I have decided to document my Bali holiday, so I don't forget it. I am copying Emma's 'Vegas 2000' idea, since it was a brilliant journal. Photos can be viewed at the end of this page.
My last work day. I thought I had it made. I finally got my car ignition problem fixed after only 3 months of waiting. I had managed to make my holiday happen in about 4 days. I had my tickets couriered to me thanks to Inflight Travel, the nicest travel agents in the world. I had accommodation, insurance, a 'wish list' of things I wanted, others wanted, blackmail gifts, etc. My cousin Sandra was leaving her luggage at my house tonight. I had my security briefing session. My holiday was turning into a real logistic hassle and I was getting tired of it.
Veronica wanted to see me off before I left. I was acting like I was leaving for a year, or forever, but it is only for a week after all! I met Veronica while she was on a break from her Rational course. We went Duty Free shopping. I got a range of Jean Paul Gaultier, Allure, and Coco Chanel fragrances. 8 items in total. I got myself a bottle of Cougar Bourbon for $5, and Veronica a little Tia Maria. The Casio TV set I wanted was $180. I didn't get it. We went back to Camtech after I got a bread roll to eat.
I continued my work day. We rebuilt the training room after the Hong Kong Finance minister's visit. I had my security interview the day before. I finished work at 1830h, so I took Bruno home. We found that my car's left window didn't operate properly anymore. It's good to see that my luck has not failed me.
I ate well that night, relaxed in front of the TV, and started packing. I stopped to watch the last episode of 'New York', got another 'have a good trip' calls from Tan, and finished packing by 2330h.
I had an agitated sleep that night.
My escape day! My flight was at 0950h, so I was organised and ready to rock by 0845h. My parents drove me to the airport; they were going shopping afterwards. I was bordering between being agitated about leaving Adelaide, or excited, or relaxed. We took the Valiant. After 20 minutes of my father's old-man-Volvo driving, and being confined in one space with my parents, and the repetitive 'An Asian robbed a petrol station last night, so all Indonesians are criminals' lectures, I was just agitated. I was upset about this, because my father might be excited about me going on a holiday, but his behaviour in public, and some of the things he says is too much. At least he means well.
We reached the Adelaide International Terminal at 0925h. I checked in for my Garuda Indonesia flight GA722. It was a textbook check-in. I answered all questions as well as I could considering my father was muttering all sorts of crap into my ear. Not impressed. My suitcase was just 10kg, cool. My hand luggage was at my feet, at least I thought it was. My father decided to move it about 4 metres away, so I wouldn't have to worry about it. Unfortunately I had a panic attack. As far as I knew, my valuable duty free luggage and tickets were stolen. How am I supposed to guarantee my luggage's integrity if I don't even know where it is! I scolded m father severely, and told him never to touch anyone's luggage again, in controlled-tantrum mode. The Australian's around me must have seen that I was pretty angry. My father called me an ungrateful child. Typical. He just didn't get it. Why did I let them follow me into the 'passengers only' area?
We proceeded to the waiting area. I wanted to withdraw some Australian money. I soon remembered that the Adelaide Bank ATM was in the domestic terminal. There are no banks in the International terminal. Damn. No point hanging around in this glorified shed-with-a-carpet!
The room was full of young Australians dressed to go to the beach. Some cute girls. I felt myself getting agitated again.
My father started muttering at me again, something to do with respect. I was paying attention to the loudspeaker, talking about boarding a Garuda Indonesia flight. My father started speaking louder, something about this being an example of me not paying attention. I missed the announcement. Controlled-tantrum mode again, telling him to be quiet. I think I was causing a scene. It was time to get out of there. I quickly farewelled my parents as I marched to the 'passenger only' door, and through to Customs.
Goodbye Adelaide, my useless feral city. I had achieved my goal to get out of Adelaide for a while.
The customs lady looked surprised to see so many fragrance bottles. :-)
My wait in the waiting room was uneventful. Lots of gorgeous women around, obviously from Melbourne.
I boarded at 1009h. My seat was 19E. I sat near a nice Indonesian man who was going to Timor. Apparently it was cheaper to fly from Melbourne, via Adelaide and Bali, than direct. He had a one-night stopover in Bali. He worked for Weston milling, who was asked by the UN to sell flour to Timor. Very interesting.
