Batik in Jogjakarta

 Sunrise at Mt. Bromo

 Sunrise at Permuteran, North West Bali

 Burubudur Temple, Java, Rabbit sacrifices himself to feed the beggar woman.

 Praying Hindu frog in Ubud.

 Bounty of the animals in praise of Buddha.

 Buddha, 3 of 505 statues.

 Cupolas holding Buddha statues, Burubudur, Java.

 We are HUGE in Indonesia!

 Water buffalo ready for sacrifice at a funeral, Keta Kesu, Sulawesi.

 Funeral reception strucutures, Keta Kesu, Sulawesi.

 Rice-granaries Tana Toraja, Sulawesi.

 Funeral Procession, including pig offering.

 Funeral Procession with war dancer.

 Funeral reception pavilion.

 Rice terraces, Tana Toraja.

The Honeymooners.

We are now on our third leg of the trip. We flew from Jogjakarta to Makassar (known as Ujung Pandang back in the day)and have made out way north halfway up South Sulawesi. Tomorrow we pass through Palopo, my old stomping grounds and then up to Tana Toraja in the hill country above Palopo. Our final days in Jogjakarta were wonderful. This is the cultural capital of Java and we saw as much as we could In two days. Had a wonderful tour of the sultan's palace. Yes Jogja still has a sultan. It is a special region and the sultan is automatically the governor of the region. That afternoon we visited Prambanan, the tallest Hindu temple in the world, built about 850AD. Our guide had very little info about it, which was unfortunate, and somewhat typical of how much of the week went with him, but the temples in the compound are so stunning that you they still leave one spellbound even without detailed descriptions. but we did learn that there is a lot of balance and harmony in the design of the temples, to reflect and uphold the harmony and balance of man, God and nature. (there was a movie in the visitor's center) After dusk we had an unforgettable dinner of traditional Indonesian buffet outside looking over the floodlit temples and then saw a performance of the Ramayana Ballet. The theater is also outdoors and situated so that the temples soar above the stage in the distance. And halfway through the production the full moon (well, one day past) rose from directly behind the tallest temple and over the stage. The dance is like an opera, telling a part of the epic Hindu Ramayana tale. Enchanting gamelan music plays the entire time and the dancers glide arou d the stage as if in a trance. What a wonderful night. We got up the next morning to see the other large World Heritage site in Jogja--the Borobodur Buddhist temple, built about the same time as Prambanan. It is the largest single Buddhist temple in the world (the Angkor Wat complex is bigger though; how do I know this? We got smart and hired a local guide, who was great). We topped the day off with some shopping om Jogja's main street, and then saw another performance of a part of the Ramayana, this time in "wayang kulit" form. This is shadow puppets, again with a full gamelan orchestra. It was great fun. The last several mornings we have been up at 4am to catch temples at sunrise, or this morning to get our plane. At the airport I was once again reminded that things in this country are not always what they seem to be. When we entered the country, we had to pass all our bags through scanning machines, only to see on the other end that no one was paying any attention to the monitor. At the Jogja airport, ther were two separate screenings, but I swear no official was paying any attention to the machines. Further, we were never asked for any ID as we checked in or went through the boarding gate. They did make sure, however, that we each paid our $3 airport fee. Like all other cities here, Makassar is huge compared to 30 years ago, but we got out of town fast and headed north. One thing is for sure, the roads have not improved much! But the countryside is beautiful with rice fields, cacao, kapok, candle fruit, and of course the ubiquitous bananas and coconut palms. This new guide is great and seems to know everything and every smart way to inform us about where we are. When we get to Palopo, it will be possible that Steve does not get too misty--he keeps insisting it is not anything great to look at. Still, his Bahasa Indonesia is bubbling up to the surface as we approach his old home town, and he is recalling some very interesting anecdotes.

Spices, tea and volcanos. Java is full of amazing things. Very different in many ways from Bali. People everywhere, but at least we are not tripping over tourists with every step. In fact, our first hotel was eerily empty; just one other pair of travelers there. We can't figure ou whether the tourism business is down (didn't seem so in Bali) or if we are just off the beaten path. Could be a bit of both. We had a great tour of a spice plantation. Vanilla, cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, coffee, coconut and a dairy. All at one place. If there is water, the land is used intensely. Even where it seems impossible to farm, on the slopes of the mountinas leading up to Bromo, we saw miles upon miles of neatly tended, practically vertical, fields of vegetables. Also toured a tea plantation and factory. Three very gracious women gave us the tour with a great sense of pride, reminding me of what I found so agreeable among the people here many years ago. Yesterday, we saw the sunrise over Mount Bromo. Still an active volcano puffing away, along with its neighbor Mount Semer. We first took a jeep up a vertiginous road to a high observation post to see all of the peaks puffing away in the pink sunrise, then went down to the base of Mt. Bromo,s cone and hiked up to its rim where we could look down to the bubbling sulfurous liquids below. There was a full eruption two years ago with dusty lava residue remaining everywhere. We are in Malang today, driving to Solo, then will spend several days in Jogjakarta. Steve

