Satri's Warung, this time we had the banana chicken that you have to order one day in advance.

Wednesday, November 22nd, we sent all the stuff we bought in Ubud back to the states and then jumped in a shuttle bus that took us to Lovina Beach, on the north part of the island.

After a four hour bus ride, we arrived at Lovina Beach and checked into Bayu Kartika Bungalows.  We got a seaside bungalow for only 70,000 rupiah (about $7.00 US).  That night we had a couple of local boys crowd around us and sell us a dolphin trip as well as a diving trip.

Thursday, November 23rd, instead of celebrating Thanksgiving, we got up at 5:20 AM a took a boat out into the harbor to watch the morning-feeding dolphin migration.  They are beautiful, amazing creatures.  We had lunch at a warung (resturant) Kopi Bali and then worked on the web site. 

Friday, November 24th, while most of you were finishing up your Turkey Day festivities, we were driving two hours west to go scuba diving at Menjangan Island. It was our first time diving after completing our certification back on Rarotonga, in The Cook Islands.  We did two dives (our 5th and 6th dives ever) and it was awesome.  Beautiful coral and amazing brightly colored fish surrounded us as we casually floated through the surreal underwater abyss.  It definitely wasn't your typical Thanksgiving.

Riding back from Menjangan Islands, with the beautiful island of Bali majestically spread out before us, we were able to reflect on our travels so far and to think about the road ahead.  It seems to us, that at some time or another, everyone wants to run.  At some point in life, everybody thinks about walking away.  Life always seems better on the beach or in the mountains.  Problems can be left behind.  It's inbred in us.  Most of us are products of immigrants who left miserable conditions to search for a better life.  And they kept moving west, packing up and leaving, always looking for that pot of gold.  Many of you may feel there's no place left to go.  You are wrong.  Just kept going west -- that pot of gold is out there.

Saturday, November 25th, we hired a driver for 60,000 rupiah and went to see the magnificent Gitgit Waterfall and the only Buddhist monastery in all of Bali, Brahmavishara Arama (the Dali Lama prayed here). The path to the waterfalls was lined with huts filled with wood carvings, sarongs, t-shirts, etc. and all the store owners were trying to get us "just to look". We headed straight for the waterfall, and when we finally saw it, the word that came to both our minds was "powerful". Another 30 minutes and we were at the monastery and the one word we both thought of here was "peaceful". We put on our sarongs and walked through the temple and up to the statues of Buddha. It was truly a beautiful setting high on a hill overlooking the ocean.

Sunday, November 26th, we set out, leaving the black sand beaches of Lovina behind, with the intention of traveling to the western port of Gilmanuk, then across the Java Sea to the island of Java and finally overland to Yogjakarta. The plan was simple, but the execution would prove more difficult. However, no matter how labor some our efforts, this stretch of our around the world adventure would prove to one of the most fulfilling experiences of the entire trip.

With the magical effects of Bali’s famous magic mushrooms still cascading through our brains, the first leg of the overland travel through western Bali seemed ethereal in nature. Were we really part of the landscape or just casual observers of its rich rewards? Packed into the back of a van, that seemed on the verge of total collapse, we dropped in and out of the lush tropical landscape, up and down, in and out, darting fast on the thin gravel roads.

Relinquishing ourselves to the questionable merits of our drivers motoring skills, with deep sighs and moans colliding in the audio air, we bounced up and down on the springy seats like a baby in a jolly jumper.

As the hallucinogenic effects of “going to the moon”, gradually wore off, and the sleep finally started to leave our eyes, we felt the first wave of heat of the day as we submitted to the long journey ahead. When the two-hour ride was complete, or was it a lifetime, we arrived at Bali’s western seaport of Gilmanuk. Our driver discarded us quickly, like we were nothing more then cargo. His mission was complete, but ours was just beginning.

As we worked our way through the sea of native peoples, the only visible evidence of our existence was the top of our packs, which must have appeared to bounce up and down on the field of people’s heads. After plowing our way through the chaotic maze of ferry patrons and enduring a difficult exchange at the ticket counter, due to the dreaded language barrier, we found ourselves aboard a tin can that passed as a ship. The main cargo was not human but made up of cars and trucks and parts of Indonesian industry. The fellow humans, who joined us like packed sardines on the ferry deck, represented nothing more then extra revenue for the ship operators. A few extra dollars obtained for just allowing those of us brave enough, to hang onto this floating tin can.

While we waited for the ferry to take off two native boys entertained us. They had somehow managed to get aboard the ferry, as it was obvious they were not ticketed patrons, and they were parading around the top deck, clad only in skin tight underwear, trying to solicit money for a spectacular stunt of jumping off the ferry's deck and falling the three stories to the polluted waters below. When it became obvious that they were not going to receive any compensation for the trick they jumped off anyways, falling like stones into the dark water below. After what seemed an eternity they finally emerged from the depths, to the cheers of the people above, and swam to shore, surely to board the next vessel deporting and repeat their performance.

After the ship convulsed and heaved its way into action, billowing dark smoke and fumes in vast amounts into the Indonesian sky, we situated ourselves as best we could, using our packs as back rests, and relinquished ourselves to the gods of travel. Java here we come. . .