Hong Kong and Bali

Hello my Fellow Americans,

I hope all is well back in the US of A or wherever you might be. Last time I left you I was on my way into Hong Kong for a little East meets West action. Hong Kong did not disappoint. As much as I enjoyed my time in China; Hong Kong had two major advantages. One, the weather didn't feel like I was on an Antarctic expedition. Two, I was guaranteed a toilet that I could sit on when I walked into a bathroom, instead of the "will it be a hole in the ground or a toilet" gamble I took every time I walked into a bathroom in China. Toilets are a big plus for any city.

Probably the coolest thing about Hong Kong though was it's skyline. It was incredible. Hong Kong is an island so the city itself sits right on the water. When you combine that with its modern skyline, mountainous background, and tropical foliage it makes for a view that is pretty unforgettable.

What also makes a city super cool is when your aunt and her boyfriend fly out there to meet you and put you up in a really nice hotel with them. Thanks Ishue and Tim. A word of advice to any one out there who is thinking about doing some traveling any time soon; find someone who is probably older than you, most likely related to you, and definitely richer than you. It makes the whole experience so much better (and cheaper).

With your travel partners/financial backers:

Without them:

I'll let you draw your own conclusions.

Also there was a rugby tournament happening. I guess it was like rugby olympics or something. I don't really know. If you're reading this I'm guessing you know how much I would care about an event like that. But, I'm glad it was happening because I learned that the rest of the world likes to get just as, if not more, drunk as we do. This was evidenced by the 40 and 50 year old Australians, English, and New Zealanders who were literally falling on the ground because they were so drunk at 8:30pm. On a Wednesday. It made me feel a lot better about my own life decisions over the past 5 or 6 years. Also Tom and I weren't making asses of ourselves on the stage at Chinese night clubs until well after midnight; much more acceptable than 8:30.

Also, Big Buddha. Not a lot to say. Huge Buddha statue. Really big. Really cool.

After Hong Kong, Courtney and I flew out to Bali. A few main highlights: the monkeys, the temples, and the landscape.

We spent a few days on the beach when we got to Bali and they were great. It was really pretty, but not my favorite part.

In the middle of Bali there is a town called Ubud, which is supposed to be the heart of Balinese culture. There was definitely a lot of culture there, but more excitingly and importantly there was a monkey forest. This is supposed to be a monkey preserve to protect the native Balinese monkeys. I can honestly say that after experiencing the monkey forest, these monkeys need no protection. Not only are these monkeys vicious, but they are also mean spirited and most of them are rabid (and I'm using rabid in the most literal sense. The monkeys actually have rabies). Before you go in to the "forest" you have the option to buy bananas to feed the monkeys. I of course purchased a bag, but Courtney and her mom declined because they knew about the whole monkey rabies thing. We walk into the "forest" and I have a bag of bananas in my hand and decide to feed one of the first monkeys I see. I hand him a banana, he grabs it from me, eats it, and then immediately comes back for more. And by come back for more, I mean he literally climbed up my leg and tried to pull the bag of bananas away from me. I fought him for a second, then he showed me his teeth, and then he tried to bite me. I let go of the bag and then the monkeys went crazy trying to gather up as many bananas as they could. The fatter monkeys were successful, the baby monkeys literally got grabbed by their tails and tossed out of the way. I'm glad I that I dropped the bag because we met a guy on our way out who didn't drop the bag last time he was at the monkey forest and got bit. He had to go to the hospital to be treated for rabies.

Another thing Bali is famous for is its temples. It literally has thousands of temples because every family has at least one temple in their house and every village has their own temple and then there are also public temples. It's kind of out of control. All the temples are for different gods with the main gods being Shiva, Vishnu, and Brahma. The Balinese hindus believe that the gods should be treated like people so they cover the statues in cloth for clothes, make offerings of food to them on a daily basis (multiple times a day actually), and even put umbrellas over some of them to shield them from the sun.

The craziest thing though is the offerings. They are EVERYWHERE. In the front of every car, in front of every store and restaurant, in hotels, on the sidewalk. You honestly can't walk more then 10 feet on any street in Bali without almost stepping on an offering. The women make the offerings every day and have to make a basket out of palm leaves and then fill it with flowers and rice and other goodies. It wasn't uncommon to see a women with 7 or 8 offerings in her hands as she made the rounds and deposited them at all of the appropriate places in her house or place of work. I may not be the best Catholic, but I can tell you for sure that I will not becoming a Balinese Hindu any time soon. If for no other reason, than solely because it is an insane amount of work. Offerings and prayers morning, noon, and night. For anyone who has ever complained about having to go to church on Sunday, come to Bali and I promise you'll never complain again.

After Bali, we spent a week on Gili Trawangan Island in Indonesia and then flew into Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia yesterday. We should be here about two weeks and plan on doing a little bit of jungle trekking. I won't take a month to update next time, but Gili's internet was almost nonexistent. Anyway, I miss you all and hope to talk to you soon!

-Ben

P. S. if anyone wants to skype, my skype name is benjamin.t.conway