Bali

A relaxing break in Bali

For all of you that follow my stories, this one is slightly different. My trip to Bali wasn’t an adventure - it was a rest!

I stayed at the marvellous all-inclusive Sanur Beach hotel, which I can highly recommend. The rooms were spacious and had everything I needed.

There were several restaurants, where the food was always of an exceptional quality - especially the Italian restaurant that was my favourite!

There was a group of singers who serenaded me whilst I had my dinner there - it was excellent in every way.

There were 2 outdoor swimming pools; one of them even had its own pool bar with stools in the water - a delightful way to spend the hot, humid afternoons.

The hotel was situated on a long, safe clean beach; the only thing that spoilt the view (or some may say gave you something to watch) was the huge, wrecked cargo ship that was abandoned just out to sea, that was being taken apart by the locals every day.

If you got up early to see the sun come up, the beach and mirror like ocean portrayed a beautiful calming picture as local fishermen went out in their small boats whilst the rest of the world was sleeping - that was my favourite time of the day.

Slightly un-nerving were the "Tsunami Evacuation Signs", that told you were to go in the event of a tsunami alarm. Tragedy strikes these beautiful islands far too often, so it is always imperative that you know where to go in times of danger.

I spent a few days relaxing on the beach and around the pool, going for a walk before breakfast or as the sun was going down; and several evenings there was a show put on at the hotel. This was in a specially built Bali temple/arena, with story telling, music and dancing.

The costumes were the most vibrant and exotic that I have ever come across, as were the painted faces of the dancers. There was so much gold on the costumes and head dresses - it was always mesmerizing to watch them perform these shows.

After a few days acclimatizing, relaxing and getting bored...................I needed to get out and do some sight seeing. I had decided which sites I wanted to visit, and to do this as part of a tour, I would have had to book on 3 separate excursions; I didn't fancy wasting that much time and that many days sitting on a coach.

So I booked a taxi for the day, gave him a map of where I wanted to see, and away we went - as much as being cheaper that the organised tours, I was able to do all of my sites in one day. And believe me, by the end of that day, I never wanted to travel around the island again (the roads weren't the best!!).

The first stop was Taman Ayun Temple, a royal temple built in the 16th century surrounded by a moat that had the most pristine gardens with lotus fishponds.  The approach to the main courtyard was through a grey and orange stone staircase, and once inside there were many black temples enclosed within its walls.

The numerous multi tiered buildings, black brick with thatched roofs were prime examples of Bali architecture, dark, dramatic and so well preserved.

The next stop was Ulundana Temple next to Bratan Lake, but how the temple was positioned on a small peninsular, it appeared to be floating on the water. This gave the most beautiful photographs with the lake almost engulfing the 11-tiered structure; and brightly coloured lilies, cannas and other tropical flowers, surrounded it.

The position of this temple made it so very special - a real photographers dream - especially the yellow flowers in the exotic garden against the black structures.

We continued our journey passing the botanical gardens, only briefly stopping to admire the fountains and greenhouses before driving south along a dreadfully bumpy road towards the Tegalalang Rice fields.

The pleasant scenery we passed was nothing compared to the view of the terraced paddy fields - the vibrant green of the young rice plants growing was so incredibly picturesque - even though it had started to rain! Another few hours on unmade roads took its toll on me, and I was feeling terribly ill by the time we reached the final site.

This was Tanah Lot down at the southern end of Bali and is built on a rocky island just off shore. At low tide it is possible to walk over to the base of the rock, but today we just saw it from the mainland.

The ideal time to see Tanah Lot is at sunset, as the sun sets behind the temple giving a dramatic outline to the structure - but sunset was a few hours away and we had a long drive back. Before leaving that area, some retail therapy was called for, as there were many local vendors and small souvenir shops here.

It had been a good day out, well worth the money and I was very happy to have done all my sight seeing in one day; it was so hot and humid I was glad to get back to the hotel.

