Indonesian Getaway - Part 1 (Sanur)

One of the perks of teaching is a generous number of vacation days. One of the even bigger perks of teaching in Singapore is the ability to spend those vacation days in exotic locales a few hours flight away. For my October holiday, my girlfriend Alexandra joined me from America for a week-long journey to Bali, a major tourist draw in Indonesia.

                             

                            We started out at a quiet beach called Sanur, also known as "snore" for the smaller waves compared to other beaches and for the tamer nightlife. It's the kind of place for more middle-aged vacationers, and since I'm 49, it seemed appropriate. I'll always take a good night's sleep over partying at 2 a.m. Plus, neither one of us is a sun worshiper or a surfing aficionado.

Besides swimming in the Indian Ocean, the highlight for me was a romantic dinner at this restaurant on the beach, followed by stumbling across a troop of authentic Balinese dancers performing for local dignitaries.

Passing a couple of lazy afternoons ...


     in the expansive gardens ...


                                          
    of our hotel ...                                       



                                                                             ... didn't hurt either.                                               

                            

I love my job in Singapore, but, at times, the heat, humidity, and smog become overwhelming. Unwinding in Sanur was the perfect antidote.

Indonesia - a collection of more than 18,000 islands - possesses the world's largest Muslim population, but Bali is a Hindu enclave,

Saraswati Temple - Ubud, Indonesia   

which is reflected in the abundance of Hindu temples,

Ganesha 

  bearing depictions of the millions  













                                                     of Hindu gods.

Dragon guarding Saraswati

Hanuman

                    

Many more of those Hindu temples are found in Ubud, the cultural capital of the island of Bali and stop No. 2 on our Indonesian odyssey.