Japan for Xmas & New Years (part 1)

January 7th, 2012 - Happy New Year!

hey there all...happy 2012...i hope you had a great holiday season...things here in china are getting a bit crazy with the chinese new year two weeks away....this is the biggest holiday of the chinese year and many things are being readied....the cops are out in force, cracking down on everything so they can make some money in time for the holidays....the red lanterns are being hung everywhere....red envelopes that are used to spread holiday cheer are popping up in all of the stores...and dragons are literally everywhere (it is going to be year of the dragon - water dragon i was told today).....i am sticking around for my first chinese new year, because i hear it is insane....all of the fireworks and such.....


as for my holiday season, i traveled to japan....a place i never really thought i would visit....but stars aligned and my good friends the watts, who lived there previously, were headed back and invited me along for the ride to osaka, kyoto and nara.....i also got a chance to visit my friend randy in tokyo....so it was a terrific trip and i think i experienced a wonderful aspect of japan with people who know it and love it.....

the trip started in osaka and ended in tokyo....things you should know about japan...it is waaaaaaaaay clean....you can eat off the sidewalks....its quiet - they say no talking on your cell phones in the metro...and no one does....they utilize space like no ones business....wait til you see what they do with toilets.....they have old world tradition, right next to new world conveniences and there are vending machines on every corner....they recycle everything...but create the hugest amount of trash i have ever seen with all of their packaging and fresh food that has to be eaten the day it is created (think sushi)....they follow the rules and are so very polite....and believe in personal space - but at rush hour, the metro is crazy....and finally....new years is NOT the best time to visit tokyo....it is a holiday all the japanese spend with family and friends....sure, you can find crazy times in disney tokyo or in clubs, but most people visit shrines for the new year and hang with their families eating a lot of food.....below are the pictures....i hope you enjoy the ride.....there will be a part 2....just too many things to see and experience....

this first shot comes from osaka....this is a mall - outdoors, but covered...on a sunday night....the section of town we were in was shinsaibashi....and its where people go on the weekends and in the evening to see and be seen....the outfits alone were amazing....before xmas many were dressed in santa and reindeer gear, even though xmas is not really a holiday in japan...many girls wear short skirts or shorts, thigh high socks (which they glue in place) and platforms....it was crazy...and many of them looked so cold....

in the middle of shinsaibashi is this huge set of neon....called the running man....it is right next to one of the canals that runs through here and is a spot most people meet at....these signs cover the entire side of a set of buildings....huge and cool....

osaka has a castle...it is surrounded by a moat and is in the middle of the city....in the shot above you can see the moat and one of the outer buildings of this place....

and here is the castle, with a dragon in front of it...in japan, they are prepping for the new year as well....we did not go into the castle, but it was stunning to look at...plus, right next to this was a time capsule that had been buried in the 90s and was going to stay buried for another 500 years...it was cool to see...

also located inside of the castle's moat and walls is a shinto shrine....the day we went to the castle there was a japanese wedding happening....we walked up and they were in the shrine and then we waited for them to come out....as you can see, the bride and groom are traditionally dressed in wedding kimonos....after the ceremony was over, everyone at the wedding and the bride and groom took a huge group photo....it was cool to see them get organized and such....many of the guests had on traditional kimonos as well

one of the things we of course ate was sushi.....and we went to this conveyor belt place to have it....many of the offerings were things i have had before...but there were a few things that were different....they had this one very purple, almost electric purple, eggplant sushi....didn't try that one...plus they had tuna and mayo - like a tuna sandwich....didn't have that one either...they also had a tofu one that was unlike anything i had before....very fresh....unagi - bbq eel - was there and is still one of my favorites....yummy!!!!

greg and i went to kyoto for a day....wow - what a beautiful place....we did a lot of walking, and saw much of the old world and new world in this town....we wandered down to one of the biggest shrines and on our way there we passed through some smaller ones....for every shinto shrine you first come across a water spring that is being used to cleanse hands and quench thirsts before entering the shrines....i liked this one because it was a dragon...you can see the ladle style spoons that are upside down on the bamboo...you use these to collect the water to purify your hands and your soul....

