Bali, Baby! Part 0ne

Happy New year everyone!  Hope you all had a great time, and Larry and I wish you all good things for 2008.

We had a great time in Bali.  The weather wasn't perfect, but who cares!  We were in Bali, Baby!!  We Left on Dec. 24,  me over packing, as usual.  We flew Singapore airlines, which if you ever get the chance, I highly recommend....man do they take good care of you!  We arrived in Bali around 11pm, and pretty much just crashed.  We stayed at the Hard rock, right on Kuta beach.  It was a pretty nice place, but we think if we ever go back, we'll stay somewhere less touristy.  Kuta was very busy, and dirty, just waaay too many people.  Once we got out of the Kuta area though, the true beauty of Bali shines.

We woke up on Christmas morning and went to the elephant sanctuary.  It was about a hour and a half drive.  It was one of my favorite things...I had to keep telling myself, no, you are not in a movie, this is real. You know how you always see t.v. shows or movies, and you think, do people really live like that?  Well, that's how I felt.  It was a long, long way from my city, and suburban upbringing.  It was amazing, beautiful, sad, and eye-opening.  Once we got out of the city, there were cows and chickens walking everywhere, tons and tons of stray dogs.  The main mode of transportation was the motor scooter, and entire families would squash onto one. Children also drove them.  The driving age is 17, we were later told, but it seems like they don't follow that rule.  I saw one guy, riding on the back of one, holding a t.v.  Larry saw one carrying a big mirror....just crazy!  I had to close my eyes a few times, the driving is insane!  Small stores along the streets sell bottles of petrol, but there were larger gas stations.  We were incredibly lucky, and saw a Balinese funeral procession.  All the men were in sarongs, and they carried the body to a neighborhood temple.  Before we realized what it was, Larry got a few pictures, but then he stopped shooting when he realized what it was. It was beautiful, in a way only that kind of thing can be.  The people didn't seem overly sad, and it almost reminded me of the New Orleans tradition, where is is more of a celebration. 

We arrived at the elephant park, and since it was Christmas, and raining, it wasn't crowded at all.  I was so excited!  The park is owned by a couple from Australia, that save Sumatra elephants from the deforestation of the rain forest.  It was a beautiful place!  So worth going to see.  The elephants seem well loved and cared for, and they have really put a lot of time and money into making a beautiful place.  We got to ride the elephants with a trainer for about 35 minutes, through the forest.  I'm having a hard time putting into words what I felt.  It was so unreal to be on the back of such a huge, sweet animal.  Like I am prone to say a LOT this past year, who's life is this??  I was spending my Christmas on the back of an elephant, in the rain forest.  So cool.  My cup definitely runneth over.  My elephant was very laid back and sweet, and her trainer felt compelled to point out all the huge spiders we saw as we cruised around.  I finally told him it was ok, I didn't need to see spiders the size of a small dog.  He just grinned.  We did see lots of wild chickens, and I'm sure there were snakes, but I didn't see any.  Larry's elephant was in the lead, and she was a bit more sassy.  She kept trying to eat branches and stuff, and would trumpet when he trainer told her no.  She also got scared a few times, when she saw the wild chickens, or birds in her path.  It is true...elephants do not like small animals. We had to stop a few times so they could have potty breaks.  I can now say I have seen an elephant poop.  Pretty darn amazing, if a tad unseemly.  We ended the ride with the elephants taking a swim, us on their backs.  We then got to feed them, which was sooooo neat!  My elephant was a sweetie, but she was very tricky with her trunk, and got lots more than Larry's elephant ( he was taking pictures, of course).  It was so cool to be close to them, and be able to look into their eyes.  They smile too, and it just melts you.  If I could take one home...sigh.

Then we had a nice lunch that they provide, and it was the usual stuff we have in Singapore.  Noodles, rice, curries, fresh salads and fruits. After lunch, it started to rain pretty hard, but they elephants still did a little 'show'.  Didn't like that part as much, I'd rather see them doing their normal, natural stuff.  The ones that weren't in the show were out in the rain though, and they all seemed content to play around and eat.  

It was a really good day, and after our long ride back, we crashed for a bit, then went down to the hotel christmas buffet.  It was pretty yummy, not the home cooking I'm used to, but, hey, we did everything different this year!

More tomorrow, promise!