So This Is Paradise ?!

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After killing time in the morning walking through Little India (KL neighborhoods are broken down as ‘Little “fill in the blank with any country you wish”), We got a lesson from an Indian cook on how to make an egg Roti. This is basically a crepe that has raw egg drizzled onto it and is then folded in quarters and fried on a large circular griddle. The chef seemed more than a little amused at our interest in something he does a hundred times a day.

Karen did the last of the packing and we caught a cab to the train/ bus terminal. There are two airports in KL and they are both about 50 miles out of town. A one-hour ride put us in front of the Air Asia terminal, which was jam-packed with people. Indians in Saris, Muslims in Burkas and Westerners in cargo shorts. It was quite a scene. We got tagged for excess baggage in the amount of $40 US. When you fly from the States to Asia you are given a 55-pound weight allowance. When traveling between Asian countries that allowance drops to 33 pounds. Something to keep in mind if funds are limited. Air Asia is a wonderful carrier and super cheap to fly. When you’re saving hundreds of dollars versus regular fares the weight allowances are less of an issue but packing light is always a good idea. In our case we are spending a longer time on the road than usual so we ended up hauling more in the way of creature comforts. We’re spending long periods of time at specific locations, which is better. If we were moving every few days we’d be down to two small bags. It is amazing how much baggage some people carry. Back in the 70’s a backpacker was a college kid with a rucksack and hiking boots. Now a backpacker carries the equivalent of an armoire on his back and a rucksack strapped to his front. It’s a wondrous sight.

Our flight to Bali was full. There is no assigned seating on Air Asia so by the time we boarded Karen and I ended up with two aisle seats one in front of the other. Next to me sat two Balinese women. Dark Polynesian features, tiny hands and bone structures as light as a bird’s. We were no sooner in the air when the women opened up shopping bags and pulled out enormous quantities of Juicy Fruit chewing gum and M&M’s. Peanut AND plain. Juicy Fruit hung heavy in the air as they powered through two entire packages of gum. This takes work. The staccato of their saliva lubricated mastication made my jaws ache in sympathy. The gum taken care of they moved on to the M&M’s carefully opening the packages and lining them up on the tray tables; peanut, plain, peanut, plain. Starting left to right they knocked off the entire lot in less than thirty minutes. They skipped the in-flight meal.

The flight took three hours and before landing the passengers had to fill out customs cards. I was filling in ours when one of the women snatched the pen from my hand, smiled and began completing her card. I figured that this was the Balinese method of borrowing things and went with the flow. With my pen in their hands they set to work on their cards with the attentiveness a Harvard focused teen taking the SAT. After a while I understood why. They were illiterate. They knew that the information in their passports needed to get onto the cards so taking their best guess they copied letter after letter with varying degrees of success until every blank spot on the card was filled with dripping, languid figures. When they were finished I got my pen back with a thank you. At the airport they didn’t come close to making it past passport control.

After collecting our baggage we were subjected to the hairy eyeball of a very serious looking customs official. Passing muster due to our advanced years and lack of nervousness we made our way into the terminal hall where we found a line of counters populated by a group of eight unsavory looking moneychangers. The currency in Bali is the Indonesian Rupiah and officially you are entitled to 9,500 to the dollar. They were offering no more than 9,200. Needing cash for the taxi into town we traded a $50 bill and grabbed a cab. Bali is part of Indonesia and Indonesia is a collection of thousands of small and large islands. It is actually closer to Australia than Malaysia, which has turned Bali into a major party destination for the Aussies. The main town near the airport is Kuta. It is here that you can find the Hard Rock Resort and a multitude of other high priced establishments along the beach. The main road is a two-lane affair clogged at all hours with scooters, cars, taxis, tour buses, delivery trucks, bicycles and pony carts. That’s right, pony carts. A major mode of transportation on the island. We were forced to spend the night in Kuta due to the late hour. We hit three hotels before we found one with a room. No A/C but it did have a fan and a bath. The price was $16, which is considered a little on the high side for Bali. I made arrangements with the hotel clerk to take a minibus to the north side of the island in the morning for 300,000 Rupiah ($32). It wasn’t until we retired for the evening that we realized that a couple of hundred mosquitoes were sharing the room with us. With no bug spray on hand we were forced to lather ourselves in DEET and pull the sheets over our heads.

At 5 in the morning I set off to locate an acceptable cup of coffee to take back to Karen. The narrow lane in front of the hotel was littered with trash from the previous night’s partyers. Packs of mongrel dogs nosed through the refuse in hope of a snack. I came upon a German couple copulating on a bench by the road. I know they were German as their grunts were very Teutonic in tone. I was saddened to think that this young attractive couple had no room in which to consummate their burning passion and I briefly thought that I should offer them our abode simply for entertainment value if nothing else. But then I would have to wake Karen and move luggage and they’d probably want to use the shower and we really didn’t have any surplus shampoo. It would just be too complicated. Ten meters further down a strange little Balinese woman on an ancient bicycle rode up to me and asked if I would like a blue jib. I wondered why she would think that I owned a sailing craft. I definitely look like a motorboat kind of guy. And why a jib? Why not a mainsail or spinnaker? And why a blue jib? I think a white sail looks oh so much better against an azure sky. I kindly refused her offer and continued on down the dark street. I located a large and brightly-lit McDonalds where I attempted to buy two cups of Java to go but they had no lids for the cups. Thinking I would be unable to negotiate my way back through the Germans, dogs and sail vendors I opted to bring Karen to the restaurant. Later that morning we were informed that the price for the minibus north had suddenly gone up to 400,000 Rupiah. Having had our chains severely jerked we told the driver to bugger off and searched for another mode of transport.

