For 50 years, Judy and I have had turkey for Thanksgiving. We remember days with our parents and siblings, our kids and grandkids, with friends and by ourselves. Would this year, celebrating in Darwin, Australia, end the string? Nope. The Viking folks came through for Year 51 with a turkey dinner with all the fixings, including pumpkin pie for dessert.

Today was also crocodile day. We traveled an hour east of Darwin through the countryside to the Kakadu National Park. The tour was operated by the Spectacular Jumping Crocodile Cruises and lasted about 45 minutes. And indeed, we saw crocodiles. Half a dozen of them.

Now we’ve seen plenty of the crocs’ cousins, alligators, in Florida. Crocodiles are larger and more likely to attack then alligators. The captain of our pontoon craft warned us that crocodiles see pretty much the way we humans do. They are particularly attracted to bright colors, such as the red life jackets the company distributes in the unlikely event that we have to abandon ship in the middle of the croc-infested Adelaide River. When not dining on tourists, crocs, the big ones anyway, have been known to go after water buffalo but are mostly satisfied with 12- to 18-inch fish, which are plentiful and easier to get.

The Adelaide empties into the Arafura Sea and at this point is brackish water. It therefore supports both freshwater and saltwater crocodiles. I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t know the difference and would swim equally hard no matter which was chasing me. Saltwater crocs actually prefer freshwater. Go figure.

The tour company’s name is stretching things a bit. Until recently, they would dangle bait from a long pole and cause the crocs to jump a number of feet out of the water, thereby earning the “spectacular jumping” part of the claim. Animal rights types stopped that practice so all we saw was crocs floating like dead logs in the gently flowing river. Friends on board saw the bait trick being pulled right in town so the animal rights people haven’t been everywhere yet. But we got bragging rights. I shot some bird and landscape scenery shots too.

Upon our return to Darwin, Judy and I elected to be dropped off in the Central Business District for a brief walk. We went down a pedestrian shopping street (it was 6 PM and the shops were all closed), through the Bicentennial Park, by the Darwin Cenotaph Memorial, by the Northern Territory Parliament Building and the territory’s Administrator’s house, to Christ Church where a youth choir was performing and back to the ship for the aforementioned turkey feed.

Our guide on the bus, and the lecturers here on board, were quite helpful in understanding the Northern Territory. Australia is divided into six states and a number of territories. The Northern Territory is big enough to be a state, but it’s never been given that status. It’s the second biggest in terms of land area but its population of 250,000 is only half of the smallest state (Tasmania).

Darwin was founded in 1869, quite late in the history of European Australia, which dates back to Captain Cook in 1770 and the first penal settlement at Botany Bay (Sydney) in 1788. Its development has been influenced by three main events (in my simplistic and probably flawed view of things):

• The gold rush of 1872, which spurred development of Darwin.
• World War II and in particular the repeated bombing of Darwin beginning on February 19, 1942. It was carried out shortly after Pearl Harbor by four aircraft carriers that attacked Hawaii on December 7, 1941. The Japanese, rightfully, saw Darwin as a key supply point for the American forces in the Pacific. Many citizens were killed and many others left town permanently.
• Cyclone Tracy in 1974, which caused damage to 80% of the town’s structures and killed 71 citizens. Again, many people left town permanently.

Today, the city appears to be quite modern and thriving, although looks can be deceiving. The Parliament building is, in particular, quite impressive and is undergoing expansion. Tourism is a significant contributor to the town’s economy. Cattle grazing and mining are important as are the military and public works projects.

Darwin is the northern terminus of the Stuart Highway, which runs  3,000 km (1,800 miles) from Adelaide in the south, through Alice Springs in the middle (we’ll be there in a week or two) to Darwin. Darwin is a port city for goods flowing from Indonesia and Southeast Asia. It was built as part of the WWII war effort. The Northern Territory extends to just south of Alice Springs.

We’ll learn more when we visit the town’s museum tomorrow. We sail around 1 PM, just in time for a Backgammon game (the software has been fixed; I won a game this morning) and our afternoon nap before teatime and dinner.

