Month: February 2019

West Bali National Park is the biggest in Bali and is home to a rare bird, the Balinese Starling, found only in the park. I learned about its existence while I was at Mpala, in Kenya, from a young researcher there who showed me a picture and stated it was her favorite bird. She had seen many rare birds, but had never seen this endangered white beauty in the wild. She said it was on her list of things to see and I made a mental note then, as I knew there was a chance that I could search for it while in Bali. Lorenzo agreed to take us to the park and said he had only been there one other time with clients. He had never seen the Balinese Starling and did not know of its existence. As you can see from the photo above we were successful with the help of a local guide.

We also saw some other animals there including the Ebony Leaf Monkey, Balinese Long tailed Macaques, and another subspecies of giant squirrel, as well as a few other birds that were first sightings for me.  If you would like to see some photos from this trip click here.

My wife saw listed in Lonely Planet a recommendation for a cooking class in the Lovina area. She has been interested in becoming a better cook for a long time and saw this as another opportunity to improve. She talked me into tagging along.

Ira (pictured above) was a very patient teacher. We started at the morning market to see how to pick fresh produce. Then we went to the warung (Indonesian term for restaurant) where she works and she gave us a list of recipes to choose from. We chose six and got to work in the kitchen. After a couple of hours we were finished and ready to eat. We both had fun and enjoyed the food. We will try out the recipes again when we return home.

In the afternoon we arranged a short snorkeling trip from Lovina beach behind our hotel. The water was a bit choppy and the visibility not as good as it had been in the south, but we were still able to see many colorful fish. If you would like to see photos of the cooking lesson and the snorkeling trip click here.

We met up with Lorenzo again and he had a tour planned that would wind up on the north shore in Lovina. This drive would stop at the two UNESCO World Heritage sites in Bali that we did not see on the first tour with him.  

Taman Ayun Temple was our first UNESCO stop. It is from an 18th century dynasty, but it has areas that are still used today for ceremonies. The site has beautiful gardens and water features. They also had on display some ceremonial costumes. The photo above is from this temple.

The gentle green terraces of Jatiluwih Rice Terraces were the next and last UNESCO stop on the list and they were the perfect place for a short trek. It was hot and the sun was strong, but it was certainly worth the effort.

Ulun Danu Bratan Water Temple, situated on a lake high in the mountains, was the last stop before heading down the mountain to our hotel. It was probably the most crowded of the stops even though it did not make the UNESCO list. It is photogenic. Because it is very popular with the selfie crowd, it is hard to get a picture without someone else trying out their best pose in the shot.

We booked a stay of three nights in a small hotel called Lovina Life. It has a nice pool and is close to the beach, where we sat and had a delicious sunset dinner. If you would like to see the photos click here.

After an afternoon of walking through the Ubud Central Market and an evening of good food and a traditional Balinese dance performance, we booked some adventure. At 8 am, we were met by a driver from Friends in Bali, a local company that offers several tours, but the one we selected was called a Downhill Cultural Cycling Tour. We started with a light breakfast at an organic coffee plantation followed by an exciting, but safe downhill bicycle tour through the rice fields of the area surrounding Ubud. We stopped at a temple and at a local traditional home along the way. We finished with a traditional and delicious Balinese lunch.

If you would like to see more from the day in central Ubud and the bike ride click here.

I used Get Your Guide to book a driver for a full-day tour which would end up dropping us off at our next stay in a village just outside of Ubud. We met Lorenzo in the lobby and we talked about what we wanted to do. He helped us come up with a plan that included many of the sites tourists want to see, including one of the three UNESCO World Heritage sites found in Bali. The Pakerisan Valley features several photo-worthy spots, including ancient ruins. We saw a waterfall, sacred springs, temples, scenic views of volcanoes, had a tour of a coffee plantation, and ended the day touring a park called the Monkey Forest. It was a full day that yielded many photos you can see by clicking here.

Lorenzo dropped us off at our stay for the next three nights—a lovely place called Laba Ubud Villa. It was much smaller than I imagined, but plenty big enough. They only have two rooms and we were the only ones there, so we had the place to ourselves including a crystal-clear pool. The couple that run it are friendly local people. We made arrangements for Lorenzo to meet us at the end of our stay. 

Bali is a small island. Lembongan is an even smaller island off the south coast of Bali. I read Lonely Planet guides and looked things up on their website. Once while using their site I was redirected to a service called Get Your Guide and a Lembongan Island Snorkel tour showed up that seemed reasonable and was getting super-high ratings on TripAdvisor, so I booked it. The photo I showed a couple of posts ago of the snorkeler (my wife) is from that trip.  I got some good photos and you can see them if you click here.

Not every photo is spectacular but they provide evidence that we saw some amazing things including a Manta Ray.  It was pretty deep and there were quite a few people there, so it was hard to get a good photo. 

On this tour there was a lot of time spent in transit. We were picked up at our hotel by car; then transported by fast boat to the island; then a bumpy short ride in the back of a truck; then a ride with eight other nice people to the three snorkel sites. It was all well organized and it turned out to be worth the effort.

Let me start off by saying I have never been to a spa in my life. When we showed up early at Hotel Vila Lumbung, our room was not yet ready and the front desk said an upgraded room was available for an additional price. We had a look. The upgrade price was reasonable and came with a discount on a one-hour body massage for two.  It was advertised as a way to relieve stress and get over jet lag. I figured my wife could benefit from the massage, having just traveled from the east coast of the U.S. to Korea, where she quickly boarded a plane to Bali. So what the heck, I would try out the spa experience too. We had our luggage moved into the extra-large room with a view of the gardens and got ready for the spa experience. 

