1 - Embarkation - Viking Mars

 This is our last morning at theWeston Hotel in Ubud Indonesia before traveling back to the coast to board the ship for the start of the cruise.  So how to spend it?  I thought about Quinn's upbringing, i.e. be open to trying new things, resulting in an almost ureka moment - this was my last real chance to try Indonesian food while in Bali.  So my breakfast consisted of a traditional Balinese meal.  Fish, rice, rice flour with bananas and coconut milk wrapped in bananna leaves. Along with Americano cafe! Would I do it again? Maybe.

We spent a quiet morning at the Weston's pool working out the stiffness from yesterday's ambitious touring.

Phil checked us out of the hotel.  The bill was just over $7 million IDR for 2 nights. That included the hotel,  driver services, meals and a lovely spa massage. Spounds high but not really.

The hostess at the Weston is wishing us farewell and safe travels.  I love her outfit!

The drive to the coast was 1.5 hrs.  Today's driver offered, if we had time, to make a couple of stops along the way to see some master craftsman at work and peruse the shops.  We had time!  Phil wasn't inclined to stop, so we made just one detour to the Batik factory.  They demonstrated the process of weaving on a very old loom and batik making: create the design, use wax to cover the white fabric, dye, wax to cover 1st color, 2nd dye, more wax to cover the 2nd color, etc.  When complete a warm wash will remove all the wax revealing the final design. No photos were allowed inside the massive store.  It was impressive.

The Viking Mars was at port and accepting new PAX.  They required that we show our Australian visa to board.  It took a little while for the APP to load, but all was well we had done our homework. The boarding process took all of 10 minutes, including the safety talk.  Our fastest time yet.  BTY every country requires a visa along with a $35-40 USD fee per person: three countries, three visas, times two.

We submitted (saliva) samples for Covid testing and will wear masks until our (hopefully) negative results are reported.

Departure is 11pm tonight. Headed to Lombok Indonesia, 89 miles away.