Bali - Indonesia

This friendly fellow was in Chinatown in Semarang.

     Today we departed the ship in Bali and linked up with a relative of one of our servers.  We both like her and knowingly paid top dollar for a car and driver.

     Best intentions, but a lackluster individual.  Anh tried to set him up with a carload to maximize his return, but he apparently didn't understand.  So we kept with our original deal and just the two of us hopped in for a ride.

     We had expressed our lack of interest in temples, but after a forty five minute drive, we discovered that's where we were going;  A Hindu temple.






     We walked around the grounds looking at ghouls, gargoyles, and goblins designed to protect the sanctity of the place.  On our way out I had a beer and Anh ate a mess of durian.

 I don't know if there's anything quite as doofy looking as me in a dress.

















Here is a more revealing look

So the deal with this temple is it's for people who want to cleanse themselves of bad habits.  At least that's what my driver said.  There is a pool with numerous spouts dispensing water under which one puts their body for cleansing.  I restrained myself from my bad habit of sarcasm and disrespect.  I'll confess here that the longer I was there, the more irritated I got.  Jesus is worthy of all praise and yet people pray to deaf, dumb and blind idols.

I suppose a positive take away is that people are mindful of their sinful state and sense a need or cleansing.

     So on our way back to the ship we stopped and both of us had a one-hour deep tissue massage.  It was wonderful.  I had to fight to stay awake because I didn't want to miss any of it.  I kept looking over at Anh, and I thought she was sleeping, but she denies it.

     So now I need to attend to some of the activities that require access.  Checking statements, returning emails, etc.  Tomorrow the ship sails to Komodo island where the dragons live.  I think we will stay aboard and relax.  Neither of us is excited about the critters.

Be blessed