Water Parks and Scuba Diving

When I was studying Intl Relations with Webster University, I produced a paper on the effect of McDonalds on globalization.  It was fun to write and I remember reading about how McDonalds created the concept of a “line;” Tom Friedman made mention of this in one of his books.  In Indonesia I have seen remnants of mass chaos when it comes to waiting in a line, but nothing compared to what I witnessed at the airport this weekend.  I was flying to Bali, so I arrived at the airport 90 min prior to the flight, which was really worthless.  You have to wait until a certain time to check into your flight, but people still crowd the counters until the destination is called.  So you can imagine what happens once they call out a destination.  You have to somehow get up to the counter so you can get your plane tickets and check in your baggage.  It was pretty crazy, and I can’t imagine getting away with that chaos in the United States.

This is where the Sultan would select his bride

Earlier in the week I was able to take a field trip to Taman Sari, an R&R site that goes back many centuries.  Today there are remnants of the many baths and pools that used to populate that area of Yogyakarta.  The guides like to point out the fact that it was also used by the Sultan to pick his next bride.  The women would bathe, swim, whatever, and the Sultan would go up to the tower and peek through the windows.  He then would pick a lucky candidate and she would be escorted to his private chambers just below the tower.  Another fascinating aspect of this “vacation home” is that there is an underground mosque with several tunnels that lead in many directions and can be used to flee or hide from the enemy.  I was also told that the tunnels could be flooded, and with thick walls and sentry posts, this complex actually makes a pretty good military fortification.

You have to wear sunglasses with a radiation suit

After class one afternoon, I decided to go downtown to see the Children’s museum.  One thing about museums in Indonesia is to expect the unexpected.  I was thinking it would be a two-story museum with a couple of exhibits for kids to play around with.  This place was like 5 stories with an IMAX theater, a splash pad, and a lot of interactive exhibits.  Later that evening I was invited out to hang out with one of the Australian Army guys who I have hung out with a couple of times.  We have had some really good dialogue about military life and some the similarities and differences.  We went to one of the large fields that is south of the “Keraton,” (the main government building where the Sultan resides), and just hung out and participated in some traditional Indonesian night life.

One of the places that I have always wanted to visit ever since studying Indonesia is Bali.  This weekend I was able to go to Bali, and boy do I want to go back!  I left late Friday evening and got in around 11:30pm.  The following morning I had to wake up early, because I had a shuttle come pick me up for the scuba diving trip.  I got to the Atlantis International –Bali dive shop, and they had everything already to go for me…very professional and customer-friendly.  The shop employs “bule’s” or white westerners, but a majority are from France.  We left for our dive site at around 9am, and it took 2 hours (by car) to get to Tulamben.

      Tulamben is known for the coral garden and the USS Liberty that sunk back in 1942.  The coral garden was really cool because there were some sunken Bali-like temple statues that are covered with coral.  The garden had so many different types of fish and it was a very cool experience.  The second dive was to USS Liberty, which was hit about 10mi southwest of the Lombak Strait back in January 1942.  It was en route to the Philippines from Australia, loaded with railway parts and rubber.  It was tragically torpedoed by a Japanese submarine.  It was then towed by the Dutch to the beach, but slipped into the ocean after the eruption of Mount Agung (1963), a volcano on the northern part of Bali.  Needless to say, I was able to get a lot of cool pictures and video thanks to my GoPro camera…that thing is awesome!!

            In the evening I checked out the Bali nightlife, particularly at Kuta Beach.  I ate at the Hard Rock Café and walked around talking to the numerous people lining the streets of Kuta Beach.  It is really funny, because once they see that I can speak the language, their attitude completely changes; I guess they have had some bad experiences with rude westerners.

On my last day in Bali I was able to hire a driver (Madi) and he showed me the countryside and villages surrounding Ubud.  He first dropped me off at “Bale Udang,” and Balinese restaurant that specializes in ginormous shrimp….and other things.  I drank jus alpukat, had a shrimp and mushroom soup in a coconut, rice (of course), and 10 huge BBQ grilled shrimp.  It was a little pricey (for Indonesia), but I had to eat here…it has my name written all over it.  There are two restaurants in Bali and both are set over large coy ponds, so you can actually sit on these bamboo platforms that allow you to dip your feet in the pond.  It had a really cool ambience.

               I was able to visit the “Goa Gadjah,” (Elephant Cave), which is an old Hindu temple, and a very interesting tourist attraction.  I went ahead and bought a black/white checkered sarong, since I was going to have to rent one anyway.  There was also a section of the park that had a broken Buddha statue.  I am amazed of the religious integration that exists in Indonesia.  While there is intolerance in some areas, for the most part everyone lives in peace and harmony.  Bali is also known for its handicrafts, especially woodwork.  I will have to come back another time and consider purchasing some souvenirs.

To end the evening and my trip to Bali, I went to see the Kecak dance on the southern coast of Bali at a temple called Uluwatu.  This temple is populated by small monkeys that have been know to steal your stuff, sometimes break it and then return it back to you.  I got there pretty late, just in time for sunset and the Kecak performance.  Words cannot describe the awesomeness that is “Kecak.”  I don’t like dance, and artistic theater is not my cup of tea, but throw some fire in there and lovely dressed Balinese women, and we are good to go!!