Continuing to circumnavigate the world (by plane), Jill and
I finally arrived in Indonesia, the largest archipelago in the world. Indonesia consists of 17,508 islands (6,000
inhabited) and straddles the Equator between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific
Ocean. The country shares a land border
with Malaysia to the north, East Timor and Papua New Guinea to the east and is
situated in close proximity to Australia to the south and Palau, the
Philippines, Vietnam, Singapore and India to the north. We are now in the Southern Hemisphere where
Monsoon season is a bit behind schedule but more on that later.
Flying from Singapore to Denpasar, our hotel captain greeted
us at the airport with fresh cold towels soaked in lavender. An hour drive later we stepped out of our car
into paradise. The Oberoi lives on the
shores of the Indian Ocean in a town called Seminyak. Here is a tropical climate where heat and
humidity exist year round and you cannot really hide from it. We settled into
our humble abode (a spacious thatched hut a mere 30 feet from the ocean) for a
four-day retreat.
According to the latest census in 2010, Indonesia's
population of 238 million makes it the fourth largest populous country in the
world. It is expected to grow to 265 million by 2020. The Indonesian economy relies heavily on
tourism and exportation of its natural resources such as rice, fruits and
vegetables, crude oil, natural gas, tin, copper and gold, plywood, rubber and
textiles. The places most likely to
receive these products and major importers of Indonesian goods are Japan,
Singapore and the United States. The
World Trade Organization lists Indonesia as the 27th largest exporter in the
world.
Indonesia has always been an important trade route. The Muslim traders arrived in the 13th
Century spreading Islam and then the Portuguese in the 16th Century bringing Christianity and finally the Dutch arrived in the 1600s. We are staying in Seminyak on the Island of
Bali---Island of the Gods---where 93 percent of the population practices
Balinese Hinduism, which is a combination of local customs and Hindu influences
from India. This is the only place in
Indonesia where Islam is the minority.
Hindu temples are spread throughout the island and people present
offerings (marigold flowers) in front of stores, hotels, restaurants, statues
of gods etc. Balinese Hinduism seems to
be a mix of Indian Hinduism and Buddhism with a local mix of spirituality, art
and ritual. In other words, their religion represents their way of life.
Tourists from all over the world visit Bali with the
Australians, Chinese and Japanese preferring Indonesia shores over most. There is an enormous expatriate network of
people who visit Bali and never leave setting up restaurants and shops along
the way. Seminyak and Katu are such
places as modern stores and restaurants have washed away the local
influence. People are buying
multi-million dollar villas on ocean front property and calling Bali home. We have met many shop owners and a few hotel
managers (ours included) who took a trip to Bali and never left. Paradise is appealing.
Bali is known for its
handcrafts, arts and dance. If I had a
truck that I could drive across the ocean, I would fill it with all the
beautiful woven furniture and carefully crafted woodcarvings. That includes some of their brass jewelry and
stone carvings. It's not a shoppers dream but it's fun to see the various goods produced here and the influence history and religion play.
While we mostly lounged
near the pool and ocean, dodging mosquitoes and harmful UV rays, we have
experienced a bit of the local culture but decided we needed to venture out beyond
the 10-block radius. Sweating like one
sweats in a steam room, we visited the Uluwatu Temple, one of Bali's nine key
directional temples and an hour drive from Seminyak (at the far southern end of
Bali). This is a scenic spot where the
land ends and mountainous cliffs greet the Indian Ocean. The views were stunning and reminded me of
seeing Cape Point in South Africa where the Atlantic Ocean and Indian Ocean
collide.
After skirting the
crazy monkeys for a temple view, we watched the Kecak and Fire Dance. The Kecak is a traditional Balinese dance
known as the Monkey Chant. Basically,
100 men sit in a circle waving their arms and chant "cak...cak...cak,"
while various ornately costumed characters dared in and out of the circle. It's supposed to represent a type of battle
where a monkey-like Vanara helps Prince Rama fight the evil King Ravana. Others believe it may be some sort of
exorcism dance.
Now back to the Monsoon - and no I did
not forget. It's sort of hard to ignore
when each day around 2pm the skies turn an eerie dark blue, the ocean waves
swell and the rains arrive. Blame it on
global warming or the gods, the Monsoon season normally from September to
November in Indonesia is ever present.
Jill typically more adaptable than I am most days does not appreciate
the rains as much as I do. It provides
me with amble time to chill and enjoy Mother Nature. Since we do not live in a Monsoon area/climate, I thought
I would share some of my Wikipedia/ National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration findings:
· *Monsoons are actually sea breezes, which occur when
the temperatures on land are warmer OR cooler than the temperature of the
ocean.
· *The imbalances are caused because the ocean and
land absorb heat in different ways (water is able to maintain a high heat
capacity)
· *The sunlight heats the land and ocean during summer
months (Bali) but the land temps rise much faster. With warm land temperatures, the gases expand
and a low-pressure area develops.
· *The tricky part is that the ocean has a more
moderate temperature and therefore these sea breezes blow from ocean to land
and bring rain.
· *Air rises to a higher altitude over land and then
flows back to the ocean. When the air
rises over land it then cools and decreases it ability to hold water causing
more rain over land.
·
*In colder
month, the cycle is reversed. Since the land cools more quickly than the oceans
then the air over land has higher pressure, thereby causing sea breezes at the
surface, which flow from land to the ocean. When humid air rises over the ocean
(to complete the cycle), it begins to cool, causing precipitation over the
oceans.
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