this was another shrine we passed by and i had to take a picture of the garden....the japanese really do have amazing gardens and they are everywhere...if someone has land their house or apartment is on, they have some form of garden there....everything is sculpted and in place....just beautiful....

the main shrine we were walking to was the Toji temple, which was having an end-of-the-year flea market....when we reached there we saw they were making takoyaki - fried/grilled octopus balls....you can see them being made above....holy cow - they are amazing and addictive....there are bite sized pieces of octopus in these dough balls and they are grilled to perfection...you put this brown, thick sauce on them, plus mayonnaise and bonito - fish flakes - i do NOT like the bonito....mainly because when they are put on hot food, they act as if they are alive....gross!!!! but the takoyaki - yummy!!!! and on this trip i found out there is a place in shanghai that makes it...woot!

from the toji shrine we headed to the golden pavilion (kinkaku-ji) - and this place was incredible....you can see the pavilion above....and the reflection was the thing that really got me...loved it! this is a zen, buddhist temple and is said to be covered in gold leaf....when the sun peaked out as we were wandering around the grounds, it sure shone as if it was real gold....just an amazing site....world heritage as a matter of fact....breath taking!

on the beautiful grounds of the golden pavilion there are many different statue shrines, with metal bowls in front of them that people try to through coins into, as you can see from all of the coins on the ground in the picture...greg tried...but nothing made it in....you have to wonder, just how old are these statues...incredible....

the two shots above are the last two from the beautiful town of kyoto...the heian shrie....this shire was huge and had a lot of empty space...i have done some research on it and found out this was the way the zen master of the time said it needed to be built...lots of big open space....i think they succeeded....we loved the bright orange color of the different buildings of this shrine....plus the tree above it is a tree filled with wishes and fortunes...one of the things you can buy at all shrines is a writing of wisdom....or a poem or something sage-like written down....what most people do with these written pieces is tie them on a tree, bush or other wooden structure in front of the shrine, so that they will come true....what would you wish for with your written words??? i really liked that they used the small tree in front of this shrine for the wishes....
 

we also visited another town called nara...known for its deer population, that is sustained by all of the tourists i think....and for it having the largest wooden structure on the planet there....on our walk to that structure we watched the crazy deer and got some sweet potatoes from the lady above....i loved the thing she was cooking them in and boy were they perfect for a cold afternoon....
 

the picture above is of that largest wooden structure in the world....and it houses a buddha inside...it is an incredible structure and located in the center of a park with amazing grounds....but what i have determined is that gardens and parks of japan are all beautiful....they make them that way....

  

this is the buddha on the inside of the structure...it is enormous - called a daibutsu - or big buddha of nara  - it stands around 15 meters high - which is about 45 feet high - now that's a big buddha....and you have to love the serene look on its face....love it....

 

outside of the buddha temple was this walkway filled with people feeding the deer...now the deer, if you ran out of food (these cracker things you could buy), would chase you and head butt you around until you got away....they were pretty aggressive....this one guy dressed as a monk, offering to read fortunes, had some deer come up to him and they would not leave him alone....this did not help business, but it certainly helped for a kodak moment....

as i said above...new years is a time when people get together with family....its also a time when all of the japanese ladies buy a new kimono....they wear them when visiting shrines, going to weddings or big festivals and at the beginning of each year....these ladies were dressed for the shrine...i love that the deer is chillin' next to them too....
 

here's santa at the osaka aquarium - it was a girl santa and you can see a ray swimming past her on the upper right of the picture....it was crowded, but the perfect way to spend xmas in osaka....

somewhere above i mentioned the vending machines and how they are everywhere....that is literally the truth...and here you see some of the offerings of them....they have hot and cold liquids in them...and when i say hot, i mean steamin hot coffee with milk and sugar...i became a bit addicted to having a hot milk tea before bed....you can even get a hot corn soup....a brilliant idea for when you are walking around outside on a cold day....which many city people do, because they live in such small apartments.... much of their time is spent out of the house, meeting with friends and entertaining them....many go out for food because they have such small kitchens....
 