On my right, there was a fantastic girl. Dutch/German parents. She was attractive, blonde, no fat arse, and looked a little like Glenn Close. It took her a while to talk to me. She was a little shy, awkward, nervous, kind, and generous. She lent me her pen to fill in my customs and immigration forms, how considerate! She was carrying several pens actually - curious. The highlight was when she dropped her complimentary Faber beans snack food (dried broad beans fried with salt like potato chips - nice) on her lap. Looking down at her lap and general area, covered in beans, with her hands there, did not help my libido. I was going to offer to help her, but I didn't trust myself. I noticed she had been doing her funky tourist shopping, since everything she had featured the 'Korjo' brand. I mentally cursed when I found she was going to England. I showed her what her hotel in Bali looked like; I found it in my travel brochures.
The in-flight movies were fantastic. We watched French 'Just Kidding'. Another movie about an American family visiting Amsterdam, and their daughter gets kid-napped. A movie called 'My Dog Spot', about a boy, and his dog, Spot. Then a sports show. Great.
There was another guy, Tall, dark, handsome type; a real inspiration. He was such a clown, very sociable, a real lad. I swear I knew him from somewhere, maybe because he looked like Damian Mori?
There was an Australian girl, dark brown hair, plain looking, tall and chubby. By the end of the flight was completely drunk. She was shouting 'Yes we can have another drink', 'Fuck I'm drunk', and 'Oh fuck me'. When we had to get off the plane, she found that she was missing the cap off of her water bottle, so she decided to crawl under seats looking for it. I saw more arse-crack than I needed. That girl would have had a great flight.
We arrived in Bali at about 1730 CST (GMT+0930). I was 1600h in Bali, mid-afternoon. Bali is lovely from the air. Blue seas and sky, green and brown land. It felt like I was in Adelaide! I saw flat land, sparse green trees, minimal greenery, and hills in the distance. I swear it was West Beach.
Bali airport is Garuda's transit gateway. It was lovely. Made of bricks. Stairs, aeroplanes, shops, lots of space. The immigration point was packed with Australians, and about 10% Japanese, from a prior flight. The humidity was building. 200 people in one area didn't help. I noticed that every Japanese tourist was yet to do their immigration forms. Hooray. 5 minutes waiting time per person :-(. Maybe they need their forms in Japanese?
I got through customs in 30 seconds, and went to collect my luggage. A man approached me. I thought he was from Customs since he was in uniform. I eventually located my bag, and he grabbed it from me, and muttered something including 'Venture Holidays'. I thought he was from Points Tour, the reciprocal organisation in Bali. I let him carry the luggage. Another man grabbed my hand luggage and carried that, as I gave him a 'what the fuck are you doing look'. They took me to the money exchange booths, then out to Venture holidays in 20 seconds. I knew I was screwed when they asked me for AUD $10 each. Never again will this happen to me. They disappeared into the crowd. Naturally, all Indonesians now look alike to me.
The Points Tour host was called Gusti, he was dressed in traditional-style Balinese attire, with sarong and funky headband. He was very nice. The other people on my bus were Australians, staying at different hotels in the Kuta/Sanyur area. They were old and retired. For one couple, this was their 6th time to Bali. Very original.
I didn't want to wear the traditional flower necklace (a lei-lei), since I'm allergic to pollen, and I didn't want to look like a tosser in front of all the big bronze Australians.
It was a 2-hour journey to Ubud, the town where I was staying. The trip was through Kuta, Sanyur, Denpasar. Kuta beach is stunning. Long, white sands, rolling whitewashed waves, warm sun. Australians everywhere. The Kuta area is like tourist hell. Crowded. Tight streets, full of cars and motorbikes. Near gridlock. Half dilapidated buildings. Stupid tacky western places, like MacDonalds Bali, KFC, even La Porchetta! There was even a 'Bali Aussie' place. Hooray. Just as Stuart described it. Big bronze Australians everywhere. Lots of surfing stuff. The Kuta strip has lots of western designer shops. I wasn't ready for Kuta, not now anyway. Maybe in a couple of years.
The trip to Ubud became arduous, and the traffic was sporadic. Narrow roads with potholes, potholes with roads. Chickens. Dogs. Cows. Villagers. Trucks. Vans. 4 wheel drives. Motorcycles. Children. Teenagers. Elderly. Homes. Little shops. temples. Dirt. Rubbish. Flowers. Shrines. Offerings to Hindu gods. Some tourists. Sun. Warm humidity. This is it, this is what I have come to see, this is Indonesia.
