Bali: A Tale of Two Islands


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April 4th 2011
Published: May 8th 2011
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Bali

Travel from Kuta > Ulluwatu > Padangbai > Gili Trawangan > Ubud > Kuta!

After the kerfuffle with Jetstar in Singapore, Trung and I were glad to finally touch down in Denpessar, Bali after 30 hours of waiting around. Mind you, waiting in a 4.5 star hotel isn't all that bad, but Bali was calling!

Because of the 'greatness' of Jetstar, we didn't arrive at the airport until about 2am, which meant that we weren't pulling up to our hotel in Seminyak (near Kuta beach) until 3am. It was pouring rain and the hotel was down a back alley off a back alley. I didn't know what to think about the place at first, but when we finally woke up late the next morning, it was a pretty idyllic spot and I met the most amazing cat hanging out outside our room, however it was too far from the beach so we decided to move.

Our next destination was a hotel closer to Kuta, but still in Legian. The towns in the area run from West to East Seminyak>Legian>Kuta. They all blend together and they're on the same stretch of beach, but Kuta is the party town, Seminyak is the ritzy calm stretch and Legian is in-between.
Our hotel for 200,000 Rupiah, or $20, got us a cold water shower, fan, and pool. There were tons of young people hanging by the pool, so it seemed like a good place. Hot water and air conditioning might sound nice, but in a tropical climate like Bali, it rains and is cool at night, so no A/C is needed. You spend most of the time in the pool or the ocean in the daytime, so a hot shower really isn't needed either!

That afternoon, we decided to head to the beach. Kuta beach is a very long stretch of white sand, with tons of garbage. I can't tell you how much garbage was on the beach those first three days. People were out surfing and swimming, but you could see the garbage in the waves as they broke. Regardless, Trung and I rented boards and quickly met four Canadians from Vancouver who were there for a few weeks. One of them had lived in Kuta for a few months and knew the ins-and-outs and we had a great time together the following few days.

After a quick glance at the other surfers, I'm off into the large (3+ meter) surf with my board, awkwardly paddling out to the breakers, trying to mimic what I've seen. The waves in Kuta are true rollers, basically a wall of water after they break. The water can be about a metre deep before the wave, but for 30 seconds after the wave has passed, the water is still twice as deep. Its like a truck has run into you, tosses you around, and sucks you back to shore. So it took me a while to get out beyond the breakers where all the surfers were hanging out waiting for a good wave.

An afternoon of surfing attempts later, I've stood on the board, on a wave, for 2 second before falling into the garbage. Not too shabby! Against the advise of the Vancouverites, I've done it all without a 'Rasher' which is a surfing shirt to protect your chest from the board, so I've got a nice rash going, and can't touch my nipples as they've lost a layer of skin. I'm not sure what's in the water, so that night I found some antiseptic cream to put on the rash, just in case...

That afternoon Trung and I moved to the Vancouverites hotel, where we got the same style accommodation for 150,000 rupiah. Later we found some people that were spending 100,000. This is the cheapest you can find, I think, but after three moves, we're staying put!

The following two days are really bad for the garbage in the water. I'm done swimming early in the day and Trung doesn't even go out. At one point on the way in I had a bit of a freak-out and started running in, the garbage is litterally thick in the water, wrapping around your arms and legs and the waves are still just as big and the bags and everything wrap around your limbs after the wave hits and you're uncontrollably tossed about. Anyways, it was bad. On the third day, the tides changed somehow and the garbage went away. It was clean and only the occational plastic bag in the water. SO much better. By this time we had met up with a couple of Swedes at the hotel pool. The 8 of us spent a lot of time together over the next 3 days, walking to the local market for 10,000 rupiah dinners, the best local food in town! The best food is a type of grilled rice dish, which is basically a ball of rice wrapped in a banana leaf and then grilled. The rice has veggies and chicken or pork inside and the entire thing gets all gooey and crispy and delish. With a little hot sambal on the side, its a good thing. And for only 50 cents each, you can't go wrong!