this last shot is of me with udon soup....yummy!!! you can buy noodles everywhere and ramen, soba and udon are the main choices....good enough to slurp!!!!  bon apetit!!!!

okay....so there you have part 1....i am hoping to have part 2 out sometime in the next two weeks....it will be of tokyo....an amazing city in oh so many ways....it was a great vacation and i can't believe how fast it flew by....school starts up again on monday, but only for two weeks and then we get another week off for chinese new year....remember, its the year of the dragon....can't wait to send out an update filled with the sounds and smells of fireworks, fireworks and more fireworks.....crazy!!!!

again, i hope everyone had a great holiday season, no matter what you celebrate or where and i wish you and your families a very happy new year (2012)...i will wish you a happy chinese new year when it happens....oh yeah....if you have any questions, please don't hesitate....

peace out and have a fab day :)
dani   

China Update #3

December 4th, 2001 - It's beginning to look a lot like christmas in a town that doesn't really celebrate it - wild!

Hi there folks and happy holiday season to all! Sorry I have fallen quite behind in my postings, but I do hope to get this one out and one more before my big trip to Japan for the winter break - woot!!! the pictures below are from lots of different things from over the past few months...with of course some funny food and chingrish (chinese-english) pictures....lovin it....


the holiday season has started here and i had a fun holiday brunch with some folks last week in a place called the rabbit hole - was designed after alice in wonderland....plus i sang at a swanky hotel's tree lighting ceremony....the room we warmed up in was amazing and guarded by a full size king kong who growled every time you walked past....as we went to this room we passed prada and gucci and chanel and cartier stores....and in the driveway were rolls royces, bentleys and ferrarris.....just incredible...and i was there....go figure....so the lighting of xmas trees and decorations everywhere have started....plus chinese new year is just around the corner...i have decided to stay in town for this and have been told it is mind blowing....so i figure i should do this just once.....

okay....on with the pictures....the first set of shots is actually from a water town here, outside of shanghai, called hangzhou (pronounced hong-jzo)....which is where one of the school campuses of my school is located...its about two and half hours by bus and 35 minutes by bullet train....crazy that! but the three school campuses decided to have a raft down the river day and it was hilarious to watch us....as you will see from the shots....also included in these pictures are shots from the fabric market - where you can have anything from fabric made....no joke...and for cheap too....UN day at school....one of my favorite things about international schools....random shots from shanghai...and lastly funny things and food things from the past few months....enjoy....

in this shot above you see water buffaloes taking a break from pulling the carts of people to the starting point of the rafting excursion...it was still quite warm out so this helped them keep cool....our particular water buffalo decided he could race our cart with another group's cart....we ended up in some bamboo and knocked a bunch of the grove down...it was hilarious....nothing like a crazy chinese driver....

this is one of the raft drivers....we paid him off at the beginning of the ride to make sure we were in the thick of the water fights....we also gave him a beer and then we gave him more money at the end for being awesome.....we were soaked and laughing the whole time and he took it in stride.....we even got boarded by another raft...and almost sank....what a crazy ride....

this is our bamboo raft from another boat....i am seated in the middle with a yellow hat....what a crazy bunch of people we had....and as you can see, all of us had water guns and were armed and ready....can you say soaked....a few cameras and such were messed up and it took people a few days to fully dry out.....it was awesome....
 

this is a shot down river of a few boats....getting ready to fire of course....the waterway was really shallow, but quite clean, although rule number one was make sure you do not get water in your mouth....parasites would be a probable result.....a few folks did get sick....but nothing an international traveler couldn't handle....

one last shot from this crazy day....as you can see full scale water war....we even started shooting people on the bridge...hence why most have vacated the area....it was insane....there was even a wedding by the waterside....people tried to hit them with water, but they were just out of reach...i guess its something that happens quite frequently with this being a watertown....

onto the fabric market...all types available and you can literally have anything made...costumes, clothes, jackets, pjs (because everyone in shanghai wears their pjs out to the store - no joke), hats, winter wear....i have gotten quite a few things made and will go back again for more now that i have a tailor that knows what i like....yep...my own tailor....how insane is that....its a married couple...he sews, she sells and she always gives "best price" to her return customers :) oh the fun of haggling....love it!!!!

