Visiting Hannah and Greg, part 3: Bali (days 3 and 4)

Bali day 3: Snorkeling! 

A car from Blue Season Bali picked us up at our Villa bright and early and brought us to their head quarters where they gear up to take people scuba diving and snorkeling. We got sized for wet suits and headed out to the beach to ride a little tin boat out to the larger boat for the day. 

Waiting to board our transport boat

On our boat was a group of scuba divers along with the four of us snorkelers. Our first stop was Crystal Bay, so named for its crystal clear water. Snorkeling there was so fun. At first the water was cold, but really it wasn't bad, especially with a wet suit. Beneath the bay was a megalopolis of beautiful coral. Every color your eye can imagine was shining brightly up at us as we gazed through our snorkel masks and floated along back and forth with the waves and current.

They don't get sun like this in AK!

Crystal bay is in an island about a 45-minute ride off the Bali coast. We snorkeled two separate times in  this location, each for about an hour (before and after lunch). Meanwhile, the divers went down deep where it was so cold one of the ladies lost the use of a hand while down there and had trouble getting warm back up top even back on the deck of the boat in the intense equator heat. One of the divers was training for her certification for deep adventurous diving, or something like that.

A nice Bali view

At our second location, later that afternoon, while the divers went down deep once more, we did a "drift snorkel." For this, the boat dropped us off, then we let the current take us gently along the coast line as we eyed more gorgeous coral cities, and the boat met us down the beach to pick us up.

This is also a nice view.....(wink*)

They tried to rent us a water proof camera so we could take pictures of the snorkeling, but $45 was just too steep a price, and they didn't want to haggle. Too bad for them, and too bad for you, since you don't get to see any underwater pictures.

Soaking up vitamin D on top deck of the boat

We were out for the bulk of the day, I think about 7 or 8 hours total. 

This ship got stuck on the sand bar just a week earlier

This sand bar had two ships recently stuck. Our boat hand said they had to wait for the big tide to come back next season before they could get them free.

That night we decided to go out to dinner somewhere. Our first stop, recommended by our villa's info book, was a restaurant called Ku De Ta. It was probably the most "hip" most "sheik" most trendy and most "posh" place I've ever been. (Not really me scene.) It was all poorly lit, with loud obnoxious new-techno music and a modern look; but, it had a grassy area with cushions that looked out on the beach. We plopped down and watched the sunset while we enjoyed some over-priced drinks. 

The sunset was awesome, and better yet, we paid almost $30 for two drinks. It doesn't get better than that.

Our sunset view from Ku De Ta

We ended up heading down the street to Ultimo Italian Restaurant and eating some good old Bali-made italian (and well priced) food. Heather's and my entire meal ended up cheaper than two drinks at Ku De Ta.

Day 4 in Bali: Surfing and departing

On our last day in Bali, we finally went to the beach (the beach at which, the very next day there was an earthquake). So, actually, Greg didn't make it to the beach, he had to stay behind to take care of some work stuff. (Those suckers with those jobs. I pity them.)

There were lots of chairs and big umbrellas. But if you wanted to use them you had to deal with one of the guys trying to sell them to you. So, we haggled with the first guy, but he was trying to get too much money out of us. We walked away and got a better price from the next one down the sand.

The girls enjoyed some ice cream while enjoying the beach

After settling in, I went back to my same little haggling friend and did something I'd been wanting to try for a long time....I rented a surf board! I talked him down to $3. Not bad. Of course, I don't actually know the first thing about how to surf other than what I've seen on TV. However, I can do quite a few sports that involve a board on your feet (snow skiing, water skiing, snow boarding, wake boarding, knee boarding and probably something I'm forgetting), so I figure I had a good chance at figuring out the surfing thing.

My big ol' beginner board

It took me a little while to figure out the board, and the waves, and timing and balance and all that, but after not too long, I was up...at least for a matter of seconds. My first several attempts to stand resulted in a quick and dirty splash back into the waves.

One of my early attempts, not looking to good for me

HOWEVER, I eventually did figure it out, and got in some long and really fun rides. Below is video evidence, that my previous foot/board experience paid off, as I surf for over 13 seconds all the way to shore with no wipe out!

Go, Nathan, go!

I was surprised out how much work surfing was. I was sore all over after only 1.5 hours of surfing, and I was beat. For the next several days my back and neck were sore sore sore.