After a few days relaxing, I had another adventure planned, but I only had to walk half a mile along the beach for this one - I was going to do an Underwater Marine walk. I was assured that it was completely safe, even children could do it! I was taken about 100 yards out into the ocean, given a safety talk and then had to walk backwards down a ladder, off the platform at the back of a boat. 

Half way down, someone placed a divers helmet over my head (that was so heavy), that was connected to an air pipe and I had to keep walking down the ladder. At the bottom, someone took hold of me and was very reassuring when I started to panic because water was coming in to the glass bubble.


If the helmet tilted back or forward at all, it filled with water – you had to really concentrate on keeping your head level and looking straight ahead. 

Once I became accustomed to breathing correctly, what a whole new world it was - fish were swimming right up to my face (or so it seemed), I held my hands out and could feel them, they had no fear. I was given pieces of coral to touch, and different items from the sea floor, as well as a bit of food - that a fish began to nibble from my hand. One of the helpers started feeding the fish and hundreds more appeared out of nowhere, which was awful; there were too many and I couldn't see if front of me. I did nearly panic again, but then remembered that if I did that, water would come into the glass helmet – ‘breath slowly and calmly’ I kept saying to myself. I was the most incredible experience; it really did feel like you were in another world - a completely different 'alien' world. I would not have missed it for anything and would recommend it to anyone. Once back on shore we were given the opportunity to buy photographs or a DVD of our experience - definitely worth every penny.

Back at the 'relaxing hotel', we were given the opportunity to help release some baby turtles into the ocean, they had been hand reared by a local conservation group who were keen to preserve the turtle population in the area. Another experience that I was privileged to have been part of!

On the last day of my holiday, there was a magnificent wedding at the hotel; I watched the hotel staff with all the preparations for the ceremony, the flowers, the furniture, and the altar all overlooking the ocean.

The guests arrived; all immaculately dressed in ceremonial costumes looking like royalty or movie stars and the ceremony itself was very touching. It was so special to have been able to witness such a beautiful cultural wedding - so different to any other I have ever seen.

So there ends my relaxing trip to Bali, it wasn't a total rest, doing nothing (I don't know how to do that), but I did manage to notch up some more truly memorable experiences on this remarkable island.

Where next!

I hope you enjoyed this brief trip to Bali. Don't forget to check out my other destinations on :- http://lynnemorley.blogspot.com

Please check out my other blogs ..............

http://lynnemorleys.blogspot.com

http://lynnemorley.blogspot.com

http://morleysjourneytoozandback.blogspot.com

Thanks so much,

Lynne 

Darwin and Katherine - NT Part 3

Darwin and Katherine - NT Part 3

Wednesday

New Years Day, I was feeling refreshed after a good nights sleep and ready to go out exploring Darwin. I headed out along the lovely esplanade towards the harbour, and couldn't believe how everyone I passed wished me a "Happy New Year". What a friendly start to 2014! Even at this early hour, it was so hot, the humidity was close to 100 per cent and by the time I reached Stokes wharf, I was soaked through. I spotted The Indo Pacific Marine building, which I had seen on TV the previous night and was so pleased that it was open on New Years Day. What a fascinating place!

The gentleman, who built it 30 years ago, took my entrance money and was also my personal guide. There were only 3 of us there that morning, and it was so relaxed as well as being informative - I loved it. After watching a film about marine life, we were shown to the display room with a huge pool filled with coral and fish; apparently this was set up 20 years ago and has no filters.

Whatever was put in all those years ago, feeds everything and the whole eco system is a cycle that even cleans it out too. Everything in the tanks was from Darwin's harbour, and it was so colourful - the Northern Territories very own Great Barrier Reef. There was a red, white and blue sea cucumber that reminded me of the union jack - it just didn't look real.