this is a typical store front....everywhere there are styles to see and cloth to try....if one stall does not have what you want, they always have a friend just down the row who might and then you work with them both....i think its a few main families that own all the stores and therefore they make all of the money....just incredible...and everyone goes here....i mean everyone...chinese and expat alike...where else can you get a hand made suit, with shirts for under $100.....so weekends are insane.....

i love UN day...its the one time i get to see where all of my kids are from...we have around 50 different countries represented by our student body....with the largest number of kids from korea...US comes up second, sweden comes up third and the netherlands is fourth....no croats or romanians though....two kids from ecuador....always fun to see who is from where i have been and who is from where i have never been....here are some of the flags of the countries represented....

i love this shot, as it is five of my girl students doing a korean fan dan...and the kids are from korea, america, malaysia and japan....i don't love the person's head in it...but it was the best i could do from where i was....they did a fantastic job.....
 

you never really know what you will see while walking around shanghai....just the other day i saw a person dressed up as a piece of sushi in front of a restaurant.....this dude in the shot above is the mascot from the shanghai expo....which i missed by a year....it was supposed to be amazing and when i first arrived here many of the country pavilions were still standing....at this point many of them are done, but the china one still stands......i guess this guy was all over the city during the expo and i heard the expo itself was pretty darn amazing.....
 

speaking of the china pavilion....this is it....as you can see the day was not a real clear one, even though the sun is out in this picture and it is 9am.....the pollution we have here really is visible at times....this particular week of visiting this pavilion at times the air was so thick you felt as if you could chew it...i do hear that shanghai has gotten much better since they took the factories that used to be in the city and relocated them....plus, its much better than beijing because at least we have the ocean wind blowing much of it out of here....at times though its just gross.....they were having a picasso exhibit at this pavilion, which is why i was here...pretty amazing that a man who paints such different works, was such a middle class family man....never knew that....

and here's another building from the time of the expo....this is the mercedes benz arena that looks like it is out of close encounters of the third kind....i keep expecting it to play that string of notes and light up....i saw cirque de soliel here....an amazing show....they have left the arena standing and it will be used for concerts and such....recently akon performed here....he took his shirt off for the performance in beijing...which was a no-no, and so when he was here he wasn't allowed to do that....rumor has it that madonna is coming....its one of those i'll believe it when i see it kind of things....it is china after all....and the government is still in charge...even if this town seems like its gone capitalist.....
 

we go from the modern architecture, to the old style narrow streets of apartment buildings and one floor apartments....this was another sunny day i spent wandering around the french concession....an area of town where you see big old mansions and tons of expats....but there are many little chinese neighborhoods too...notice all the bikes....many people still have them, but many have also moved onto the motor scooters of death...they are electric and you never know when one is about to run you down until the last moment.....

shanghai is definitely a mix of old world and new world....i loved this shot of an old woman getting her mail...which is delivered everyday of the week....no sundays off for this group....
 

one of the things we see a ton of in this city are sidecar motorcycles...they are everywhere...you can even do tours in them....usually you see expats riding them, not the chinese....a guy and his dog jumped out of this one on the way to the avocado lady....a storefront that caters to expats....she has wheels of dutch cheese shipped in weekly....she has corn tortillas...she has cheaper avocados and she has goat cheese for an amazing price.....dairy products are hard to find in this country....not big milk people....so much of the cheese and yogurt and milk is from overseas and rather pricey....its a bummer....

i also saw this mobile shoe fixing store while i was walking around the french concession....people here are definitely industrious....if they can figure out a way to make money....they will...from the people who pick up recyclables and metals and styrofoam, to the people who sell produce from their trucks, to the people with a sewing machine on the street who are ready to fix your buttons at a moments notice....its incredible....
 

okay...onto the funny products and food pictures of this update....i especially love the one above because it is on the side of a pencil sharpener in school...."I would shot you!" is what it reads....what the heck are they thinking about having shooting and school mixed...and they are kiddie pencil sharpeners....i can't find ones that are better quality and made for teenagers and adults....insane....
 