Back at the villa, Greg fought the mosquitoes by smoking them out with the super smoker

But, we had to get back to the villa, pack up, and get to the airport to catch our flight back to Singapore. So, we said goodbye to our beautiful villa, the low Bali prices, and the Southern hemisphere and checked out. We had a few hours before having to be at the airport. So, Hannah and Greg went back to Body Works and got another massage each, while Heather and did shopping and haggling in the markets.

But finally, it was time to go...(sniff). Waiting for our plane, we took in one last great Bali sunset.

 Back to Singapore for two more days with Hannah and Greg (and zombie killing!).

Visiting Hannah and Greg, part 2: Bali (1st two days)

Bali is only a two and a half hour flight from Singapore. After two days in Singapore, we awoke the third morning and boarded a plane bound for Bali, Indonesia. Bali is on of over 1,000 islands in the country, and one of the more developed because of it's status as a popular tourist destination.

We stayed at Villa Coco, which is in Seminyak, an area of the island. The taxi ride from the airport was terrifying and fun at the same time. There are road lines, but that doesn't mean anyone abides by them. Driving in Bali is first come first serve. People cut you off, cars dart in and out, there's constant tailgating, and blinkers are seen as announcements rather than requests. Not to mention, they drive on the left side of the road, which just feels very awkward.

Our villa, view from the door 

Finally, we made it safe to our villa. We had our own private pool, lounging chairs, a kitchenette and living room type area all outside. Our two bedrooms were separate buildings each with their own bathrooms. The bathrooms were technically "indoors," but not really. They had walls and ceilings, but the walls weren't connected to the ceiling everywhere. They also weren't air conditioned. So, going to the bathroom meant simply going through a door into another room, but it was also like going outside. 

Kitchen and common area

Our first day, we went to get massages at a parlor called Body Works. In Bali, one US dollar is worth about 8,000 Rupiah. So, your money goes a long way. An hour long massage with (not 1 but) 2 people massaging me in synch only cost about $35.

Relaxed Hannah and Greg after some good Balinese massag'n

The rest of the evening we spent enjoying our awesome villa and room service.

Day 2 in Bali:
We were picked up early at our villa by our tour guide for the day. The plan: a bike tour through Bali's rural mountain area. It was a long drive north to the mountains. On the way we stopped at a coffee plantation for a quick little tour, and so that they could "farm some money from tourists" as Greg put it. (Heather and I proved very fertile in this regard.)

Me and my sweetie among the vegetation. They even had cinnamon trees 

After showing us how different coffee beans are grown, harvested and processed, they sat us down for free samples.

Enjoying our many different assorted coffees and teas

 We were sitting on the side of a cliff, our table was facing out toward a chasm full of jungle-y vegetation.

All hopped up on coffee!

For lunch (still haven't gotten to the biking yet) we stopped at this awesome restaurant at the top of a mountain with a killer view of a volcano and a lake.

The black soil is burned from the last eruption

Front of our mountain side eatery

Romance on the side of a mountain

After lunch, we finally made it to the bikes. We donned helmets and heard a quick "crash" corse on bike safety and pedaled. (I use the term "crash," because the first thing Greg did on his bike was to wreck it.)

Other than our group of 4, there were three others from China

Rice fields. For miles and miles, we rode past rice fields.

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Even though it was in a hilly part of the island, the rice patties were were flat and terraced. Our tour guide boasted that Bali has the best irrigation system in the world. And while, I wouldn't bet that it was the best in the world, considering the level of development for this country, it was very impressive. There were drainage ditches and pathways for the water everywhere. When it spilled out of one rice patty it was always routed toward another. They didn't waste a drop. I imagine this is essential during the dry season.

The terracing was beautiful

Though we biked for 2.5 hours, most of our ride was downhill. However, we did have a few uphill sections. One in was really long and steep. Afterwards we were all sweating profusely, and this picture showcases Greg's particular hurting after the hill.

Hoping he's not about to throw up

Our bike trip through rural non-touristy Bali took us through several villages and towns. Little kids yelled to us, excited to see rich Americans and gave us high 5s as we passed by. We kept going by the walled off compounds. I took picture after picture of them, until I found out that they were people's houses. In a highly Hindu culture, each compound was surrounded by a wall, had multiple structures and their own temple. Families live together, multiple generations in one compound.

