Beautiful Bali

Posted under Deja vu Asia 2010

Our flight to Bali goes via Kuala Lumpur, in Malaysia, where we have a five hour layover between flights. As we entered the airport at Kuala Lumpur, I became quite concerned that we had made a wrong turn and had arrived in Mecca. There were no camels, but there were Muslims everywhere. Now having a five hour layover gave me considerable time for study, and I came to several conclusions. Firstly, I have determined that it is hair, on women, which the Muslims deem so offensive, for there were women of the faith who were dressed in a very contemporary fashion, to those dressed in burkhas, and that which they had in common was a covering for their hair. Now the more fashionable young ladies wore sleeveless shirts, skirts to their knees, and high heels —- but they had their hair respectfully covered by colorful silk scarves. The more traditional attire comprised a long dress, to the ankles, and a head scarf of a heavier material. My thoughts are that these women probably had hairy arms and legs, and so kept them covered as well. There were also similarly dressed ladies who additionally kept the lower portion of their faces covered with a portion of their scarves, this perhaps to hide some unwanted facial hair, such as a mustache or a wispy beard. Now we come to those ladies encased in a burkha. They must be some kind of ugly, for in addition to the aforementioned furry bits, they must also be blessed with a luxurious “uni-brow”, like a giant caterpillar crawling above their eyes. This requires that even their faces must be hidden, and so they must look at life through a mesh screen, much like the dude in the mascot chicken costume at the US football games. The Muslim men are not subjected to the same restrictions, and most have no discernible dress code at all. Some men sported a little beanie, and a few wore long dresses to their ankles. I don’t believe that the latter were “girly guys”, as they wore no make-up. It can’t be a hair thing with the men, as many of them also proudly sported “ratty” little beards, All this serious thought managed to make time fly, and before we knew it, it was time for our flight on to Bali.

Our plane arrived without mishap, our luggage intact, no trouble at customs, and an easily found taxi to take us to our hotel. Talk about smooth, and much appreciated after what turned into a long day. Not only that, but we have a very nice hotel, on the beach, with most helpful and friendly staffing. Things are looking quite good.

Bali sits about six points south of the equator and is a tad warmish. Add to this the part about this being their rainy season and the humidity reaches the saturation point. I can work up a nasty sweat just trying to get out of my own way, so I don’t try to move too often. This gave me time for another thought regarding the ladies in the burkhas, particularly as the color of choice appears to be basic black. Sort of the “little black dress” thing I guess. Anyway, I got thinking that if I was encapsulated in a tent like thing, someone would have to hit me with a pressure washer before I could even climb into the shower. Possibly the people here don’t perspire, but I can’t see it. Now all this would make a very clever disguise for anyone who was up to no good, as first of all it would be nearly impossible to casually determine the sex of the individual, and then no one would want to get close enough to really find out. I guess that I will just have to watch for people in burkhas who are trying to set their Adidas on fire.

Now far be it for me to gloat about anything, well — unless I had an audience,— or if I was alone,— or with someone, — well any way I must tell you about the nifty gift my grandchildren got me for Christmas. I suspect with considerable input from the bank of “mom and dad”. The gift is an Amazon Kindle. For those of you who are as technically challenged as my own self, the “Kindle” is an e-book system put out by Amazon. It is about the size of a paperback and about 3/8 of an inch thick. It ways 10.2 oz. Through the cellular telephone network, one can download books from Amazon, (and others), at a cost significantly less than bookstore rates, and can do this from over 100 countries. It will download a book in under a minute, and the cell phone costs are included in the price. Neat eh? I have over fifty books downloaded for my holiday entertainment, and the little rascal still only weighs 10.2 oz. Much easier on the luggage — and the back

Got some nice snaps of Bali sunsets, and some of the local highlights as well. Did a bit of a touristy tour yesterday. Took in a couple of old Hindu temples that were constructed in about the eleventh century.. Not at all like the temples that we saw in Thailand, or those we saw in Cambodia. These were more spread out, and built upon little rocky spots on the sea shore. The sound of the crashing waves possibly offered some degree of tranquility, or perhaps it was just that they were here first and wanted the spot with the best view. Quite nice at any rate. Followed this up with a dinner at a beach restaurant. Lobster, crab, prawns, clams and mussels, plus a fish with its head still on. Oh yes, a couple of glasses of a “made in Bali” wine, all this for about the price of a bottle of wine in Canada. Now the local wine was not that bad, and “she who shops” actually ate some of the fish, and enjoyed it, even though it was still looking at her.

We are enjoying the pace here in Bali, and will move to another area in a few days. Will keep you posted at any rate.

T