Australia...finally! Hunter Valley

After countless hours of quizzing our Australian friends, guide book research, Great Barrier Reef doco (documentary) viewing, Croc Dundee quoting, and “Land Down Under” singing, we were more than ready for our Oz adventure.   During all that planning we forgot one critical item - entry requirements. We had a moment of panic when notified while checking in that yes indeed American's do need a Visa to visit Oz.  Our crisis was averted with a last minute Visa application at the airport, whew! 

After landing and savoring our first breaths of fresh air, we picked up our campervan and made our way to breakfast in Surry Hills.  We could hardly contain ourselves when we saw the amazing pork options, Western portion sizes, all you can drink tap water, and berries at the market.  As we wandered around a bit, Jeff spotted a cafe with meat pies - one of the must tries on our list.  

First meat pie

As we headed out of Sydney to Hunter Valley wine country, we ooohed and awwwed over all the amazing views.  

Within 30 minutes of arriving in Hunter Valley, Jeff ran to the window yelling "Roos! Roooooooooos!" Sure enough there was a family of kangaroos hanging out in our backyard munching on grass.

We spent the next day wining and dining our way through the valley including 5 cellar doors, cheese tasting, 1 brewery, chokkie (chocolate) tasting, and a gourmet dinner.  Making up for lost times in Jakarta, we stocked up on a dozen bottles of wine to "sip" over the next few weeks of our trip. 

Blueberry Hill winery and the bluest sky we've seen in a long time

The next morning, Jeff again started shrieking about the roos.  I ran out to see an amazing round of boxing and kicking.  They can balance on their tails to kick the opponent with both feet and after all the jumping they do they've got some strong legs.  The guy on the right gave up after a good kick to the pouch.

Ultimate fighting roos

After the excitement of the morning, we packed up the campervan and headed back to the coast for the next part of our Oz next adventure.  

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Sanur, Bali 2013

Our final stop on the Bali tour was Sanur Beach, close to the tourist hotspot Denpasar.   We did a lot of beach exploring, coconut drinking, pool reading, and spa'ing.  Dalena managed to fit in a full day of treatments - manicure, pedicure, cream bath, and reflexology (foot massage) all for under $30.  Jeff and I settled for the best reflexology we've ever had for only $4 and of course more ribs.

Sanur Beach

Really cool fishing boat along the beach

The Gagatkos are always very mature and refined

These beautiful sacrifices can be found all over Bali.  After stepping on a few, we learned to watch our feet.

Can't go wrong with coconuts on the beach.

Our two days in Sanur flew by and we weren't ready to leave.  Luckily its a short flight away so we're hoping we'll have an excuse to return some day.

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Amed, Bali 2013

After 3 days in the bustling city of Ubud, we headed to the quiet shores of Amed.  We found the change of pace we were hoping for and completely relaxed while taking in the beautiful sights.  Amed is known for fantastic snorkeling, one of our favorite vacation activities.  On our first day we took a boat trip to Coral Garden and Japanese Shipwreck, and they both lived up to their reputation.  This was Dalena's first time snorkeling, and she didn't let a case of seasickness stop her.  She quickly loved watching the underwater life and was a pro by the end the trip.

Double thumbs up!

So many little fish

Hard to tell, but this guy was really big

Trumpetfish

The venomous lionfish

Cuttlefish - the chameleon of the sea.  When we first saw him he tried to look like a piece of coral with thorns.  Then as he swam around he turned yellow, brown, gold, and red to blend in.  One of our favorites!

We managed to wake up one morning to see the beautiful sunrise over the ocean.  So worth it!

Amed is also famous for making gourmet sea salt.  We toured the "factory" and of course had to buy a few souvenirs.  

These ladies make me look 7 feet tall!

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Ubud, Bali with the Fam

Ubud is the art and culture center of Bali and is surrounded by picturesque rice paddy views from all directions.   Jeff and I have done a good amount of traveling this past year and this is the first city we've gone back to, we just love the city.  An added bonus this year was our new found love for pork which the Balinese do really, really well.  I'm a little embarrassed to admit that in 8 days in Bali we had the famous babi guling (suckling pig) twice and pork ribs at least 5 times along with bacon every morning for breakfast.  We got into the mindset that we can't often get good pork in Jakarta and went "all out" for the entire vacation.  