After the biking concluded we stopped at our tour guides house as his wife had prepared an amazing Balinese spread of food for us. We all had a few reservations about eating completely authentic local food (fearing Montezuma's Revenge!), but it turned out to be the best meal we had. Oh my gosh, her food rocked my world. I went back for thirds! If I was the kind of Mormon that had multiple wives, I would marry this guy's wife, and Heather would have no objections.

We sat at a low table which was tough for non-limbre Greg and Nathan

 Here's a video of walking into our tour guides compound and looking around. Hopefully it works.

Full bellies in front of one of the buildings in the compound

Our ride back to the villa was horribly long. It wouldn't have been if we hadn't gotten stuck in the worst traffic jam. We sat at on traffic light, waiting to go on a round-a-bout for an hour. Plenty of other lanes were moving, just not ours. There were traffic cops directing the traffic circle, but they never gave priority to our road. FOR AN HOUR we sat and watched them ignore us. It was soooo frustrating.

Scooters out numbered cars on the roads by at least 5 to 1

Finally back at the villa, we relaxed and went to bed, ready for another adventure the next day...the next blog. See you then.

Visiting Hannah and Greg, part 1: Singapore

Just after midnight on Oct. 5th we boarded a plane and took off to visit our friends Hannah and Greg in Singapore. We've been looking forward to this trip for about a year for two reasons, 1) We've never been to Asia and know very little about that part of the world; and 2) since they moved there we rarely get to see Hannah and Greg whom we love.

Placed there by/for Greg's job, they've been in the city/country for two years now.

Our trip lasted about 30 hours, and after arriving at 11pm local time, we were spent. But after getting into their apartment, Heather and Hannah had lots of catching up to do. Meanwhile, Greg showed me his favorite new video game. On his XBox 360, we started playing the Zombie killer mode on Call of Duty Black Ops. Hours later, at around 4am, we finally went to bed. The Zombies mode is addicting. You start out in a house, a few zombies come after you hungry for your flesh, you kill them, the next stage begins, a few more zombies come only to taste a second death dealt by Nathan and Greg. More zombies come each time and they get stronger. What can I say? I'm a sucker for zombie killing!

View from their apt on 26th floor 

After some much needed sleep, the next day we headed out to see some of the city. Our first stop was Arab street. Full of people and a big Mosque, Arab street provided us lunch at a quaint little Moroccan restaurant.

Busy street, not that many Arabs

Beautiful girls in front of a Singaporean Mosque 

Next we took a cab to China town and toured a Buddhist Temple.

You might say, Heather and Hannah look...Buddhacious! 

Heather and Hannah had to wear wraps around their legs so they didn't offend anyone with their hotness. 

In the end, Heather chose a green one

There were all kinds of rooms with information about Buddhist history, tradition, faith system and culture. There were sacred spaces and  Buddha statues all over, history or tradition was attached to everything we saw. It was really quite awe inspiring at times.

Top floor of the temple had an awesome garden

At one point, we were in what I call the holy of holies, a room with a sectioned off area where we couldn't go. In even the outer room, no pictures were allowed. It was like the shrine part or something. I'm really not sure, because as I was sitting in awe and reverence of this sacred Buddhist space, contemplating the Divine as Buddhists experience it, I started chuckling uncontrollably. Because, once I started thinking of it I couldn't stop. Like a little kid I was cracking up in the holy place. Very irreverent for this reverend. All I could picture were a bunch of flesh addict zombies tearing about the corner coming after us! And me having to thunder gun them all. That's the last time Greg keeps me up late playing zombies.

Hannah and I standing next to the main worship area

Outside the temple, we treated ourselves to an ice cream sandwich. Not like what you'd expect in the old US of A, this was a slab of ice cream and a regular piece of bread. Actually, it was weird rainbow flavored bread, but it was regular sliced bread. It was a little strange but still enjoyable.

To insure we'd be able to walk the next day, we called it quits and headed back to the apartment to learn how to play Settlers of Catan. I won!

We went out to the American Club to eat dinner, and as soon as we got back, jet lag set in. Heather and I went into our room just to put stuff down and take off shoes, etc., but ended up crashing hard and didn't move till the next morning. The 16-hour time difference was taking us down for the count.