Lombok, I think, is jealous of its neighbor, Bali. Bali has the international name recognition. Bali gets all the tourists. Bali earns 80% of its income from tourism. Lombok gets 70% of its income from agriculture and most agriculture is done with manual labor. The last cruise boat to come to Lombok was last May. Guess which brings in more money: tourism or agriculture.

Today, Judy and I divided to conquer Lombok. She went to a pottery demonstration and a wood carving demonstration. I went to a temple, the same wood carving demo, a pearl store and a museum of Lombok history. I suspect that’s the best tourism opportunities Lombok has to offer. No sandy beaches, no swimming pools in tropical settings. No Marriott Luxury Edition hotels. That’s what Lombok needs to compete with Bali.

We saw several musical groups performing traditional Indonesian songs on traditional instruments. One instrument performed the melody. The other six or more percussionists provided rhythmic accompaniment. There was also a sword fighting demonstration, deriving from war ceremonies and now a sport. These groups only perform when there are tourists or visiting dignitaries are in town.

Again today, considerable bus riding was required. It’s not that the distances are so great – probably less than 20 miles. It’s that traffic moves at such a slow pace. Roads are OK but traffic, a mixture of motor scooters, cars and trucks – is snarled. Motor scooters seemed more prevalent here than on Bali, maybe indicative of the relative economic condition between the two.

For us, the most interesting part of today’s touring was not the attractions but seeing how people work and live, as best as can be seen from a tour bus. I while away the hours on the bus taking pictures of people, shops and houses. You can suffer through today’ s shots to see what I mean.

One thing that you see here and a lot of other developing nations is a plethora of small food stands and kiosks, often selling just a few items. It’s never clear to me how the people sitting in their stalls can ever make a living. There are so many of them and so few customers. I don’t get it. Then again, I never walk through a shopping mall back home without wondering how all those shoe stores can ever stay in business. How many shoe stores does the world need?

On the other hand, there were several new housing developments that we saw going up on our way back to the ship. Our guide said that the average 20-year mortgage would run 1,000,000 rupiah per month, equivalent to about $600. That’s a lot in this economy.

The temple that I visited was built in 1744 as a Hindu temple. Today, it welcomes worshipers from all faiths, including Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists and Christians. Indonesians pride themselves in their religious tolerance.

We attended a history lecture this evening about the spread of Islam throughout Southeast Asia and Indonesia in particular. Islam came to this region through the activities of Arabian and Persian traders, people interested in economic gain rather than religious evangelism. They allowed Islam to accommodate local religious beliefs, be it Hindu or even animistic religions. And Islam has never been adopted as a state religion. Indonesian law is not based on Sharia law. Religious tolerance results from the separation of church and state.

Tomorrow it’s off to see the Komodo Dragons.

All pictures from yesterday are now on line and I think I’ve figured out the problem. Finger

Not much excitement today – just the transfer from the Laguna Hotel to the Viking Orion. We didn’t leave the hotel until 1 PM so we did breakfast, a dip in the pool and, to establish bragging rights, waded out into the Indian Ocean. The tide was coming in, so we had to wait for an hour before the swimming area had water. We found a dip in the sand that gave us knee deep coverage. We went in just about as far when we visited the beach in Durban, South Africa so our claim to fame is now well established.

The Orion is just like the Sky, the ship we sailed on when we did the Baltic in 2018, right down to the pictures on the wall. Good food, friendly staff, nice facilities. Tomorrow we’re touring the Indonesian island of Lombok, the next island east of Bali – 89 nautical miles, to be exact. We’re doing separate tours: Judy is going on a wood and pottery arts tour and I’m doing the capital of Mataram. They say it takes 45 minutes to an hour to get to anywhere interesting from the cruise port, so we may be in for more bus riding. We’ll see.