I regret that my camera was packed in my luggage, for I have no photos of this journey.
Eventually, when we came close to Ubud, at a place called Kedewatan, we turned off at the Amandari hotel. The road was narrow, of cobblestone bricks. There was a nice furniture shop. Then we turned right. Boom. Full-on farmland. Houses, and one narrow, muddy dirt track. It was like Gawler River. We passed some homes, farmland, vacant land, forest, and funky brown cows. Turn left, continue, turn right. Dirt roads. Eventually, we got to the entrance of Puri Taman Ayung, the hotel where I would be staying. I started having second thoughts. The true entrance to the hotel was a good 50 metres down steps. The entrance has a courtyard in the Balinese/Hindu fashion, with a shrine for offerings out the front, plus north, east, and west rooms.
I was greeted by a lady calling herself Putri, which is Indonesian for 'woman'. Very friendly. In fact, all Balinese are friendly. She wanted to chat and help me relax, but I requested that I'd like to rest and drop my luggage in my room. I had been travelling for 10 hours by this time. She showed me my room and gave me a yummy mango fruit drink. Down 3 flights of steps. more walking. A pond, a lion's head. Ganesha. A nice swimming pool. Lots of palm trees. I was staying in room 101, an executive suite. I was upgraded from the standard room. I could see no other tourists at this hotel.
My room was quite tasteful. I liked it straight away. Clean and simple. White brick walls, dark brown teak furniture, double bed, bamboo strip ceiling, reddish brown tiles. There was a fantastic double door leading onto the balcony. It was hand-made carved wood, with a sliding latch. Very nice.
The view from my room was breathtaking and uplifting. Swimming pool. Palm trees. Banana plants. Rice paddies. Farmers. Rainforest. Sun. A valley view of the Ayung river. One hears the flow of water at all hours of the day, along with birds singing, and frogs croaking. This is Balinese rural life. I knew that everything was now worth it, just to see this view. I refrained from photographing it after a while. It's a pity that the Puri Taman Ayung is not closer to a main town.
After setting in, I changed from jeans into my ubergeek brown checked shorts. I had a chat to Putri and went for a walk around the streets of Kedewatan.
It's a shocking place. Third-world people, miserable looking shops with bottles of warm soft drink. Local fruits and traditional sweets, combined with western products like lollies, chocolate, beer, soaps, washing detergent, the basics of life. Maybe it's in the hope that some of the five-star hotel tourists are going to wander over and buy a pack of detergent. There are some wood craft shops from Bali, Java, and Timor. A couple of restaurants. A number of houses/family compounds. There is a great statue at the centre of the intersection of the road from Denpasar to Singaraja, and to Ubud. A bit like a totem pole. All main intersections have some kind of landmark. I would later find that there was a shortcut from this intersection, leading right to the hotel entry stairs.
It was dark, 1830h. I decided to have dinner at a small low-key place down the road. There were pre-cooked meat dishes on display in the window. The proprietor was very helpful, even though he didn't cater for tourists, but locals. I realised the place served Muslims, or Indonesian style food, but not Balinese. I had some rice, curried tuna, and beef. Not too bad. 14400 Rupiya, or AUD $2.50.
It was time to go to my room because i was worn out. I found the entrance to the Amandari hotel, and followed the dirt roads. I eventually found a small corner shop, and after much deliberation, found that a bottle of Bintang beer was 5000 Rp. $1 for a beer - paradise.
From then on, I would do all my incidental shopping here, with some degree of success. I bought lots of drinks, chocolate, and sweet bread. Unfortunately they didn't have dental floss. I think I bought the shop's last beer though.
I tried ringing my parents on their mobile, but we kept getting disconnected after 20 seconds. It was annoying. I had asked Optus to enable international roaming before I left.
I was fast asleep to the sound of the Ayung river by 2030h. Not a bad day.
I woke up at around 0530h. It wasn't dawn yet. I was so excited, my first Balinese dawn. I was hoping the Ayung valley would light up with a thousand colours, but it was only just a few shades of green. I took photos of dawn, anyway.
