Greencaviar Travel

I’ve become obsessed with visiting Uluru since seeing the image of Oprah standing in front of it in awe. Oprah said, “It strikes awe in your soul when you see it." So I come to Uluru with great expectations. As the plane approached landing, we could see the iconic rock amidst a sprawling expanse of terracotta land, dotted by greens. The view itself was impressive, but not the awe-inspiring sight I have long imagined. I thought I would be disappointed when I saw a few white tourist buses in front of the Ayers Rock airport. A party town, I thought! We rode in one of those buses to take us to our campsite/resort. The mid-afternoon Northern Territory light was bright and scorching. Our bus continued on a two-lane road amid an expanse of terracotta earth between rows of symmetrical trees and grass. After checking into our campsite/resort, the busload of tourists seemed to be lost in the huge expanse of earth. I did not see them until the following day at a gathering place to se...

The Lure of the Sunset Photo by the author As our Toyota MPV crept uphill, the landscape suddenly transformed into what seemed like a completely separate world from the bustle and hustle of Nusa Dua. Our vehicle took a turn off the smooth pavement to the parking lot. I thought we were the only ones going into this secret place. But when we got there, the lot was full of tour buses and MPVs (Multi-purpose Vehicle – a type of rental car common in Bali). An entire town, it seemed, was there to watch the sunset. Our driver/guide told us that when visiting a temple in Bali we had to wear modest clothing or dress appropriately. He pointed towards the entrance for us to pay (sort of rental) for sarongs and sashes. One of my traveling companions had to wear a sarong over his shorts. I wore a sash around my waist. We quickly ascended into a walkway where we were greeted by monkeys. We continued on and followed a foot path towards the edge of the cliff. Looking westward, there was noth...