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Published: March 31st 2014
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They call them Ogh Ogh
It's a competition between the locals to make the best/scariest demon statues to be burnt on Nyepi-eve With sadness, I left the charming and chill Koh Tao on March 23rd, with my SSI Open Water diving certification complete, and took a ferry to the port of Chumphon, and from there an overnight train to Bangkok. My sickness came back with a bit of a vengeance, and I didn't sleep well on the train bunk here due to both my cough and the rough ride, so I’m pretty much running on fumes arriving in Kuta, Bali, Indonesia. I just chugged a few coffees and cruised the town and beach on my first day, and that's probably all I've got in me.
In resort areas in developing countries, it's pretty hilarious to see prices 5x what they are 2 blocks away. Here on the beach strip, prices are like $5-$10 for mains, yet a local restaurant around the corner has a nice Indonesian and Western menu with $1.5-$2 mains. Those prices are a bit misleading, however, as you don't get a Western-sized portion, particularly in the meat domain.
Pedestrian Rage – This is the first time in my travels that I've felt on the verge of having a pedestrian rage episode where I go
ballistic at all the taxis honking at me, women trying to sell massages, guys pretending they recognize me, or calling me “boss,” pointing emphatically to the wonders-of-the-world in their street-shack stores. The kicker was when a motorcycle cruised around a blind corner, almost hitting me, yet still in the process of dodging me had the presence of mind to inquire: “motorcycle?” His fast draw made me laugh. Despite the horrible commercialness of Kuta, I holed up here for 5 nights, mostly out of laziness/sickness, and the fact that there was a surfable beach a 5 min walk from my hostel.
I've realized that I'm getting travel fatigue – I don't have much interest in checking out the next must-see temple, seeing more elephants, tigers, or other exotic animals (OK, maybe monkeys would be fun to play with). I also miss engaging my mind, and so have resumed some reading on meditation and psychedelics, and a Udacity course in applied cryptography.
Just before arriving in Bali, I learned that March 31st would be
Nyepi, a day of silent reflection, celebrated as the new year's day of the Balinese Hindu calendar. I didn't learn until some
time later that this meant no one would be allowed outside, and sound and lights needed to be kept to a minimum. Basically martial law. I was going to just stay in Kuta, as the festivities there on the eve should have been pretty good, but my hostel learned that their power would be shut off, so decided to close shop. So I went a few km up the beach to Seminyak, a much more enjoyable beach town with better waves and much fewer (but nonzero) annoying salespeople. Note: the place to stay in Kuta (on a budget, at least), is somewhere on Poppies I or Poppies II. There's a lot of local flavor, including cafes, guest houses, and eateries that somewhat compensate for the touts.
One of the attractions of Bali, for me at least, is that magic mushrooms are legal, and sold all over the place. To nerd out a bit – the shrooms sold here are a psilocybin species (in contrast to the less predictable amanita magic shrooms), and seem to be mainly Panaeolus cyanescens (aka Copelandia cyanescens). I didn't want to take any while still feeling under the weather, so I postponed until
Nom
Best place to eat in Seminyak is Warung Aneka Rasa. Huge buffet. This plate was $4. I felt better. Nyepi-eve seemed like a good opportunity, as there would be a festival parading many monster-statues, accompanied by spooky Balinese gamelan music. Galaxy sports bar in Seminyak sells a palatable magic mushroom shake. Unlike the ones at Mellow Mountain on the last full moon party, these actually work. You can choose strengths 1x for a solid high or 2x to “trip balls,” as my old friend would describe it. Consuming one on the beach a few hours before sunset and then enjoying the parade made for a very cool evening.
Another attraction of Bali is that there is an enormous amount of awesome surfing options, ranging from beginner to world class. Kuta beach has a very friendly, dependable, easy sand beach break that's great for people to learn (board rentals and private lessons aren't expensive either). A few of the breaks in Seminyak seem to be a bit bigger. I may stay at a surfcamp here for a week, which takes you around to different local surf spots, provides you with an array of board options, and teach. One day I'll get my revenge on the O'ahu North Shore!!!
I can see
Talk about inflation
The largest note in Indonesia is 100k Rupiah, which is worth less than $10. A recipe for fat wallets. why people love Bali – the locals are very friendly and chatty (although some are devout salespeople), the weather is great, prices are low, there's great surfing, diving and beaches. What's not to like? I've heard the traffic is horrendous in certain areas, but when you are living a beach-bum lifestyle, that doesn't affect you much.
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