Day 2 in Singapore:

After much needed sleep and a morning full of zombie slaying with Greg we ventured out to a place called Newton's in search of lunch. It's like an outdoor food mall. Dozen's of little food places lined the walls with all kinds of people jockeying to get us to eat from their establishment.

One of the strips at Newton's

 Luckily, Greg and Hannah knew what to do, because only on our second day, we were still a bit lost.

Our hosts

We ordered drinks from one place and food from another. Greg ordered an assortment of all kinds of delicious yummies. Luckily on the prawns they saw the potential tourist price scam coming before too late.

Our spread of food

One of the highlights of this trip was eating. Sometimes it was as if we went on an eating trip we gave so much attention to the authentic Asian cuisine. (In best Homer voice) Mmmmm.....nathan love Chinese fooood....

I believe we're both having some Mi Goreng in this pic

That afternoon consisted of some more slaying of zombies and another game of Settlers, in which I think Heather took first.  For dinner, it was kabobs grilled out by the pool.

At the pool side grill

Again, jet lag didn't let us stay up very late this evening either; however, none of us wanted to since we had to board a plane the next morning bound for Bali, Indonesia.

Pool area at night

Check back for pics of Bali, biking, snorkeling and Nathan catching his first wave on a surf board!

Soaking the dogs

Halibut Fishing in Homer

I finally got around to posting some pictures of our halibut fishing trip from this summer.

We went to Homer, AK for a long weekend. The plan was to deep sea fish on Friday, then salmon fish on Saturday in Soldatna, AK on our way back to Anchorage.

Much like Seward, Homer is right on the water and is surrounded by gorgeous mountains. It's about a 4 hour drive.

View from the Homer Spit on Friday

Our back-of-the-truck campsite

When we showed up to board our fishing boat on Friday morning, we found out that the trip had been cancelled due to rough seas. No boats were going out. The earliest they could take us was in two days on Sunday. So, we spent the rest of the day sleeping, relaxing and checking out beautiful Homer.

You can see the Spit out in the bay in this pic

On Saturday, we drove north to Saldotna to fish for some salmon on the Kenai River.

Here's Heather, looking very Alaskan

Unfortunately, we only caught one fish that day. But it was a whopper! Not a salmon, but a cod.

Nathan's catch of the day!

Below is a better picture to get some scale.

Proud fisherman

Sunday finally came and we boarded our boat. It was a two hour ride out to open water where the fish were. There 16 people fishing on our boat plus 1 captain and 2 crew members.

Back of the boat where most the action happened

With so many people fishing all at once, at the beginning things were a little crazy--lines got tangled, people got twisted up, tripping over one another and two people once caught the same fish.

To get to the halibut, we had to let out line out all the way to the ocean floor, which was about 300 feet deep. This took about two minutes, maybe. Then we waited...but not long. On average, the wait time between getting your line to the bottom and feeling a fish nibbling at it was about 30 seconds. Then the hard work began. It took at least 10 minutes, or more to reel the fish back up, and our arms were aching.

We look just like Deadliest Catch!   Sort of...

Current Alaska law allows each person to keep two halibut per day. You could keep which ever fish you wanted, but after you decided to keep the second, everything else you caught had to be thrown back.

Heather, with one of her catches that she threw back

Average fish size that day was around 12-15 lbs. The one in the above picture is more like 10-11 lbs. The deck hands would take these off the hook and throw them back without even asking you if you wanted to keep it. One lady almost smacked this guy, saying that was the biggest fish she ever caught, and it was hard work getting it up here. He just looked at her and laughed.

One of my catches

By the end, Heather had chosen to keep two fish of about average size. Arms tired, she went into the cabin to rest after keeping the second, though she did later come back out to catch a few just for fun.

I was stubborn and fished the entire time we had. The two I kept weighed 23lbs and 21lbs, the 2nd and 3rd biggest on the boat. One lucky guy reeled in a 50 pounder. It was a lot of fun to watch.

On the way back, the sorted and cleaned all the fish. The bigger ones they kept in tact for pictures back at the dock.

Below is a video of one of the deck hands cleaning a fish. Amazingly, he does the entire thing in about 45 seconds.

Our group and some of the fishies!

Our trophy catch

We ended up with 45 lbs of halibut meat in the end. Mailed some to NC and stocked our freezer with the rest. This something we're definitely doing again next year.