May 13
The sun was up, the birds were singing, and the old lady was out chasing birds again in the rice field. Guess it's time to get up and begin day three on Bali. My wife and two oldest children experimented with breakfast, but Wes and I stuck to our trusty favorites. Fried noodles with watermelon juice for me and plain toast for him. Dawn continued to stay predictable with her choice of morning drink. She seems to be enjoying the special Bali blend of coffee. I'm not a coffee drinker and don't think I'll ever understand the fascination for the black stuff. The way Bali coffee is served leaves a pile of sludge in the bottom of the cup. I'm sure this is the long sought after; grand utopia experience for true coffee junkies, but it's just plain disgusting looking for us non cult members. Why not just put some potting soil in a cup of hot water and drink it? Before returning home we were to pick up a bunch of this Bali coffee for gifts. 'Oh how nice! My very own bag of Bali dried mud. You really didn't need to. '
After breakfast, we were off to Bird Park. Since it was not extremely far from the hotel, and since we were the only guests at the time, our hotel gave us free transport to the Park. The place was quiet as far as tourists go. While I don't remember the exact price for the tickets, I do remember that it was pricey. If my memory serves me right, it was around $14 for adults and $7 for kids. I grumbled a little about the price, but got over it. There is no longer a combination ticket with the reptile park next door because they now have different ownership.
Like the elephant park in Taro, someone did an outstanding job on the layout and landscaping of this park. After just a few minutes in the park I was telling that little tight wad guy, on my left shoulder, to relax because it looks like it was worth the money. There are absolutely hundreds of birds in the park, which come in all species, sizes, and colors. We shot at least 100 pictures of the birds. The kids' favorite places in the park were where they could have interaction with the birds. In one large area, where birds fly freely, we were able to feed the birds with bowls of baby food. That was a true photographers dream, getting shots of red, green, and multi colored parrots sitting on the heads and shoulders of the children. If you go, ask about feeding times, so you can mingle with the birds. There was another spot in the park where you could have free pictures taken with some larger birds, like hornbills and cockatoos. I was just amazed by the variety of species found at the park, such as but not limited to, parrots, swans, flamingos, owls, hornbills, pelicans, birds of paradise, toucans, ground birds, fruit bats, and even two Komodo dragons.
As far as memory moments go, the 'Bird That Got Zack,' has to be in the run for first place. The moment happened shortly after our nice and inexpensive sandwich lunch, towards the back of the park. While checking out the far regions of the park, a very large bird decided to lay his burdens on Zachary's shoulders. Poor Zack was so ticked off and embarrassed. I suppose it wasn't helping much that I'm telling my wife not to clean it off until I get it on video tape. 'My goodness, Son, that aint no bird dropping! I think you just got hit by a meteor!' Hey, high fives, everyone. Zachary just got lucky! While I'm no expert Indonesian pooh-pooh sign reader, I was guessing that Zack was headed for some really great luck, based on the size of the splat on his head and shoulders. 'Hey son, is that dandruff on your shoulders? That itch, I mean poop, may be telling you something!'
Sensing the humor was not going over well, I switched gears, and decided to seize on what appeared to be, one of those truly intimate and spontaneous parental mentoring moments. 'Son, what just happened to you as you walked the paths of Bird Park, is a lot like life. Son, as we walk the paths of life, every now and then the birds of life will drop a load, when we least expect it. We just have to clean ourselves off each time and...' I was cut off with, 'All right Dad, enough already! Will you just drop the subject please?' So much for the Hallmark moment. You can bet I'll be showing that video to his kids someday. Dad will get the last laugh. Ha ha ha
The Bali Bird Park is an A+ activity for young and old. We spend three hours there and could have easily spent more. Our whole family recommends the Bali Bird Park, even Zachary. Just be careful of the big white bird, towards the back of the park, who sits above the walkway with a sneaky grin on his beak!
We went back to the hotel for a few hours and swam, relaxed, and a certain someone got a new change of clothes. Next it was off to Ubud for supper. We ate at a little inexpensive place called the Roda Restaurant (Warung). It was mentioned in the Lonely Planet Guidebook, so we thought we'd give it a try. Actually it was the little tight-wad guy on the left shoulder, that led us there. That little booger did a victory dance on my shoulder for finally getting me to take his advice on this trip. The food was good, the portions were plenty, and the price was very nice, for cheapies like me.
After the meal, we walked a short distance to the Ubud Palace, for a 7:00 PM dance performance. The dance tonight would be a re-enactment of eighties break dancing. Rumor was that M. Jackson had gotten bail in order to come and do a special moon-walk presentation. Ok, I'm only kidding, for any of you gullible enough to believe that. The Balinese dance that we watched was called a Barong Dance. It is a dance and orchestra presentation that tells a story. Basically it is similar to a western musical or opera, minus a fat lady, with horns, who shatters glass with high pitched screaming.
The children got to sit on the ground right next to the stage, where the action was. They were all glued to the performance. The Barong dance has a good dragon-like creature that is controlled by two people. The kids really liked that, as well as the characters in monkey costumes. I was able to get some good video of the monkeys interacting with our children. At one point in the show, several little monkeys (kids in monkey drag), had so much fun interacting with our kids that they were missing they're parts in the play. An older monkey had to come over and pull them away. Guess this proves that even in the monkey kingdom, older siblings are bullies. The music, backgrounds, and presentation were all well worth the price of admission. I don't remember the exact price but know it was cheap. They even let one of our kids go in for free. For those curious, we paid at the gate and not from the sellers roaming the sidewalk. Our hotel driver was waiting for us at the gate as soon as the performance was over. We knew the dance had been a success with the children because they talked about all the way back to the hotel.
Upon our return to the hotel we sent the kids to their rooms to update their journals. None of them got very far and were fast asleep with pencils in hand. We only wish they would fall asleep that fast at home.
Quad tour and white water rafting to come,
Note: I have pictures of our activities posted online but don't know exactly how to get you to the site. Posting URL's to pictures is a no-no on the forum. I guess you can email me if you need directions.
Steve
micronesianhunters@yahoo.com