It was a HAPPY day when Brandon and Jessica arrived at Bali and met us at the Monkey Forest. Our driver took us to the beautiful Pura Tamah Lor, one of the 5 big Hindu temples in Bali. We timed it to arrive when the tide was out so we could walk fairly close and at the same time watch the sun set over the ocean.
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| Fresh coconut drinks and snacks |
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Different groups of Indonesians kept asking to get
their picture taken with Jessica. Star status! |
We spent the night in Sanur, on the beach, and made full use of our one day together on Bali by
bike riding, a ride in a glass-bottom boat over the reef, the orchid garden, and great beach food!
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| Corn never tasted so good! |
Friday morning, May 11, 2012, our Java Island tour began with a tour of the largest Muslim mosque in Surabaya. There was a wedding party in progress in the parking lot where the
bride, groom and several other men of the party were riding old-fashioned
bikes. We asked if it would be okay if
we took some photos and then they asked if we would stand in their photos.
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Way to crash a wedding party!
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The Lapindo Mud Volcano afforded us the opportunity to circle it
on motorcycles and watch some of the 100,000sq. meters of mud that
are expelled every day. The water is hot even this far from the action. |
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Taman Safari offers such exciting options as viewing
the animals up nice and close! Brandon was a little worried... |
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Ever smelled the breath of a camel? Come to Indonesia!
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The end of the day brought us to Bromo Cottages in the village of Tosari.
Next "morning" we were awakened at 3:15 a.m. to load into our jeep for
the trip up Guning Penanjakan for the sunrise, with about a million others. |
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| Mount Semeru is puffing away in the background--just a bunch of volcanoes! |
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| Overlooking the 10 km crater with 3 smaller volcanoes inside. Bromo is far left. |
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After our jeep ride down and across the crater, I chose the
horseback ride to the stairway up Bromo (just trying to help
the local economy). |
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| 253 stairs to the top! |
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| We even saw action in Bromo--the first time in 3 visits! |
We were back at the Bromo Cottages in time for breakfast by 9:00a.m! The trip down the mountain into Malang took a good long time, but the scenery was fabulous.
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The bird market in Malang is always delightful.
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Sunday was a day of church services and hunting for lost sheep.
We traveled to Batu to look for 3 members there. Another adventure! |
Jatim Park is another large zoo in Batu--delightfully fun. Of course, Jessica was the star of the show
again, with many groups wanting their pictures taken with our blond beauty. We were the only white
people in the park that day.
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| Becak ride in to see Karliah |
The last day was spent in Surabaya, visiting a member in the branch, buying some vegies and fruit and sampling the local cuisine. Jessica and Brandon enjoyed the small neighborhoods, as we do everyday here in paradise!
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