Well it’s getting colder here on Jeju, and I’m home sick with a nasty cold today, so I thought it was time to think back on the sun and surf of Bali one last time.
I last left you as we were crossing the island of Bali away from Ubud and toward our scuba holiday spot of Tulamben. Our first highlight was our private bungalow, featuring…
An outdoor bathroom! Sit and watch the stars.
A tree growing next to the shower. It was lovely on the sunny afternoons.
We were there to see the under-water attractions. The water was so clear and the corals were huge and amazing! We made it to the famous U.S.S. Liberty ship wreck, destroyed in WWII and completely taken over by the ocean. Then we dove the drop-off – more than 70 meters deep. I felt just like Nemo!
Coming up from our second dive, Patrick felt a little pop in his ear. Back on land, we noticed blood trickling from his ear. Bad news.
We got it checked at a local doc – Dr. I Made Yoga (no joke!)
After scooping and vacuuming, he found a small tear on the ear drum.
It wasn’t too serious, but meant no more diving, or snorkeling or swimming, for the rest of the trip. Major bummer. On the plus side, we drove past a funeral parade.
procession leaders
The family, friends, and cremated remains walking and singing in celebration and farewell.
So I enjoyed two more days of diving and a little snorkeling while Patrick read books, drank banana shakes, and relaxed. Not too bad in the end.
I’m glad I bought that water-proof camera for my snorkeling time!
Awesome coral!
Schooling bannerfish
Shiny blue clam!
Big school of shiny things – not sure what they were.
One shy “oriental sweetlips” under a coral.
And a family swimming a few corals over.
Some breezy flowing anemones.
A little brown pufferfish. I love the square shape!
A colorful crab ducking under a rock.
My favorite shot. A butterfly fish investigating the corals.
The rocky beach. Patrick had plenty of time to take it in while I was underwater.
There really was nothing to do in Tulamben except eat, drink, sleep and dive/snorkel. So to celebrate our last day in Bali, we had a traditional Balinese duck lunch.
The lovely volcano view from our restaurant balcony. There was a forest fire making lots of smoke.
Our feast!
The duck. It was delicious!
We didn’t get any photos, but our final evening we spent at the one massage place in town getting the “honeymoon spa special” – 2 hours of side-by-side massage, facials, and a flower-infused bath. Ahh.
We left Bali very relaxed. And topped it all off with my new favorite airline – DragonAir gives out ice cream on board!
Ice cream on an airplane!
We got back to Jeju with a couple days to relax, hike in the fall weather, and gear up for kids coming back to school.
It was a lovely break. Next destination: Colorado! We’ll be back for a very quick week for Christmas before a week’s adventure in China. Stay tuned! Hopefully I’ll get a couple other stories up about life and happenings ON Jeju before that.
Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving this week. Thinking of our friends and family so much this time of year. Love to you all!