Bali, Indonesia Day two

We stayed in Bali overnight.  There are not many places where a  cruise ships will stay overnight.  But this is one of them.  We were scheduled for a beach day but yesterday we decided to cancel it.  And it is a good thing we did because the weather today is the same as yesterday, off and on showers.  Not a good beach day.

A little bit of Bali history.  The Balinese people are descendants of a prehistoric race who migrated through mainland Asia.  They retain their own individuality as compared to the rest of Indonesia.  Bali is religiously distinct from the rest of Indonesia.  The Balinese are Hindu with elements of Buddhism.  To the Balinese, every living thing contains a spirit.  The majority of Indonesia is Muslim.

Much of Bali's history is still evident in its modern culture.  Nyepi (which means silent) Day is celebrated every New Year.  On this day, usually in March or April, the Balinese do not work, light fire or use electricity, go outside or fulfill personal desires.  These observances allow the people to reflect and cleanse themselves while also allowing the Earth to rest and cleanse itself for the New Year.  Each year on Nyepi Day, the entire island is quiet and after sunset, it is completely dark.  Not a good day to visit Bali.

It was not until 1585 that the west had any contact with Bali.  In that year, a Portuguese ship foundered of the coast of Bukit.  Most of the ship's company drowned but a few survivors settled on the island.  And then 12 years later, the Dutch explorer Cornelius de Houtman, visited the island and the first information about Bali hit the western world.

The tradition from colonialism to independence was not an easy one and by 1956 the entire Indonesian nation was undergoing a difficult period.  Also in that year, the Besakih volcano erupted and many died and entire villages were wiped out.

We braved to elements and swam for about a half hour before it started to rain again.

Lunch up on La Veranda and then a nap for Bob while I worked on the blog.

We arranged to meet Ira and Bobbie for cocktails and then have dinner with them.  While we were waiting for them to arrive, Marilyn and Bob wanted to join us.  We explained we were meeting folks.  Hope they understood.  But Ira and Bobbie never arrived so after waiting a half hour, Bob started looking in the other lounges.  So then since we could not find them, we headed to Compass Rose for dinner.  While waiting to be seated, Maria (our waitress) ran over and said I have your friends.  So we were able to eat with Ira and Bobbie after all.  While Bob was looking in other lounges, so was Ira.  I guess they were like ships passing in the night.  But all is well that ends well.  We had a  lovely dinner with great conversation.

Yesterday when we were getting the local pilot on board, the ship had to slow down and the stabilizers do not work.  So the ship rocked back and forth.  It was a very significant roll but I did not know how much until I returned to the suite.  My perfume had fallen off the shelf and broke.   The only item I had that was glass.  And the bathroom smelled quite nice for a while.  Oh well, such is life at sea.

After dinner we returned to the suite and I read and then lights out.