Balinese Hinduism

After visiting the predominantly-Muslim islands of Lombok and Sumatra (and Istanbul), I can honestly say I am not a fan of the sunrise call to prayer. While I get that in the old days the masses would need the mosque to inform the correct time and sun position for prayer, it seems unnecessary to continue the tradition in the current age of smart phones.  One "call to prayer" app could not only increase property values near mosques, but allow tourists to get more than two hours' sleep after their late-night partying!

Balinese Hinduism, however, is the colourful, incense-smelling and flower-laced darling of Indonesian religious life.  In Balinese Hinduism, which differs from its Indian cousin, each family has a temple and each temple has 7 shrines oriented toward the sacred volcano of the island.  On a bike ride through the Ubud countryside, I saw fields of flowers to be used for offerings and visited temple manufacturers:  religion remains, as always, big business, as not only are offerings given daily (and really all over-in your car, at your house, in your temple, in your business), but any wealth the family accrues is typically used to improve the family temple first and foremost.  This last point was given as a reason the Balinese don't travel more often.  Hmm, by similar logic, perhaps those travelling have more money for it as they are irreligious hedonists...at least on Gili T!

Indonesia!

The travel writer Pico Iyer described why we travel as follows: "We travel, initially, to lose ourselves; and we travel, next to find ourselves. We travel to open our hearts and eyes and learn more about the world than our newspapers will accommodate. We travel to bring what little we can, in our ignorance and knowledge, to those parts of the globe whose riches are differently dispersed. And we travel, in essence, to become young fools again- to slow time down and get taken in, and fall in love once more."

And this, dear reader, is my eloquent but plagiarized excuse for tardiness in posting about Indonesia.  In every country I visited before during this adventure, I was able to keep some order to my habits, but Indonesia was intoxicating (in a myriad of ways), and I found myself caught in the flow, the currents between the islands like nations, and desiring only to be swept along.

Indonesia, the sleeper hit of my southeast Asia journey, is the world's 4th largest country by population, comprised of over 13000 (albeit many are small, so let's say more like 8) islands.  Visiting Indonesia is like visiting multiple countries under one visa, as often each island has its own local language and religion.  Indonesia was part of the spice route, and the islands were colonized and influenced by different countries who left their mark on culture and religion.  This means a boat ride can transport you between a Muslim, Hindu, or Christian island, each with its own way of saying "thank you."

I think one thing that really made Indonesia shine was that, after 7 months on the road as a solo traveller, I have managed to hone my skills in meeting fellow travellers for adventures, and I did so with such a natural rhythm that the 28 days flew by.  I caught my first waves on Kuta's epic breaks with Dmitri who I ran into on the plane.  At a restaurant in Ubud I met Teona using the "sit at a table adjacent to a solo diner" technique, and she and I went dancing, where we found ourselves talking with two very attractive French firefighters.  2 and 2 seems like destiny! 

Onward to the Gilis, where on the boat ride over I met Caitlin, whose 30th birthday was that very evening!  We teamed up for birthday dinner and dancing, and remained travel pals (and roommates) for my entire Gili stay.  Indeed, at every turn, with every new destination, it was just so easy.  In Nusa Lembongan, I went dancing with a solo Australian traveller and a half-dozen French kiddos, and as I ventured on to Sumatra, I encountered one travel pal then the next, with a rhythm to match to movements, ending in Pulau Weh with Hester and Chano, an adorable couple who didn't mind a third wheel for a few days.  Of course, my guest house host had nightly "family dinners" where I met fellow travellers, mostly divers, and we spoke of beautiful places whose underwater worlds are unparalleled: the Maldives, Egypt, and of course, Pulau Weh! ;)

This movement, this rhythm, it went beyond the flow between acquaintances.  As the waves upon the beautiful shores of verdant green and rugged islands, Indonesia pulses--with beautiful and friendly people, religious and cultural fervor, spicy cuisine, biodiversity (for now), and volcanic energy.  As the days ceased to exist in weeks but rather in the movements of the sun and tides, for the first time in forever, I let go and drifted with the ebb and flow...and I began to forget about previous lovers.  Oh, Indonesia!

Australia

With cheap flights and proximity in my favor, I decided to give the land down under a try!  I admit I've long viewed Australia as a drunk America, but best visit to see if I'm right!

I centered my time mostly with Kate, Scott, and their 2 children in Australia's government seat: Canberra!  We saw some of Australia's crazy animals including platypus, koala, and my favorite by leaps and hops, the kangaroo, commonly known amongst Australian toddlers as 'roos!  This animal is crazy, with little t-rex arms and huge hinged legs...honestly sometimes evolution is just goofing around. They also treated me to a weekend canyoning the blue mountains, which are deep sandstone slot canyons full of narrows, slides, pools, and...swim-throughs of caverns filled with glow worms--magic! 

Additionally, I spent oodles of time reading children's books, one series of which hit close to my southeast Asian journey home with the illegal pet trade: it features a monkey swiped from his jungle home by a man with a yellow hat. Despicable that we read this to children!  I found hanging with kiddos to be a huge learning experience and loved every minute...that didn't involve two simultaneously-screaming children. :P

I did some other Australian things including drink beer, get addicted to flat whites (it's a cross between a latte and a cappuccino), eat jaffles, watch ' game of thrones' downloaded via torrent, say 'crickey' (ok not really), and lather on some SPF 50 to protect myself from the ozone hole!

I spent some time in Sydney as well, taking photos of the opera house over a myriad of lighting conditions and angles.  Bridget, a friend from high school, let me crash at her pad (sweet!) and took me on a walking tour of the old town, markets, and historic bars.  As it was raining a bit, we decided to see the Sydney contemporary art museum, which features an exhibit that lulls you into bliss as you lie on the floor under a two-story screen featuring waves, leaves, and other nature-y things like turtles...er, no wait that's a penis.

So, how did Australia measure up? Is it a drunk America?   Well, they do have a national holiday, Anzack day, which appears to exist solely for playing a heads-tails drinking game, so perhaps.

Being that it many ways the landscape and culture are similar to the states (and yes this would include treatment of indigenous peoples, as Aborigines and Native Americans have been contrasted often during my travels), I thought I'd indicate some of the differences that struck me. I'll start with the birds. When I first saw cockatoos and laurakeets I was convinced everyone was releasing their exotic pets into the wild, but turns out the wild birds here are splendid! Second, Canberra and Sydney might be some of the cleanest cities I've ever encountered, and without the pervasiveness of guns as we have in the states, felt safer to me.  Third, apparently minimum wage in Australia is something like 20 dollars/hour, which means food and drink are much more expensive than in the US, where the server and the fruit picker are both well underpaid.  Of course, being paid a living wage is good, but prices in Australia create almost a closed system ($20 for a 6-pack of microbrew!) where it's difficult to spend when you don't make money locally.  Fourth, they don't seem to pronounce r's in Australia.  And, finally, you will know you are in Australia and not the US when you are being offered toast with...vegemite!

All in all, visiting friends in the land down under was great, and I vote that Australia is different enough to not simply be a drunk America!