Monday - February 26, 2018

Monday, February 26, 2018
We arrived in Bali on schedule at 8AM. After watching the welcome dance and music performed by a local group, we went to the theater to be called for our 9:15 tour. Today we are taking a ship's tour to the Water Palace and an original Balinese town. We left early since everyone arrived ahead of schedule.

Our guide spoke very good English, and taught us a lot about the history of Bali. She explained the religions and the economics while glossing over the politics. We were well prepared for our arrival at the palace. After the obligatory toilet stop after our 2 hour drive, we were treated to a snack of local sweets and fruits.

Now Dayu led us to the paths across the water and up to the various pavilions on the high hillside. The flowers were beautiful and the landscaped hills were very comforting. If only the paths up the hills had been the same. At the foot of the steps leading to the top Alice and I decided it would be best if she stayed below and traced the grade level paths.

I set out for the top. The stairway was straight with a landing eery 20 steps. A welcome respite. I forgot to start counting at the bottom, but I did count over 100 stairs anyhow. At the top the views were amazing. The gardens below blended into the trees. Beyond that was the ocean. The sky was clear and the sun had everything sparkling. 

A path with several more sets of stairs led me higher and across the hilltop to a royal pavilion. The views and the breeze made it clear why royalty chose this location for their retreat from the permanent palace located 45 minute away. After a short rest I began my descent. That went well, but I sure did wish the stair height was a little lower and a lot more uniform.      

I met Alice at the bottom and we boarded the bus. Our next stop was a delicious lunch at an oceanside resort. The breeze was very cooling as we ate on an outdoor deck. After lunch e had time to survey the amenities and use the toilet, which was air conditioned. It must have been 20 degrees cooler in there. You could hear the women gasp of dwellings and shop as they entered the ladies' room. Two Infinity Pools flanked the restaurant. A short pier provided an excellent viewing platform beside the restaurant.

A one hour ride took us to the Balinese village. This community of 4,000 was a compact area of dwellings and shops. We saw weaving, carving, painting and other arts. We also viewed the common temple, kitchen and gathering areas. The whole village was built on a hillside so every 50 feet or o we navigated a fairly steep ramp of stones to carry on. This made for some tricky footing, but we managed it unscathed.