Monday, March 30, 2015

The Not So Perfect Day!

(I am back in Mississippi!  I have a few more things that I wanted to share. I had a lot of trouble uploading to this blog while overseas.)

Barry and I had no idea what we were getting ourselves into when the concierge stacked several things that we were interested in doing...one right after the other.  Yes, I wanted to go to the village market!  Yes, it will be great to take a walk in a rice field!  Yes, I want to go to the John Hardy workshop and showroom!  Yes, I want to go eat lunch at a particular restaurant in Ubud!  I'll post pics of the village market later!  I am skipping to the good part!  Ha!  

A walk through a rice field sounded fun!  It sounded short!  I thought I would get some good photos!  It started off nice.  We could see volcanoes in the distant.  We were on a path that we often had to jump off of and into the rice paddy!  It is shared with bicycles and motorcycles,  and it was narrow! 


We came to an area where there were 2 very small bodies of water that had been made by damming up the water that is used for irrigation for the paddies.  I learned that one was for fish and the other for eels!  Yuck!


All of the terraces were beautiful and we had enjoyed it for the first thirty minutes!  It was sorta like T-Ball...it got old really fast!  And we were  HOT!  VERY HOT!  And looking at those workers standing in that water was making me thirsty... even though the water was dirty!


I learned that besides rice and fish, other things are grown in the rice fields too!  Pretty flowers, chili peppers and other veggies are also in little plots scattered around.  Every time that we came to a bend on the road of a few trees, we were both looking for the vehicle that we expected to appear to rescue us!  And we were getting hotter and thirstier!


When we arrived at the river, we just knew that the car had to be there waiting on us....NOPE! Our attitude was going downhill fast!  


And then we come to a path that was wedged between two ditches and it was very steep!  And slippery!  And muddy!  Thank goodness, we had hiking sticks with us!  The guide had to help me to the top!  I am glad that Barry didn't have the camera!  Whew!  I had on tennis shoes and water was up on my ankles.  Barry had on waterproof sports shoes and he didn't need help!  Surely, the rescue car would be waiting at the top of the hill!


There was no car waiting...but lots more rice paddies!  Ugh!  We now hate rice paddies and we both feel like we are about to have a heat stroke!  Our guide has a bottle of warm water for us.  Our clothes are as wet as my socks and shoes!  


As we are trudging along the narrow path and jumping into the rice field frequently, Barry asked our guide what the strange brown things were that were in the paddies.  We learned that they are "Cobra-Crows"!  What is that?  Well, rats love to come into the paddies.  And so do cobras!  The rats are afraid of the cobras!  Yikes!  I am too!  And where is that car!?


Well, the car was finally spotted after a THREE hour hike up and down hills in high humidity with high temperatures!  All we really wanted to do was go back to the resort!  But, we had an appointment at John Hardy!  When we arrived....these steps were one of the first things we saw!


While I looked around the showroom, this is where my soaked and tired husband perched!  He was not a happy camper!  At all....


And there are no discounts at John Hardy!  I expected discounts!  And I expected the whole collection!  There was a bigger variety at our resort and at the airport!  I wanted sit in that chair and pout with Barry!  Needless, to say, we didn't make our lunch reservation in Ubud!  But we did spend the rest of our day in the pool!  



Thursday, March 26, 2015

Kopi Luwak Anyone?

We stopped at a local coffee and tea bar in the jungle.  Who remembers Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman discussing Kopi Luwak in the movie "The Bucket List"? We got to see and sip it first hand!  Barry didn't find it nearly as exciting as I did!  We also got to taste other coffees and lots of various blends of tea.



This Balinese young man is slow roasting the beans 
"collected" from the civet cats' poop.


Wood is collected from the jungle to fuel the fire.


After the beans are roasted, they are ground using
 this large "mortar and pestle".


Amazingly we pretty much agreed on the same teas
 and coffees after our tasting.  It was certainly an 
education!!!

Part 2: Yall don't seriously think I'm following yall?!?!

The phrase: "It's just a few more steps!!
was definitely stretching the truth!!!


Going down isn't any easier than going up!


Thete is Amandari!  It's in the tree line way, way 
in the distance!  And how am I going to get back?  Ugh!


A village scene on our "amble"....

Yall Seriously Don't think I'm about to Follow yall?!?!


You seriously want me to follow you way down into
that ravine to see the river!?  I can see it just fine from 
up here!  How will I get back up if I go down!?  I had
a lot of questions regarding this trek that had been described
to me as an amble through the jungle....but then again, I have 
never heard of an amble through the jungle!



I think these flower offerings were for me...hoping 
I would make it down and back without having to be
medivaced out! Ha!


I did get to enjoy some beautiful wild flowers on the
river trek.


I didn't get the owner of this house with his ducks!
I am afraid that he lives with them and they are not
pets!


This man was cutting elephant grata to take home
to feed his cattle.  He made that bridge look easy...
NOT!

Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Welcome to Bali!


I must admit that I closed my eyes a lot on the crazy,
but fun drive from Densapar (where the airport is located)
to Ubud!


I spied some durian for sale on the roadside.  It is definitely
an acquired taste!  It is known for its awful smell but delicious 
taste.  I couldn't separate the two senses when I tasted it!
By the way, in Singapore its against the law to take 
it on the subway or the bus!  Ha!


Welcome to Bali!


This cutie pie welcomed us to our lodging by
showering us with fragrant flower petals.



Can't wait to sit by the pool!

Welcome to Bali!

 I may never leave my room!!!


These walkways are a little less crowded than the
ones on Hong Kong and Macau!


Just listening to the sounds of the jungle and the 
water gently trickling from the fountain is calming...


And a good night to all... 

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

The Pillow Menu

Barry and I sleep with an embarrassingly obscene number of pillows!  When we arrived in Singapore at our hotel, I did what I always do first: I counted the pillows then called Housekeeping to order the necessary number.  The very nice lady that answered my call asked me to consult the pillow menu and let her know what kinds we would like.  Well, I ordered feather pillows with firm support. But...I also really liked the description of the Jade pillow!  Sounded pretty perfect to me!  We left the room before the pillows were delivered.  Imagine my surprise when I saw The Jade Pillow!!!


It took me a few minutes to figure out what in the
 heck was that box looking crazy thing sitting on the bed!


Here is the pillow menu!  Lots of great choices!!!


Doesn't the Jade Pillow sound perfect??!!

Monday, March 23, 2015

Gardens by the Bay in Singapore

I had a fabulous time spending the day at Gardens
on the Bay.  I probably saw only a quarter of it!  If you are
 ever in Singapore, add it to your To Do list!


There were walls of fabulous greenery, orchids,
and other beauties in the Cloud Dome Garden.


Being out of the heat and enjoying the cool,
mist filled air was a welcome respite!


Loved this lovely area at the top of the dome!


I took hundreds and hundreds of pics...

Photos from Gardens by the Bay

Bird of Paradise...


One beautiful display after another...


And another...


Had to take a pic of this beauty for my neighbor...

Photos from Gardens by the Bay

A carpet of pink tulips...


There was a theme going on with Tulipmania...Grimm's
Fairy Tales....


The Snow Queen...