I had arranged with Gusti from Points Tour, to meet at my hotel at 1000h. I had about 2 hours to kill. I explained to Putri that I wanted to go see the Ayung river. She explained the path to take: go to the front gate. turn right. Keep walking past the rice paddies. Simple. From the gate, the nice concrete footpath soon becomes a steep narrow dirt track leading though rain forest, then past the edges of rice fields. The path is not easy, I slipped once. It is muddy and slippery. It became a bit of an obstacle course. After descending about 5 levels of rice paddies, all private property, you finally reach the river's edge. I found a point where the river does a 90 degree turn. The view is breathtaking; a lovely, healthy river surrounded by rainforest and high cliffs. I managed to get back to the hotel, jogging half of the way, and sweating profusely. I showered and met Gusti at 1000h.
I was really being looked after; I was impressed. I did not expect it at all. Gusti wanted to organise my activities during my stay. I explained that I'd like to be left to my own devices, but I was really interested in the Sobek adventure series, from a pamphlet he gave me. I was hence enrolled in the white-water rafting and mountain-cycling expeditions.
All I had to do was pay for them, so I'd need to find a Visa ATM. Simple. Unfortunately, the only banks were in Ubud, 4 km away. Gusti took me there and accompanied me to find a working ATM. He also found where I could buy a Bali map, and showed me how to get back to the hotel. He then left me in Ubud, free to my own devices.
Gusti took me to Ubud by motorcycle. It was great. First he took me to his house to get a helmet. His compound is very nice, in a nice village outside of Ubud.
I wandered about Ubud like a lost donkey, gawking at everything. There were plenty of tourists, most of them European, which I found surprising. There were many Italians.
I decided to try and find the things that I needed or wanted. I got statues, batteries, water. I found the Ubud Pasar watch sellers. I got home by walking in the dark. Not too bad.
I managed to find a fake Nike watch. A miracle, I thought, considering that I couldn't find one in Singapore. I still could not find a fake Louis Vuitton bag for Gerel.
I had lunch at a place just around the corner from Ubud Palace (a big temple). It was called TeraZo. I was expecting Indonesian food, but they only served European food. I ordered the Poor Man's Caviar, which is roasted eggfruit dip with warm pita bread, then the Mezo vegetable platter; mixed grilled vegetables with polenta. Stunning lunch. 35000 Rp, or $6.
For dinner, I went to a place on Monkey Forest Road, called Cafe Kaya. I ordered Balinese fried chicken. I got a bowl of rice, tomato, cabbage, alfalfa, French beans and carrots with a peanut sauce, and half a chicken! It included the foot and neck. Feast. 18700 Rp.
I went to the museum Puri Lukisan to view some local Balinese art and sculpture. The Balinese art movement began when Rudolf Bonnet, a Dutchman, introduced western art concepts in 1929. Balinese art usually depicts village life, or Hindu icons. Colours are vivid, and all a sense of depth is not demonstrated.
I walked down Monkey Forest Road which has lots of cafes, shops, and bungalow accommodation. The Monkey Forest was at the end of the road. I saw the monkeys as they strutted around, eating bananas, hassling the Americans who were present.
The road to Kedewatan is long and weary at night, it is the countryside, but there are many houses, rice paddies, art galleries, restaurants, and some hotels. Every guy with a motorbike will offer to drive you anywhere, shouting 'Transport, sir'. It gets annoying.
This is it, the big day. The day I go white-water rafting! I was petrified; I thought I would drown or something, but it was reassuring to see lots of small teenage Japanese girls screaming as they try to paddle down the river.
Sobek (the expedition company) collect and return their clients from their hotels. Very nice. I was picked up in a van, and I met a nice American couple from Los Angeles. Stefan, an American Filipino, worked in an online music retail company, the House of Blues (hob.com - it was on his cap). Lia, his fiancee, looked alot like Mindy from Mork and Mindy.
We ended up in the same dinghy, with a middle-aged Japanese couple. Stefan and I were in the front, so we would be the first to die. Once on the water, it took about 10 seconds to become completely saturated. Once we were accustomed to it, we couldn't get enough! The rafting guide (at the back of the boat) said that we were quite good at it. This explains why he could spend his time steering, chatting, or showing off. Other guides in other dinghies were obviously doing all the rowing.
At the end of the course, we all bought snapshots of ourselves in the boat. They even videotaped the journey, for those who may want it. They even sell a 'Bali Bloopers' video, of accidents that other rafters have had. There is nothing funnier than seeing a dinghy capsize, then six little Japanese girls flowing helpless down the rapids.