See, Kuta is nice and shouldn't be overlooked, but the problem is its full of people offering drugs, 'kamikaze' hookers who are really grabby and acting drunk but really trying to take your stuff, garbage, lound music, drunk tourists and expensive eateries. If you don't subscribe to the party atmosphere and don't want to spend $20 on dinner, this isnt the place for you. Us and the Swedes manage to hide out enough to spend nice days on the beach and walk the 10 minutes out of town to the local markets for our main meals. We also bought our lunch from local ladies who were selling to the shop keepers near the beach. For about 5000 (50 cents) you get a paper cone filled with rice topped with any number of different chicken dishes, it's never quite the same, but always delish. Just
look for a lady with a basket on her head, or with the basket on the ground with food in it. Don't be shy, just point at what you want (they can't speak english usually) and be experimenetal! Also, don't accept a 10,000 asking price. Its only like 3000 for locals, and should be 5000 per item! I know its super cheap regarless, but it's the principal of the thing....

We eat with our hands on the beach, trying not to get sand in the food 😉

One of the highlights of Kuta is a drive to Ulluwatu, the Mecca of surfing, where the high cliffs and large, perfect breaks are a beacon for surfers from all over the world. Markus, Freddy, Trung and I rent scooters to drive out to the point about an hour from Kuta. Now, driving in Indonesia requires an international drivers licence, but the police are notoriously corrupt, so nobody actually has a licence. About 5 minutes into our ride, Markus and I are stopped by a checkpoint and have to bribe the cop 200,000 rupiah ($20) before he let us go. He acted like this was the standard ticket infraction price,
but people are paying anywhere between 500K and 1,000K. I make like I only have 200,000 rupiah, so that's what he asks for. I learn later that one guy just keeps a 20,000 note in his back pocket and just hold is out to the cop as he drives past, and this seems to work...

Anyways, once we drive out to the rocky outcrop at Ulluwatu and climb down the stairs to the bluffs, we're met by a stunning sight of perfect waves filled with probably the best surfers I've ever seen. We get a drink on a cliffside bar and watch for awhile as the waves pound the base of the pinnacle we're sitting on, causing everything to vibrate.

Afterwards, we head over to the monkey temple nearby. The monkeys really are everywhere and its hilarious, but you have to watch your back. Never know when you might get stuff stolen by a monkey! There are some smart street kids who watch for tourists getting their things stolen, and throw chocolate bars at the monkeys so they drop their things, then the kids ask for money to return the stolen items. Smart kids. Its things like digital cameras and purses that get taken by the monkeys the most, so the people are mostly appreciative of the kid's efforts!

After 6 days we've definitely overstayed our welcome in Kuta, which should be used only for weekend vacationers and by travellers getting their bearings in Bali. Spend only 2 or 3 days here and look around for a cheap transport to other areas. We found a return trip to the Gili Islands, three small spits of sand between the islands of Bali and nearby Lombok. Its a 3 hour journey by bus and speedboat and worth every penny. The advertised price is about $90 for a return ticket, but we manage to find tickets for $45, and someone on the boat paid $35. Its worth shopping around! The bus comes to get us early early and transports us to Padangbai to our boat dock. After the
hour long white-knuckle rush hour drive, I'm thankful to get on the boat. The boat is fast-fast and the views of the volcanoes of Bali and Lombok from the open ocean are breathtaking.

The Vancouverites have stayed in Kuta, but the Swedes have decided to come with us to the
Gilis. I've managed to book us all into a dive school there, and they're super excited about it. Once our boat washes ashore on the white (clean!) beaches of Gili Trawangan, the largest of the islands, we all hop off into the water. The boat staff unload our bags over their heads so nothing gets wet.

