2013
One carnival is over, another about to begin
10 October 2013
Just watched a YouTube of Tony Abbott smirking as he clutched the hand of every world leader he could waylay at APEC. And apologising to them for everything he considered the last government did to harm our neighbours. The Malaysia Solution, live cattle exports, etc., etc. Does this mean he will condone the cruelty of the trade? And leave the thousands of hapless homeless refugees to rot in Malaysia? And he has not one wit of sympathy for the Papuans. Could not find a dress-up final photo of world leaders posing in batik. Was there one? Someone save me the cutting!
Big day out yesterday, crossing the island to the west and up into the central highlands. Along some execrable pot-holed roads where the villages obviously don't have sufficient resources to bribe the local regent to send in the repair teams. However it was beautiful to see old, non-tourist Bali off the main roads.
This naughty grandmother, despite her rants about the importance of school attendance, took her granddaughter out of school for the day to accompany Barbara Bicego and me on a visit to the Butterfly Park and the UNESCO heritage-listed rice growing valley of Jati Luwih ("truly beautiful" in Balinese - and it was!) where we had lunch overlooking the vast panorama of rice terraces.
On the way home we ended up at the monkey temple of Alas Kedaton- (my sister Jann's idea of a nightmare, after her experience with monkeys on a visit to Bali decades ago), swarming with the cute (but nasty) creatures. Jasmin, a lover of every form of animal life, was beside herself, so a day well spent out of school! The Butterfly Farm was a gorgeous garden with a fine netting "roof", awash with fluttering creatures. A breeding room with their leaf cocoons hanging by coloured plastic clothes pegs!! You could have butterflies and stick and leaf insects (sci-fi creatures from some creator's tortured imagination but in fact amazing visual proof of evolution) crawl all over you, a pleasure I happily handed over to Jasmin!
Here are some of the pics!
Big day out yesterday, crossing the island to the west and up into the central highlands. Along some execrable pot-holed roads where the villages obviously don't have sufficient resources to bribe the local regent to send in the repair teams. However it was beautiful to see old, non-tourist Bali off the main roads.
This naughty grandmother, despite her rants about the importance of school attendance, took her granddaughter out of school for the day to accompany Barbara Bicego and me on a visit to the Butterfly Park and the UNESCO heritage-listed rice growing valley of Jati Luwih ("truly beautiful" in Balinese - and it was!) where we had lunch overlooking the vast panorama of rice terraces.
On the way home we ended up at the monkey temple of Alas Kedaton- (my sister Jann's idea of a nightmare, after her experience with monkeys on a visit to Bali decades ago), swarming with the cute (but nasty) creatures. Jasmin, a lover of every form of animal life, was beside herself, so a day well spent out of school! The Butterfly Farm was a gorgeous garden with a fine netting "roof", awash with fluttering creatures. A breeding room with their leaf cocoons hanging by coloured plastic clothes pegs!! You could have butterflies and stick and leaf insects (sci-fi creatures from some creator's tortured imagination but in fact amazing visual proof of evolution) crawl all over you, a pleasure I happily handed over to Jasmin!
Here are some of the pics!