We had a yummy Indonesian buffet lunch. I gave myself the biggest serve of Nasi Goreng (Indonesian-style noodles) that I'd ever seen.
This night, I ate at an open air restaurant in Kedewatan. One sits on elevated straw mats, cross-legged, with little tables to eat on. Unique. I had Balinese fried chicken again, and a 500 ml Bintang beer which took me about 1 minute to drink. The meal was stunning, it same with two hot dips; one was mixed spices, the other plain chili. A memorable meal, for only 15500 Rp ($3.10).
Eating far too much became a very bad habit in Bali.
After showering, I knew I needed slippers, but I didn't like the crappy ones that I had seen around Ubud. Since my sport shoes were saturated, I could only wear my evil skin-cutting Adelaide thongs. I walked around Kedewatan and found a place called Griya Etnik that had lots of high quality local products; woodcraft, silk, scarves, furniture, and fantastic Balinese slippers! Handmade leather, so comfortable. Costed me 98000 Rp, or AUD $20. The owner must have been happy, he even drove me to Ubud on his motorcycle, for free.
In Ubud, I shopped around for more stuff, since I knew what kind of things I could get. I bought a few tshirts, shorts, craft items, silver, and watches. Nice stuff, decent prices. I was happy. Even got a great pair of sunglasses for 30000 Rp.
The local bus service consists of a minivan that goes from town to town. Popular with old ladies. There are no bus stops or timetables. You just wave at any brown van that comes along. Hence I had no faith in the bus service.
I was getting better at bartering, but it helps to know how much things are worth. At the Ubud Pasar (central market) I got two Bintang tshirts, and some fake Stussy shorts for 125000 Rp ($25) which is an average price.
Bali shorts, pants, Billabong, Stussy, Nike tshirts seem to be aimed at the tourist market. Everyone tries to sell these clothes quite aggressively. Street sellers are especially aggressive. They don't know when to leave people alone.
I walked back to Kedewatan. In the daytime, the route is quite pleasant. I found a shop that had original locally made clothes, so I bought a nice black polo shirt and shorts. Not many shops seem to have changing rooms, so there I was, changing in front of a cute sales attendant, trying to act natural. It was the first time I saw a telephone in four days. She said that I was good luck for her, since I was the first sale for the day.
I was now addicted to the Sobek mini adventures. Today was my day for the mountain cycling trek.
I was picked up by Sobek, and taken to a restaurant overlooking Lake Sanur, in the north-west of Bali. This was one of the most beautiful places in the world. A huge lake, next to a huge Mount Sanur. Nice farmland. Scorching sun. One can see Trunyan, an ultra-traditional Balinese town. It is isolated, the only way to go there is by boat, taking 1 hour to cross the lake. There, they do not bury their dead. They lay them to rest all in one area outside the village, and when there are a few dead people, they have a public cremation ceremony. Apparently a certain tree variety in the area absorbs any corpse smells.
We had a yummy breakfast of banana fritters and fruits. Naturally I had an enormous serve. It was my second meal of the day, by 1000h. I met the restaurant owner; a flamboyant little man. After the other Sobek patrons arrived, we drove off to a country area, I don't know precisely where.
The cycling trip began after some training. We had mountain bikes, and I was struggling to understand how to use the gears properly. Most of the trip was downhill, with some rises, and took about 2.5 hours. It was a great way to see rural Bali. We got to visit a Balinese house, many villages, the country home of the Sukarnos (the future first female president will be Megawati Sukarnoputri). Lots of rice paddies. We had a nice Indonesian lunch at a restaurant outside Ubud. Another huge meal. I tried traditional Balinese cake, which is like a pancake made of coconut, coconut milk, and sticky rice.
When I was back at my hotel, I realised that I had nothing else to do during my Bali stay. I also had never seen the rest of the island. I heard a knock at the door. It was Gusti, coming to help me plan the rest of my holiday. Great timing. I decided on a day trip to Singaraja and Lovina beach. Plus, I wanted to try the Sobek Lake Kayaking. It costed me about $220 in all.
Since I was broke, and needed to mail some postcards, Gusti drove me to Ubud on his motorbike. It is strange; there are two mail systems in Indonesia. One is for local mail. The other international. I could only buy postage stamps and send letters in Ubud. There were only 3 letterboxes, little red ones. It was 1730h, and letterboxes 'close of business' is at 1700h. Hooray. The first letterbox was shut, but I broke into it. The second was shut. The third was open! Yes! It only took 30 minutes to find. Cruising around Ubud on a motorbike, negotiating the traffic was fun. Gusti then left me to my own devices. I wandered around, like a lost dog. I found a cool street made of concrete blocks. Each concrete block had an inscription by visitors from around the world. Trippy.
