DAY 65-BALI, INDONESIA

It is 11:30 am Sunday and we are just docking at the pier in Benoa.  Their immigration officials have not came on board to clear the ship yet.  Thankfully we have the good view from our balcony the next two days.  I walked on the open deck for an hour this morning as fitness center was busy.  Then I showered and went up on top deck to get some photos as we sailed into the harbor.  SOOOOO hot here!!  I needed another shower after only 10 minutes up there.

BACKGROUND INFO:
        Although we were here in 2010, Benoa is a new port for us.  Last time we were anchored in Padang Bay for two days, which is further up the east coast of Bali.  Benoa is on the southern tip of a peninsula of sorts.  Bali is an Indonesian Island that is 95 miles east-west and 69 miles north-south (about same size as the state of Delaware) and has a population of 4.25 million.  Its central mountains include several volcanic  peaks about 10,000 feet high.  The highest is Mount Aguug and is an active volcano rated as one of the world’s most likely to erupt within the next 100 years.  Its last eruption was in 1963 and killed 80,000.
        Unlike the rest of Indonesia which is 95% Muslim, Bali is about 85% Hindu and has over 20,000 temples.  Every home has a “family temple” always located on the northeast side of the house.  The lowlands of Bali is has very rich volcanic soil for their rice paddies.  The sloping hills are terraced for the growing of coffee, fruits, and vegetables.  Agriculture is the island’s biggest employer.  Most of the island’s money comes from tourism which is pretty much concentrated on the south side.  The Islamic terrorist attacks in 2002 & 2005 (202 tourists killed in 2002 attack) set tourism back but today it is going strong and surpassed pre-attack levels.  Australians, Chinese, and Japanese are the top suppliers of tourists, in that order.  The island is surrounded by coral reefs for diving and nice beaches on the south where the resorts are located.
        The Balinese love to bet so most villages have rooster fighting, as well as, even cockroach fighting.  The roosters are treated very well with special feed and they even massage them.  The Balinese rarely eat meats (chicken, pork, or beef) as seafood, rice, fresh veggies & fruits are their main diet.  There is a “caste system” with 4 classes of people.  93% are peasants with the other caste’s in order of increasing importance being:  merchants/administrative, kingly/warrior, and holy men/priests.  You are born into your caste and each one has a different talking dialect.  So first question they ask when meeting someone new is, “What is your class?”  Another interesting fact is, menstruating women are not allowed to be in public as they are considered “not clean”.  Also the family land is passed down to the sons, not daughters.  They are expected to marry a man with land.  Balinese handicrafts are inexpensive to begin with but our guide said they expect us to “bargain” with them.  He said a fair price is 70% less than first price quoted.  I hope you find all the info in this paragraph interesting.  It was relayed to me by our guide.
        In 2010 we did the “Discover Bali” excursion which took to a typical village so we could see how they live, up close and personal.  It was very interesting.  The same excursion is offer again this year but now Regent is charging $119 per person for it.  Unbelievable what Regent is doing after NCL bought them!!!
I’ll put link to those photos on this posting--NO EXTRA CHARGE TO YOU!  LOL
Link to 2010 Bali photos.

https://goo.gl/photos/2XJ4u9uZzbuX27br6

WHAT WE DID TODAY:
       We docked today in Benoa at noon.  At 12:30 Rebecca and I went out in the cruise terminal to meet with an old friend.  A very special Balinese friend named Putu.  Putu was a bar waiter on our 2010 world cruise and then a wine sommelier on our 2012 Circle South America.  We became very good friends and we kind of adopted him and would call him one of our sons.  He no longer works on the ships but works in a hotel here in Bali so he can be with his family.  So we invited Putu, his wife, and two kids (girl 8 and boy 2) on the ship for some lunch and to tour it.  After that Putu took us to his home for a tour and drop off the family before taking us on a tour to see some of Bali.
       We will be over night here in Benoa and not leave until 5:00 pm on Monday.  We will probably be getting back from Putu's tour until late and time to dress for dinner so I will put the photo's I took today on tomorrow's post.
       Putu will be picking us up tomorrow morning at 9:00 and taking us on an all day tour.  He is a free lance tour guide and king of travel agent as will find lodging for anyone visiting Bali.