Bali: People, Places, Plants, Animals & Birds

Bali - People - 1 A boy wearing the traditional Bali Batik 'udeng' welcoming me to this island paradise. He approached me with incredible interest and curiosity. I think I was a bit overwhelmed by his beauty and failed to respond to his overtures - except to take this photo. The Batik 'udeng' is like a crown on his head. Apparently the part of the head gear that extends outwards has some sort of sexual symbolism in Balinese Hinduism.

Bali - People - 2 A boy working in a plant nursery.

Bali- Places - 1a Ganesh Statue. The majority of the native people of Bali are Hindu. And the island has so many temples, many of which appear to be ancient. Not a subject I know much about.

Bali - Places - 1b Priest Reciting Prayers. The majority of the native people of Bali are Hindu. And the island has so many temples, many of which appear to be ancient. Not a subject I know much about.

Bali - Places - 1c Grotesque female figures with clothing. The majority of the native people of Bali are Hindu. And the island has so many temples, many of which appear to be ancient. Not a subject I know much about.

Bangkok, Thailand - People - 4 Trying to avoid the polluted air. Actually about 20-40% of the population in all the places I visited wear masks to filter the air. Bangkok was certainly not as polluted as either Manila or Jakarta.

Bali - Places - 1d Ganesh beside fish pond.

Bali - Places - 2a Ubud Monkey Forest (10 hectares, 27 acres) of tropical forest with a Hindi Temple complex at the center of the forest. These are crab-eating macaques (Macaca fascicularis).

Bali - Places - 2b Baby enjoying sucking his thumb!

Bali - Places - 2c Actually three of these guys jumped on me at once. A friendly tourist took a picture with their camera and then kindly asked me if I wanted them to take a few for myself. Once two monkeys realized I had no food to offer, they jumped off, while the third one took up residence on my shoulders.

Bali - Places - 3

Bali - Plants - 1 Ficus pumila. Fresh growth clearly shows the very geometric structure of this vine. Native to east Asia is can be found growing on the walls of many buildings in tropical countries around the world.

Bali - Plants - 2 Waterlilies are often grown/kept in small birdbath like containers and found almost anywhere.

Bali - Plants - 1 A dragonfly near the rice fields.

Bali - Insects - 2 Dragonfly in a plant nursery (of which there seem to be hundreds, if not thousands.

Bali - Insects - 3 Dragonfly on a wall adjacent to my hotel.

Bali - Insects - 4 Wasp sipping nectar.

Bali - Insects - 5 Looks like a member of the Order Hemiptera. This bug has a transparent protective 'cover' with a pattern of black blotches setting it off from the actual body of the bug.

Bali - Insects - 6 Carpenter bee approaching a waterlily.