Thursday, November 3, 2016

Pacific & Australia - part ten



We have arrived at the Indonesian island of the famous Komodo Dragons. I, having done my research, will stay comfortably onboard, get a ‘flat white’ from Jennifer the barista and find my favourite seat in the ship's library.


As this model in Australia suggests, Komodo Dragons just don’t look very friendly. They are dusty, smelly and belligerent. Komodo dragons have killed people. See BBC and Smithsonian:



While fellow passengers risk heat stroke or becoming a mid-morning Komodo snack, I finish my book, then wander off to watch my first Melbourne Cup, being run a few thousand kilometres to the south.


The Cup - part horse race, part fashion show - is an Australian obsession. It’s apparently, in a well-worn cliché, ‘the race that stops the nation’. A few Aussie passengers (who doubtless placed bets) cheer enthusiastically, the winning owner walks away with $3.8 million (AUS) …


… and I go on deck in hopes of seeing tourists being chased by Komodo Dragons. No such luck. Everyone returns sweaty, but intact. 


Next stop, Bali, which I’m enjoying more than expected.



There are Hindu temples and temples and temples …


… and even shrines in intersections. 


Picturesque rice terraces … unless you work in them … 


… and more temples. 




Michael takes this lovely picture of Kathy at Besakih, a thousand-year old complex with twenty-three temples.


And we visit a palace, dating from when rajahs ruled Bali, albeit in the days of Dutch control.



A jolly little figure and definitely beats Komodo Dragons. 


Indian Ocean sunset from my cabin. We’re on the way back to Australia.