R. Doug Wicker's Blog, page 21

Fun Photo Friday — Fun Photo Friday — Bali Favorites 3

Ursula About to Abscond with an Apple (just kidding)

Today is part three of five Fun Photo Fridays featuring Bali favorites:

Слава Україні! (Slava Ukraini!)

Bali; Pura Taman Ayun Part 1

Pura Taman Ayun

Monday’s article transported you to the sights of a Balinese Hindu water temple. Today I’m going to show you a Balinese Hindu temple containing a garden. Pura Taman Ayun, which translates to Temple (pura) of the Beautiful Garden, is the second largest such site in Bali. It covers 17 acres/6.9 hectares. Because there is so much to see here, I’ll be covering it further in next week’s Monday and Wednesday articles. We’ll start today with an image of the water feature here. This l...

Indonesia — Bali; Pura Tirta Empul

Pura Tirta Empul

Our next destination on this day was yet another temple. This time it’s Pura Tirta Empul, a Balinese Hindu water temple located just north of Tampaksiring. And, yes, this temple site is ancient, dating back to 962 when it was established around a natural spring used for ritual bathing.

The ritual bath at Tirta Empul

Here are the sights to see and this destination:

Слава Україні! (Slava Ukraini!)

Fun Photo Friday — Bali Favorites 2

Googly Eyes

Today is Part 2 of 5 in a series of Fun Photo Friday favorites of Bali.

Bali Color Grotesquerie Shading the Roof Mildred the Monkey Decked Out with Flowers Guarding the Temple Door

Слава Україні! (Slava Ukraini!)

80th Anniversary of D-Day — Pointe du Hoc and the 2nd Ranger Battalion

D-Day — Pointe du Hoc

Indonesia — Bali; Mountain Views and SOMEBODY CALL OSHA!

Bali Panorama

Our next stop was a café for a quick bathroom break and some stunning views of Bali mountains. But right next door was something else that caught my attention — a hotel under construction. I’m sure these workers are experts who seldom get hurt, but how many safety violations can you count? For instance, check out those ladders being used as planks upon which to walk:

And take a look at how concrete is transported from sluice to column:

With no safety harnesses, I mi...

Indonesia — Bali; Luwak Coffee (more Cat-Pooh-Chino)

Like Senarang, Bali has Cat-Pooh-Chino as well

You may recall that back on 15 April I posted an article on Luwak Coffee (a.k.a., cat-pooh-chino) on our visit to the central portion of the Indonesian island of Java. As a refresher, kopi luwak (also known as civet coffee) is made from partially digested coffee beans fed to the Asian palm civet. Hence the humorous name of Cat-Pooh-Chino. Today’s cuppu comes from Satria Luwak Coffee located about a two-mile/3.2km drive north of Gunung Kawi.

Sa...

Fun Photo Friday — Bali Favorites 1

Rice Paddy Panorama

Today I present the first of five Fun Photo Fridays featuring Bali favorites:

Слава Україні! (Slava Ukraini!)

Indonesia — Bali; Pura Gunung Kawi and Tampaksiring

Pura Gunung Kawi — A World Heritage Site

About an hour north of Benoa Cruise Port lies an acheological site called Gunung Kawi Temple. It’s also known by another name — The Valley of The Balinese King — and it dates back to the 11th century. To get to this World Heritage site you’ll travel to the village of Tampaksiring:

Tampaksiring

Now, I’m going to have to apologize because I don’t seem to have any photos of the actual temples here. I can only surmise that Ursula and I opted to not ma...

Indonesia — Bali; Arriving in Benoa

Benoa, Bali, Indonesia

Another day, another port in Indonesia for Holland America’s MS Volendam. Today I present to you the first of five weeks’ worth of articles on the island of Bali beginning with our arrival to the Benoa Cruise International Terminal on Tanjung Benoa peninsula in the Lesser Sunda Islands in the Java Sea. As usual, our ship was made to feel welcome:

Welcome to Bali

And we were warmly greeted by Balinese dancers, of course:

Balinese Dancers

Time to head out of the...