Java

I'm not talking about coffee, although there was an optional tour to a coffee plantation.

Our port was not the capital city, Jakarta, but Semarang, a coastal port about 4 hours away.  This was a more prosperous city than the city we visited on Bali Island.  As we left the ship there was an Indonesian band and dancers to greet us.  They were not as good as the ones who came aboard, but then, we did not have time to stay and watch them.  As we entered the terminal we were greeted by a country western band playing "Achy Breaky Heart."  What a contrast!  After a bus ride we stopped at a protestant church built in 1753 and still in use, although the pipe organ with wooden pipes no longer works.  The sidewalk around the small park next to it was decorated with round balls about 2 feet in diameter, each painted with a different fancy design.  Our tour guide said he would explain them on the bus, but he never got around to it.

Sidewalk art?

I saw my first cats since Cuba!  They were in the shade of a pink bicycle which was used as a prop for tourists to have their pictures taken.

On our drive around town we saw many mosques since this part of Indonesia is now mainly Muslem.  There has been a lot of recent construction although we did not see all the cranes we saw in Australia.  The electrical power is till supplied by masses of overhead lines.

The Chinese have been trading in this part of the world for hundreds of years.  When one of their famous captains stopped here, he left behind one of the officers who was sick.  That man started the city.  Now there is a large Hindu temple at the site of his first settlement.  China recently donated a 30 foot high statue of the captain, so that now has been added to the temple.  The actual temple consisted of several buildings constructed in typical Chinese style.  At one time I knew the symbolism of the row of animals at the corners of the roof.  Our guide either did not know or could not explain it in English.  I do not think that he was used to leading a group of inquisitive Americans.

The last part of our tour was a visit to a mall.  This was not a souvenir mall, but a modern mall which would have fit right in in any American city.  the only thing different was the language and the fact that there was also a grocery store.  We had fun looking at all the different snacks.  I took pictures, but I do not know exactly what they were.

The price: 31,200 or about $2.30

Bali --Hey!

When you hear the name "Bali," what comes to mind?  Do you picture sunny beaches, beautiful people and luxurious resorts?  We were on the other side of the island.  We saw crumbling shacks which were in use as shops and residences, heavy traffic and tons of motorbikes zipping in between cars , trucks and buses on 2, 3 or 4 lane highways.  Most structures have food offerings on a small tray in front of the building or in a raised "spirit house."  The weather was typical for this time of year, the rainy season.  In this area there are only 2 seasons, wet and dry.  We are in the wet season.  Our tour took us first to a large temple.  both in the temple grounds and along the streets, statues of various Hindu gods are wrapped in black and white checkered cloth or yellow and white drapes.  This is the local way of making the gods more human when the cloth is black and white and a way of honoring their divinity when the colors of  white and yellow are used. Sometimes they even provide an umbrella to protect the god from the sun.

Old and new?

Actually, this large temple is not that old.  It was built in the 1990's, but the high humidity encourages the growth of mold and algae, giving everything an ancient look. The tower is the temple; there is not an interior.  During worship ceremonies people sit on the ground.  Each family in the rural communities also has a family shrine.  When there is any celebration, the men do the cooking.  It is the responsibility of the women to earn the proper blessing and ceremonies for each occasion.

The state museum was right next door with 4 buildings.  Our guide rushed us through, so we just glanced at the ancient farming implements, coins, and archaeological discoveries.  There was a woman dressed as a bride in the balcony of the building.  I am not sure if she was having wedding pictures taken or if she was just window dressing to give the tourist something to photograph.  At least they did not charge to take her picture.  Gates of buildings and entrances of yards have fancy towers.

Gate between museum buildings

Our next stop was the usual shopping excursion.  There were booths outside, but the main attraction was a "mall" which consisted of about a square block of shops, some around the outside.  Most of the shops on the inside sold souvenirs, cloth and clothing.  The whole interior was a warren of shops about 8 feet long on aisles about 2 feet apart.  Material was stacked on shelves up to the roof (almost.)

The price quoted for a simple cotton print dress was 2,500,000 in the local  currency.  Before you gasp too loudly, that comes to about $185, still too much.  She handed me the calculator and I offered 200,000  ($14.65).  She started to roll up the dress and I thought she was insulted by the offer, so I thanked her and started to walk away.  No, she accepted my offer and was packing the dress up for me to take.



An Indonesian dance group performed in the evening.  The costumes were spectacular.  The outstanding feature of this type of dance is a combination of very slight but dramatic head, finger, toe and eye movement. Both men and women have a lot of face make-up.  All the dance is accompanied by a band made up of several xylophone-type instruments played by hitting with brass hammers.  There are also drums, gongs and a few other instruments I could not describe.

