My friend who wanted to experience the Takaosan Fire Walking Ceremony had a last-minute better offer from her husband. Who wouldn't leap at the chance to spend ten days in Bali?
Although I could not possibly begrudge her cancellation one iota, I did spend two hours on a bus shortly after dawn on Sunday morning puzzling through the conundrum of how one Seventh Fleet staff member finds himself in Bali while all the rest, including dear Ancient Mariner, are holed up in South Korea. I'm sure I was on the verge of reaching a semi-logical conclusion when our cheerful tour guide came down the aisle of the bus, doling out brochures extolling the pleasures we could expect to find on Mt. Takao. Let's see. An historic temple, lots of intriguing hiking trails, scenic views of Mt. Fuji, wild monkeys, a beer garden . . . wait just a second. Wild monkeys?
Suddenly Mt. Takao struck me as the sort of place I'd be much happier exploring with my family and friends than with two busloads of strangers. Much has been written about the kindness of strangers - by me as recently as last week, in fact - but I've learned the hard way never, ever, ever to count on anyone other than the Ancient Mariner or one of my offspring to stand interference between wild anythings and me.
When the bus pulled up at the foot of Mt. Takao, I tendered my regrets to the tour guide (vision problems) and hopped the first train heading in the general direction of Yokosuka. This complete wuss spent a pleasant morning meandering around the Kanto Plain on five or six different trains, pausing to investigate a bakery or two, polishing off another 100 pages in her book, and knitting another six inches of scarf.
Mt. Takao is on the agenda for June, assuming the Ancient Mariner will be around by then to distract those furry critters.
Today Dr. T said I made a wise decision and cautioned me to grip my purse tightly in the vicinity of those monkeys. I'm going to be gripping my camera as well because I want to be sure to capture the look on Kate's face when a monkey runs off with her passport.
To be perfectly honest, fending off wild monkeys from purse or passport snatching while trying to snap photos at the same time.... How about climbing Mt. Fuji instead?
ReplyDeleteOh, the Vaillancourts have already placed Mt. Fuji on the agenda. Keep your nose to the grindstone, mister, we've got the agenda under control.
ReplyDeleteWe do like climbing mountains and visiting waterfalls:)
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