Brown Motion

Ulan Danu - a temple in the lake, second largest in Bali - also seen on their 50,000 Rupiah note (about 4 USD). Betur Crater and Lake (the largest in Bali) and the mount is second tallest (what remains of the active volcano) Waterfall along the way south from Ubud in the hills of Bali UNESCO heritage site showing the fresh water irrigation system used in rice paddies (staple diet of most Balinese - eating rice thrice a day) Finally the beachfront on the SW corner of Bali is amazing real estate.  We were really pleased with the sand and the surf - just to stroll it morning to night.

You arrive at Ngurah Rai International Airport if you fly from outside the country.  The airport is named for an Indonesian freedom fighter who fought the Dutch that ruled this archipelago for 300 plus years. The airport is in Denpasar also the capital city of this island.  Located 8 degrees south of the equator the climate tends to be tropical year round and when we visited this summer it was largely hot and humid during the core hours of the day with heavy downpours at night.  Unusual this time of year since July is a dry month.  That said it is a very green island shaped life a fish swimming left to right with a hammer at the bottom representing the resort towns and beaches where we stayed. The island residents are Hindu although the Balinese flavor of Hindu are much different than the ones that claim to be so elsewhere in the world including India.  For one they are devout and seem to have a temple for every three blocks.  In fact for a population ...

A must see cultural attraction.  On our quest to seek out UNESCO heritage sites all over the planet, this one was on the bucket list for a while.  This summer we were fortunate to be able to visit Indonesia and make a trip to Borobudur. Designed and commissioned by a Raja Shailendra that lived in the 9th century this Buddhist style temple is the largest in the world.  It is made of volcanic rock found in the area with multiple active ones still bubbling in the vicinity.  The Indonesian archipelago happens to be on the Pacific ring of fire which is a sensitive part of the earth's crust resulting in eruptions and tectonic activity from Indonesia to Japan to Hawaii to Alaska and going south to the islands of New Zealand. Borobudur roughly translates to the 'Great Buddha' by some accounts and is referred to as 'Candi (pronounced Chandi for temple) Borobudur'. We had to fly (1 hour flight) from Bali to Jogjakarta (which is a kingdom) on the island of Java, and the...

"Terimakasi".  In Hindi, the Indian national language this Indonesian phrase phonetically sounds similar to 'Teri Maa Kaise Hai?" which literally means - how is your mom doing? But this is not really a polite inquiry about your parent.  Rather a soft spoken heartfelt 'thank you' in Bahasa - the native tongue of the Indonesians.  The airline's recorded announcement told us that we had arrived in Bali and thanked us for coming. So began our introduction to the sounds, culture, foods and weather of the island nation of Indonesia.  We flew in with a Taiwanese air carrier from San Francisco, via Taipei into the isle of Bali, one of hundreds that make up the archipelago of this Republic. Bali happens to be occupied by people of the Hindu faith while the rest of the islands are largely Muslim faith.  It is overall a fascinating place with its own set of idiosyncrasies, lifestyle and pace of life. We were smitten and amused by a variety of phrases and wo...

Someone who can type while listening to a stereo? Not so simple.  Dictionary defines it as people that hold a fixed mental image of someone or group of people.   It is a preconceived bias that may not reflect reality. I try to in my life not hold these biases but it is very hard.  For example believing a person from Andhra to actually do something in two minutes, to expect a desi newbie to America to actually not cut in line, to expect a car salesman to actually talk sense, an airline attendant to actually be sympathetic etc. But the reason for this topic was triggered by an event last night as we dined at an upscale  food establishment during our stay in Indonesia. In this case I was being the stereotypical American. I grew up in India liking chilled water for drinking and to this day prefer it over warm.  In America though where it seems ice (and coffee) makers are aplenty  it is often assembled before being served by adding ice chunks to t...

America and Canada are blessed with large tracts of land that they can inhabit.  The USA more than Canada since most of the latter is ice or close to it. What they lack in amazing cityscapes or pedestrian friendly areas where people work and live they more than make up in wilderness. What the nations have done exceptionally well is to reserve thousands of acres as National Parks so that mankind's steady march does not eat up what ever is available to chew on. This results in amazing and secluded acres that one can literally get lost in.  My favorite parks in America include Yosemite in northern California and the Rockies that run the north south spine of the continent. The geographic area known as the Colorado Plateau which is approximately acerage that makes up the four corners of four states in SW USA is worth exploring by foot.  Eons of geology has shaped red sandstone into amazing and awe inspring formations that no architect on earth can hope to accompli...

There are distinct architectural styles to a place and a large city is no exception.  The culture of the place shapes the city or state or country for that matter.  Here are some observations from places visited and how they differ. European cities largely tend to have a common theme - that of a large public square in which citizens gather to socialize, shop, eat and just have fun.  These squares are oft referred to as plazas and served as a central place in history for mass gatherings for political rallies and other non Facebook enabled events. Royal Palace in Madrid, Spain Often these plazas take the form of palace grounds or cathedral courtyards to allow people to come and admire, gawk or vicariously enjoy the grand life. Shores of Barcelona, Spain Some times the space is designed for a specific purpose like an expo and then used as a public gathering place for future. Plaza Espana - for World Expo in Seville, Spain Cities big and small also have...

July 4th weekend.  Time to unwind and enjoy the summer.  We did a trip to the city to soak the Vitamin D - a trip to Ocean beach to start (westernmost point of the city of San Francisco) followed by a visit to the Legion of Honor (an art museum occupying the estate of a former sugar baron). MUNI - a tram car to Ocean Beach Time for another sweep - sand often chokes up this roadway next to the beach Dunes at Ocean Beach Art museum also featured a special exhibit of the dead.  Specifically Egyptian mummies open to all parents and their children. Holocaust Memorial at the Legion of Honor Rodin's Thinker 1,000 year old Egyptian priest or what's left of him and his coffin Skinner Organ - amazing sound fills the museum rotunda at 4 pm when the organist uses his organs to tweak sound from this organ Then culminated with a visit to a live broadcast at a baseball stadium of the 'Opera Carmen' which was being played at a nearby theater....