Benoa (Bali), Indonesia

Prior to arriving in Benoa (Bali), we had been at sea for three days. So I believe the majority of passengers (including me) were ready for the feet to touch land. We had sailed a southerly course across the South China Sea and left the Vietnamese Islands (Con Dao Islands).Then we steamed southeast through the archipelago shipping lanes then crossed the equator beginning our journey into the southern hemisphere. Once in the Bali Sea, we rounded the eastern part of Bali and passed the islands of Pulau Lembogan and Pulau Nusapenida on the portside. Around 6:00 a.m we found our position near the Port of Benoa and dropped anchor. Once customs were satisfied and tenders were lowered, passengers were given the "go ahead" around 7:00 a.m. to begin ferrying to shore. 

Wondering "where in the world' we were? Bali is an island belonging to Indonesia just 8 degrees south of the equator and is 95 miles (153 km) wide and 69 miles (112 km) long north to south. 

Before going ashore, many passengers took advantage of currency exchange located in the ship's atrium area. Local exchange office employees were brought onboard and provided the service. In Indonesia, the currency is the Indonesian Rupiah (IDR) whose exchange rate at the time was approximately 12,000 IDR to $1 US dollar. We verified there was an ATM at the pier in the terminal so we chose to wait until we got ashore.

Four adventurers were ready to explore. The weather that day was partly cloudy and temperatures hovering around 86F (30C) with an occasional breeze. Being nearer the equator means more intense rays from the sun so wearing plenty of sunscreen was necessary.

  

The tenders were lined up and ready. We got a good view of our ship as we were ferried to the pier at the Port of Benoa.

With no tour planned for the day and no shuttle bus into any town available at the port, we decided to hire a driver and go the personalized route. The cost for four hours was between $65.00 - $75.00 US for the vehicle and not per person. A ship's tour was $99 per person just for a shopping trip to Ubud. Our driver took us to Ubud...plus so much more and for much less. Since Bali is home to some 350 languages and dialects, the main one being Bahasa Indonesia, we were lucky to get a driver who spoke some English. Another plus to our day.

As our tender pulled up to the pier at the Port of Benoa, we were greeted by beautiful Balinese dancers and wonderful musicians.


From the Port of Benoa (location indicated below by black arrow) we drove north and headed to Denpasar, the capital city of Bali, and an approximate 35 minute drive (10km) from the Port of Benoa.

Balinese are overwhelmingly of the Hindu faith unlike the rest of Indonesia which is majority Islamic. Bali is known as the "Island of the Gods" and is home to over 20,000 temples, such as the one below. This temple was located in the village of Pedungan.

  

Once we reached Denpasar, we stopped at Legong Batik, a highly reputable gallery, to witness the fine art of Batik processing. Bali is famous for its Batik fabric designs that use a wax resistant dye method to produce intricate patterns and brilliant colors. It is labor intensive, all done by hand and involves eight stages of workmanship before reaching a final product. Batik comes from the word "ambatik" which means "a cloth with little dots".

The grounds of this gallery were lush, ornate and colorful and home to the Tohpati Village artisans who worked at the gallery. 

  

  

The textile was first woven on giant looms by hand.

The cloth is then pencil sketched then the design is covered in wax (klowong) dots on both sides of the cloth. Wherever the wax is placed, the cloth is prevented from staining.

  

Dye is then hand painted in sections over the wax.

  

The material is then boiled to remove all wax or scraped with a certain knife known as a cawuk to remove some parts of the wax. Then the waxing, dyeing, scraping and/or boiling is repeated again and again to create layers of color and design.

  

After watching this amazing process, we viewed the array of finished fabrics sold at the gallery. They were crafted into selections that ranged from souvenir bags and fashions to collectable, highly priced paintings. Of notice, the wood door to the gallery was hand carved in such spectacular detail that it begged for a photo (bottom left).

  

One thing we noticed was the start of the road from south Bali into the village of Batubulan was lined with vendors selling grey stone sculptures...hundreds and hundreds of sculptures. They were thickly displayed from the street back to the storefronts for miles and came in all forms, sizes and shapes. I don't know what impressed me more - the sheer volume of so many carvings being sold (and the apparent demand for them) or the details in the pieces.