Motorized vehicles are outlawed here, and usless anyways as the island is only about 1km across. Horse and buggy is the preferred long-distance transport, but not needed. There is only one stretch of quiet beach with accommodations. Manta dive is across the road from where our boat beached on shore, so we head over there to check-in. Harriet, the manager at Manta, takes me on a quick bike tour of the little village to find a place for the four of us to stay. People don't really have internet or anything, so you can't generally book in advance here, but it doesn't matter. I manage eventually to find two quiet bungalows beside a little vegetable market, down a laneway and past the chickens. Its run by two cheery surfing looking guys who offer us 150k rupiah for a night. An interesting aspect of
the island is that there is no readily available fresh water. Well water is salty and it doesn't rain enough, so our showers are salt water. Its a bit less salty than the ocean as it gets filtered through the sandy groundwater, but its still salty! Not as bad as it sounds though. I love my new salt water hair.

Gili Trawangan is paradise. Turquoise water, coral reefs, small boats, horses, chickens, friendly locals, tons of chilled out tourists, bungalows for cheap and mostly a sense of 'oh, its going to rain this afternoon, better find a good place to nap. This lanai looks comfy, lets just stop here and snooze.' atmosphere.

The advanced diving is amazing. Within three days I had 5 specialized classes and dives including (in order of coolness): Nitrox (35% oxygen), Navigation, Photography, Deep (30m), and Night. On several of the dives I was able to get up close and personal with the wildlife, including turtles and sharks! The night diving was probably the creepiest thing I've ever done, at least at first. By the end I felt so zen and chilled, I was floating, cross legged, letting the currents pull me through the dark, watching the constellation of phosphorescent plankton billow in glowing clouds around me, it was really beautiful and the most peaceful I've felt in a long time. The night shark was cool too, but not as pleasant, given he kept circling and coming close and moving away, and his eyes were glowing green in the small circle of my flashlight. My Calgary buddy that I met at the dive school and I both thought at one point we were going to have to punch a shark and she was not having any of it. Not cool!

When I'm on land and the boys are out diving for their open water PADI, I took advantage of the excellent snorkelling just off the beach. I had a close-encounter with a sea turtle that was really amazing. As I was snorkelling I spotted him muching on some coral. He was probably about the same size as my upper body. I interrupted his lunch by diving down to take a closer look. He just looked up at me with one eye, sized me up, then turned to keep eating. On my third dive down, he decided to ascend with me. We both popped up to the surface at the same time for a quick breath, then he was down again with me following in close pursuit. I resisted the urge to take a ride on the turtle's back, as one of the dive masters at Manta had told me they don't like that. I opted for a quick pet before I left
him for the rest of his lunch. Really such a cool experience, and only 20 feet from shore, and another 50 feet to my bungalow!

I was sad to leave Gili Trawangan when it was finally time to go. Trung had gotten his PADI open water and I had my advanced diver, and a nice tan. Gili Trawangan is an amazing island and shouldn't be skipped on a trip to Bali. If you aren't going to take advantage of the ridiculously cheap diving (it really is some of the cheapest in the world, after Thailand) there are tons of other activities for you on the island. Snorkelling tours, excellent grilled seafood, bars, clubs, beaches, white sand coastal paths, surfing, etc. etc.

The boat ride back to Bali was amazing. We decided to sit on the roof of the boat and after a good dose of sunscreen, I found myself with my feet over the edge, hanging on to the small rail at my waist while the boat flew over the water towards Bali. At one point one of the deck hands started yelling and pointing towards the water. I looked just as the back of a whale dissapeared below the waves. Just missed him! After our transfer back to a mini-bus and a 2 hour journey to Ubud, we're in the high
mountain rainforest of Bali. Ubud is a larger town than I expected, but it is very relaxed compared to Kuta, and also very beautiful. Its not actually 'mountany' as I expected, but actually relatively flat. Its got a regular slope running North-South. The volcano is so big that you can't actually see the top, but the city is located on the gentle slope about half way up the 3000m Mount Agung and the still-active Mount Batur.

