Hello
My name is Maurice the Manta-Ray and I’ve just got back from an adventure in Bali. Bali is an Indonesian Island in SouthEast Asia, and is well known for its culture, history and marine life. Marine life is very interesting to me as a manta-ray because I love water and swimming! Susie, my friend who took me, said there might not be much time for swimming in the sea, but she promised we’d see lots of interesting things.
To get to Bali, we had to fly on an aeroplane. I was a bit nervous, but lots of the animals have been on aeroplanes now and they said it was really fun.
Planes look huge! But I guess some animals think boats look huge the first time they see them. I’m pretty used to boats now because of all my time swimming in the sea.
It’s a long flight to Bali so I got comfortable in my seat. I had lots of space and fin-room but some of the taller people were grumbling a bit about leg room.
When we landed, we checked into our hotel and had a look around.
The pool was lovely! Nice and clear water, and very warm. It was surrounded by lots of statues and plants, which you don’t usually get in the sea.
Some of them are hidden in the walls and plants, some are given a special platform to sit on.
Lots of the statues are of monkeys, because monkeys are sacred in Bali. In the UK they’re seen as cheeky characters up to mischief, but Susie said in Bali they’re to be treated with respect and not harmed.
Our hotel had a lovely view looking out over the forest.
The next day, we went to explore a temple. Because Bali is an island, there’s lots of water around. I like this island!
I was tempted to swim across, but neither me or Susie were sure if that would be respectful so we decided it wasn’t a good idea.
The closer we got, we could see how intricate the temples are. There are lots of carvings and etchings on the buildings. Susie said it was to show that they’re important buildings and make them different from other buildings.
There were more statues as well, but not just monkeys this time.
This is a shrine. I’m not sure what it’s a shrine of, but the elephant is the spiritual being and people have left offerings to it.
Susie had promised me a bit of swimming, so we headed to a baths.
Baths aren’t like baths in the UK- it’s a big pool of water where people go to bathe rather than a small bath tub. I wanted to swim though, so asked Susie to take me somewhere where I wouldn’t disturb people.
Susie took me to a boat and gave me some scuba gear. I was a bit confused to start off with, but realised the gear was for her, not me- I can swim underwater for a long time! We jumped off the boat and swum around in the sea together, looking at the underwater marine life and plants. It was really cool! I saw some new animals and fish you don’t see in the UK, plus it was a lot warmer than the sea in the UK. The only problem is, you can’t take photos underwater, so you’ll just have to take my word for it!
We got back in the boat and sat on deck to dry off. All too soon, it was time to head back to the UK. It might look a bit dull in the photos, but it’s very warm in Bali! Not like the UK where grey also means cold and damp. I quite enjoyed my adventure in Bali. Thank you to Susie for looking after me. I’m looking forward to my next adventure!
Out With Animals 