Next, our drive took us through Gianyar to a village called Batuan, home of the Sukawati Art Market. Batuan is known for its artistic genre and here we watched as very clever and inventive experts carved masterpieces from ebony, mahogany and hibiscus wood. Fascinating!
  
  
  
A visit to Bali wouldn't be complete without Babi Guling, a traditional Indonesian and Balinese version of roast suckling pig. Babi Guling has been praised by travel experts such as Rick Stein and Anthony Bourdain as being the pinnacle experience for pork lovers. When in Bali, eating with your fingers is the norm and only with your right hand, not your left. The left hand is only used in the bathroom. 

  

We visited the Batuan Temple, a local Hindu temple cared for by the residents of the Batuan village. A donation of $1.00 US towards this preservation attempt "rented" us four kambens (traditional Balinese wraps) to cover our lower bodies as a show of respect while on the temple grounds.

  

The temple was designed beautifully with Balinese ornaments and the roofs were made from the fiber of the chromatic black palm tree. Founded in 1020 A.D., these structures have survived almost 1,000 years.  

  

  

  

  

    

  

I watched as women braided palm frond mats.

Back on the road, our next point of interest was the town of Ubud.

Unfortunately, Ubud has traffic that ranks high in the category of  "white knuckle". A two lane road (one lane for each direction) was bulging with motorbikes, mopeds, trucks, autos, bicycles and pedestrians. The motorbikes and mopeds habitually rode along both shoulders to escape traffic, weaving in and out of vendor stalls and pedestrians. The shoulders were about 1- 2 feet in width along some sections and had an approximate 3 foot ditch next to that. All of this made for constant suspense. I have seen some "Xanax popping" roads in my many travels around the world and this was right up there in the top ten.

Narrow roads, congestion, traffic and parking make mopeds the popular form of transit.

Welcome to Pasar Ubud, a huge open market full of stalls and cafes and a frenetic mix of tradition and progress. Bargaining was expected here, politely and with a smile. I found a few uncrowded moments to photograph the underlying beauty of Pasar Ubud. 

  

There is another personality to Ubud that deserves attention. It is a tourist mecca for some world famous hotels. Recently, it made TripAdvisor's "Top 25 Destinations for 2015". It sits towards the center of Bali and is considered the "soul of the island" with its lush jungle, Sacred Monkey Forest and picturesque rice terraces. Ubud offers stark contrasts between nature and motorbikes.

We stopped in Tegalalang village just north of Ubud to see those famous rice terraces along cliffs that sat almost 2,000 feet (600m) above sea level. It cost us 20,000 IDR (total for four of us) for tickets to see and walk among them. Our driver dropped us off and waited for us down the street. Traffic cops (below) made sure drivers didn't stop for too long so things kept moving.

We saw lots of structures erected along the streets with canangs (offerings) laid out for the gods. 

  

The terraced rice fields were spectacular!

  

  

  

  

  
Yup, a little bit of nirvana. A panorama of green waves of silk blowing in the breeze around me.

I hated to have to leave such scenery but we had ventured more than an hour from the port and it was time to get back to the ship. And, that wasn't counting time spent sitting in traffic. Can't take any risks. So back to our floating home we went.

On the way back, we saw the statue of Arjuna, a hero of a massive Indian epic named "The Mahabharata". To have a character of Arjuna is to be pure of heart. 

We reached the port at the same time as large tour buses were unloading passengers from their tours. The parking lot of the port had morphed into a loud bazaar of hawkers who were being kept away from passengers behind a metal fence. The persistent vendors were reaching through the fence and yelling to get a passenger's attention as they squeezed their products through the holes in the fence. We bypassed the commotion and headed towards our tender. 

What we saw of Bali was exotic yet touristy, serene yet manic, untouched yet overcrowded, beautiful yet polluted. It was a remarkable conflict of description but I am glad to have seen it.

Onwards to Darwin, Australia - click this link to travel onwards: Asia and Australia 2014