CALIFORNIA TO BALI It was so good it see Jaclyn and Jason and to settled down for a few weeks. However, Rudy and I cannot sit still, so Rudy started planning and shopping for the materials for the rebuilding of the shed and I started clearing out their garden. After about a week and about 10-12 wheel barrels of debris, I started planting. Rudy had to help me dig the holes because the ground is very hard clay. It took several trips to get the plants with Jackie’s help and a few days to plant them all and two days later, the deer had eaten them all. So I went back to the drawing board and looked up plants that deer do not like!!! Rudy and Jason discussed what they wanted to do to repair the shed and then Rudy and I started to work on it. We first took off the old roof which took two days and four days to put it on. (Didn’t work the whole days and Jackie was able to help us for a few hours on two of those days.) Next we took out two windows and framed the openings. Now it was time to put siding on the shed. In between working on the grounds, we also took the RV for oil change and an oil repair, visited with my Aunt Fay and Uncle John twice, visited Shawn Sasse and Jon Cooksey in Palo Alto and Bonnie Law where we ate lunch with Jackie at Google. Bonnie and Shawn also came to Jackie’s once. BALI September 1st to September 9th We left for the airport at about 9:30 pm on Thursday August 31st for a 1 am flight. We arrived in Bali on Saturday September 2nd at 7:30 pm Bali time which was 4:30 am California time. We lost Friday somehow and we will never see it again!! On Sunday the 3rd I had a massage on the beach after having breakfast at the beautiful Bali Hyatt while Jaclyn was checking out other hotels in the area. Then at 1:30 pm, we went on a tour to see silver and gold stores, Bakit factory, a Temple, a Monkey Forest, and a private rice paddy where we had some snacks. We went to a Temple and saw a beautiful sunset against the Indian Ocean having the Temple behind us. When we got back to our hotel, Jackie treated us to dinner. On Monday the 4th, we left for surfing at 8 am. Now Rudy has tried it once and I have never tried surfing, so this was going to be interesting!!! We were shown what to do on the beach and then jumped into the water. The very first time we caught a wave, both Rudy and I got on our knees and crashed into each other. Rudy and I caught a wave each time we tried because we were pushed into the waves by our instructors!!! At the end of our half day lesson, I had a great deal of fun and two bloody knees from falling onto the coral bottom. We quickly went back to our hotel for lunch and then went on another tour. This time we went to a wood carving shop, painting gallery, silver and gold store, the Ubud market, another Temple, saw a Kecak dance (which was beautiful) and finally a dinner and dance. When the dancers came around to ask if anyone wanted to join them, guess who went on stage!!! On Tuesday the 5th, we again left the hotel at 8 am to go snorkeling on the island of Lombok. We took a boat to the island and visited seaweed farms and a huge made-man rock cave. Ellie from Australia was on the tour with us and we had dinner with Ellie and the two guides who were our surfing instructors the day before. (Budda and Bukit since there are only four names on Bali, many have nick-names to give them some individuality. (Girls and boys.) The four names are Wayan (Why-Ann),Made (mah-Day), Nyoman and Ketut. Translated they mean first, second, third and fourth born. When they have more than four, the names start over again and that is why most of the people on Bali have nick-names!! On Wednesday September 6th, we were in our second hotel called Tanjung Sari and Jaclyn left early to check out a surfing spot on another part of Bali. I had a facial on the beach at the hotel a couple of doors down from where we were staying. Jaclyn came back to the hotel with a huge smile on her face. She said she found a fantastic surfing area, the best she has surfed in. We tried to see the Water Palace and a Balian (medicine man) who we both read about in the book called, “Eat, Pray and Love”. However, there was an accident on the road which entailed a death. Well, they shut down the road and all the villagers came out and many of them with in special clothes to honor the dead. As we started to walk down the street to find the Balian, we were told through our driver that we were not permitted to pass the accident. As we walked back to the car, we noticed a wood carving shop with beautiful horses. We bought several and went on our way to see more hotels; one was where Jackie went the day before to surf. We watched another beautiful sunset and went home. Thursday the 7th, we left our hotel to stay at a third hotel called Gaio Oasias on the north coast. We took some detours to see some sights so it took all day. We finally saw the Balian, Mr. Ketut Liyer and spoke to him for at least 45 minutes. It was wonderful experience. We also visited one of Jackie’s contacts from her research on Bali. He was very informative and gave Jackie more information and leads on things to do and places to see. Then we went to see the Volcano and Lake which erupted in 1963 and killed many people. We got to our hotel around 5 pm. The driver drove down a very narrow road where you could not open a door to get out. He finally parked the car and we had to either walk the 500 yards to the hotel or have them drive us down the narrower road on a motorcycle. They also took our luggage the same way. Now this path was not only downhill, but also had hairpin turns and if anyone was walking on the path, they had to go off the path so we could pass. At night it was even scarier!!!! I was afraid the small motorcycle would be able to take me and my extra 20 pounds up the path!!! Tonight was the Full Moon and they celebrate the Full and New Moon. They also have a Noisy Day followed by a Silent Day. On the Silent Day, no one is allowed to leave their house and no tourist may leave their hotel!!! Friday September 8th, we got picked up (after climbing the steep, narrow, curvy path on a motor shooter) at about 8 am. It took about 2 plus hours to get the boat we hired to go snorkeling on the most beautiful reef that I have been on. It was a National Park and the corral was great and we saw many different fish like a blue starfish some with four legs and some with five legs. Jaclyn asked if they could take us to one of the hotels she wanted to see by boat. He was happy to do so for about $10. We had lunch there and then left to see two other hotels. One was just by chance and she might be using that for her hotel on the north coast. It will be finished in November and it is called Villa Amertha!!! Now for the fun part….traveling down the narrow goat path in the dark, downhill around sharp turns!!! Saturday the 9th, we left our hotel for the airport at 7:30 am and we went on the narrow………….. On the way we passed the Volcano called Batur and the sister mountains, Abong and Agung. We also passed pine trees, palm trees, clove trees, coconut trees and some of the most beautiful flowers and plants that I have ever seen!!! Then we stopped for about 20 minutes to visit the gentleman that we saw in Ubud and Jaclyn told him some of the decisions she made. We got our flight at 1 pm on Saturday and we were in San Francisco at 7:30 pm that night. Only 6 and a half hours, but in Bali time it was 10:30 Sunday morning. My mind is still whirling about that!!!