Going Green

Commentary continued from previous post.

WED -- Accommodations have turned decidedly more basic. Tonight we stayed in a hotel which had towels but no soap.  The grounds were not bad but the rooms were desperately in need of repair. 

Also I now have an Australian roommate named Gail from Sydney but who is living in East Timor which is a country that Indonesia ran and then left after ransacking the place.  She has an Australian grant to work there.  But I digress.

The biggest activity today was climbing up Mount Batur, a volcanic mountain, starting (me, not the volcano) at 4 AM.  I did not even try to make it to the top because the climb was just too much for me.  The view was still fantastic although I am sure those at the top had an even better view. 

After the climb which only I did not complete we went to a marvelous hotel for an afternoon at hot springs.  The water was warm and wonderful.  Then we piled in the vans for our next stop.

THU --After another night in the most basic of accommodations we have spent the morning snorkeling.  There was an amazing assortment of breathtaking coral in different colors, pulsating with many fish of many colors in schools under us.  After snorkeling we had a catered lunch delivered in packages made of banana leaves filled with little fried fish, green beans and ferns, different types of tofu, a chicken leg and the proverbial warm rice tucked under a layer of the banana leaves.