Bali is a strange place. Their religion is a combination of Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam and animism. They believe in spirits, magic and witches. They are real big on spirits. Three times a day they make offerings to the spirits in the form of little 6-inch square boxes made of banana leaves. Botanical origami if you will. Into these little boxes they place flower petals, incense, candy and crackers. We have seen the same thing in Thailand but there the offerings are put in specific locations where sanctuaries have been constructed. These sanctuaries look like little houses and are placed on posts along the side of the streets or in backyards. Basically they are out of the way. In Bali the offerings are left everywhere. It is nearly impossible to walk anywhere without stumbling across them. They are even placed in the street where they are soon reduced to pulp by passing vehicles. They are planted on the thresholds of shops and restaurants. We were told that it was okay to step on them as long as you didn’t do it on purpose. The spirits take the essence of the offering as soon as it is laid down so there is no harm done. You gotta see it to believe it.

We walked along a tree shaded lane marveling at the goods for sale in the shops. Woodcarvings, silks, silver jewelry, spectacular kites and Balinese lace. We stopped for lunch at a German restaurant called Mama’s. Wonderfully authentic food that reminded me of my years in Germany. On a more disturbing note we were more than a little surprised to see that Indonesian banks were offering exchange rates on the US dollar five percent higher than the official rate. This is a first for us and indicates that someone is trying to accumulate dollars even if they have to take a short-term loss. Another sign of the fear that is gripping the world financial markets.

At the local combination post office, massage parlor (the nice kind), beauty shop and tourist bureau we secured a ride at 1 PM for Lovina. Why Lovina? In August Karen and I were in Garrett County Maryland for a wedding. While there we visited some old acquaintances named Joanne and Dave Bardsley. During the visit we told them that we were planning a trip to Bali when Joanne suddenly said that she had a cousin who owned a hotel in Bali. Damned if she didn’t. It’s called the Villa Agung and it’s right on the beach on the north shore. A couple of e-mails later and we find ourselves killing time in a Kuta massage parlor scraping offerings off of our shoes while waiting for a driver to take us to a hotel in Lovina owned by a guy related to a girl who lives on a farm in Maryland. What tangled and mystifying webs our lives weave. I got a foot massage for $3 while I waited with Karen. It was great.

And off we go heading north up between two active volcanoes passing Balinese temples, wood carving lots, stone carving lots and lots of Buddha’s. We weave our way through traffic on a two-lane road that is used as a three-lane road by any driver with the testicular fortitude to go for it. As we climbed the rice paddied slopes the temperature dropped steadily leaving a chill in the air. We wound our way through a tropical forest populated by monkeys who perched on the guardrails awaiting a handout from the passing drivers. At the top we saw a large crater lake lined with houses and shops. In a small town we saw a colorful statue of an ear of corn about ten feet high. Women walked along the side of the road with huge baskets of bright golden-yellow ears of corn balanced on their heads. Once past the lake we descended at high speed with brakes squealing until we reached the northern shore and turned westward towards Lovina. Instead of dropping us at our hotel the driver scoots past it to another place just down the road. Before we can ask what is going on the hotel owner accosts us in the bus singing the praises of his operation over all others. The driver is probably being promised a cut of any business he can divert. While Karen baby-sits the bags I walk to our place to confirm our reservation. By the time I get back to Karen the bus driver is already gone so Karen and I end up carting our luggage back down the road to our hotel. Once there all is well. We have a beautiful room with a balcony overlooking the pool area. The beach is made up of black volcanic sand and the water is crystal clear. The restaurant and dining area are roofed under palm thatch and open to the beach. There are only six rooms so the atmosphere is very private. The staff is very attentive and the place is beautifully landscaped and decorated. Our room has a large private bath, fridge and queen-sized bed. With breakfast included we pay $12 per night.

The hotel is situated between two fishing villages. At night the illuminated boats dot the horizon as the fishermen drop their nets. We ate fresh fish the first night prepared to order. Our fellow guests at dinner included a young couple from New Zealand, an Australian from Melbourne with his Balinese wife and a trio of Russian women. A refreshing breeze blew in off of the ocean and the stars shone brightly in a clear sky. The night could not have been better.

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Photos

Spiritual Offerings
One of the hundreds of little offering boxes strewn across Bali walkways three times a day.

Losing Weight Fast
The end result of walking for 30 minutes under the Balinese sun. It felt worse than it looks.

Dining Room
The hotel Veranda looking northward over the Sea of Bali.

Dinner Time
Karen waiting for the night's special. Life is so slow here that meals become major events.

The Hotel
Our room is on the second floor in the middle.

The Room
On occasion you really do need the mosquito net but not very often.

Night Fishing
Small boats using high powered lights to attract fish to their nets. Sound unfair? Until 5 years ago they were using dynamite. No lie!

Our Neighbors
Our hotel is bracketed by two local fishing villages. This is one.