Komodo Island / Bali, Indonesia (Days 51-53)

Miles sailed 14,516

Since the last post, our girl missed a stop to Thursday Island (due to weather) and had a quick stop into Darwin. Not a lot to report about Darwin, other than it was our hottest port to date... and that is saying something. Whew, sweaty.

Our first stop in Indonesia was Komodo Island, home to komodo dragons and a small fishing village. So far, it's in my top 3 favorite ports. So, so, so pretty as we came to anchor. We were greeted by a bunch of small boats, mostly filled with children, selling everything from trinkets, to fish, to beer. You'll notice there are no pictures of the big lizards, as I opted to stay on the ship. Why you ask? Well, I'm not a huge fan of lizards, they are deadly, I'm slow, it was hot, Bali was the next day and the scenery was worthy of long think on my balcony.

The Bali checkbox has been a long time coming. My first attempt to visit was in 2002 when working in nearby Penang. It was thwarted by a terrorist attack on a beach hotel. There were a couple of other false starts, but this week.... I was finally able to drink ice cold, local beer on a beach in Bali. Check.

I again opted to hire a taxi and explore on my own. My driver's name was Dono and he took me all over the place. Ubud is a city in the foothills known for its artists and high end spas. Next we went to the "monkey forest" for a few pictures. Rice terraces were next and the drive was as interesting as the green fields. Each village has a specialty, i.e. wood carving, stone, metals, glass. The streets are lined with products headed to your local World Market/Pier 1. There was so much stuff. Next up we hit the Batuan Temple, then onto Sanur Beach for a cold Bintang and sandy toes.

The next day was spent back at Sanur beach under umbrellas with a couple of pool bar buddies. It was a fun filled two days.

Final thought on Bali... our incredibly bumpy, Pacific sea crossing was good preparation for the taxi ride.

Komodo Island: