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Published: February 19th 2010
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First night hostel in Legian BeachBali is everything I wanted it to be, more than I expected it to be, and just plain AMAZING. It is the foreign paradise island you imagine. Beautiful, strange, hot, chaotic, and relaxing. Here is what I've been up to since landing:
My flights were right on time, arrived in Bali a little before midnight Tuesday 2/16 night. Nate was right there at the airport waiting for me! I had heard the airport in Bali was chaotic, with hawkers everywhere offering money exchange and taxi ride. Sure those people were there, but they weren't pushy at all. Getting through customs was a breeze. There was a little mix up with the hotel we booked for our first few nights so Nate got us a hostel room before I flew in. It was cheap, just $10/night, but it wasn't worth much more than that. No A/C, hard-as-a-rock beds, no bathroom sink (but there was a shower hose over the toilet!...and the toilet was Western style thank god), and no hot water. Little lizards were congregated on the ceiling outside our room (they looked like little geckos only tan colored). But after my initial jitters, I settled in and really it wasn't so
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temples behind the hostel bad. And the grounds of the hostel were gorgeous. Little temples and gardens everywhere.
Neither Nate or I slept AT ALL, probably due the heat and I was just too excited about being here. So we were up before sunrise and walked down to the beach around 7am. The beach is so beautiful, palm trees line the edge and there is a volcano in the distance. The water is bright blue, the sand is soft, and it's not crowded. There are surf board rental stands set about every 100 yards along the edge, and hawkers lounge under umbrellas waiting to sell us tourists a beach chair/umbrella (bought one, 40000 RP or about $4.50) and drinks (water, about 0.50 cents). Locals gather up by the palm trees offering "transport" (taxi rides), cooking up noodles on little makeshift carts, and cutting up fresh fruit. Ladies come by every 15 minutes or so offering bracelets, rings, massage, or manicures. Men come by offering jewelery, sunglasses, and magazines. But a quick "no" and limited eye contact have them moving on pretty quickly. There's a boardwalk with expensive beachside hotels, tiny little beach bars, convenience stores, and souvenier type shops. It's definately tourist-friendly, Thursday
night we watched the sunset from a beachside bar with a Balinese band playing Bob Marley...very Western-friendly, and yet the environment is like nothing in the US.
We are staying at Legian Beach, which is about 1mile north of the more popular Kuta beach. Legian is still a big tourist hub, but a little less crowded. I walked down to Kuta this morning. There are several park-type settings directly on the beach, and so many locals squatting under the palm trees chatting and occasionally offering services and goods to the tourists passing by.
On Wednesday morning, after our hot and sleepless night, we checked into our hotel. It was just a few doors down from the hostel, Vilarisi Hotel. It's around $30 per night. It is really nice, the room is very comfortable, even has a little balcony that overlooks the pool. There is a restaurant that serves free breakfast, they have eggs any way you want them, toast and jam, fresh fruit, fried rice, noodles, soups, coffee, tea, and juice. It's delicious, and I've been waking up just as they open about 7:30am, so there are just a few other guests down there. They have a great
little patio that overlooks the busy street. It's great to drink a cup of coffee and watch the locals start their day...sweeping off the sidewalks and streets in front of their homes and shops, setting out their daily offering plates, motorbikes whizzing by. And there is a roof patio where they do massages. I nabbed one of those on Thursday afternoon, it was marvelous. $12 for 75 minutes!! I don't think I've ever been so relaxed in my life. The last couple days have consisted of: Morning walk, beach, eat, drink. Repeat. Life is good in Bali!!
Here are some observations I made in my journal recently:
2/17/10, 6:45pm: Just watched my first Bali sunset. Longboats pepper the water, island kids have a game of soccer going on at the waterfront, the nightlife lights of Kuta Beach are to my left, and dark clouds hang in the sky to the right. Asian pop music is playing faintly in the background, and the lulling sound of the waves have been drifting me into utter relaxation.
When planning this trip, a few people asked why I would want to fly across the globe to go to a beach, when we
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This lizard and I learned to tolerate eachother have great beaches in the US. Well, my answer to that is...you just have to come here. It is totally worth the money and time flying over here. Everything is unbelievable cheap, and the vibe is so relaxed and friendly. I really feel like I'm in an island paradise. I'm very excited to see more of the island, the less-developed areas. But this was a great spot to start off this trip.