The Guest History Lecturer gave a talk on the history of Indonesia this evening before dinner. I’ll save you the details, but its history is like a lot of other places. Indigenous peoples established trading routes beginning in the 600 AD timeframe, give or take. The Portuguese explored the region (Vasco de Grama, notably). That led to spice and silk routes around Cape Horn that competed with the overland and Mediterranean routes. The English and Dutch saw a good thing and became dominant. Eventually, the Dutch traded rights to New Amsterdam (NYC) with the English, keeping in return rights to the nutmeg rich island of Run. Who got the better deal? The Japanese invaded and controlled the region during WWII. After the war, the Dutch, after a bit of fighting, gave in and Indonesia became independent. Two dictators, Sukarno and Suharto, ruled the nominally democratic country until brought down by corruption. Now the country’s population has stabilized at around 280 million. Its chief exports are petroleum and palm oil. Bali is the strongest island economy due to tourism. It’s a mecca for fun-seeking folks, especially from Australia. Think the Caribbean for the U.S.

One final note on Bali. Bali, as I said yesterday, is 90% Hindu. Indonesia as a whole is 90% Muslim. Bali has its own marriage customs, family groupings and many other cultural characteristics. It has its own language. Our guide, Ayu, worries that, while the Hindu religion practiced by most people in Bali is not in danger, the language and culture of Bali might be diluted and lost. I asked our historian about this. He said that religious tolerance is a real thing in Indonesia and that Bali’s strong economy should keep it safe. Time will tell. Social media and kids being kids are pretty strong forces in its own right.

Today’s objective was to visit two temples of historical significance. Doing so entailed a day on a tour bus – five busses in all carrying 20 guests each. That’s a lot of tourists but only a drop in the bucket compared to the total number of tourists visiting each site. This is Saturday and so the crowds were thick.

Doing so also entailed a lot of seat time – maybe 2 hours to the first temple, another 2 hours to the second and close to 3 hours to return. Add in lunch for 45 minutes and temple visits for an hour each. We left at 9 AM and got back close to 6 PM. We had a police escort, siren blaring, on the return trip. The escort turned a two-lane 35 mph road into a three-lane 45 mph racecourse, with motor scooters on either side adding to the confusion. A nail biter but we made it OK. A long first day on the tourist trail.

We ate breakfast at the hotel and by chance sat with another Viking couple who, small world, used to live in Melrose and now live in Windham. We compared travel notes and we’ve been to the same places, right down to Nepal and Bhutan.

The first temple, Tanah Lot, is said to have been built in the 15^th century. There was a great spiritual Hindu saint, Dang Hyang Dwi Jendra. In his old age, was led to the site of Tanah Lot by a holy light. His teachings were challenged by another spiritual leader. Dang Hyang Dwi Jendra proved his legitimacy by using his meditation to move the huge rock into the sea. Everyone was convinced and they built a temple on the island in his honor.

Some argue that natural erosion caused the rock to be separated from the mainland. In 1980 the government of Japan provided funds to restore roughly 30% of the rock that had succumbed to erosion. It’s a major tourist attraction.

Among the many tourists there today were a number of Muslim students – middle school and high school, I’d guess. Ayu said that they are from Java on a field trip and would return home tomorrow.

We next stopped at the Handara Golf and Resort Club for a standard-issue tour bus buffet luncheon. The meal was OK for what it was. The golf course looked nice but I had to wonder if they had enough golfing business to survive. The tour bus trade may be needed to water the greens.

The Taman Ayun temple was nearby. Built in the 17^th century as a royal temple during the Mengwi Empire, its name translates to “beautiful garden.” Indeed, it has lots of nice gardens. And a lot of tourists. But it is an active Hindu temple nonetheless.

The golf resort and Taman Ayun temple are located at a higher elevation – 3,000 feet or so I’d guess. The temperature at Taman Ayun was maybe 70 compared to 85 or higher at Tanah Lot.

For me, the real value of this trip was to watch the Bali landscape pass by our bus windows. I hesitate to call Bali a third-world locale, but it reminded us of Nepal. It is dominated by two main features: lots of small retail businesses and shops and a huge number of temples of all sizes and shapes. In the highlands, fruit and vegetable farming is a big deal. Since Hindu Bali largely follows a vegetarian diet, there’s a steady market for veggies.