There were smaller tanks with different marine fish in them and some of the fronts had concave or convex glass that magnified everything so much, it was incredible. I just couldn't stop taking photos! There was a tank of barramundi, and the guide threw something in to show us how fiercely they fight for their food! After an hour or so, he made us all a pot of tea and a scone before resuming the tour. Now he explained how the world was created, how the continents all broke away from each other, and told us all about tectonic plates and fault lines.

I found it fascinating! Another unbelievable fact was what you would need to make a cubic kilometre of ocean. It was so unbelievable, there was the normal stuff you would expect, but you also need gold, silver, aluminium, arsenic, copper, nickel – the list was huge. I spent 3 hours there, and loved every minute of it. I thanked the owner for a great morning and bought a DVD to remind me of everything I had seen in this special place.

When I got outside, the temperature just hit me; it could have easily knocked me out if I hadn't been wearing my hat. As I was already down at the wharf, I had to have a walk along the pier where people were fishing; before walking around the specially built seawater lagoon, that is fairly safe for swimming (although stingers can still get in!) and passed by the lido and wave pool - that was packed with families enjoying their day together.

It was early afternoon by now, so I took a slow walk back to my hotel through the shopping area, even though most of it was closed. When I got back to my hotel, I had a lovely few hours in the pool cooling off and talking to some ladies from Sydney, getting ideas about other places to go visit, before catching up on my washing, diary and of course sleep.

Thursday

I was up very early again - 5am. Before leaving home, I had booked to go on a tour to Edith Falls, Pine Creek and a cruise along Katherine Gorge. Whilst waiting to be collected from my hotel, I met a friendly English lady going to Kakadu, who was also travelling by herself and I told her of my experiences in Kakadu earlier in this trip. Just before she got off the transit bus she realized she had forgotten her water bottle, so I gave her my spare one - as our driver said he would refill our bottles with fresh iced water whenever we needed them filling. What a marvellous idea that is! Anyway, my long day trip began!

We headed south down the Stuart Highway (the same road that I had come up on only 36 hours before), and I wasn't feeling overly enthusiastic about this trip. After seeing Katherine Gorge from the helicopter and then having the long bus journey back to Darwin, I would have cancelled it, if I could have. The first stop we made was the Adelaide River War Cemetery, I was surprised to hear how Darwin was bombed in WW2 - more bombs actually fell on Darwin than on Pearl Harbour.

The Australian army laid temporary airstrips all along the Stuart Highway from Darwin to the Adelaide River because that was where they thought the Japanese might have reached. The cemetery was beautifully kept, but I have to confess to being more interested in the wallabies that were having breakfast nearby. All along the Adelaide River floodplains, the trees and grasses were similar to those in Kakadu; and there were also numerous Cathedral Termite mounds.

It is the grass-eating termites that build this type (the wood eating termites build their nests on their food source - such as on a tree) but there are other termites known as Terminus Darwinus, and at 12mm long, they are the longest termites in the world and can chew through concrete! We drove through the old mining town of Pine Creek; gold was first discovered there in 1872 when the first telegraph cables were being installed connecting south Australia with Darwin, and Australia to the rest of the world.

More up to date mining methods are used here now but the town hasn't grown at all and we drove through it in a few minutes. We stopped briefly at Emerald Springs for a quick toilet stop. I had stopped there when I was bused up to Darwin (when my Ghan journey was cut short), and the manager wasn’t happy at the unexpected stop and refused to give anyone anything to eat! Happily, he was expecting us this time, both this morning and later this evening for our dinner. By the time we reached Edith Falls we were all ready for a refreshing swim, but no such luck today - the water levels were too high after the past week's rains. And we all knew by now, that that means crocodiles! It was such a beautiful spot though, the water was cascading down the falls and there were palms and pandanas all around the lagoon - it was seriously idyllic! Quite close to these falls was where the train had derailed only 2 days before.

