February 24, 2018 – Bali, Indonesia

With a thriving arts scene, lush beauty and magnificent seaside vistas, Bali has long beckoned travelers in search of ultimate beauty. The island’s rich Hindu culture has forever held that gods live in all natural things—from mountains to streams to pebbles on the beach—lending the island a peaceful air.

However, that is not the part of Bali that we saw on our tour. As we came into port we did come by some beaches with lots of people doing water sports.

As we docked they had an Indonesian band and dancers on the pier, though we did not see the dancers dance.

Our tour was to Denpasar, the capital of the province of Bali. This inviting city has a rich history dating to its days as center of the Badung Empire, which once controlled the southern region of Bali. The first thing we saw was the enormous Bajra Sandhi, a monument to the Balinese people’s struggle. The memorial was named for the bajra, the bell used by Hindu priests as they read from the Vedas, the earliest Hindu sacred writings, at religious ceremonies.

Right across from the park and the monument was a Hindu temple. We were met at the entrance by one of the priests, the female in white. Every Hindu leaves offerings for the gods everywhere. Here there is one at the entrance. That is our guide pointing to it. The two gentlemen in the temple in white are also priests.

After we entered our guide showed us the way they would sit and pray. The men would sit cross legged and the women sit with their legs to the side.

These are a few pictures of the grounds of the temple.

We then walked down the street to the Bali Museum.

In the museum, there were three rooms. The first was filled with things about their culture. Mainly it was the costumes that they wear in their performances.

The second one was filled with artifacts of the culture.

And the third one was a very small room with one exhibit in the middle. However, the statues and stonework were really interesting.

We then went to a market to spend some money.

Then it was back to the ship. Here are some pictures of what we saw along the drive back.

When we got back it was raining, but there was one more market right there at the market.

Tomorrow is a sea day, then to Semarang, Indonesia.