These photos are highlights from a two-week August vacation to Bali and Yogyakarta, Java.
On Bali, we based ourselves initially in the "artist town" of Ubud - away from the mega-hotels and beach bustle found along the southern reaches of the island. Our bungalow style hotel - Oka Wati's - was a peaceful oasis just a stone's throw from the main action. Days were filled with hiking through rice paddies, biking down from volcanic lakes or simply lounging by the pool. Nights were booked with dance, music or shadow puppet shows. And in between we indulged in massage or two, downed a few Bintan beers or worked on filling our extra duffle bags with Balinese treasures.
We left Bali for a few days and flew to Yogyakarta on the neighboring island of Java. "Yogya", like Ubud, is the cultural center of the island. But unlike Ubud, Yogya is a large city. And the change was dramatic: streets were an endless sea of buses, cars and bicycles; sidewalks were hopelessly clogged with pedestrians day and night. But outside of Yogya are two sites worth all that urban tussle: Borobudur and Prambanan. Borobudur is a stunning Buddhist mountain temple complex; Prambanan, a glorious collection of Hindu buildings rising from the Javanese plain. Borobudur beckons you at sunrise; Prambanan you fall in love with on a moonlit night.
We returned to Bali for a few more days in Ubud and then headed south to the beach village of Jimbaran. Fresh fish restuarants wrestle for space along the beach; wildly colorful fishing boats fill the bay every morning. Not as overly developed as its more famous neighbor - Kuta Beach - Jimbaran still retains much of its fishing village feel.
In two weeks, we just scatched the surface of these island wonders. They just leave you itching for more time in this part of the world. Some day...
Date(s): August 2002. Album by David Kohl. Photos by David Kohl & Ross Rosenberg. 1 - 28 of 28 Total. 2649 Visits.
