We hang tight to the little threads of contact to home . . . phone calls, e-mails, Facebook, comments on our blog . . . threads stretched half-way around the world. But when our kids came to visit, when our friends came to visit, when the children of our friends came to visit, it was like those threads were all pulled back into a spool and we were pulled closer to home. In two shorts months we will back in Wenatchee for a bit . . . and then we will have the threads connecting us to our friends here in Malaysia stretched again half way round the world. Such is life.

Here are some images of our recent visit with our dear friends; Kathy, Kim, and Cindi

Balinese Dance
Balinese dance if very traditional, angular, and expressive. The girls all seem to have these lovely large eyes that dart back and forth. Their arms, hands and fingers are forever at odd angles, quickly moving from one position to the next. Quick movement, hold position, flit eyes back and forth, quick movement…on and on. Costumes extremely colorful, head pieces elaborate. The Gamelon music to our Western ears tended to be a bit monotonous, but unique to this area.

Youtube video of part of the dance we watched. Dance starts part way through.

Ogoh-Ogoh
The Ogoh-ogoh are statues demons built to help in the purification of the island. Each year there is a parade of these statues through the streets around Bali. After they have been paraded about town, they are burned to ashes. We left the island one day before the Ngrupuk parade, but were able to see the demons about town as they were being prepared for the journey about town. All the statues are placed atop a bamboo grid and will be lifted upon the shoulders of 8 to 12 men.

More food and drinks

More Flowers

Various pics of the visit by Kathy, Kim, and Cindi