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Published: April 1st 2006
I love Bali
Local graffitiWe have both recovered quickly from hospital, and unfortunately the doctor said that there was nothing that we could do to avoid getting sick, because even the cleanest of restaurants can carry the bacteria on their dishes, in the water… anything really. It doesn’t help that most Asians spit everywhere and pick their noses. It sucks, because after the first time we were so careful, and it is not even our fault that we got sick again. So we have just spent one week in Bali, we didn’t even rinse our toothbrushes under the water because we just cannot afford to be sick again and lose more time as it is quickly dwindling away.
At the end of our stay in Phuket we were SO SO SAD TO LEAVE. We had one last night out which is officially our biggest. We went back to Dragon Bar with our two new Aussie friends, Sean and Sam, (our little brothers) all night again. Erin was up on the stage surrounded in girls dancing, one of them even gave HER a tip. I think she was up there a total of three times. I only got up once, probably because I was too
drunk to stand. To be honest I can’t really mention on this journal exactly what the rest of the night entailed as there may be parents and a PG audience reading but it was officially the most fun I have ever had my whole life. We made so many friends and it was really sad saying good-bye.
The next day we had to catch the plane to Kuala Lumpur again. KL is so overpriced, $100 a night to stay near the airport, everyone stares at us and we lose a whole day just traveling. Well the plane was late (we were so excited that we were going straight to Bali with no overnight KL stop) but then when we arrived at KL the plane was that late that we missed our connecting flight to Bali. There were no more flights that day so we had to stay overnight again and then Air Asia made us buy new tickets for the next day even though it was their fault. So $500 later (not including the overpriced food at the hotel and the cost of our lost tickets), we landed in Bali at around 8.30pm.
As we arrived so late
we stayed in the cheapest hotel that the taxi driver took us too called Bunut Gardens. Overpriced with poor service. We were staying in a fan room were the fan only just spun. Bali is ridiculously hot at the moment temperatures past 40 degrees and still hot and humid at night. During the days we shopped as usual, but now we get to shop for DVD's! We were only supposed to grab a few and now we have umm...... I think 200 or so maybe and we are still buying more! Bali is beautiful, there is still so much culture even though it has such a western influence. The market people are a little pushy for sales, but to be fair they have lost so many customers since the bombings, but it is easy to bargain because we were some peoples only customers. There were not many toriusts at all, so the people were so friendly and helpfull.
On our first whole day in Bali, Erin and I started surfing lessons in Kuta on a three day package with
Bali Learn to Surf. Kuts beach has pretty good surf and perfect learning surf. It was unreal, and the guys who taught us
were fun and made it really enjoyable. I knew how to surf over two years ago for a bit and I am very glad I can now do it again. Erin stood up on the first day, I was so proud of her and she did really well over the next couple of days. On the third day the beach conditions were very dangerous, big red danger flags all over the beach stating ‘Swimming Prohibited’, But the instructors still thought it was ok to take us out. Erin stayed on the sand with the other learner surfers. It was not a good idea, many injuries later we decided to head back in and do the last lesson when the tide went back out. We couldn’t believe how many people were still swimming in the water even with the dangerous conditions, crazy Asians!!
That night we decided to head out and check out the nightlife in Bali. We got severely ripped of by a taxi driver, who we asked to take us to Q-Bar, a popular gay bar in Bali. The bastard drove around and around and around, before taking us to an abandoned building and saying “Q-Bar closed”. So
he then proceeded to drive around and around and around again before we demanded he stop and let us out so that we could get in another cab. We ended up having dinner at a nice Italian restaurant, and then going to Q-Bar which was really quiet (probably because it was Monday night) so moved on to M Bar Go, which is the biggest bar in Bali, which was also really quite. We stopped by the Sari Club Bombing Memorial on the way home, which was really sad. There are not many Australian tourists in Bali anymore, there used to be heaps, but we lost 88 people in the terrorist bombings, Chapelle Corby is in jail for 20 years for drug possession, and the Bali Nine (who were caught smuggling heroin) might be sentenced to death. (We don’t know much about the current state of affairs in Australia at the moment, so we don’t know whether they have been executed yet, or if they are definitely going to be).
The day of our last surf lesson was the day before Nyepi. This is the Day of Silence in Bali. You have to stay indoors for 24 hours! Crazy, but
this is the city of the gods after all!!!! We decided to check out of our dodgy hotel because it had no aircon, no TV, a crap fan, and no restaurant. We decided to upgrade to the Hard Rock Hotel, which is unreal, usually US$200 a night but they have a special package for day of silence, so we get it for US$95 a night. They had live music, the biggest pool in Bali, cafes, restaurants, everything. A splurge for the day, pretend it is our honeymoon. Very exciting stuff!!! So we checked into the Hotel and went to watch the Nyepi Ceremony. At night a DJ float drove down the street playing house music followed by fire twirlers and robots on stilts. The Dj float finished on the beach and continued playing and everyone partied until two in the morning.
Exactly one day before Nyepi, all villages in Bali hold a large exorcism ceremony at the main village cross road, the meeting place of demons. They usually make Ogoh-ogoh (massive monsters or evil spirits or made from bamboo) for the carnival. The Ogoh-ogoh monsters symbolize the evil spirits surrounding our environment which have to be gotten rid of
from our lives. The carnivals themselves are held all over Bali following sunset. Balinese music accompanies the procession. Some are giants taken from classical Balinese lore, some are David Beckham. Seriously! All have fangs, bulging eyes and scary hair and are illuminated by torches. In the evening, the Hindus celebrating Ngerupuk, start making noises and light burning torches and set fire to the Ogoh-ogoh in order to get the Bhuta Kala, evil spirits, out of their lives, although we didn’t get to see this. On Nyepi day itself, every street is quiet - there is nobody doing their normal daily activities. No traffic is allowed, not only cars but also people, who have to stay in their own houses. Light is kept to a minimum or not at all, the radio or TV is turned down and, of course, no one works. Even love makingis not supposed to take place, nor even attempted. The whole day is simply filled with the barking of a few dogs, the shrill of insect and is a simple long quiet day in the calendar of this otherwise hectic island. On Nyepi the world expected to be clean and everything starts anew.
The idea
The view
The view from our room behind the Day of Silence is that the evil spirits pass through the town on Nyepi, and think that the town is deserted, so continue through without stopping.
We planned to spend Nyepi using all the hotel’s facilities, but unfortunately it was pissing down rain all day long, so we were stuck inside watching trashy TV and ordering room service. It was fantastic. Love American Idol.
So that ends our fantastic stay in Bali. Which was cut short because we only bought a seven day visa when we didnt realise we were staying for eight, so we have to spend a night and a day in Kl. We absolutely loved it in Bali. It was a highlight of our holiday. It surprised us with how much we loved it, and would definitely recommend everyone to go there. Now we have two nights in Kuala Lumpur before heading to Bangkok, but that one’s for the next blog!
Love your guts
Erin and Jenny PS Mum we are safe!
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Bex
non-member comment
Hey girls, Glad you are safe and well. Every entry makes me jealous like crazy but it's so awesome to hear how happy you are and how much fun you are having. Lotsa love Bex xx