There Be Dragons

Komodo Dragons, to be exact.  Komodo Island is home to about 2000 people and almost 1500 of these largest  reptiles.  They are extremely venomous, so we were warned about getting too close to them. 

Our greeting party, all 15 feet of him (or her)

This 1 year old is only 4 feet long

They also have no qualms about eating smaller Komodo Dragons, so as soon as the eggs hatch, the young climb up into trees and eat bugs, birds and other small prey until they feel safe on the ground.  Unfortunately for them, some of them come down too soon.

Although they appear to be clumsy and incapable of attacking, they can move quickly when hungry and hunting the deer or wild pigs which share the island.  One bite is all it takes.  Then the injured animal runs off and slowly dies.  The Komodo Dragon will follow and wait until the animal dies before taking his time to eat it.  If another Dragon wants a free meal, the first will attack it and sometimes the fight will leave one of them dead (and probably eaten by another of its kind.)  

We were warned about the dragon's sense of smell.  That forked white tongue is over a foot long, and that is how they "smell."  It is possible for them to detect the smell of blood for over 2 kilometers.  No one is allowed on the island without being in a group with at least 2 guides.  We had to stay on the paths and give the right of way to any wandering dragons.  Our guides were armed to protect us from these monsters.

Notice his only weapon!

As in the other islands we have visited, the heat and humidity took a tole on some of the guests, especially if they did not keep hydrated.  It is a matter of balancing the need to hydrate with a lack of bathrooms..  One woman collapsed and had to be taken back in a stretcher.  The path was rocky with many exposed roots and a few fallen trees to cross.  In spite of all of this, the jungle can be beautiful.

Orchids growing in the trees

Really Just a Zoo

Darwin, Australia, is in Northern Territory which is not a state of Australia.  It is a territory, and they want it that way, thank you.  I have no idea what the difference is, but the residents have voted to remain a territory, probably because this will insure that there are no more levels of government involved.





Darrell went on a tour of military Darwin.  This was the most bombed city in Australia during World War II, so it had extensive anti-aircraft installments and underground bunkers for ammunition storage.

Unfortunately, his tour was cut short for some unknown reason, so he did not get to see much of the B-52 and the F-111 which were his primary reasons for going on this tour.





Sue went on a tour to Crocodylus Park, which she hoped would be as interesting as the tour she took in Cairns.  It was not.  This was mainly just a zoo with animals in relatively small spaces or cages.  In addition to crocodiles, they had a pair of lions which we got to see from about 6 feet away (on the other side of a heavy fence) while a keeper fed them and lectured us on extinction vs maintaining a captive breeding pool.  Many of the animals were wisely sleeping in shady dens to get out of the hot sun.

A Dingo, the Australian wild dog.

The ostrich looked over the fence.

Small island Life

On Sunday, which was still Saturday for most of you, we went to Thursday Island.  We were greeted by this large statue and a turtle sculpture.

The local Anglican church is named in memory of a shipwreck which killed all 133 people on board.  I arrived at the church in time to take communion and hear the beautiful harmony when the congregation sang.

This small island, a little over 1 square mile, has the distinction of having the farthest north pub in Australia.  I skipped a visit to it in favor of a frozen lemonade on a stick from the local supermarket.  We visited Grass Hill Fort which was built to defend against a Russian invasion in 1891.  All that is left are 3 guns and the underground supply storage area.  Each room is labeled with what was stored there and contains lots of pictures and explanation of the use of the fort up until the 1930's when it was abandoned..It was put back in service during WWII.  The one fact that stuck out was that native soldiers were paid 1/3 of what a British soldier was paid, but they were some of the best soldiers.


Since it was Sunday the museum was closed, but a lot of people were out in the park, enjoying the shade of a tent while a group of local children performed traditional dancers.  At the end of the last dance, the youngest dancer wandered out among the dancers and followed them off the field.


They say that swimming was not a good idea because of the sharks.  That is no longer a problem.  The crocodiles have eaten all the sharks, so it is still, as our cruise director says, "not a beach day today."

Crocodiles and Koalas and Snakes, Oh My!

