The Great Day in the Indian Ocean ... But Stingrays, Really?

Amankila, Bali - October 1, 2012

Today was an early rise.  We had to wake up very early because we were taking the fun trip to snorkeling. 

 

Not just any snorkeling - snorkeling in the Indian Ocean with all different varieties of fish.  When I went snorkeling I saw rainbow fish, puffer fish, black fish, green, red, purple, blue, bee fish, orange fish, and zebra fish.  The zebra fish were black and white like a zebra.  I was having the best time of my life until ... OH NO! ... a stingray.  it was HUGE.  I knew I had to get out and I felt it touch my feet, wait...that also could have been my dad putting bread on my feet for the fishes.  Whatever ... I was getting out!!!

I was enjoying swimming in the Indian ocean but Stingrays really? 

Then at the hotel we went swimming in the pool.  It felt nice.  We saw our two friends, Franchesca and Juliette, and we played at the pool. 

I even got to jump from one pool to another.  My mom was scared, but I wasn't.

Now we will be going out to dinner with Franchesca and Juliette.  Wow!  Today was a great day but I know  tomorrow will be even better ... Or will it? 

The Perfect Day at the Beach

Amankila, Bali - September 30, 2012

The perfect day at the beach.  Today was very Aman (peaceful).  First we went to the fun hot beach.  It was beautiful. I felt very peaceful but HOT!  The ocean was really rough so we went in the pool.  

 

We went to ask one of the workers if they had any boogie boards and they did.  My sister and I were learning how to stand on the boogie board.  It took a lot of balance but I was the happiest girl when I got the hang of it.  

Next we went to have lunch. I had Indonesian chicken .... not just any chicken ... it tasted like chocolate cake chicken.  It was really good.  

When that was over we went back to the pool.  We met two really nice girls from Australia.  Their names are Franchesca and Juliette.  We have a lot in common and became friends.  That made me feel very good to make new friends from all over the world.  

 

Tonight I will ask them for their e-mail to keep in touch.  We are going to play with them later.  I'm so excited.

I almost forgot.  I have been eating all types of different fruits.  One is Rombutan.  It is a cousin to the lychee but with lots of hair.  Here is a photo.

In Bali, it's not America's Got Talent - It's "Elephant's Got Talent"

Taro, Bali - September 28, 2012

Today was very out of this world fun.  We went to the Elephant Park where we are going to stay tonight.  It made me so happy.  It was so cool.  There were trees everywhere and elephant eggs.  The elephant eggs were yellow and big.  Well, my dad called them elephant eggs, but it really was elephant poop.

We got to feed the elephants with flowers and sticks.  Did you know that elephants are very kind?  They are also hairy.  At first, I was so scared but finally I learned how to feed an elephant by myself.  I just needed a little help - that's all. 

  

 

I even got to wash an elephant.

 

When that was done, we saw an elephant circus.  The elephants were playing basketball, soccer, painting, hoola-hooping, standing on one leg, carrying someone on their trunk, and my favorite - holding hands and bowing.  Those elephants are so talented I want to marry one.

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We just came back from riding the elephants.  The elephant was big and I was so scared but when I got on I was fearless I was not even holding on.  The elephant I rode had a lot of hair and is named Aroma.  

Then we went to feed them.  My dad carried me and the elephant tried to  eat me.  I was so scared I just scram!Next my mom put a piece of wood in her mouth and an elephant came and ate it. Then she kissed the elephant.

 

Finally we went to see the baby's one had a really big you know what and i just laughed and one of the elephants made pee and poo.  It's pee was like 300 bottles of water.  it's poo was as big as my head.

Scary, Fancy & Pretty

Ubud, Bali - September 27, 2012

Today was a rice I mean nice day.  We went to the rice fields.  Each rice field is separated so when one gets full the water goes to the next and the next that how they water the rice fields.  That's so cool.

Bali does not have a machine to cut the rice because if they did the people on the rice fields would all lose their jobs.  That's so sad.  

Many people from the rice fields carry things on their head.  They have really good balance but they do it as a habit.  

Parents, kids and everyone works at the rice fields.  The women work especially hard and so do the ducks.  The ducks eat all the seeds when the rice is harvested. 

The women work the hardest because in the past the men would go to school and the girls would work. 

The people in Bali ... well, most if them don't have toothbrushes [yuck]!  The boys and girls also don't have showers so some people go to the lake naked.  They also don't have toilets so they go to the bathroom outside thats not my favorite.

On the way back from the rice fields, we passed a Balinese funeral.  When people die in Bali they put two birds on the funeral coffin.  The belief is the birds will take their soul out of there body.  At a Balinese funeral your not aloud to cry on the dead person because they believe that if you do cry on the person you won't let there soul go away.

I learned alot today about Balinese culture!

The afternoon was really amazing.  We went to a museum to paint masks.  It was so cool.  I felt like the happiest girl in the world.  First, we looked at all the masks.  I chose the one with big eyes, weird teeth and a really cool smile, but my mom told me to paint a different one.  So I did.  The one I painted had really big huge eyes.  They were like ... I call them grouper eyes.

Before painting the masks, we took a small tour of the museum.  The room was cold.  And nice too.  It had snacks, art displays and puppets.  I loved the puppets.  They are so cool!  Puppets are big in Bali.

After that, we put three paint layers of white on the mask and then we painted the mask yellow and let it dry.  

 

While it was drying, I went to play a Balinese instrument like a piano so I played songs I knew from the piano.  Finally it was dry so we started doing very detailed art.  Then we were done.

At night, we went to a private dinner.  It was really cool. First, a man brought us all to a row of four chairs and sat us down.  Then these girls came out dancing. They were all dressed in blue sarongs and pink tops.  My favorite part was when they threw flowers on me.

Next we went to the table it had candles, fancy table cloth, and a really nice view.  A man also came to our table to serve us some strange and crazy foods like banana stem soup and vegetable mix and even sweet potato rice and much much more.  

 

The dessert was good too.  We had a mango sorbet and some weird dumplings.  Then behind my back my mom ordered me a ginger tea.  Yuck.  I told her I needed honey and then I started singing "Honey Honey" from Mama Mia.  Then it was so sad because dinner was over and we had to leave, but I just started to sing "I Have a Dream" also by Mama Mia.

Now, I will try to go to sleep but I doubt  There are frogs in the pond outside our room and it's so loud.  Did you know there are 200 different frogs in Bali?

Now I just can't wait for tomorrow.  We are leaving Ubud and going to an Elephant Park.  What will the elephant do? kick me off? Well ... I said too much already.