Ayu tells us that there is no social network for unemployed persons. There are no governmental unemployment programs, so it’s work or starve, take your pick. Hence the shops. Take a look at the pictures to see what I mean.

Ayu also tells us that virtually every Hindu home has a temple on its premises. The family places daily offerings on the temple. Ayu said she hadn’t placed her offering yet but would do so when she got home.

There are also temples established at several different levels: neighborhood, village, region, etc. Bali is clearly a devout community of Hindu practitioners. Bali is the only majority Hindu island in all of Indonesia. Upwards of 90% of Bali’s population is said Hindu; Muslims account for most of the rest.

Here are pictures I took out the bus windows to give you an idea of what Bali is like.

Sorry, but due to a slow Internet tonight and the late hour, I’m able to post only a few. I’ll get the others up later.

 

“Taxi to the airport please.”

It’s 6:30 AM and we want to be at the airport two hours before our 9 AM flight, giving us plenty of time to mess up.

“International departures, sir?” “Yes, international, please.” We’re going to Indonesia, and that’s international, right? But the country of Singapore has only one commercial airport (the other airport in the country is for charter flights). All flights from Singapore are thus international. Our taxi dropped us at Terminal 3; our flight was out of 2. Maybe the four terminals are arranged in terms of degree of internationalism. No worries: a very efficient train made the transfer and we got there with loads of time to spare.

Next problem: we’re flying Coach for this two-hour leg. Business Class, our happy place these days, was $500 extra. But will there be room for our carryons? Will we get food? Will our seat mate be a fat slob? Will we fit in those narrow seats after eating nonstop yesterday? Life in coach is stressful. But everything worked out just fine. The 787 plane had tons of space, the hot breakfast was just great (when was the last time you had breakfast in coach), and our seat mate was a pleasant young lady.

Once we penetrated Immigration and Customs, each of which seemed to have what I’d call third-world system problems, we started scanning a sea of people waiting representatives for the Viking people. Found ‘em but they too had system problems – we weren’t on their list in the expected spot. All was straightened out and a nice guide, Ayu, loaded us into a car for a traffic delayed 45-minute trip in heavy traffic to the hotel.

As we drove, Ayu gave us some idea of what Bali is about. It’s a small island, part of the Indonesian chain of islands. Java is to the west and Lombok, which we will visit, is to the east. Indonesia is made up of 17,000 islands with a population of 279 million people, fourth most populous in the world, bigger than the USA. There are thousands of distinct ethnic groups and hundreds of languages spoken. Each island group has its own language. Indonesian is the umbrella language. Hindu is the predominant religion, especially on Bali.

Bali is just to the south of the equator, so it’s warm here. Ayu says it’s also the beginning of the rainy season, but Bali has had only two rain showers so far. Temperatures in the 90s today are unusual.

Tourism accounts for about 80% of Bali’s GNP. Times were tough during Covid, Ayu told us.

Turns out our hotel is a Marriott property, swanky as all get out with enough swimming pools to float several boats. Fresh water and salt. A beautiful property with beachfront on the Indian Ocean.

Ayu had suggested a nearby restaurant called the Dirty Duck. Fried duck is a traditional Indonesian and Bali delicacy and she thought it’s something we should try. So down the beach we went, maybe a 20-minute walk. We found it and indeed the duck was good. Everything else? Hot and spicy. Bali is not a place for the “No spice, please. I’m Judy” girl I’m married to. Even the yellow rice had me reaching for my water bottle.

Parenthetically, we saw “No sex please. We’re British” in London with our friends Jean and David on our honeymoon vacation fifty-one years ago.

So here we are in the lap of luxury. They hung floral leis around our necks and handed us a tropical quaff on the way into the hotel. We’re to be in the lobby at 8:30, sharp, for our daylong tour of two temples nearby. It’s a different mindset from independent travel. But we’ll adapt to make the transition, never fear.