Surfs up dude!

Ok so I'm not really in Kuta but I am right next door. The town is Legian for those of you following along on the map. Is the map even working? At any rate. I came here yesterday after moving out of the resort. I have to say that I wasn't too sorry to see the last of that place. I came here to Legian and then realized my $8 a night options were limited. I also decided that to console myself after seeing my travel partner leave that I needed a somewhat posh hotel, and I got it. You know swimming pool, marble bathroom, cable TV, and the likes.

The entire time I've been here I have had a few ttoubling issues to deal with that I managed to put off while Stephanie was here as I knew our time together was limited.

Issue 1 - My American Airlines itnerary had no flight from Bali to Japan on it. I Am currently in an email battle with them as they have since sent me a new itinerary but I am waitlisted in Japan! We'll have to wait and see what comes of that.

Issue 2 - My passport is out of pages. This is not nearly as glamorous as it may seem. I have to leave Indonesia as my 30 day visa is about to expore, even if only for an hour. In order to get a visa in the country I go to as well as when returning to Bali I need more pages. I thought I would have to go to Jakarta, far away, for this but thankfully there is a US consulate here in Denpasar. A $15 cab ride later I dropped off my passport and with a touch of luck should have it back monday or tuesday with pages added into it. Problem solved! In hindsight I am actually glad it is taking a few days as it has left me stuck in Bali a bit longer. Although I will eventually return either way, it is giving me a chance to find my solo-travel legs. It was strage reading through all of dinner and having no one there for me to irritate with my chapter summaries.

Issue 3 - I have no money. Ok, slight exaduration. I have no US dollars that the money changers will accept. They will apparently only take bills that are from 2006 or newer. Funny nobody mentioned this in any of the blogs I read. I do have traveler's checks. They always are a worse rate though so I hate using them. Amexpress charges you there and then they charge you again here. Never again. Hopefully Gabrielle will have loads of US currency for me to trade with as I think I may be heading back to Vietnam to hang out with her and Tristan before they head to Med. school this fall. Issue possibly resolved or outright unresolvable.

As for today....

Got up ate breakfast and headed out to the beach. It wasn't too unlike the scene in Kuta to be honest. Loads of people sitting in chairs under umbrellas. When Steph and I first saw them it really didn't make sense to me. Now I get it and it was good. Pay $2 get a padded chair with an umbrella and the guy you rent it from seves you drinks all day. And that is what I did today. To add a little excitement I also decided to take a surfing lesson. It all started terrible. My first wave I rode all the way in to the shore. Why is this terrible? Because by the end of the day I could barely stand as I took on bigger and bigger waves. What a beating. Loads of fun, comparible to skiing in my opinion. And like skiing, in the beginning you take quite a beating. Never underestimate the ability of a wave twice you height to absolutely desimate you. Should you get on top of it though...total rush. Chris, I now know why Eddie Vedder does what he does between albums! My instructor, Seus (not a doctor) was great and good fun. Turns out he pays $25 a month rent and $3 dollars a day for food while he is here. He said he makes about $100 a month during the high season. At any rate, It was amazing!

As for what the future holds, I think a few more days of surfing. I mean how many times will I be in Bali. After that off to Vietnam I think. If I can get a Visa as Vietnam does not allow you to get one on arrival. We'll see!

BTW sticky keyboard so forgive the typos

til next time,
E

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