Bali, Indonesia

When you are someplace where Bali is just a quick weekend trip away, you do one thing...you go to Bali.  And that's just what Johnnie and I did our last weekend in Asia.  

Our friends, Chris and Amanda, had recently traveled to the beautiful Indonesian island and they RAVED about one of the places they stayed - The Elephant Safari Park & Lodge (which I will shorten to ESP&L).  At the last minute, we cancelled our original resort reservation and went to stay with the elephants.

I'm gonna go ahead and warn you - this is a rather lengthy post.  But come on, it's BALI!  

You don't see these on the interstates back home...

Johnnie at the entrance to the park... 

I must have taken a million pictures of these Balinese stone sculptures...but I promise not to make you look at all of them.

Rice field backing up to the ESP&L...

We're BILLIONAIRES!!!  In Indonesian rupiah at least.  :)

ESP&L grounds...

Peek-a-boo!

The building in this photo is the main open-air restaurant on the property.  From your table, you have the perfect view of the elephants playing in the water.  So so cool.

Visitors in Bali can pay a fee to enter the park for a day.  A ticket gets you 1 elephant ride, access to the museum, and you get to see the talent show.  As a guest in the lodge, you get all of that and MORE.  

Every morning and night of our stay, we had the option to take a jungle safari ride.  Here's Johnnie on our front porch, waiting for our ride.

Look at the time!  Where's our driver??

Here he comes!  The elephants (with their mahouts) would stroll up to our front porch and we'd climb right on.  

Off we go...

Here's another shot of the mahout sitting on the elephant's head.  A mahout is a person who drives an elephant.  Mahouts are typically born in to the family business and grow up with their elephant.  All of the mahouts at the ESP&L were from the Indonesian island of Sumatra (just like the animals) and left their families behind to make the long trip across Indonesia to eventually arrive in Bali.  

I asked one of the Mahouts how often he got back to Sumatra.  He said he only traveled back every 3 or 4 years because it was so expensive.  But then he told me, "It's OK, because the elephant is my family." :)

A jungle home that we passed on our ride.  I could not even begin to count the number of chickens running around in their yard.

Elephant had to stop to let the moped pass.  Haha.

Posing with our new friend...

Snack time...

I don't know what was more entertaining to me: the elephants or this guy who squealed like a girl every time the elephant stuck his trunk out at him.  Probably that guy.

There were two toddlers at the ESP&L - the first elephants to be born in the park.  Wish I had taken a video of the babies playing...I could watch them running around, with their trunks swinging to and fro all day.

Come on, Mom!!

Love her spikey hair.  :)

We caught the talent show a couple times while we were there.

And this view made me laugh just as hard the 4th time as it did the 1st.  :)

Playing the harmonica... 

Elephant painting...we bought this very piece.  Now all we need is a home to hang it in.

Another perk to staying at the lodge was that we got to give the elephants their baths in the morning before the park opened.  Here comes one of them, ready to get clean...

Getting sprayed down with a pile of snacks on hand...that's one happy 'phant.

We also got to "swim" with the elephants before the park opened.

A little nervous at this point...

My turn to drive...

Had to post this one.  Johnnie's getting buns, I mean tons, of help onto the elephant.  ;) 

These next few also make me giggle.  Watch the progression...

Johnnie still thinking he can do it without having to hold on to the mahout.

Maybe shoulders won't be so bad...

Forget the shoulders!!!  Holding on for dear life!

Johnnie taking the wheel...

Post-swim photo op...

One day we took a trip into Ubud...known as one of the cultural areas of Bali. 

The Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary...

Later that afternoon, Johnnie and I took a Balinese cooking class at Cafe Wayan in Ubud. 

The restaurant sat in the middle of a rice field...so peaceful and pretty...

Our welcome drink...

We learned how to make 5 different local dishes.

I framed this picture and have it in the kitchen - it makes me smile every time I look at it.  :)

If a genie gave me three wishes, one of them would definitely be for this to be my everyday kitchen...

With our instructor... 

We did good!!  ;)

One last Cafe Wayan shot as the sun was beginning to set.  This was around the time when my "Sunday Blues" started to kick in.  Our weekend in Bali was absolutely wonderful, but certainly not long enough.

Our flight back to Singapore the next day was delayed, so we decided to make good use of the last few rupiahs in our pockets: 2 Bintang beers and 3 packs of Sugus candy...a delicious end to a most fabulous Indonesian vacay.