Japan and Bali

[lapassionata]

Re: Japan and Bali

The barong dance: a giant lion-like puppet animated by two performers.





Another dance about two powerful giant brothers





Lord Indra





The giants were seduced by heavenly nymphs, which led to their destruction



Lord Indra rejoices



The crew takes a bow

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Re: Japan and Bali

For you, Ms. Exced and seemiyah . The earring pics as promised. Don't know if you can see the detail, but it's silver lacework with a hollow core and an 18K gold ball. Apparently 98% silver. Oh did I forget to mention I also bought a ring to go with it? I might also have bought a silver necklace. My bank account still hasn't recovered

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Re: Japan and Bali

Oh dear So, I am more a "microwaver", than an actual cook, but I'm going to be brave and try my hand at those recipes. Thanks Marielle!

[lapassionata]

Re: Japan and Bali

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Laurel</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: lapassionata</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Laurel</div><div class="ubbcode-body">LaPassie ... what an absolute thrill it is to tag along with you on this journey ~

while I have never had the desire to visit Japan ... I so much enjoyed all you shared.

what a blessed young woman you are ~ it simply leaps out of the computer screen at me ...

*you shine* ~

as a young woman, I had the notion to travel the world and spend time in Bali ... I did some traveling, then - life took the turns it did and now all the travel I do is to Jamaica - which suits me.

I so much look foward to all you will share about the rest of your journey and your experiences ~

what a wonderful treat this is. </div></div>

Laurel, thank you for that lovely comment Honestly the shine you're seeing is the sense of freedom and joy I was experiencing after getting over a disappointing situation and realizing that rather than get stuck in regret and recriminations, I wanted to move on and LIVE. I understand about Jamaica, in fact the first place I thought of going to get over my stress was Jamaica , but my family convinced me to go to Japan since I had more time on hand. Negril for 2011! </div></div>

how you seem so wise far beyond your tender years!!

I now try not to regret all the years I spent 'in regret and recriminations'!!

no - seriously ... we all have our path, our journey ... some of us just get stuck a bit longer ~

but it is all relative ~

I can not wait to see The Earrings ... <span style="font-weight: bold">(i have a La-Passion for Silver - )</span> </div></div>

The funny thing is that my real name is actually pun-able too. Thank you as always Laurel for your lovely comments. Believe me I made the same kind of mistake over and over and over again, and I for sure didn't feel wise. I'm sure I've still got a whole lot more to be schooled on (hopefully less harshly). I've read your trip reports to Jamaica and the way you talk about your life there, the obvious joy comes through so clearly! I know it's cause you're LIVING your life

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Re: Japan and Bali

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: JAmerican Ooman</div><div class="ubbcode-body">YAYYYYYYYYYYYY we are in Bali... Japan was great and almost got a &quot;get there&quot; tug out of me.. I expect you to make me feel that about Bali because its on my Bucket List

I feel so proud of you like you was mi ownna pikney I could barely get my dawta to go away to college let alone around the world..

I am so enjoying this and stop mentioning you being in the pictures, it is your journey after all, so I expect to see you in more than a few places..

You looking purty in Bali to sistren... Looking forward to more.

Hope you got that packing and moving thing finished *lol*.. I am going through the same thing myself.. I love new places, but I hate packing..

BLESSINGS </div></div>

Thank you JAmerican The move went well. Everytime I move, I say &quot;never again&quot;, and then before I know it I'm packing up the boxes one more time. I think I'm restless.

I think you will definitely like the Bali portion; truthfully, were I to recommend one over the other it would be Bali because you get great value for your time and travel dollars there. Seriously, the greatest expenditure will be your ticket, so go browsing for a deal and you're set (and call me so I can hitch a ride in your suitcase, because I want to go back like yesterday )

[lapassionata]

Re: Japan and Bali

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Xavier</div><div class="ubbcode-body">This is great trip. I always wanted to go to Japan and almost did until the I worked with moved offices...You took me there...thank you </div></div>

Thank you, Xavier. I'm just doing my part for the Japanese tourism industry.

[seemiyah]

Re: Japan and Bali

Wow those earrings are beautiful, and see confession is good for the soul cause now we finding out bout the ring and necklace too! Hey at least you have something beautiful to show for being broke!

[Laurel]

Re: Japan and Bali

love love the earrings and the ring ~

love the silver necklace you have on as well.

I had a bracelet of that type for the longest time ... with a toggle close ~

like a dope - I had it on while in the water in Negril - and lost it ... still looking to replace it.

love Bali thru your words and photos -

BEST of everything as you begin the new chapter - new home, new job, etc.

[lapassionata]

Re: Japan and Bali

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: seemiyah</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Wow those earrings are beautiful, and see <span style="font-weight: bold">confession is good for the soul </span>cause now we finding out bout the ring and necklace too! Hey at least you have something beautiful to show for being broke! </div></div>

[lapassionata]

Re: Japan and Bali

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Laurel</div><div class="ubbcode-body">love love the earrings and the ring ~

love the silver necklace you have on as well.