here is some more of the spicy packaged food you can buy in the convenience store...the one to the far right is beef on a stick...the one in the middle is fish cubes and the one on the left i couldn't figure out from the words on the outside...i would say...okay...i won't say because who knows what it would be....just today when walking to grab lunch with a friend we saw a cage of snakes outside of a restaurant....of course i stopped to see them and the hostess was so excited that we were coming to have snake....man, was she disappointed when i said i just wanted a picture and did not want to eat them....
 

this picture is one of my favorites....its a chicken restaurant....and guess what is in the cage underneath the sign of the chicken....chickens....yep, you pick the one you want...they take it in the kitchen and kill it right there....i guess you can't get any fresher than that....whoa! this place is just across the way from my apartment....and let me tell you, its always busy....
 

the last shot of the update is from a menu of my new favorite hot pot place....okay, its the only one i have been to since the last time i was in china....but its really good....they have some really funny things in english on their menu, but one of the best has to be above - homemade fried corruption clothing....what the????  for those of you who don't know, a hot pot is when you make your own soup at your table for dinner....they bring out the broth and a stove, which heats up and you cook at the table....you add what you want to the soup - like tofu, seafood, meat, noodles, veggies, you name it, they have it...including homemade fried corruption clothing....i just have no idea....

okay....so there you have my latest update...sorry, i forgot to get a picture of me with a beer or drink or food this time...i will have a new one next time i write though.....i am hoping to have another update out soon....but it may just be a year in review...and what a year it has been for me....

in two weeks i am off to japan...a new country for me...and i am very exited....very excited to get out of china, because at times this place is just to overwhelming....stimulation floods you in every direction....so it will be good to just chill....very excited to spend xmas with friends who lived in japan....very excited to be on break from school....and very excited to relax with nothing to do for school....woot!  so even though my current week will be ridiculous - 90 labs & 90 quizzes for 8th grade and 20 labs and quizzes for 6th, comments & grades due in a week for 113 kids....i will be finished real soon and i can see my vacation coming closer and closer....

i hope everyone is well and happy....and again, sorry to take so long in getting this out....hope you enjoyed this update and i wish you and your family a very happy holiday season, no matter what you celebrate....new year 2012 and chinese new year are just around the corner....time is a flyin!!!!!

have a fab day :)
dani    

Bali - Island of the Gods

October 30, 2011
Hi there folks and happy end of October....what a crazy month this has been, especially this past week....first there was the international food festival (what an array of amazing dishes from around the world provided by members of our school community), then we had parent-teacher conferences (they went fine), UN Day (one of my favorites of the year - will send along pics in the next update so you know what i mean),  my shipment from croatia arrived (WOOT!!! and only one thing broke just a little bit, but its already fixed) and last night was a halloween party with work folks and others at a fun bar close by my place.....and that's only this past week....the up-coming week looks to be just as busy......


yes, it is definitely a change from croatia....there never seems to be enough time to do everything i want to...like today was a beautiful day, but i needed to grade....i would have much rather been out wandering the streets of shanghai....maybe next weekend.....keep your fingers crossed....but what i really wanted to accomplish this weekend was writing this update about bali.....wowowowowowow... what a place.....nicknamed the island of the gods.....and hopefully the attached pictures will do it some justice....i had no idea bali was so big and had so many different things to see....i thought you went there to hang by the pool or on the beach....which i did, but i also got an amazing tour from a friend of friends....the guy is balinese and amazing.....anyway....let's go to the tape (okay, really the pictures)....enjoy :)

the shot below is what i entered when i went into my room upon arrival...how cool were those mosquito nets....and they worked...no bites....the room was huge and the bathroom was even bigger...way too much for one...but i enjoyed the space...i had my own bungalow....
 

as i stepped out of my bungalow, this is what i saw....a plunge pool....this was not the main pool, just one i could jump in and out of...and that little bungalow thingy is for getting massages by the pool...pretty swank....the place was owned and run by balinese....they shared a beachfront with a resort next door and served tasty breakfasts that were included with the room...plus they were just off the main street in sanur....one the small towns not too over crowded with tourists.....