Today was the one day when a majority of the passengers took the same optional tour.  They went to the Great Barrier Reef.  Since we had been there, we did not go. I went on an adventure to a crocodile farm.  It is illegal to hunt for crocodiles in the wild as they are a "protected animal," but the demand for crocodile skins for handbags, belts and shoes still exists.  Crocodile meat is also eaten.  I tried some and found it quite good. Now crocodiles are farmed just like cattle and pigs.  The process is a bit different, however.  When a female crocodile lays eggs, she builds a mound of dirt and leaves, lays 40 - 60 eggs and covers them with sand.  She then crawls back into the water and patrols the area to make sure no predators eat the eggs.  Here's the dangerous part.  3 employees go to the nest.  two of them distract the female while the third digs up the eggs.  As each egg is uncovered, it is marked to indicate which side is up.  There is an air chamber in the egg which must remain on the top or the embryo will drown.  The eggs are hatched at exactly 90 degrees so that they develop into males.  A higher or lower temperature will produce females.  Males are desirable because they grow faster and can therefore be "harvested" sooner.  It's all about controlling costs.

Hatchlings are kept in dark tanks for a few months to speed development, then transferred to open tanks with a few hundred other males.  If there are too few animals, they get territorial and fight to defend their turf.  If there are too many, they fight for space.  They fight anyway, but this has proven to minimize the number of fights.  When they reach the desired length, about 3 - 4 feet, they are taken out and inspected.  If there are no battle scars, they are euthanized and the skin is sold.  The meat could also be sold, but at this park they keep the meat to sell in the food booth.  If there are minor scars, the lucky croc goes back to the tank until the next culling so the wounds have time to heal.  If the scar is too bad, the hide is worthless, so they either put them in the enclosed lagoon or just sell the animal for pet food.  It is all very businesslike with the crocs getting humane treatment.

These are saltwater crocodiles, but they can live in salt or fresh water.  They have a way to excrete excess salt when they are in salt water.  These are also the famous jumping crocodiles which can grow to over 18 feet long and weigh close to a ton.  If they are in the water and sense prey close to the water, they use their powerful tail to propel themselves into the air to catch the food.  They do not come completely out, just the front 3 to 4 feet.  When the jaws snap shut you can hear a loud snap.  The guide dangled chicken parts off a string on the end of a long pole so we could see how fast and how high they jump.  You do not want to go swimming with these fellows!

The park is also home to many other Australian animals, birds and reptiles.  The cassowary is the most dangerous bird to humans.  It stands about 4 feet high, is shaped like an ostrich, and can kick with its sharp toe nail claws hard enough to tear open a person.  They do not like people or even other cassowaries, so each of the four at this park has a separate enclosure.

The saying in Australia is that nature is out to kill you.  Between kicking birds, jumping crocodiles and venomous snakes, you better watch out where you walk.  One of the few animals that just wants to be left alone is the koala. These cute little animals eat only one species of eucalyptus leaf  which provides little nutrition, so they sleep over 20 hours a day.  The babies are small and immature when born and live for several months in the mothers pouch, nursing and developing.  Even after they crawl out, they stick close to Mom or any other koalas to ride on their backs or cuddle up.  I got to pet the koalas, and they feel just like petting a dog. 

Kangaroos roam freely in one section of the park and food is available so you can fee them.  These are not the big red kangaroos, but the smaller grey kangaroos who stand about 3 - 4 feet tall.  They are so used to people that they let you come right up to them.  If you hold out food on your hand, they will eat out of your hand.  Although they have harp teeth, they do not bite.  It was a lot like having a horse nibble food off your hand.

 I also got to hold a baby crocodile and a black-headed python.






One exhibit had American alligators.  Our guide felt that they were so much less dangerous than crocodiles, that he went into the pen with them to retrieve an alligator tooth that was on the ground.  Crocodiles and alligators loose teeth regularly and a new tooth is ready and waiting to come in.  At the same time, another tooth is forming to take the place of the new tooth when it eventually falls out.

Darrell took the included tour around the town of Cairns (pronounced cans).  The waterfront park still exists in downtown Cairns, but the little restaurants facing it have been replaced with tall hotels.  Cairns does have a very nice Botanical Garden.

He Got It Wrong

The explorer who first landed on this island thought it was Whitsunday, so that is what he named the island.  However, he was confused by crossing the Pacific, and actually landed on a Monday.  Travel is so confusing!

There is not much to see or do on the island.  Hamilton Island does not have a pier capable of handling our ship, so we had to take the tender to reach it.  The island is privately owned and most of the buildings, densely packed, are involved with tourists.  Most of the buildings look quite new, which is reasonable since almost all the buildings on the island were destroyed or damaged by a cyclone less than 2 years ago.

Typical tourist cottages

Cyclone damage

The most interesting thing on the island was the Yacht club with its unusual shape.

Hamilton Island Yacht Club

After waiting for almost an hour in the tropical sun, we rode a minibus around the island, boarded the tender and went back to the ship.  Some people went shopping or swimming, but it was just too hot for us to feel like doing that.