Nate and I have planned out the next week or so. This weekend we're going to Lombok, the island just to the east of Bali. We'll be there 2 night, plan to check out the Gili Islands. Then next week we're going to Ubud, hoping to go to the Elephant Park, Monkey Forest, and hike up to the volcano. Then towards the end of next week we're going to Lovina Beach on the north coast, it's a black sand beach that is supposedly much less developed than Kuta/Legian.
Currently the only problem I have in the world is the blisters on my feet. They are painful, and I don't really have the luxury of "staying off my feet" for a few days. I bandage them as
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this must be one of the fancy hostel rooms best I can, and am just praying for the day when my travelling feet get caloused enough that blisters won't form.
So far I've been right on target with the stuff I brought. It's really hot, so I'm wearing a bathing suit, shorts, and tank top every day. You have to leave vanity in customs at the airport, because it would be impossible to put on makeup or do your hair here. It's just too freaking hot!! I have a touch of a sunburn, and the sun poisoning has started to pop out. I knew this would happen, I'm just going to trust that my skin will toughen up soon!! Here are some items that either I purchased or friends/family bought for me that have been particularly useful:
* Laundry soap papers (from Karen). Made washing out my clothes very easy!!
* Water-repellant shorts. Godsend when I'm sweaty and after swimming in the ocean.
* Kleenex wet wipes (from Karen). Again, feels very refreshing when I'm sweaty
* Crossword puzzles book (from Dana). Great activity during my down time
* Open-toe Tevas (from mom & dad). Perfect walking shoe, and keeps my feet pretty cool.
* Big backpack (from
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More temples and gardens around hostel mom & dad). Its a perfect size so far, and has been easy to keep organized.
Here are a few things I've noticed about Bali:
* People set out little offerings in front of their shops and homes every morning. It consists of a tiny coconut leaf plate with flower petals, rice, incense, and sometimes a little cracker (I think they are Ritz!!). They stay out there all day, and they replace them first thing in the morning. I even saw a few on the water's edge at the beach. A lady on the beach showed me how they "sew" coconut leaves to make the little plate.
* There are roosters crowing every morning
* There are bats flying around at night on the beach. There are just a few of them, they aren't creepy.
* There are stray dogs along the boardwalk. But they never approach people or bark, and they trot along as if they have a purpose and know exactly where they're going. Nate doesn't think they are strays because they wear collars, but I never see the dogs "with" a person. There are also a few beach cats, but they are so skinny! Neko could
totally take any of those cats down.
* The diet coke tastes like regular coke to me
* People put small children on their scooters, with no helmets and driving like a crazy person. I've also seen people on scooters with huge bundles of water jugs, food, etc. This morning I saw 2 men on a bike, clearly the white guy on the back had paid the guy driving for a "transport". as he was driving down the very busy and narrow street in front of my hotel, the driver turned around to light the other guy's cigarette. While driving.
* There are horse and buggies here. But the horses look small, maybe they are ponies
* I purchased a sarong from a little old lady. When I paid her, she blessed the money by saying "good luck good luck" and smacking it against a wall.
* Bali is pretty clean. People here don't have much money, and the homes and shops are very run-down. However the locals are out every morning sweeping their sidewalks and streets, picking up little bits of trash, and trimming back bushes and trees. There are trash cans all along the beach, and several signs
asking people to "keep Legian Beach clean".
That's it for now! I love the emails from family and friends, it's nice to stay in touch with something familiar. If you post a reply to my blogs, please sign your name at the end so I know who they are from! Love you all much, for those of you in the midwest, sorry to hear about all the snow and ice. Sounds pretty miserable. Spring has to come eventually right??
--Lori.
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John Eby
non-member comment
Just a great start
Hi Lori, Your trip is atarting out so good. I am so happy for you. bali sounds wonderful. Do not get so attached you do not want to leave. In France they must have had the same training driving motor bikes as in Bali . They were defing all laws often carrying a loaf of french bread over their shoulders. will stop for now as I am sittig here half naked enyoying your blog. Keep them coming. John