Returning to Bali after twenty-five years felt like stepping into a wonderful whirlwind of memories. Although much has changed since our last visit, its timeless beauty and the warmth of its people remain the same.

Attempting to fit in a round of golf as soon as we docked, a night out of fine dining, and a private driver who guided us to a few outdoor markets, then putting together a video amidst all the other activities, left me with a few posting gaps, which I hope to fill here today.

So back to arrival. Seeing Bali in the distance, with one striking addition to the island: The Garuda Wisnu Kencana statue,

which reaches up a little over 400 ft (122 m). At first I thought it might be a water tower until we got closer to port. Impressive.

I knew the waves were going to be pumping given the swells Crystal Serenity was riding into port. Add to that an off-shore breeze and long frequency between crests– Bali welcomed me with open arms.

I later talked to a local who was surfing and he said the waves were up to 15′ at this break, a stone’s throw from town. While drooling over the starboard rail, Serenity gave five blasts of its horn–a warning shot for a boat in its path.

Sure enough there was a local outrigger cutting across our bow, transporting a couple of surfers to the break I was looking at.

I’m sure they did not see the ship (yuk-yuk), focusing too much on the break. Surfing is an addiction you can leave but never cure.

As soon as the Serenity was cleared at 12:30 PM, Meredith, Jonathan (Meredith’s bridge partner on the I’ll fated 2020 World Cruise) and I were first off the ship and running–– we had a 1:30 PM start time. Jonathan haggled for a taxi from 400,000.00 Rupiah down to 200,000.00 ($12.66).

One thing you need to know about the Balinese–they haggle… they have to haggle or there is nothing in it for them. But it is exhausting and that’s what they are counting on. This is the same for all the free markets– you will significantly over pay if you do not haggle, but don’t worry, they will pretend to be offended, laugh along with you, then give you their game face– and it’s on! If haggling is not your thing, there are some department stores and malls where the prices are haggle free.

Arriving at Bali National is an experience. The girls in orange are the greeters/starters and will assign you a caddy (in green). The rest runs like clock work–the caddies take over. After a few minutes you realize you are in as much control as a horse is to their buggy drivers.

You just say neigh and do what they say. They are the best GPS device there is, but make sure you set them to feet and not meters…. I was short on the first few shots into the green until Jonathan informed me they were in meters.

Between the scenery, professional hospitality as well as amenities along the way, our favorite treat on this very, very warm day… okay it was really hot, was the cold towel attended stations. We were ready to play.

There are so many images I could show you, but most are covered in the video of the previous post. These are just a few of the ones left out

After the round of golf and dinner, a taxi took us back to the ship and we headed up to the Palm Cove for a nightcap and then off to bed.

We needed to get up early to meet our driver Made Juli (pronounced Ma-day) who was taking us out to some open air markets, a surf shop so I could pick up a long sleeve silky and a shopping center where the Balinese shop–– Krishna. It was three stories of goods, foods, art, clothing, jewelry and the list is endless. We… I mean Made and I followed Meredith around for two hours. Seriously, I think Made and I loved it as much as Meredith.

And now to wrap things up. The dress(es). We will be at sea for over 2 days so hopefully these will quench your thirst until we land in Singapore.