March 1, 2016 – Bali, Indonesia

We arrived at the port of Benoa, on the island of Bali February 28 in early afternoon (instead of the earlier published time of 9:00 am). We were told there is a strong current in the port area during high tide, and the ship must be turned dramatically once inside the port, so it’s better to do this maneuver during low tide when the current isn’t as strong. At least this is what we understood the situation to be. Arrival time change had been announced to all passengers some time ago, so changes for shore excursions and all other arrangements had been handled efficiently before we arrived.

As we cruised into port we watched (from our balcony) lots of activities at the resort beaches – especially parasailing, jet-skiing, and something we hadn’t seen before that we read is called a “flying fish ride.” It looks like a rubber raft being towed by a speedboat. It eventually becomes airborne. Using his binoculars, Jim thought he saw three people in these rafts – two tourists lying flat in the raft (and trembling, we’re sure), while a third person was standing up and steering the raft while in the air.

The cruise terminal at Benoa is small, with only a one-person tourist information center offering maps of the island, along with one small souvenir stand, and a money-changing booth. For our arrival, a small musical group was performing the unique Indonesian “gong” music. A few other costumed people greeted us as we walked off the ship.

From this location, on a peninsula at the southernmost tip of Bali Island, choices for visiting attractions on Bali are limited to ship excursions or all-day taxi rentals. Due to local restrictions, Crystal could not set up shuttle service to the nearest town center which is about six miles away. Outside the terminal’s gate there are many taxi drivers and some of our passengers struck off on their own with these drivers. We heard mostly good reports from those who contracted with the taxi drivers for these personal tours.

When you think about Indonesia, you must consider the enormous number of people living in this country. There are 17,500 islands which comprise Indonesia (only 6,000 of which are inhabited), and Bali is not among the top five of these islands in size. We read that the population of Indonesia is now close to 250 million. Of that number, roughly 58% (145 million) live on the one single island of Java, where we will be visiting later this week. The island of Bali lies just two miles east of Java, across the Bali Strait. Bali’s population is also growing rapidly. On the small island of Bali (95 mi x 69 mi), population is now 4.2 million, not even counting the 5 million international tourists who visit here every year on holiday.

The first night in port, a local group was invited on board Crystal Serenity to perform a Balinese Cultural Show in the Galaxy Lounge, featuring the traditional Kecak Dance. This “dance” (also called the Monkey Dance) is unlike anything we’ve seen anywhere else in the world. On stage were about 40 black-and-white-saronged men who accompanied the dance by swaying in unison and chanting sounds (something like “chak-a-chak” and other rhythmic sounds of the forest for 45 minutes. The men almost seemed lilke they were in a trance. Meanwhile, highly costumed actors were interpreting a mythological Balinese folktale of good triumphing over evil.

We were here on Bali just three years ago, and we visited some of the highlights then – through the mountains, rice fields, a water palace, and lunch at a nice resort. This year we decided to take a shore excursion titled, “Balinese Arts & Crafts Discovery.” By driving through the central valley north of Benoa in the general direction of the center of the island, we passed through many villages which specialized in various art forms. Apparently these are family traditions passed down through the generations; but each village had many families working in the same medium. We started in the village of Celuk, which is known for gold and silver crafts. Then we went to the village of Kemenuh for a tour of a very large woodworking center, where we bought a wooden Balinese-style mask. Then to Lodtunduh for watercolor artwork and to Tohpati for unique batik products.

Actually, one of the highlights of the day was our first stop, where we witnessed a private performance, at an outdoor temple, of a traditional Barong Play in five acts. It was explained that the play and accompanying dance represent the eternal fight between good and evil. The story line and characters were similar to (but not exactly the same as) the Kecak Dance performed on board Crystal Serenity the first night in port. Main characters were the Barong, which is a mythological animal (looking like a combination of a Lion and a Dog) representing a good spirit, and Rangda (a mythological monster) representing an evil spirit.

There were many other costumed characters, including a monkey, a tiger, a witch, two girl-dancers, and other random characters going on and off stage. The dance and play were accompanied by a band playing Gamelan music, which could more realistically be called “gong” music. Their instruments are metal plates laid on top of bamboo tubes. The players strike the plates with hammers. Accompanying this sound are drums and cymbals. We’ve seen these unique Balinese plays before, but this one was especially well done, with beautiful costumes and fabrics.

Visiting Bali is a unique experience. The most interesting part of the trip, for us, was riding through villages off the main highways. Within these villages, almost every home had a religious stonework shrine (to honor their family’s ancestors) at the entrance to their home. The people place daily offerings of flowers or fruit on the shrine. There was also a large Hindu temple in each village. As you probably know, the nation of Indonesia has more Muslims than any other country in the world (88% of the total Indonesian population). However, Bali is a big exception, with 90% of people on Bali adhering to what they call Balinese Hinduism. This faith evidently forms the foundation for their everyday lives.

One other colorful feature we saw was the large number of Umbul Poles at many homes and stores. They are traditional tall poles made from bamboo, coconuts, and flowers; some of the more modern poles contained silk banners. These were installed for a New Year’s celebration period of three weeks. As we understood it, they are intended to help bring prosperity in the new year.

Bali is a land where myths and legends are passed from one generation to the next. Artistic crafts and culture seem to still be important to the people of Bali. Family is especially important to them. Outside developers have bought and over-developed many internationally popular generic beach resorts within the past 20 years. Where we were docked, there were large airplanes taking off and landing at the busy airport every three minutes during large parts of the day. The tourist business is booming! If you visit and want to find the “real Bali,” you must escape from these resort areas, which have brought traffic jams, Starbucks and McDonalds outlets in the southern part of the island. The beautiful mountain and jungle scenery, volcanoes, and genuinely friendly Balinese people are still there.

Bali was the end of Segment 2 of the 6-segment World Cruise. An equal number of passengers embarked and disembarked here (about 300 of each, we understand), and new enrichment lecturers for Segment 3 replaced those from Segment 2. This segment is also described as “Crystal Wine & Food Festival theme cruise.” A guest chef is on board and will hold hands-on cooking classes (for winners of a raffle). He will also hold public cooking demonstrations and hand out recipe cards. Ginny is sure to attend these demonstrations. There will be a “Guest Spice Expert” presenting seminars. We also anticipate special dinners, lunch buffets, wine-tasting seminars, along with special tea time events.

It turns out that one of the guests on board Serenity, Barry Shulman, is a world-famous poker player, having won well over $5 million playing poker. He’s been the winner of two World Series of Poker championships, including the gold championship bracelets. He agreed to provide an afternoon lecture for fellow guests on his poker experience, which we attended. I don’t think we learned any of his secrets, but it was interesting to hear what it’s like at these major televised poker tournaments.

We’re both still healthy and enjoying our vacation. Next report will be from Semarang, Indonesia.

Jim & Ginny