Once in Ubud Trung and I get our bearings and decide to rent a scooter for the afternoon. After about 2 hours driving uphill, we're still not at the summit of the Volcano, which was our goal. The surrounding countryside is crutial to not miss as the steep river valleys with beautiful rice paddies are an amazing sight. We end up stopping at several beautiful temples along the way and finally stop at an Elephant Safari to go see the elephants. The safari is amazing, but one should be careful when trying to find the place, as there are a few fake safaris in the area. We end up playing with the elephants, they're allowed to walk right up to an area surrounded by a small wooden barrier. You can feed them, pet them, play with them and generally just hang out. They're free to come and go as they please and the staff are very friendly and informative. Its a great way to spend an afternoon in Bali. Friends of ours also bought a package tour to the Elephant safari with white water rafting in the morning, for the more adventurous tourist. Apparently its a very cool ride down the river.

The following day we book a downhill cycling tour. This is also a can't-be-missed experience in Bali. The Bali Eco Tour with 'Punk' (ask for him by name) was probably one of the coolest things I've done. We started the morning with a pick-up from Punk in a mini-bus. He took us to the top of Mount Batur for breakfast, on the side of a cliff, overlooking the caldera and smouldering cone of the volacno. Not long ago there was an eruption so there's a large black lava stain right through the village that spills over
into the caldera.

After a great breakfast, Punk takes us in the mini bus to a coffee/cocoa plantation. Apparently the top of the volcano is perfect for growing coffee, cocoa and all sorts of other things. We have a great coffee tasting, including 'Poo Coffee' made from coffee beans that are eaten by a cat/fox thing called a luwak who only eats coffee beans, and then pooed out, cleaned and roasted and made into a refreshing cup of flavourful Luwak coffee. Its about $250/lbs for this coffee in Canada, so for $5 a group of us get a large pot to share. Its good, but not $250 good, and the poo aspect doesn't help.

After the coffee, hot cocoa and ginger teas, we head to the bikes! They're in good condition, including helmets, safety checks and water bottles and we're off! At first the slope is quite steep as we're on the side of a Volcano, but eventually it levels off to the gentle slope that Ubud is on. Its 25km downhill, through villages, rice paddies, plantations, past beautiful temples and such and it's all done on back-roads that are generally in great condition, paved and with little to no traffic. The day is amazing! I
literally pedalled probably once or twice the whole day, although my hands hurt from
grabbing the brakes so much by the end. Punk gave us a rundown of local customs and history, we stopped at a local compound to see how people lived, we harvested rice and had a banana break 1/2 way down. At the end we had a delish buffet of local foods and we all had heaping plates. Punk joined us and we all had a good laugh about the day's mishaps and sights.

We only had a couple of days in Ubud before jetting to Australia to pick up our campervan, and I think we made the most of it. Definitely plan on at least 3 or 4 days to see the sights and let the local cultures sink in before moving on.

We didn't get to see the rest of Bali on this trip, but I hear that the quiet Northern beaches are a sight to see, with their black volcanic sand and quiet atmosphere. The island of Lombok is also a great place to explore, with not many tourists frequenting the destination. Lombok is mostly a Moslem island while Bali is Hindu, so it would be interesting to see the different cultures close-up, but alas, we've got to get to Australia for our Campervan!

A 1.5 hour bus trip back to Kuta is again pretty white-knuckle. Our red-eye Jetstar flight is on time, and its a short wait before we head into the night over the sparkling lights of the nightclubs in Kuta on our way to Melbourne and another adventure!

xoxo
Andy


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8th May 2011

Is that a Turtle Head Popping out?
Andy, that diving experience sounds incredible. I think that turtle was looking for a little loving. Did you go night diving to try and re-kindle your romance? The diving experience sounds incredible. I am a horrible swimmer so this story is something that inspires me to get better at it! So cool. I also love how everywhere you guys go you seem to have made some new travel friends! Just start calling one of them John and the other one Gigi and you won't miss any of us at all! Say hi to Trung for me and don't be a Virgina! John
15th May 2011
Andy = pro surfer.

Andy = pro surfer
You'll have to end your travels in Hawaii, to try the north shore, Bonzai Pipeline - evidently the best surfing! Good for you, trying new things. Enjoy! xoxo Auntie Brenda

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