I had dinner at the Gayatri Cafe on Monkey Forest Road. The men's toilet didn't work, but there was a sign which said 'Please flush the toilet', on which someone had written 'best toilet in town'. The toilet could be flushed by using the high-tech bucket of water with the scoop provided. I couldn't stop laughing.
I ate a plate of Nasi Goreng and a cheese omelette. Yummy. 16400 Rp. By this time it had started raining heavily, I got a guy to take me home in his car for 10000 Rp, which is a ripoff.
He told me that tourism in Bali had been falling since 1996. This would explain why there were so many shops and restaurants with nobody in them.
The day of my Singaraja trip. I was looking forward to it. Gusti came to pick me up at 0800h in the company tour van, with the driver, Made. An entire tour van, just for me! Have I overdone it? Have I bought the right thing? It costed me about $100!
The trip goes through the heart of the island, and takes the whole day. The first stop was at Pacung, in the foothills. It was a prime example of multi-level rice paddies on the sides of hills. Beautiful area.
Bedugul has a fruit market. I know what fruit looks like, so we didn't stop there.
By this time we had reached the mountains of Bali! I couldn't stop photographing the huge peaks, especially when they disappeared into the clouds.
We went to Lake Bratan, which is another beautiful lake surrounded by mountains. There is a temple on the lake here. Very nice. I spoke to a nice gentleman who was thinking about opening an Italian/Indonesian restaurant in Denpasar. That would be interesting. Gusti and I took a stroll in the European garden. By this time I was starving so I bought a pack of sesame biscuits for 5000 Rp.
We drove on to Lake Buvan, which is a lovely blue colour. This is also an area in the mountains where monkeys live by the roadside. You can feed them bananas. They're very mischievous. They breathe alot of smog from passing traffic.
We went to Gitgit, a village in the mountains. After a long trek up and down many steps, we reached a huge waterfall, the biggest in Bali. It was impressive, and very wet. A lady in one of the many shops the steps insisted that I buy something. I got a great pair of shorts and a Billabong tshirt for 90000 Rp. Gusti was impressed with by bartering, apparently it was good value. The lady even sent her cute daughter with me to the van to collect the money. Here I was, in the middle of the mountains, buying really cool clothes. Interesting.
The mountain air is much cooler, so farmers practice market gardening instead of rice farming.
We continued to Singaraja on the coast. It used to be Bali's capital until 1963, when it was moved to Denpasar. Singaraja was founded by the Dutch. It's a nice little city, lots of whitewashed buildings and boulevards.
We drove down the coast to Lovina beach, where I had a ripoff buffet lunch. I ate like a pig however. I walked along the beach, which has black sand, for 45 minutes and had a thoroughly good time alone. The hawkers were very persistent, trying to sell anything they could. I was getting quite aggrovated, especially when they were following me. One guy sat and talked with me for some time. That was nice.
Gusti came to get me since I had wandered for too long. He snuck up from behind and grabbed my shoulders. I tensed up immediately, I thought it was a hawker. I nearly exploded with rage, until I turned around and saw who it was. Instead I let out a sigh of relief. All the French sunbathers must have been wondering what was going on.
We continued along the coast. Here they have crops like corn, tobacco, grapes and raisins. We reached Banjai, again in the hills. There is a hot spring bath here. It was nice, but I'm not a water person, so we didn't stay long.
We drove all the way back to my hotel, non-stop, for a gruelling 3 hours.
That night I walked down Kedewatan to find a different place to eat. I found another Muslim halal eatery. I did not eat too much since I felt like a greedy glutton. I still had a full plate of rice, alfalfa sprouts, potato balls, omelette, and a big prawn fritter. Yummy. Total cost 6500 Rp. Bargain. The place had a few teenagers watching an Indonesian soap opera that felt like Days of Our Lives. I saw a cool toothpaste ad, for something called 'Smile up'. They used a word - biogesic - I had no idea what that could mean.