Unfortunately we only had time for a quick photo stop (I don't know how we would have had time to fit a swim in!) as we had a boat to catch at 2pm at Katherine, which was still about an hour away. I was disappointed we didn't stop there, the driver just drove through the town slowly, pointing a few interesting things out.

The main topic of conversation seemed to be the devastating floods that had occurred there in the past few years (which are marked on the railway bridge as well as on the clock in town). When I did the helicopter ride over this area 2 days before, it had given me a good perspective of how the gorges were gouged out through the plains, but the water flowing through them was a brown murky colour – not very picturesque at all.

I think that is why I wasn't enthusiastic about coming back here. After a lovely buffet lunch at the Gorge Visitor Centre, we boarded the flat-bottomed boat that unfortunately offered very little shade. The sun was right overhead, beating down on us. As much as they had iced water to refill our bottles, you could not drink the water quick enough - you were sweating so much.

I just wanted to tip the water over me. It was 45 degrees and quite unbearable. But as we cruised along the first gorge, the scenery kept us all enchanted - as did the freshwater crocodiles we spotted. There were also many interesting birds about, a kite, a peregrine falcon and a cluster of swallows in their nests, which were stuck to the roof of a cave. When we reached the end of the first gorge we had to get out of the boat and scramble over some rocks, along a path, to a different boat - to experience the second gorge.

We needed to change boats to avoid the rapids, which were fast flowing after the recent rainfall. The second gorge was even more beautiful, breathtaking and full of picture postcard shots - I loved it. The orange sandstone walls, with green and blue trees and bushes growing out of them were so gorgeous. There were white beaches, black caves and orange reflections on the water. You could see dramatic fault lines in the walls, and follow these lines, even around the sharp corners. This was where the amazing orange walls of The Escarpment that I climbed at Ubbir ended.

For me, seeing Katherine Gorge like this was so much better than from the helicopter (although that had still been an awesome experience). This was what the DVD says "There is nothing quite like Katherine Gorge in the wet - it is truly one of Australia's amazing natural wonders" - and it was! It was just too hot; it was the hottest I have ever been. It wasn’t just me; everyone couldn't wait to get back on the air-conditioned coach and to go to sleep. We headed back up Darwin, stopping for dinner at Emerald Springs. There wasn't much daylight left, and as the sun finally sank, through the windows, I watched my last wallabies feeding and saw my last billabongs. I would never be fed up of those amazing waterholes with so much life both around them and lurking below them. It was after 9pm when we finally arrived back to Darwin; it had been a very long but enjoyable day and I took no rocking to sleep.

Friday

This was my last day in Northern Territory; I had survived 2 weeks by myself and had, had a great time. There was just one more thing that I particularly wanted to do. I had been told me how good the Natural History Museum was - especially its display on cyclone Tracey that devastated Darwin in 1974. As I have a vested interest in cyclones, having been through one in Townsville in 1972, I just had to go. I decided to get a taxi there to save my legs and to save time - I didn't want to waste one minute!

The museum was free to get in and it was such a marvellous place. The cultural exhibitions, poisonous animals, shells, amphibians, sea creatures etc were brilliant. There was so much to take in, I wanted to remember it all, and so I took countless photos of notice boards. There was an unusual hanger full of dugout canoes and sailing boats. But the part that I had particularly come to see was the best bit. Apart from photographs showing what devastation the cyclone had caused to Darwin, there was a film by a reporter who went out the morning after the cyclone had struck, and the footage was totally unbelievable - everywhere was wrecked. I watched the film several times before I moved on to the area that had been made to look like the inside of various houses in 1974, and they had radio bulletins playing from that time too.