I had a bracelet of that type for the longest time ... with a toggle close ~

like a dope - I had it on while in the water in Negril - and lost it ... still looking to replace it.

love Bali thru your words and photos -

BEST of everything as you begin the new chapter - new home, new job, etc. </div></div>

Thank you Laurel The new job is currently running me ragged but it's a satisfied kind of exhausted. I hate losing jewelry too because most of them have a story behind them. You know a friend of mine told me you can find some good silver-smiths in Jamaica, so maybe you can have a new one made down there.

[Gen]

Re: Japan and Bali

Bali

I soooooo need to be at an ashram right about now.

I am here still reading passionata

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Re: Japan and Bali

Day 20: Mount Batur

This was really my last enjoyable day in Bali, the climax of my trip. Everything that came after was denouement. I got picked up at my hotel at 2:30 am, still half-asleep and only partially aware. The owner of the trekking company (Bali Sunrise Trekking) actually picked me up because he lives in Ubud; the other clients were coming in from Kuta and further afield.

The drive to Kintamini was a little under thirty minutes. I had dressed as warmly as I could with my hoodie, scarf and layers underneath, but as we ascended into the highlands the temperature dropped rapidly. To make it worst, it had been raining heavily the previous night and the moisture gave the air an extra little chill. By the time we arrived at the &quot;base camp&quot;, I was starting to wonder what I got my self into. He left me alone for a bit and I actually dozed off waiting for the other clients to arrive. But when he came back it was just him and the trekking guide. Where was everybody else? They were starting the trek from another side of Mount Batur. OK. So it would just be me. Alone with a strange man. On an active volcano. At 3:30 in the morning. Why did that not bother me at the time? It kinda bothers me now, or at least, it makes me pause when I think about the possible danger. Anyhoo, I just went with it, and we were off.

It was pitch black. We had our flashlights to illuminate the way but it was really eerie, especially because there was so much cloud cover because of the bad weather. The ascent was brutal. As the grade got steeper and we climbed above the tree line, I started stopping every 2 minutes because I was DYING. I kept looking back down the mountain because I couldn't see past the cloud cover to the summit. Pretty soon I couldn't see what was behind us either. At one point, my guide took my hand and pulled me along, giving me an extra boost on the steepest segments. The poor guy had to put up with me whining all the way. The last 200 metres the path leveled off and I almost cried in relief that we were HERE! We beat the clock because we had made it up in 1.5 hours instead of the alloted 2 hrs. There was an option to go hiking further around the crater, but I said forget that! There was not one more metre to be had out of my quads. We were the first at the top, and sort of huddle together for warmth. Another 10 minutes and the other tour companies started arriving. By 5:30 am or so this big group of us tourists were all assembled on the plateau just below the summit, drinking tea and waiting for the sunrise. That was when I found out that my guide had taken me up one of the more brutal paths; he took me up the back way, really. Because there is a more gradual ascent that EVERYONE ELSE came up (and that we all took down).

After that trek, well, things just took a rapid turn for the worst. When I checked out of Kumara Sakti and went back into Ubud, the rain came down in sheets. That bad weather didn't break until (I kid you not!) the VERY DAY I left Bali. I checked into Furama and the toilet in my supposedly luxurious villa just wouldn't work properly. Two calls and two supposed fixings and it was still quasi-functional. Fun that. Then I got Bali-belly. Buckets of fun of course, made even fun-er by the partially broken toilet. I had booked another tour to go to Git -git water falls and Jatiluih and some other points north, but I had to cancel because of the bad weather. Finally, W and I parted on bad terms because of a misunderstanding about pick-up times, and because I was terrified that all the Immodium AD tablets I had gobbled down wouldn't keep me from blowing, so to speak. As a side note, where else in the world would you be able to get unprescribed antibiotics for the equivalent of $2 USD?

It's then perhaps understandable why I flew out of Bali back to Japan in kind of a sour mood. I was so very physically uncomfortable. All I could think about was getting home into my nice big bed with a short detour to my nice clean bathroom. The trip back was ridiculous. Eight hours to Japan, a 10 hour stopover (couldn't leave the airport because of the Belly) and then a 12 hour flight back to Toronto. I did snatch a few hours of sleep, but when I arrived back on home soil and the custom's officer asked me how I could afford my trip , I almost told her about her P's and Q's. Welcome back to Canada.

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Re: Japan and Bali

It was a hard, valiant fight against the cloud cover, but in the end, the sun triumphed!

Pre-dawn, cold as heck







Danau Batur lake in the distance

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Re: Japan and Bali

We had to be quick about snapping shots, because every few seconds another set of clouds would drift by below us and obscure the view. We found a family of monkeys up there. Most of them were shy, but one of the bigger males descided to ham it up for the cameras.

Look closely, you might see the baby monkey







What a ham!

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Re: Japan and Bali

We spent around an hour lingering, taking pictures, chatting. I met a very lovely British-Indian woman who travels regularly for business and had hopped over from Singapore before flying back to London. It was she who told me that they had ascended Batur on an easier path than mine. Sadly I lost her during the descent because my overachieving trek guide was of course going faster than everybody else.

On the way down



The black earth in the background is lava from the 1969 eruption





My guide, waiting for me to finish taking pics



At base, looking back at the shrouded summit



On the road again. Goodbye Mount Batur



From volcano to rice paddies in 25 minutes