I found a roadside pharmacy on the way back. Just my luck! I was sunburnt from the last four days. I also found a roadside grocery with substantial stuff in it. I got a pack on five cream buns (sweet bread roll, cream, chocolate sprinkles - the closest thing I could find to bread), then I saw a really good, durable pair of orthopaedic sandals. I got them for 40000 Rp. The shopkeeper even gave me a free lychee, since she saw me looking at them.
A very long day.
The day of my third Sobek adventure - Kayaking at Lake Tambligan! I was scared, since I can't swim; I thought I would capsize!
I was picked up at 0800 by Sobek. The road to Lake Tambligan is just after Lake Bratan; instead of going straight to Singaraja, you turn left. We had a nice drive through the mountains again.
We passed the Coca Cola factory! they had 10 metre high cans of Coke, Fanta, and Sprite by the side of the road.
We stopped at the Bedugul fruit market. I bought a small bag of mixed exotic fruits, including a passionfruit the size of an apple. I had a mandarin, strawberries, lychees, starfruit, and a red fruit that I can't remember the name of. I also got some Tiger Balm for 15000 Rp. I got a little wooden toy car for Alex. The shopkeeper was asking for 150000 Rp, and obvious ripoff. I got it for 40000 Rp. Not bad.
There were lots of spices for sale. I saw white rice, black rice, and red rice, which has medicinal purposes. I even saw a bag of saffron. I nearly creamed my pants; in Australia, 1 kg of saffron is $1000.
I was hungry again. It was 1000h. I bought a wonderful home-made dumpling, deep-fried with egg and vegetables, and sweet chili. 500 Rp. Yummy. I could have wolfed down a few more.
We met up with the other kayakers, a young American family. they were originally from North Carolina, but were living in Okinawa, Japan! That spun me out, I told them that my brother was residing in Tokyo, they were surprised. I found that the father worked in the Marines, which explained his rugged looks, and his straight arsed no nonsense family with no trace of trailer trash.
There was also the wife (Jan I think) and two young boys, Nick and Zac.
There is a village lakeside at Lake Tambligan, a small dusty place, with very conservative locals. They had the most peaceful place in Bali. There is a big lakeside temple here which was being rebuilt. I found a Royal Australian Navy sticker. The lake is a quiet. calm one surrounded by hills.
Kayaking was great. Once I understood the dynamics, I was zipping around the water like an Iron Man. We went around the lake and saw local flora and fauna. The highlight was seeing a king fern; a fern tree the size of a wattyl, and a kingfisher, a colourful bird, like a Kookaburra. We had a nice lunch on the opposite side of the lake. We had sticky rice, cooked in banana leaves, so it looked like sushi. I liked that Gado-gado, steamed French beans, cabbage, bok choy, and alfalfa, with peanut sauce. We then returned to the starting point, by going as fast as we could. That is when kayaking can be exhausting!
After the long drive back to Kedewatan, I decided that I was tired of eating out, so I stocked up on some local groceries and snack foods. I got a bottle of Indo-teh, which is iced tea, and a Green Sands, which is an apple lime cola drink. The homemade corn crackers were addictive. I got 10 chocolate wafer bars to take back to Australia, for 1650 Rp.
I dragged myself out of bed. My last day in Bali, hooray!
I went to take a shower, but there was no tapwater. Very odd. I told Putri; she was bemused. She asked me to turn on the water pump, since she thought the reservoir was empty. The water pump was a Kubota petrol-powered generator, which had a hand-crank for an ignition. It was not easy. After four attempts, I finally got it! Naturally, the crank hit me on my bad knee, causing me to limp for the rest of the day. I got a bottle of spring water for my trouble. What I really wanted was a beer :-(.
While waiting for some water, I ate breakfast, then took a final trek down to the Ayung river, at my favourite place, to give her my final farewell.
I found a photo in the hotel dining area, with a familiar face. Apparently, Putri's daughter, Chi-chi, had a singing career when she was in her young teens. (Now she is a 24-year old beauty; it's a pity her mother was around or I'd have invested some time with her). It was confirmed; the photo was taken 14 years ago, of Chi-chi with Eric Estrada and his wife! This spun me out.
I started packing to leave for home. Apparently some Qantas crew members were checking into the Puri Taman Ayung this afternoon.
The Amandari hotel is down the road. Its patrons enjoy a similar view to the Puri Taman Ayung. The difference is that they pay $1000 USD a night. President Jimmy Carter once stayed there.
I had to go and eat something at 1800h since I was exhausted. I got steamed rice and vegetables for 8000 Rp. It still filled me up.