I remember the radio being on when cyclone Althea was heading for Townsville - it was a strange feeling; one I cannot describe other than to say that it took me back to somewhere I thought I could never have remembered. Then I went in a door, into a completely dark room, not a slither of daylight came through and the sounds began. It was actual recorded footage of the winds when cyclone Tracey hit Darwin. I had to go out the room and collect myself, it upset me - it was far too real. Anyway, not to be beaten, I went back in and listed to it all the way through - completely mesmerized! Then I went back in again and recorded it on my camera, so I could play it to my family when I got home. Then, totally hooked by now, I went in for one last listen. It was so real, I could not believe it - I was so glad that I had come to this museum. Apparently the average house price in Darwin in $750,000 and this includes $100,000 of reinforcement to make the house 'cyclone proof'! 

I had really enjoyed my trip out to the museum. Anyway, so that I didn't waste time, I rang another taxi to take me back to Darwin 's main centre. I wanted to do a bit of shopping; I had hardly done any all this trip, just to get some souvenirs. It was really hot again, well into the forties, just for a change! There was one last thing I felt that I needed to do before I went back to my hotel for my last dip in the pool. I went to the Australia Travel Tour office and told them what a great time I had, had and what a good and informative a tour guide Robbie had been. I had learnt so much those first three days; it had really helped for the rest of the trip. Well I am a believer in fate, so guess what happened next? In walked Robbie saying that they should give him a pay rise after all that praise! It was lovely to see a familiar face, someone that I knew. We had a lovely little chat; he wanted to know what I thought of Alice (he agreed that it wasn't a safe place to walk around - even in the daytime!) and then he needed to go off and pick some tourists up. It made my day meeting up with him again and being able to thank him for making Christmas so wonderful. I took myself off for some lunch and then back to the hotel, where I spent a couple of hours relaxing by the pool.

All the hotel staff had been brilliant the whole trip, but the manager was the best, when I asked him about a late check out, he sorted things out so that I didn't have to pay at all! It was being my lucky day! Once I had checked out, I wandered over the esplanade to have my last look at the sea in the daytime. It was going to be the lowest tide of 2014, so it was quite a sight. It made me think of when a tsunami happens and the ocean recedes so much that it leaves so much of the mud flap, beach and rock pools. Then I went to the cinema, to see The Railway Man, which I thoroughly enjoyed. The only downside was that the air conditioning was so powerful in the cinema; I sat there shivering all the way through the movie. There seems to be no pleasing me where the heat was concerned. It was nice to get back outside in the warmth and as I still had an hour of daylight left I headed back up to town – as I really fancied a smoothie from the Boost Bar. I was disappointed that it had already closed, but my luck was in today, and I ran into Robbie again and he asked me to join him for a drink. It was good to be able to buy him drink to say thank you for being a great guide, cook, driver etc, and he did appreciate my gesture. I only had the one drink and wanted to get back before it was really dark, so we said our goodbyes again. Now as you can imagine, I was feeling pretty good! I got back to the hotel, a three-hour wait for my airport pick-up ahead of me; I settled down to catch up with my diary - I was 3 days behind! And what should happen? Vicky, who had just got back from Kakadu came into the bar looking for me; the hotel manager had given her a complimentary bottle of wine because there was a problem with her room, and she wanted to share it with me! Oh my, how nice is that! Well, we both discussed the adventures that we had, had the last 2 days, got rather tipsy and my three-hour wait seemed to fly by! We felt like old friends after that short space of time and found that we had so much in common. What a last day I had, had! So much kindness, I felt truly blessed and so happy and content. I had been a bit apprehensive about going to the other side of the world, just me on my own; but I had, had the best time of my life and I felt fabulous about myself. I got on that plane heading home and had lots of writing to catch up with – so I suppose that says it all. I hadn't been lonely and miserable staying in with my diary, although I do like to do it so that I can look back and relive my trip - especially one as fantastic as this had been! This one had been my trip, for me and with me! And as always, I couldn’t wait to plan the next one!

The beautiful beaches of Darwin that have so many dangers lurking closeby!!!

In the meantime, please check out my other blogs ..............

http://lynnemorleys.blogspot.com

http://lynnejmorley.blogspot.com

http://morleysjourneytoozandback.blogspot.com