Eat, Pray, Love

That's not what this trip is about!!!! But, I'll use it because of the boat we saw!

It's been awhile since my last substantive post.  I've been busy, but before completely moving on from Indonesia to Australia, I'll share some pictures and reflections...

Our favorite part of Indonesia was the Gili Islands and the views of Lombok.  When I come back to Indonesia, I'll start there.  Bali, and with no offense intended towards the Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.,  is just too over-developed.  In fact, it's one of the worst offending stops my Asia trail.

Parts of Bali were great and beautiful, however.  And with more time we would've had stayed in those locations.  Overall, it is not the unspoiled paradise I had maybe thought it would be.  But if you want a Dunkin Donuts whilst on vacation, I suppose there are worse places you could go.

Our trip to the Gili's kicked off the beauty we found in Indo.

A side note about the Gili's, where I dove 5 times; the sea life is quite good, which is surprising because the reefs have been destroyed as a result of the now discontinued practice of Bomb Fishing.  Which is.... exactly what it sounds like.   At least it still is beautiful above the water!

Mt. Batur, an active volcano,  looms on Bali in the distance.

The Rice Terraces of Ubud.  We saw it at tail end of the Harvest season, so much of the terraces had been cleared, but we got this section!

Indonesia is a predominantly Islamic nation, but the island of Bali is mainly Hindu.  We found this Hijab one of the more amusing culture clashes we saw on Bali. 

Outside of Ubud, we ran across a field filled with motorbikes.  Well it turned out to be a massive cockfighting arena.  While I'm still unsure about how I feel about cock fighting, the unfortunate losers  fate's are generally determined quickly and their meat doesn't go to waste.

The Rooster Line-up:  Each crate holds a potential payday!  Or a shattered dream...

Right before the fight, the betting erupts!

We also spent some time with the elephants: 

ROXY!

She smelled though!

And of course we miss the night markets and Bintangs!

Our go-to spot on Gili T!

We stayed at a Villa in Ubud.  And we had it all to ourselves for the two nights we were there.  It was awesome.  And, one of the few that I can recommend to any traveler that is looking for a nice place to stay in Ubud vs. just backpackers.  Though, we did have this guy watching over us one night: 

The biggest Gecko I've ever seen!

More to come soon from the last few days in Sydney and the Blue Mountains.  The Harbor and the Opera House are as cool in person as I'd imagined!