I came. I saw. I conquered Bali. Well! At least the roads. When we made our plans for this trip, my recollection was that the roads here were good quality and the traffic was tame. But I would not drive in Java. To congested. Crazy drivers. Well, now I realize it has been 30 years since I was last here and Bali is the new Java! So I'm driving a mini size passenger van, stick shift with right hand drive--they drive on the left here. What a site. Me. Impeding for space on the road with millions os motorcycles, overloaded trucks, and a few cars. I got my bearings pretty quickly, bit it was Helena who was looking down the steep cliff as we were navigating a very narrow road with two way traffic along the edge of ancient volcanic craters! What an adventure. Something I can look back on and say, "I did it!" but would rather not do again. And I won't have to as we will have drivers for the next two legs of our trip. Bali is as beautiful as I remember it, despite the traffic, and the hoards of tourists. The town of Ubud was our second stop after overnighting not far from the airport near the beach. Ubud is lush, so green, and is in many ways the cultural center of Bali. It was a sleepy village 30years years ago and now is cheek by jowl with tourists. But in typical Balinese fashion, you only have to get off the main roads to see the beauty of the place. We walked through several villages, stopped to listen at a kids music class where per-teens were practicing the gamelan music that we had hear the night before at the dance that Helena mentioned. The kids were amazing. Then we took another walk in the highland town of Munduk. The quiet of the villages that we walked through reminded me very much of the little town of Talisayan in the Philippines where I lived as a Peace Corps Volunteer. Just the wind through the trees, roosters crowing, occasional conversation coming from the front steps of small huts. So beautiful! But as Helena said to me! "I can see how you sometimes went a little stir crazy." she was right, but these were sights and sounds that that are so peaceful and not to be experienced at home. The closest thing might be backpacking in the backcountry outside of Steamboat Springs! Now we are on the north shore of Bali where the tourist seldom come to. We have a day to sit by the beach! Swim and snorkel, and watch the final od the European football championships this afternoon! Go Spain! Tomorrow we get picked up by a guide and driver for two days of exploring the volcanic mountains of East Java, and then on to the big cities of Solo and Jogjakarta for more music, dances, and the ancient Hindu and Buddhist temples. Our accommodations have been wonderful, cottage style resorts. Food is great and plentiful. We took a bit of a risk in using an Internet travel service. But so far there has not been a single glitch and all is well. The only "problem" is that my Blackberry won't charge up here. So I can't read my work email. Too bad. I guess this will be a real vacation. The iPad charges up fine though (thank you Apple) so we can get gmail and post these blogs. So we are not completely out of touch. That's it for now. I am off to the beach! Steve

Please quote Steve as "having conquered" Bali's roads. the drive from Ubud to Munduk was easily the most harrowing experience for each of us. check the map to see the ridge that he drove , which was possibly the easy part, before the sharp descent to Puri Lumbung cottages in Mundul. a real white -knuckle ride but when we arrived, how utterly beautiful. still unable to get to a place that allows me to load pictures, but we were at an elevation of about 3,000 ft., overlooking rice paddies, coffee, clove, vanilla and coca trees, and could see the coast in the distance, on which the sun set last night.

our waterfall hike this morning took us along the trails and roads that wind through all those trees and our guide pointed out so many wonderful plants and spices, and flowers as we walked for a couple of hours before heading to this town of Permuteran. in the absence of our own pictures, I refer you to the Web page that may show the beach we were on today. WWW.balitamansari.com. When we pulled into the parking area, Steve was pretty happy that it was the last driving he will have to do while we are in Indonesia. as the locals all keep saying "hati-hati". ("careful!") We stay here for two nights, and will walk ( of course!) swim, snorkel and sleep.

This has really been a magical week, with each place we see more surprising and thrilling than the last.

"This was a really small, sleepy village!" Steve was amazed at the changes to Ubud, and the hassle in driving through the main streets, with the traffic coming from all directions, and no place to stop, park, or steer clear. we parked the car 36 hours ago, and have walked everywhere, or taken the shuttle since. the pictures are going to have to wait another day or so, since the computer does not like my USB drive. pity, too, since everywhere I turn is dazzling. Bali is the home of many many artists, both painters ans sculptors, to say nothing of the dancers. We have been fortunate to see the studios of several painters, and every corner has temples and shrines with elaborate carvings on them, and then last night we watched a dance performance featuring magic monkeys. Today we walked around on the trekking path and went past rice paddies, and walked along the hilly ridge between two rivers, with agreat view of the valleys and the palm trees that line the hillsides. Plenty of gentle rain to cool us down.