I left the Puri Taman Ayung at 2000h. Gusti took me to the airport. The drive took only 1.5 hours since there wasn't much traffic. At the airport, the porter Nazis didn't try to get my luggage. I was a little offended that they didn't consider me, maybe because Gusti accompanied me?
I checked in for my 2345h flight GA723. Two hours to kill. I cruised around the duty free shops. They were quite boring. I was amused to find the Ubud wooden products available, with a markup. Often they would be shrink wrapped. Silver was about 3 times more expensive, even duty free.
I was impressed by the low class of Australians that were around. Many seemed quite unfriendly, and many were worst dressed than me. I saw my fair share of arse-crack.
The flight was delayed for half an hour. The flight was OK, but I was trying to sleep and the air was too cold. The low point was when a yobbo Australian abused a flight attendant because it was too cold. He then shoved at another passenger before storming off. The yobbo was also going to Adelaide, the bogan scum.
The plane flew over Sydney before the Melbourne stop. It was great to be in Melbourne again! It was strange to encounter the people from Melbourne going to Bali, being on the same flight as Adelaidians coming from Bali. The flight ended in Adelaide at 0900h.
I was back in Adelaide, my useless feral rathole city. A very exciting week. My father took my car to the auto-electrician, now the window is fixed.
I have to recover to full strength within 24 hours. The 'Knights of the Jaguar' rave is on, featuring DJ Rolando from Detroit. It is the event of the year, and the reason why I exist!
The name Bali is derived from 'Wali' meaning 'worship'.
Bali has 3 million residents, and 1.5 million tourists every year.
The Balinese name their children Gade, Made, Putu, and Nyoman in that order. Any more than 4 children, and naming starts from again from Gade. Everyone has a nickname; imagine how many people are called Gade!
Schooling takes 12 years. 6 years of elementary (red and white uniforms), 4 years of secondary (blue and white uniforms), and 2 years of senior high (no uniforms?). Students are often made to march down the streets, in file. This does not help the traffic flow :-).
Children go to school for 6 days a week. They start at 0800h. Elementary schools finishes at 1200h.
Hindus believe in a 4-tier class system. Most people are in the Wainan class, the lowest. Then there are the Gusti, and another class. The highest class is for priests. The higher the class, the wealthier you are, and the more opportunities you have. The class system is not strictly adhered to in Bali.
The Balinese are about 80% Hindu, 15% Muslim, and 5% other denominations. The Muslims have cute little western-style houses, with pitched roofs, large windows, and a nice yard.
The Hindus live in compounds as extended families. They have about 1.5 metre high walls surrounding the rectangular compound. At the entrance, by the side of the road or path, they have a Panyur. a 6 metre high bamboo pole with a 180 degree bend at the top, decorated with ribbons. They make offerings on a shelf on the Panyur. Inside the compound entrance, there is a small shrine with a wall. This ensures privacy and keeps out bad demons. To the north there is a fenced area of shrines dedicated to their ancestors. At the north/centre lies the main room. This will be the most elaborate building. It is used for any ceremonies or religious activities. It is also used for sleeping outside. The west room is the living and sleeping space for the parents of the family. The south room is the living space for the children and grandchildren. The west room is the kitchen and laundry. There will be a separate washroom and lavoratory. A Balinese kitchen consists of a wood oven, firewood, and can be quite primitive. This will always be the plainest building. The open space between the buildings is general purpose, and has dirt, grass, or footpaths. The backyard is farmland. They may grow vegetables, chickens, ducks, pigs (a form of investment) and a dog. The wealth of a family can be measured by how large or elaborate the compound is. Buildings are made of concrete blocks or bricks. Wealthy families will start using plaster finishes and plasterwork, mahogany wood, marble, tiles, paint, even gold leaf. The size of the average compound is a little smaller than an Australian block, or 20 ares.
There are no palm pilots here.
- Lake Sanur, Mount Sanur, Ayung river, Lovina Beach, Kuta beach, Lake Tambligan, Ubud, Sanyur - Yummy food (what is Rijikstaffel?) - Cheap everything - Sobek adventures - Nice beer
- Hard to find western products or services, like mail delivery - Mobile phone disconnecting, going flat, then not being able to use batteries - Easy to get diorrhea - Persistent, aggressive hawkers - The realisation that on such a rich island, the people are rather poor
