We just experienced the largest Muslim holiday, Idul Fitri, referred to as Lebaran in Indonesia. It's as big as Christmas, signifying the end of the month-long fast, Ramadhan. During this time, people travel to visit their families and home villages. This gave us 12 days off to travel. We went to Bali, Lombok, and Gili Air.
Bali - Ubud
We traveled back to Bali, but we started in the mountains instead of the beach. Ubud is the center of arts on Bali. It's a small town at the edge of the mountains and volcanoes. The main religion in Bali is Hindu, so there are many old temples and very different cultural traditions compared to the rest of Indonesia.
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| A view of Mount Agung, one of the holy volcanoes. |
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| We went on a bike tour of the area. He was our guide. |
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| We biked through rice paddies, villages, and temples. |
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We saw where they make these beautiful
carved doors and windows.
They take months to make. |
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| Then we traveled into the Monkey Forest |
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| Julia was attacked. |
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| At first she was surprised . . . |
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| But then, she kind of liked it. |
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| The monkey was obsessed with her hair. |
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| At the main temple in Ubud. |
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| Julia with Garuda |
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One of the highlights was this "Kecak Dance." There were
a hundred men from the community who chanted around
actors reenacting scenes from the Ramayana, a Hindu
legend. The chants sounded like "kechak-kechak" |
Lombok - Senggigi
We left the island of Bali and headed east on a ferry to the next island, Lombok. The 5 hour trip took us back to Muslim Indonesia, where everyone was celebrating Lebaran.
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We joined other families hanging out at a
giant waterfall. |
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We rented a motorbike to get around the island. A lot
of it was covered in coconut palm forest. |
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| We found some deserted fishing beaches to hang out on. |
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| The water was crystal clear. |
Gili Air
From one island to another, we took a short boat ride over to one of 3 small islands off of Lombok. They are each ringed by coral reefs and the beach is white and covered with pieces of coral. We went snorkeling right off the beach and saw sea turtles and many kinds of fish and coral.
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| a grilled red snapper BEFORE |
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| and AFTER |
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| The beaches were picture perfect. |
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The islands had no cars or motorbikes on them. Horse cart
was the fastest way to get people around things from
the market. |