i also had no idea how religious bali is....the main belief is hinduism....90% of the population....which is quite strange for indonesia....most of which is muslim....on bali 5% of people are muslim and 5% are buddhist.....so hinduism is everywhere and VERY present in every day life....these are the offerings to the gods you will find in front of every house and business.....they are put out at the beginning of the day to help ensure a safe and protected day.....and at the end of the day they are thrown away....things you will see in the offerings - flowers, food, money, tobacco....all in a palm leaf holder.....very cool....
 

as i wandering the town of sanur i came across one of the community temples (pura - this what a temple is called)...as i learned from my guide gusti - every house must have three shrines, every community must have at least three main shrines/temples and then there are the most important temples where everyone is required to go twice a year on a specific day to them...anyway, i came across one of the community temples in sanur and the doors were open and no one was there....so i went in....the top most portion was really cool....as you can see from the carving below, these are where the shrines to gods are located and on those shrines are these type of stone carvings...not really sure why look like this, but i really liked them....they're on every corner of the shrine and up and down it as well....when they are carved....
 

This was one of the guys guarding the entrance to where the main shrine was....he is a protector and you can see they have an offering to him as well...notice the relly big knife...you definitely would not want to mess with this guy....
 

And along the street was this shrine to ganesha, the elephant god....you can see a local woman putting out her offering for the day and it's in the middle of the street....they put the offerings out there three times a day....bali is one of those places where they drive on the left side of the road....so you always have to watch when you cross the street....the cars are fine, but the amount of motor scooters is INSANE....almost as bad as shanghai....
 

this was the beach at sanur and these are the main fishing/snorkeling/tourist boats run by locals...i love that they look like spiders on the beach...albeit very colorful spiders....they have a sail and seem to balance quite well on the water...they are a type of sampan....
 

this boat caught my eye as it was peaking around the tree i was walking next to...i love the way it looks like it is smiling....the balinese seem to be pretty happy and laid back people....their island had a huge set back with the bombings there nine years ago...but they have rebounded and gusti told me that the revenue was almost back to the same amount it was before the bombing....the week after i was there was the ninth year anniversary of the bombing....security was beefed up many places because of that....

along the beach was this boat...i wasn't sure if they meant to be beached and were waiting for the tide to come in and take them out and i never made it back to the beach to see if they were gone...but i thought this was a cool shot of this beached boat and the clouds behind it....the weather was very warm while i was there - shorts and tshirts every day, plus flip flops....but it did rain a bit....i guess it was just starting to be the rainy season....i did see the sun....and made sure to be outside then....
 

the next shot is from one of the main large temples in the center section of bali - Taman Ayun Temple in the town of Mengwi....all large balinese temples have these amazing gates to enter them...all hand carved...if you are not a worshipper, you are not allowed in....but they do allow you to walk around the outside and observe and take pictures....the grandiose-ness of the doors reminded me a lot of the carvings on the temples of angkor wat in cambodia...just incredible and so much amazing work!!!!
 

the roofs you see are called merus and they always have to be an odd number...the more roofs a shrine has within the temple, the more important it is...i think the maximum was 11 roofs....very cool and they are soooooooo thick with woven fiber...plus you can see many more carvings on these shrines...and an offering for the day on the outside wall, which is what we were walking along...

from the temple we were off to have very special balinese coffee....can you guess what it comes from??? i bet you can't (unless you have been there of course)...in the picture below is a woman who is 87 (yes i asked) and she has been roasting coffee ever since this style of coffee became famous...it is called kopi luwak and is produced from an animal....yep....an animal - a relative of the mongoose....actually the animal eats the coffee beans and then excretes them out...undigested, but cleaned of the unwanted "shell" of the bean....these beans are picked from the droppings and then are roasted....yes, you really are reading this correctly...this prized coffee comes from the droppings of a civet cat....crazy....it was not my favorite coffee of the bunch they served me....but of course i had to drink it because its a great story and one of those things you have to try....just once....

so this is me....having the coffee...it just cracked me up where it came from and that this is considered prized coffee....great for the tourists and definitely worth a joke or too....especially for middle school science teachers...they really did have some great lemon tea and balinese coffee...not from a mongoose like animal and its droppings...

