From temples to rice paddies to swimming with the turtles...

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Hey everyone and salamat sore (good afternoon)

I hope you’re all really well. And I apologise, I had hoped to attach some photos of where I've been but unfortunately the internet connection here is soooo slow that I couldn't. I'll make sure I send them when I can...

Well, I’ve had some adventures since I last wrote to you.

The day after writing last time, Jane and I hired a car for a couple of days and we visited all sorts of amazing Hindu temples spread all over the island of Bali. They were really beautiful, one sitting on the edge of a lake while another was hidden away in the jungle and one sat on the side of a volcano. They were very peaceful places and the local people would come in and present an offering at the shrines or pray silently. When you enter the temple, you have to put on a sarong and a scarf around your waist – I’ve attached a picture of me at wearing one. And the temples themselves have birthdays! We passed a parade where a whole village came out to have a party for their village temple. The men all carried huge umbrellas while the women carried big piles of fruit on their heads which were presents for the temple. We also visited the amazing rice paddies at a place called Jetiluweh and they were really beautiful. Because the mountains are so steep they couldn’t grow much on them and so hundreds and hundreds of years ago they began cutting steps into the side of the mountain to grow rice. They would then plant the rice and used hollow bamboo poles and dug channels so that the water went through all of the paddies to make sure that the rice was always wet and able to grow. For those who were in the photography groups, they create some pretty amazing patterns.

Unfortunately Jane had to fly home after two weeks to go back to work but because she’s such a lovely person, she said she didn’t mind if I kept traveling on my own for a while. So after seeing her off at the airport, I jumped on a super-fast boat to head off for some adventures of my own. This boat had three huge engines and we sped across the ocean, bouncing over waves and getting totally covered in water. I even saw about eleven or twelve dolphins swimming alongside the boat which was pretty special. They seem to love being the centre of attention and they followed us for a while, jumping out of the waves and diving deep into the ocean.

I arrived at my destination which was Gili Air. Gili is the Indonesian word for island and this one is one of three tiny little ones off the northwest coast of Lombok, which is the big island to the east of Bali. It’s only about 500 metres from top to bottom and about 250 metres wide and it is a real tropical paradise. Beautiful beaches, crystal clear water, swaying coconut palms and no cars at all! To get around the island you either walk, ride a bike or by a horse-drawn carriage. I’m staying in my own little bamboo bungalow which has a hammock on the verandah and is right on the beach. It’s so nice and peaceful and I’ve spent the last few days here lying in my hammock reading, swimming in the ocean and eating all the yummy barbecued seafood that is so fresh. Oh, and I got to play soccer with the local villagers. It was great playing among the coconut palms, although it’s so hot and the local guys are so young and fit and skillful. I don’t think I could do it everyday as I was dripping with sweat after five minutes and needed a swim to cool down!

It is the wet season though which means that although these little islands only get around 60 days of rain a year, most of it falls around now. And they’re amazing storms – the lightening flashes across the sky and the thunder is so loud and rumbles for so long that it feels like it’s shaking the ground. And when the rain falls, it’s in huge drops and so heavy that soon the whole street is underwater and you need to wade home!

I went snorkeling today with two new friends of mine; a guy from Canada called Michael and a girl from France called Sophie. The coral reef is only about 20 metres off shore and we spent a couple of hours swimming over the beautiful coral right along the coastline. There were thousands and thousands of fish of all sizes and colours – bright rainbow fish, big yellow and black striped ones, bright green ones, clownfish like Nemo and all sorts of other ones. And then out of nowhere a huge turtle appeared and slowly swam by. We followed him for a little while, making sure we didn’t get too close to scare him and it was an amazing experience. He was really big which means that he’s quite old too – probably 80 or 90 or even 100 years old! And he swam so slowly and beautifully, without a care in the world. It was a really special moment that I’ll remember for a long time to come. Oh, and here’s a photo of me in my snorkeling gear. As you can see, my beard has been growing. Soon I’ll look like I did at the camp talent night!

Oh, and the answers to those questions you sent through.

So, to Musa, Sarah and Jaskaran - I’m doing pretty well thank you very much! And to Emily and James, I’m having a great time indeed! Apace, I’ve seen quite a few different types of animals. Lots of beautiful birds that are the most amazing colours – bright blues and purples and greens. Frogs, geckos and lizards everywhere. There have also been these little squirrels that run around in the trees. They run up and down the trees to find insects to eat, but they move really funnily, sort of running and stopping all the time. But they jump from branch to branch and don’t fall off which is pretty cool. I’ve attached a photo of one of them for you – but you might have to look closely. And as I said, I saw lots of dolphins on my way here and of course all of the thousands of fish and quite a few turtles when I have been snorkeling. Hi Arnav, that shiny door led into a family garden. Inside they have shrines to the different gods and because this family was Buddhist, behind that door was a big statue to Buddha. Hey Ahmad - yes we did get our stuff back. Thankfully Jetstar had it delivered the next day and the great guys at the airport arranged for them to be sent up to our house. Mr Taleb, the temperature is pretty hot. It was a bit cooler in Ubud, but now that I’m down on the beach it is around 35 degrees all day. But it’s the humidity that is the worst. It is really muggy and sticky and means that even if you have a shower and dry yourself off again, you feel all wet only minutes later. But I can’t complain, the temperature in the ocean is just about perfect. Hi Fasheha. Bali is three hours behind Melbourne. So when you are starting school at 9:00 in the morning, I’m just getting out of bed because it’s 6:00 and the sun is just rising. Hey Ersen - I’m coming back in around three weeks. But by then you’ll be finished school for the year, so I’ll see you when you come back from the summer holidays. And thanks Mona - I’ll do my best to have a good week. Amelin, thanks, I’m sure I will be happy with my wife. And finally, Brenda. I certainly am having fun in Indonesia. The people are so wonderful and friendly, the food is soooo yummy and I’m going to some amazing places and doing some pretty special things.

Anyway, I’d better go. It was really good to hear from all of you and again, email me any questions and I’ll do my best to answer them. I reckon I’ll spend a few more days here and then off to explore Lombok which has some wonderful beaches, beautiful little villages, the very friendly Sasak people and the towering Gunung RInjani, which is the second highest mountain in all of Indonesia.

Until then…

Be good for Donna, Luciana, Sengul and Wes.

Well, at least for Donna and Luciana and Sengul…

Cheers

Simon

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