Jakarta to Bali

Six days into our trip I opted to press "OK" when the "erase all" command appeared on the digital camera. A little advice - if you want things to go smoothly while vacationing - DO NOT do this. So I won't be posting a "Monet-esque" series of beach sunsets. Also missing are heaps of photos with descriptions like; Emmerson digging on the beach with shovel, Emmerson digging with fingers, Emmerson smiling and digging, Emmerson digging and smiling and so on. We have taken previous trips to the Bali beaches and to Ubud (the part of the trip I erased)and the photos do get repetitive so it is actually not really so bad, that I erased the 100 + pictures - at least I freed up alot of disc space. The one photo I am very disappointed about losing was of an enormous pig riding in the back of a pickup truck. The following images are of our drive from Ubud to Tirta Gangga on the east coast and of the sites around this stunning part of Bali.

The Amandari hotel built overlooking a gorge on the outskirts of Ubud. I think it is in one of those "1000 Things You Should See During Your Lifetime" books. I was too busy trying to conjure up the photos I had just erased to fully enjoy the experience.


A huge volcanic crater in the highlands of Bali. It has a large lake, a town, and a large volcanic cone inside of the crater.


Not so tiny baby anymore at a restaurant overlooking the crater.


The Water Palace at Tirta Gangga. It is a beautifully maintained garden interspursed with various pools of water and surrounded by rice paddies. We stayed at a bungalow within the grounds.








Another volcano visible from the parking lot of the Water Palace.


From the Water Palace there are many walks that you can take into the rice paddies that dominate the landscape of this part of Bali.








We ventured into a village on one of our walks and came across this calf.






Not so tiny baby anymore in the rice fields of Bali.


Some ladies carrying their wares through the rice fields.


Jack fruit in a bag. This is done as the fruit is in its last stage of ripening to keep it free from hungry critters.



Roosters for sale on the side of the road - a commonsite in the villages of Bali.


Good use of empty Friskies cat food bags.


Sasquatch crossing. I first saw such a sign outside my hotel in Legian beach and thought it was to warn motorists of unaware tourists crossing the road - thus the lumbering size and shape of the individual on the sign. But I saw these same signs in non touristy areas so it must just be the Balinese style indicating any pedestrian crossing.


The ubiquitous baby in sunglasses shot. Emmerson says "cool dude" when she sees people wearing sunglasses.


This is how I looked at the end of the trip after the flight home. Nothing quite like traveling with a little one.


Emmerson as a bug, Alicia as a ManU fan and me as an exaggerated version of myself on vacation.