i had no idea bali was such a big island or had so many different regions....plus it has volcano...who knew...not me...in the center of the island the main food produced is rice...there were tons and tons of rice paddies...and they were beautiful and went on for miles....i guess they grow two main kinds of rice....jasmine and balinese....the balinese rice is brown...i never did see how it was different, but it was the wrong growing season for it....here you see some of the beautiful terraces of the rice
 

after visiting the rice paddies we were off to another temple...this one is called the ulun danu bratan temple and is located on bratan lake...so water surrounds the edge of this one....they had just had a festival the previous week and these were the faded and withering flower pieces that were made for the temple as an offering....this is another large community pura (temple)....and every one in the community has two specific days they must go and pray and give thanks....
 

on our way away from this temple we went through an area where you can feed monkeys....i didn't feed them but we did stop by and say hi...i loved this one with his mohawk...they came right up and asked for food...in monkey language of course, and i had to let them know i didn't buy them any....they got bored and went off to ask another tourist for something....they were cute...in a monkey kind of way :)

after leaving the monkeys we walked down to a nice waterfall....paved all the way with stalls where you could buy stuff...not a very brisk business was going because i guess tourist season really starts in earnest in november....lots of aussies go to bali for their holidays...as you can see there was a temple at the waterfall....i love all of the white and yellow of the temples...they are the purity and luck colors for bali....
 

and then i got really lucky....as we were driving to hot springs we went past a funeral procession...i did not see the body and that could mean it had already been cremated or had already been buried to wait for when cremations were done for free...that happens on the island every five years....having a funeral pyre is very expensive and some families cannot afford it....so they bury their family members until the "free burning" month comes...i know that sounds weird....but for hindus, the body must be cremated so they can be reincarnated, if necessary....i love that the women in the picture below, are carrying everything on their heads....and all of them can do this effectively (reminded me a bit of ghana!)....and don't you love all of the colors....so amazing....
 

the picture below is of my favorite temple....tanah lot....it is located right on the water and can only be entered when the tide is low enough....it is one of the seven sea temples of bali....and crazily there is a fresh water spring coming out of the bottom of this temple....i visited it and gave a donation and because of that they gave me a prayer and some rice on my forehead....they feel the gods and goddesses are in everything, and rice is their main staple and gods are definitely found in rice....this temple, as well as the other sea temples, is where ashes of people who have been cremated are thrown into the ocean...watching the processions to this temple from all over the island were amazing...we were hoping to be there at sun set, but the day we saved for that was rainy....so when i go back i want to see this amazing temple at sunset along the beach....

this is gusti at the sea temple....this is after we went to the freshwater spring at the base of the temple, hence why he has rice on his forehead....such a nice guy and what a tour guide...he knows all of the best places....we had some amazing meals and saw some amazing things.....rockstar gusti!!!!
 

of course i had to end with my traditional shot.... me with bintang...the local beer....this is when gusti and i went out for traditional balinese food...lots of seafood and rather spicy...it rocked...
 

so there you have the island of the gods...i was definitely there for too short of a time and i really hope i get to go back....i had such a blast and there is still so much to see...the volcano, the artisan town of ubud, the elephant sanctuary, the west coast temples and the main beautiful white and black sand beaches....so much to do, so little time....hopefully you enjoyed this little explanation of this amazing island and all of its rich traditions....and again...another place you should think about visiting because it is incredible.....


okay....i hope you enjoyed this update...i certainly enjoyed this trip, if you couldn't tell.....the next trip i am taking is to japan with the watts for xmas...my third xmas with them...we are going to osaka and kyoto together and then i am headed to tokyo to see our mutual friend randy....i will be there for new years.....so exciting...i hope all of you are well and happy....i hope those of you on the east coast of the states who got the freak storm are okay and dealing with the insane weather....it has gotten chilly here, but is still really rather nice...although i have been told the weather should become frigid soon...but then again, what's cold after antarctica....lots of folks says it gets cold here....we'll see....

get in touch if you have any questions or want to make comments....
thanks for reading....happy halloween and all soul's day.....
have a fab day :)
dani