Kites

It's kite flying season in Bali.

That's what the people told me, anyhow.
They didn't know why.
Just because the wind is right, I guess.

I watched this boy spend about half an hour bringing in his thirty foot kite, little by little.

He had a pretty good system of pulling and walking while someone else wound the string..

Every now and then, the men sitting on the beach would give him a few pointers.

To have a 'kite season' incorporated into your year is pretty good island living, I say.

Football on the beach

Every sunset evening has time for a game of football.

Especially when it's on the beach.

Balinese fishermen

Jimbaran beach is full of fishing boats.

Some of them prepare their nets and set out in the evening.

When they begin to push the boats across the sand, someone else comes running up to help.

And off they go, into the sunset.

Secret Point

Secret Point is not such a well kept secret.
If it looked like the first two pictures all the time...quiet, just you and the sea.  Then maybe you could say it's a secret.



But it doesn't.
Maybe that's why its real name is Tegel Wangi beach.

Soon after I arrived, these folks showed up.
Because this is what this beach is known for:  wedding photos.

And they brought their photographers.

Secret Point wasn't really secret or empty at all.

There were photo-shoots happening up and down the small beach.

Just because the sea is nice to look at and listen to, you can watch the video pretend you're there and no one else is around.

Bananas

This is where to buy the bananas.
It's all they sell and it's the only reason to come here.

There are a lot to choose from.
...if you like bananas.

Padang Padang beach critters

See that beautiful beach?
 There are all kinds of creatures out there.

Crabs hiding under rocks.

Crabs hiding in holes in the sand.

And there must be millions of fish out there, too.

















Here are two poor attempts at videoing nature.

Did you ever wonder what a sea slug does all day?

The second one I call:  Suicidal Hermit Crab

Padang Padang beach--it's alive.

Ziplining through jungle

After years of wanting to try this ziplining adventure, I finally took the opportunity to go on the Flight of the Gibbon.

Over 3km of zipline through the jungle.
Yes.

And there really were gibbons to see, too.

For most of the time, you can't see just how high up in the canopy of the jungle you are.  But then the view opens up and you see the beautiful, tall trees and the river far below.

Swinging through the trees with the gibbons (and guides)--great fun.

National Science Centre

 It's what to do on a hot day in Delhi.
We thought.
Mistakenly, we believed the science museum would be air-conditioned.  And I supposed it was, sort of, but not fully. 

Escape from the heat or not, there are still a few things to do there...

...see an ancient surgery taking place, for one.

Look at cannons.
Even Akbar makes it to the science museum.  These are his portable cannons, the first of their kind, an innovation in weaponry.

The most fun are the mirrors--mazes, distortions, and fun angles.

Keep your expectations low--and I mean low--and it's a good outing.

Zero mile

This is the center of India, geographically speaking.  A pillar to mark the spot in Nagpur, Maharashtra.

From here, you start counting how many kilometers to everywhere else.

 Because rearing stallions have everything to do with zero miles, yes?
Maybe these horse statues help draw tourists in to this little-visited site.
Hm.  Don't think so.  Most people just drive by.

You can also stand here and get the local sea level information.

This is what there is to see in Nagpur.  Exciting sightseeing destination.

Ice

Did you want ice with that?

The curiosity of the biscope

Walking around the mango festival, with all the mangoes and other attractions to see, I was taken aback at how popular this biscope was.

I think it's the curiosity factor:
You see someone looking at something you can't see, and you wonder, "What ARE they looking at?"  And suddenly people are willing to pay money to have their curiosity satisfied.


I guess the biscope is similar to one of those viewfinder things.  A picture goes by while the music plays, and the man turning the crank makes the pictures keep moving past.

There's a more sophisticated version, too.  One where you can look "around the Europe".

The display at the museum portraying 1947 had a biscope as part of its street scene.
Yet even today, their appeal lives on.

Stringed instrument seller

The sound of this man's playing is like something out of another century.

Mango festival

Mangoes by the thousands.

It's Delhi's Mango Festival.

Tables and tables of mangoes on display to see.

And yes, people wanted to see them.

Especially the winner mangoes.

But even more so, people wanted to taste them.
These are the thirty women who took part in the Lady's mango eating contest. 
They were each given 3kg of  mangoes, and had to eat as much as they could in three minutes time.
It was an intense competition.