History of Bali- Java spread its infulence into Bali in 1019-1042 during the reign of King Airlannga.When he was defeated and dethroned , he fled into the forest of Java -gradually gaining support , he became one of Javas freatest Kings. His mother went t Bali -remarried and there the link to Bali was born. During 7th Century Bali embracd Hinduism. 1292-Bali gained independence from Jave with the death of Kertanegra 1597-The Dutch invaded 1894- The Dutch ,Balinese and people of Lombok collided in battles. With the North of Bali long under control by the Dutch and the conquest of Lombok successful, the Souoth was never going to last long before this too became the propery ot the Dutch. 1908 the last Balinese Kingdom fell to the clawing Dutch. Huge opposition from the Balinese failed to stop the Dutch invasion and in 1906 a Naval bombardment occured on Denpesar. The people realised they were surrounded and defeat was inevitable- taking the honourable path of suicide was preferable and so dressing up in their finery marched forward to their death. Nearly 4,000 Balinese died this way. In 1942 the Japanese invaded Bali-at SANUR-but the Balinese could offer no resistence and were defeated again. The Japanese were incredibably harsh on the Balinese peole .However WW2 saw the defeat of the Japanese and the island was soon to become theirs once more. Suffering from such poverty ,the Balinese had fostered severe paramilitary nationalism and anti colonialism and this allowed the Balinese to be strong enough to fight against the Dutch in the long term. Independence came in 1945 after the Japs surrendered -but it actually took another 4 years before the Dutch fully handed the island over back to the Balinese. This place has a special air of grace,beauty and diginity -it is certainly one of the most beautiful places I have ever travelled. The people are divine - graceful,sincere, willing and simply beautiful. Sure ---go deeper into the customs and cultural differences one may find things not to our Western way - particularly when regarding being pregnant without marriage-(This is simply not allowed- divorce not advised as they will lose literally everything even the children and so on-)But as a hollydolly spot - bring the kids and have a lovely summer holiday- . We are here at a very good time climatically- the skies are blue-a mere 30 degrees(tropical climate with cool breeze and a few drops of rain early morning. It is much more humid ,rainy and cloudy other times-NOT GOOOD WORDS IN THE VACATION BIBLE)the rest of the time and compared to Vietnam which was soooo hot it is perfect.The coast is hotter and obviously a touch cooler in land. Having pootled around Kuta - packing in some temples and other quite beautiful sites we are beginning to feel quite at home. There is a large plaque and statue with names of those killed in the Bali bombings of 2002- it stands exactly where the bombings took place and is always filled with different nationalities showing their respect .Very moving -and being there brings home just how cruel & pointless those atroceties were-These people individually have been enormously affected by the intentions of the terrorists and it has personally offended very deeply,many of the islands inhabitants. However, the Indonesian cultural war continues(Too large a subject to even discuss - and one I am not absolutely clear about)- and it is clear that it certainly played a role in these bombings.Sadly. Besides the obviouse monetary loss- the blasts fuelled the ever present suspicions of the HINDU BALINESE and the MUSLIMS . They believe that the MUSLIM JAVANESE are tring to muscle in on the profitable Balinese scene and the Muslims from Indonesia are in general looking to show prejudice against the NON MUSLIM BALINESE. Not able to be political here out of discretion- this is a most delicate topic. OBUD was our next watering hole. The art ,craft,fabric design,wood carving are exceptional- all to be seen world wide but to actually see the skilled labourers hand carbing stone buddhas and shivas as high as a cloud is quite remarkable. It will be a miracle if suddenly BAR SUR LOUP chez nous does not suffer some redecorating Bali style. Reins will be necessary - I trust Judith implicitly to act as big sis and restrain the more ruly of the tour! Obud is a lovely retreat -great restaurants,lots to do including mountain biking,volcano hiking, temple bashing, cooking classes, aswelll as every sort of hedonistic option. We have found some great eateries and deciding on activities has been a doddle as we both enjoy similar stuff. The people are so inquisitive - leaning towards downright nosy and a touch intrusive but they just want to talk with you and are genuinely friendly. So as long as we have both had our morning coffees and whatever else makes us tick then we happily converse with the hawkers- repeating ourselves throughout the day--- me telling mistruths about Jude and her about me- quite amusing- "Yes yes we are sisters- Jude much older and not as intelligent as myself- ""ha ha "Yes Helen is not all 16 ounzes but we try and cope blah blah- not we do not want another bl------- sarong or pair of flipflops thanks" I will continue tomorrow as have to go an shower for soiree. All wonderful and Judy is a fine travelling wilberry.