April 30 Darwin
We return to Australia, which we loved when we visited in 2005. And this is the first place that we've been to before since we left the Caribbean.
Before we left Komodo the ship was besieged by kids who were begging for money. Passengers would throw money and the kids would dive for it. Cruise Director Ray came over the PA and said "Knock It Off" in nicer terms.
Our cruise to Darwin was on very placid waters. Lake Timor Sea.
One of the sunsets as seen from the Terrace Cafe at the back of the ship.
We arrived at Darwin shortly before 11am. No bands or dancing girls, just a sign.
We took the shuttle bus to the Smith Street Pedestrian Mall. It has changed a lot since we visited in 2005.
The Anglican Church
Government House, the official residence of the Northern Territory Administrator constructed in 1871.
A monument to the Overseas Telegraph arriving in Australia in 1872.
The Darwin Cenotaph, recognizing all of the Darwin men who have served and died in various wars. The last wars on the list were Afghanistan and Iraq.
Darwin was attacked by the Japanese during WW2 more than 60 times. They've made benches resembling antiaircraft batteries as part of their Esplanade, where the real batteries were located.
We were here just before the "wet" and it looks like it's a big deal. This sign in one of the shopping malls.
A neat looking bird that I can't identify.
Darwin struck me as a city very proud of its history, even though it's young and has been destroyed twice. First by the Japanese in the war, then by Cyclone Tracy, the Christmas Cyclone of 1974. Virtually all of the markers say that "X used to be here but was destroyed by ...."
428 - Komodo
The only reason to stop here was to see the dragons. There's nothing else on the island.
The islands that make up Komodo National Park look a lot like Southern California. Although it's in the tropics, it's dry much of the year.
We tender to the island.
Two of our guides. Each group of 25 guests had 3-4 minders to keep people together, a long forked sticks to keep any wandering dragons at bay.
After walking about 1.5K we approached the water hole where there were five dragons. They can get up to 11' long and weigh over 300lbs, yet they can move very quickly when they want to. During our time around the water hole a couple of them starting to wander towards the guests and the guides jumped in with their sticks to suggest a different path.
There were three males, one female and one juvenile.
The dragons have teeth like sharks, constantly renewing. Their mouths are cesspools of bacteria, and just being bitten gives you a great chance of death from listeria.
This picture is for Sarah, the juvenile is walking away from the group into the woods. Guides estimated his age at 8 months and I estimate his length as two feet, head to tail.
Like snakes the dragons use their tongue to smell.
This is the smaller of the adults, the female. In spite of my requests, the guide would not go stand alongside any of them so we could get a sense of scale. The tourists are standing about 30 feet beyond the draon.
Our primary guide
Exit through the gift shop. Even with nothing else on the island, there's a chance to buy souvenirs.
Back home as seen from the tender. Fortunately the seas were calm.
It was great seeing the dragons, and there was some subterfuge in play. They don't feed the dragons, but they do provide a water line from up in the mountains to the water hole we went to. That guarantees that some animals will be near the nice level trail that the cruise ship tourists take. It wouldn't be good for gift shop commerce if 400 cruise passengers were disappointed.
April 27 Bali, second day
I think that we overnighted in Indonesia to allow many of the crew members to visit/be visited by their families. Lots of turnover in the crew at this stop also. We were up early and onto our bus by 7:30am to visit a temple and see some of the interior of the island.
Scenes along the way
Gasoline by the liter. Motorbikes were not quite as popular as they were in Vietnam, but pretty close.
Terraced rice fields appear all over the island
We stopped where a group of women were harvesting rice. A chance to see rice in its natural setting, and not in the bag you get at the grocery.
We stopped at a "typical" family home, which was actually an extended family of more than 20 people and four generations.
At the entrance there's an offering Cynthia explained in her cruisecritic post. Similar offerings were in front of each of the vendor stalls in the port area. A different item is placed at each of the cardinal points, with the green on top.
Yes, this is all part of the family compound. Every family has their own shrine.
We pulled off at an overlook to see the valley of rice fields below. An enterprising herpetologist had a menagerie to show off for us.
Civet, probably digesting coffee beans
The Pura Ulun Danu Beratan, which appears on the Indonesian 100000 note. (Indonesian Rupiah go for about 13K to the dollar, so it's not a lot of money.)
We passed more instances of farming on the way back.
Here's a family plot preparing for cucumbers.
A monkey preserve by the side of the road.
The sail out from Bali was beautiful, and tricky for the captain
Our cruise to Darwin was on very placid waters. Lake Timor Sea.
One of the sunsets as seen from the Terrace Cafe at the back of the ship.
We arrived at Darwin shortly before 11am. No bands or dancing girls, just a sign.
We took the shuttle bus to the Smith Street Pedestrian Mall. It has changed a lot since we visited in 2005.
The Anglican Church
Government House, the official residence of the Northern Territory Administrator constructed in 1871.
A monument to the Overseas Telegraph arriving in Australia in 1872. 
The Darwin Cenotaph, recognizing all of the Darwin men who have served and died in various wars. The last wars on the list were Afghanistan and Iraq.
Darwin was attacked by the Japanese during WW2 more than 60 times. They've made benches resembling antiaircraft batteries as part of their Esplanade, where the real batteries were located.
We were here just before the "wet" and it looks like it's a big deal. This sign in one of the shopping malls.
A neat looking bird that I can't identify.
Darwin struck me as a city very proud of its history, even though it's young and has been destroyed twice. First by the Japanese in the war, then by Cyclone Tracy, the Christmas Cyclone of 1974. Virtually all of the markers say that "X used to be here but was destroyed by ...."
