8/16 – Took the metro to Singapore Airport for our two hour flight to Bali, Indonesia.  Like everything else in Singapore, the airport was sparkly clean, orderly, and boasted some really cool kinetic sculptures.

  
We crossed the equator, and are now officially in the Southern Hemisphere.  Indonesia will be our last stop before heading home in the fall, and although we could endeavor to visit the 17,500 islands that make up this country, we will instead spend 40 days in the sun, surf and tourist extravaganza that is the island of Bali.

We landed in Denpasar, and took a taxi to our small guesthouse, the Ngetis, in Sanur.  Here, instead of yelling “taxi!”, the drivers yell, “transport!” to get your attention.  At first we thought they were saying “passport!”, and couldn’t figure out why… The guesthouse had a wonderful pool and was appointed with the statuary and wood carvings that Indonesia is famous for.

Bali has been a tourist destination for many years, so the beachfront is crowded with pricy resorts, way beyond our budget.   The water is crystal clear, but not very deep.

Our little place was on the far side of the busy main street, a bit of a walk to the beach, but we are very good at walking!

Bali practices a form of Hinduism, and there are lots of guardian spirit statues here.  Little banana-leaf baskets of flowers, food and fruit are offered to the spirits each morning, and incense is burned.

While in Singapore, one of my dental crowns broke, so our first order of business was to find a dentist, called a Docter Gigi. Happy to report that Dr. Sardi (or Dr. Wayan?  Not sure about the order of names here) was right up the road, and she repaired the crown and restored my smile.  Here she is with her three year old daughter, who keeps her company while she practices.

We expect a laid-back month as we prepare to return to the States.  We’ll check in again when we have some news!