The property is not new, but it is in good shape and the staff very glad to be of service. It is a fifteen-minute walk to Seminyak Beach and less to great restaurants. The restaurant on the property is good too. We are in Bali in what they call their low season, but the weather is pretty much the same year round and my wife was certainly happy to leave the freezing temperatures and snow she has had to deal with since I have been away. This is a great time to be here, because less tourists = better prices. The Hotel Vila Lumbung is more like a peaceful jungle retreat than a beach resort…which is fine by me and it turns out so is a spa experience, as long as the price is right.

A couple of posts ago I spoke of meeting my wife so that she can be my travel companion for the second half of this adventure. My flight landed first, and I hung out in the airport until hers landed 3 hours later. While in India I met a well-traveled older couple from the west coast of the United States. I asked them where their favorite place in the world was, and like many people the lady’s quick answer was home. I usually give the same answer first too. She knew I was looking for a special place to travel to and after looking at her husband, she followed up with Bali. Her husband agreed. At the time it put a smile on my face, because it was the place that my wife decided would be a good place to meet when I was making plans. The Bali experience has been welcoming from the start.

Since we arrived very late, I booked a hotel that had an incredible rate which included breakfast, got good reviews, and was very close to the airport. Grandmas Plus Airport Hotel may not sound appealing as a name for a place to stay but it was modern, clean, the grounds inside the compound were nice, the staff was friendly, and best of all the breakfast was excellent. We were only there for a few hours, but it was so good, I will try to book it on the night before we leave Bali.

Internet access has been spotty here in Bali and my laptop has been giving me security warnings about the WiFi that are a bit worrisome. Uploading photos to this website has been slow and it has put me way behind. I am happy to be with my wife again and we have gone on several tours. The picture above is of her on one of those adventures. Hopefully, soon I will have a click here button that works. But for now, I just want to get a post done and online. My wife’s friends are texting her; wondering if she is OK.

When I booked my flights six months ago, I was told I would have to make a stop in Malaysia. My flight specialist suggested Kuala Lumpur. Since I was stopping anyway, rather than continue to the next destination with a layover, I asked him to allow for two nights’ stay. It really is not enough and this amazing and modern city and the surrounding area deserves more. On the first day I headed south from the airport and I saw the UNESCO World Heritage city of Malacca and then back north for a quick Kuala Lumpur City tour plus an abbreviated visit to the KL Tower. On the second day, my driver, who I had randomly gotten through a travel-booking agent in the airport, was available, and since he did a great job on day one, I asked him for an itinerary and a price quote. We agreed and he once again delivered a great experience at a good value. He had outstanding knowledge of the city and he was able to avoid traffic and get me where I wanted to go. I was flexible since I am currently traveling solo and we went following the route that was most efficient from a traffic standpoint. He took me to the old King’s Palace, the Batu Caves, the new King’s Palace, the National Mosque, the City Center (with its history and model-city displays), the Aviary, the Butterfly Garden, and the KL Tower, plus a few random stops for photo opps. The KL Tower was a repeat performance because I had paid for a SkyBox experience the day before, but when it was my turn, the weather turned ugly and everyone was forced inside. Fortunately, they allowed me to come back without a second admission and I was able to avoid most of the line. The people here know how to treat tourists.

For both nights, I chose a boutique hotel called Tian Jing, which is in Chinatown, and it turned out to be a great location and an interesting experience. I had foods I had never tried before and wandered the street, which had been converted from businesses to open-air markets for the evening. Since I am traveling light I did not buy anything but food and beverages, but the experience was worthwhile. I did not bring my camera though for this, because it is much easier to keep a low profile without the burden of camera equipment. 

Kuala Lumpur in two days can be done, but if I had it to do over again, I would definitely schedule more. If you would like to see more pictures of day two click here. Fair warning though—there are a lot of butterfly photos.) I got some terrific images, even though as a purist, I consider taking photos at aviaries, zoos, and butterfly parks a bit unfair. I like to get the pictures from nature.

Yesterday started early in the morning. I boarded a plane at 12:05 a.m. in the Cochin Airport, which is about an hour from Fort Kochi. I tried to get some sleep during the flight but too many things were racing through my head. I was headed to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia for a stay, realizing I had under budgeted my time. It was going to be necessary to pack a lot into a two-night stay. 

I had a productive and good day. It wasn’t perfect but it was pretty amazing…not so much for my wife. She is tryIng to pack a lot into her days too. We have been away from each other for longer than we have ever been since we met 43 years ago, and she is packing as much babysitting of grandkids in as she can, before she boards her own plane to meet me halfway around the globe. One set of grandkids is walking distance from our house; the other set is a 3 1/2 hour drive. An hour from home, on her way back from visiting the second set, she realized she left her smartphone at their house. Nothing she could do but turn around and get it. When you want things to work like clockwork it doesn’t always work that way. She is a planner and her bag for the trip has been packed for weeks. Hopefully, that mistake will be the end of her trouble. I will be happy when I meet her in the airport.

The lead photo through the passenger-side window (in Malaysia like many of the counties I have traveled in recently, the driver is on the right side) is not outstanding but it is a nod to a few people. If you look carefully, you can see the top of the KL Tower, one of many tall structures in Kuala Lumpur with more being constructed. I don’t have time to talk about my busy day now; this one is going to be busy too, but please check out the rest of the pictures by clicking here. I promise there are some good ones.