World Cruise: Bali and Komodo Island, Indonesia

The nation of Indonesia is made up of over 17,000 islands scattered over an area about 3,000 miles long from the island of Sumatra in the west to Papua in the east. It surprised us to learn that the population of Indonesia is around 240 million people making it the 4th most populated country in the world behind China, India and the United States. We arrived at the small island of Bali on Sunday, March 2nd (Saturday, March 1st Florida time). Bali is only 87 miles long and 50 miles wide, but the population is over 3.5 million people, making it very densely populated. The climate is very hot and humid. The island population is predominantly Hindu-Dahrma religion which is a combination of Hindu, Buddhist and ancestral worship. Another cultural trait of the Balinese is the importance of art to them. Art is a big part of their everyday life and they are very proud of their visual artwork and their performance art.

We spent the morning on a 4 hour tour of the bustling City of Denpasar near the port where we were docked. Most of the people in the City ride motorcycles. We saw families of 4 on motorcycles. We noticed that the parents wore helmets, but the children did not. Anyway, the traffic was chaotic with so many motorcycles flying by along with the cars and buses.

Our first stop was to visit a palace in town which was an impressive compound that included a private temple for worship. The wood carved doors and windows and the details of the statues were incredible works of art. Next, we visited a public temple in the center of town and an adjacent museum displaying Balinese cultural artifacts. While we were there we saw a young couple that was engaged to be married and they were dressed in their wedding outfits and posing for pictures. Apparently, it is the trend in Bali for young couples to stage sort of a pre-wedding ceremony where all of the wedding pictures are made a few weeks before the actual wedding day. It was a treat for us to see their colorful outfits and artful make-up. Another stop that we made was to a crowded, smelly multi-level market in the center of downtown Denpasar. After dodging the motorcycles and the aggressive street peddlers, we entered the market to have a look around and immediately hooked up with our own personal shopper who attached herself to us to escort us through the crowded market. She would not take "no, thanks" for an answer. Finally, we faked an interest in seeing items along an aisle to the right, then when she turned right we quickly darted to the left and escaped down an exit aisle and got out of there. That style of shopping was way too intense for us!!

That evening Seabourn treated the world cruisers to a special Balinese event on a beautiful property in Benoa. We were greeted by Balinese hostesses offering us cold drinks and snacks of local foods. They wore colorful sarongs and fragrant frangipani flowers. Local dancers performed a welcoming dance for us on the grounds. We were then seated and served a multi-course dinner called a "rijsttafel" that was delicious and festive. Local dancers performed a Balinese interpretive dance for us. In the end they invited us to dance with them which we are pleased to report was not captured on film. Everyone loved this beautiful display of the Balinese culture.

The next day we left at noon. Many of us were up on the front deck to watch the sail away which was quite a sight. Much like the traffic on the downtown streets, the harbor traffic was crazy with everything from jet skis, ferries, Chinese junks, kayaks and parasailing boats flying around the harbor cutting in front of our big ship. We were very happy to be the on the biggest vessel in the chaotic harbor that day.

Bali

Jero Kuta Palace in Denpasar

Beautiful architecture at the Palace

Offering at a private temple

Public Hindu Temple

Bridal party costume

Hostess with Exotic Drinks - Yummy!

Beautiful Balinese costumes

Balinese Welcome Dance

Young boy performing Warrior Dance

We sailed overnight to tiny Komodo Island (population 1,700). We were up on the front deck just after 6:00 am to watch the spectacular sail into the bay. We were the only vessel in the area and it was completely quiet, the total opposite of our sail away from Bali the day before. There were little out-islands jutting out of the water all around us. It was so picturesque and serene. The entire island is a national park devoted to the preservation of the komodo dragons that live there. They are an endangered species of large monitor lizard. Visitors are only allowed to come ashore with a guided tour. We did a guided hike through the park to see these wondrous creatures which are descended from dinosaurs. There are about 3,000 of them on the island. The can grow up to 10 feet in length and weigh up to 150 pounds. They live to be about 50 years old. They eat deer, wild hogs and water buffalo that roam the island. On our tour, we saw 7 komodo dragons. It was thrilling.