Scenes from a Wedding

My oldest brother got married at the Ayana resort in Bali. The bride and groom stood on top of the plumeria to say their vows.

The professional photographers reminded me of paparazzi. The staff kindly offered to take photos with the guests' cameras, allowing them to fully engage in the festivities.

Plumerias are an inspired choice for a bouquet -- we don't have them in Japan.

The banquet was held outside, under the stars.

Faith and Sacrilege

These small baskets are actually offerings. An ubiquitous sight in Bali, they can be seen in front of stores, shrines, sidewalks, even on the shores of the beach. Part of a Hindu Balinese ritual, these offerings are made three times a day.

Filled with flowers and a bit of food, they unintentionally become bird feeders.

In the parking lot of the supermarket chain Hardy's. These offerings have been run over by a taxi.

And perhaps as the final indignity: in the Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary, a monkey, after emptying the contents of the offering, goes so far as pulling apart the basket.

Is That Why Your Men Are So Fine?

Inside Hardy's, the oft-sighted Indonesian supermarket chain. The one I went to was cheap (compared to Japanese prices) and well-stocked, particularly in biscuits, condiments, and souvenir chocolates.

(An aside -- when my mother asked the hotel staff what made for a good souvenir, one answered with 100% sincerity, "Tim Tams". Indeed, boxes of the Australian biscuit were piled high on shelves in the supermarket. Their only concession to being a Balinese souvenir were the words, Bali, printed in large letters on the box.)

Anyway, this store also had an impressive array of nutritional supplements on display. With choices like "Gain Mass", "Lose Weight", and "Six Pack", idealism seems to be the key ingredient here.

Beach Bounty

Bali beaches need a serious cleanup. How hard can it be to hire a couple of people to pick up candy wrappers and tubs of face cream that are floating near the shore? Yet, in spite of the not-nearly-blue water and beach litter, there were still signs of pretty ocean life.

A coconut that had washed up on the beach, the outer skin soft and nearly waterlogged. I threw it repeatedly against some rocks, cracked it open, and filled half a pet bottle with coconut water. Alas, the hotel staff warned me against drinking it, and rightly so: one cautious sip and it was clear it had gone sour.

Born and Bred in Bali

Count the number of chickens hiding in plain sight. In Bali, chickens can be seen roaming in and around homes like cats in Japan.

Black and white chicken.

All the dogs I saw in Bali looked more or less like this dog: mangy, free of collar, energetic yet laid-back.

And then there were the occasional ducks roaming the streets.