Since we missed it last year, we all had to go see the Kecak dance which involves chanting, dancing, arm throwing, and fire.  Mom said it as the coolest thing she'd ever seen!

A little blurry, but still shows the awesome costumes.

This finale was a man dressed in a horse costume, kicking and dancing over hot coals.

Our second visit to Ibu Oka's Warung, the best suckling pig in Bali according to our taxi driver

We took a bike trip through villages and rice paddies, luckily all down hill :-)

These women showed us how to harvest rice.  It looks like one of the hardest jobs around.

Walking through the rice paddies just outside of Ubud

Our favorite dinner was at Sari Organic with a fantastic view of the sunset over the rice paddies

Planting rice during the cooler dusk hour

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Jakarta with Dalena

The last month has been a bit of a whirlwind between saying goodbye (for now) to some of our closest friends here in Jakarta,  joining a crossfit gym, welcoming the Voorhees clan, hosting a duel going away party for Brendan and Les, a last minute trip to Singapore, finalizing details of our upcoming Australia trip, and of course prepping for Dalena's visit to Indonesia.  Once Dalena arrived we had a limited amount of Jakarta time before we all met up in Bali which is perfect considering the few tourist attractions in the Big Durian.  We made the most of our days in Jakarta and made sure to give her a taste (and smell) of the city.

Pasar Mayestik

The look from Mom (an 11 year vegetarian) says it all

Not sure what you make with a cow foot, but apparently there's demand 

Istiqlal - The largest mosque in SE Asia, built to commemorate Indonesian independence.

Our guide said that almost 200,000 people come to the mosque on Idul Fitri.

The lines in the tiles help people line up for prayer.  

Monas National Monument 

Jakarta Cathedral

Mom rounded out her Jakarta visit with batik and ikat fabric shopping, reflexology, shopping for durian flavored dodol (sweet coconut candy), an adventurous walk on the "sidewalks", and ride in a bajaj.  

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Janur Weaving with Heritage Explorers

If you've been to Bali, you've seen the beautiful woven Janur decorations that adorn houses, festivals, and temples all over the island.  Janur is the traditional art of weaving and twisting young leaves of the coconut palm.   

Janur baskets and decorations at a Hindu temple in Bali

The larger pieces are often used for wedding decorations

This week our explorers group travelled to a Javanese house where we learned the basics of Janur weaving.  Although I didn't master the advanced bird head, I managed to create 5 different types and even got a "WOW" from Jeff when he arrived home.

We looked like a group of ladies in a sewing circle

Star student!

Sadly I didn't win the Janur turkey that our teacher made...

Our new centerpiece.

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Tangerang with Heritage Explorers

Its too easy to settle into a routine and before you know it your weeks consist of work, chores, and familiar restaurants.  Jakarta and the surrounding areas are full of interesting cultural experiences, but I can only name a few - sunda kelapa fishing boats, traditional markets, and chinatown.  Wanting to change this, I signed up for the Heritage Explorers group.  Our first excursion was to Tangerang, a Jakarta suburb that Jeff commutes to at least 3 times a week for work.

We started out with a $1 becak (bicycle taxi) ride around the downtown area for some sightseeing.  I must be twice the size of most passengers because I had to really crouch to squeeze in.

After a short presentation, we went to a festival celebrating the upcoming dragon boat races.  The boats were very elaborately decorate, but weren't racing until the following weekend.  My competitive side wanted to join the races until an image of falling into the river came to mind.

There was a ceremony with singing, incense, drumming, praying, and best of all egg balancing.  I was skeptical at first, but it was actually pretty easy to get the eggs balanced on end.  Hopefully this will bring another year of good luck for Jeff and I in Asia.

Our final stop was the Buddhist temple in Chinatown which was built in 1805 and honors the deities for  mercy, courage, and prosperity.

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