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279--Bali: Volcanos and Drag Queens @ Book & Movie Reviews     Feb 24 2005 - 10:40 PST cherie writes: There is a certain yin-yang balance in all life. The Balinese believe, as I do, that opposites compliment each other. Hannah and I (a yin-yang friendship) decided to combine forces in Bali and hiked one of the country’s highest active volcanoes at sunrise only to hike down and attend Bali’s Miss Drag Queen 2005 the very same night. We awoke at 1:30 am and headed towards the active Ganung Batur near Kintamani, Bali. Then we climbed the volcano under the soft light of 80 billion stars and the strong light of our local guide’s torch. Sadly, the clouds obscured our view of what might have been a startling and spectacular sunrise. Still, Hannah and I enjoyed the cool volcanic breezes laced with sulfur and the hike down through small volcanic farming villages. After a long shower, Hannah and I headed into town to watch Miss Bali Drag Queen 2005 held at Q-Bar in Seminyak. We were about the only “authentic” ladies in the crowd. The lady-boys loved us and showered us with attention. The highlight of the night was when one of the Queens poured tequila in Hannah’s mouth straight from the bottle. We laughed so hard our stomach muscles ached as much as our weary legs. Click on each picture to see it full size. read comments (0) | write comment| views: 5693    | rated: 0.0    printer-friendly version   Cherie and Hannah at the top of Gunung Batur, one of Bali's active volcanoes. Looking down. Higher than the clouds! On the way down the volcano. Following the path of old lava flows. Scenery as we decend the volcano. Hannah and our Balinese guide. Local farmers capitalize on the rich volcanic soil. Cherie on the hike down. A local farm. Cherie and Hannah. Farming onions. (Don't kiss a Balinese farmer!) A freshly planted field. Which one doesn't fit in the photo? All in a days work. They must be thinking: Those white girls sure look silly carrying things on their back! Volcano farmers. After a long hike, Hannah relaxes in the volcanic spring water. Fresh hot springs feed into this pool by Lake Batur. Relaxing tired muscles. Warm water massages the aches out of my tired muscles. Strange trees. Red and purple flowers scream color out of the jagged volcanic rock. Lake Batur. The view from a distance. The fine details of an interesting flower. Miss Drag Queen, Bali 2005 "She" was crowned the winner. The talent portion of the show begins. Contestant #3. Runway model #6. The winner and still champion! Singing her heart out. The judges were also "lady boys." She owns that song. Getting into the groove. Sing it girl! Fighting for the title. Everyone wants the crown. Lady boys in the crowd. Where's the rest of her outfit? Hannah with a drag queen. A drag queen pouring tequila down wee Hannah's mouth. Girls just want to have fun. Hannah and "Aretha." Girls on stage. Her hair is just like mine--orange and curly. Perhaps I should avoid the close-ups. The contestants. Is she about to gab my butt? More singing.