One Last Note from Bali


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September 16th 2008
Published: September 16th 2008
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Hoofing ItHoofing ItHoofing It

Although we signed up for a rafting trip, we were all happy to get out and walk around an unforgiving 32-ft drop.
Hello again, folks, and thanks again for checking in on me. I just wanted to add one more note from Bali before I move on (tomorrow) to the island of Flores (about 350 miles east of here). I took a bunch of photos and have posted them here, to give the casual observer a better idea of what the other 95%!o(MISSING)f Bali looks like when you get away from the tourist traps of Kuta Beach and Denpassar. I finally got away from the frenetic Kuta-Legian region and explore a little bit of the much more rural Balinese countryside. Today I did a little trekking in the jungle countryside; Sunday I took in a rafting trip down part of the Telega Waga River. As usual, I've managed to come away from each experience with a couple amusing stories, mostly based around my own socially awkward but good intentioned interactions with local folks. I'll talk about the trekking first.

For this trek, I hired a guide from a local company which also arranged transport to an area near the town of Ubud, where I began this 3-hr hike. Although it was a fairly short hike, the scenery was beautifully tropical, and
Over the Edge!Over the Edge!Over the Edge!

Going over the 4-meter waterfall. Although I did this, I'm not in this raft. Hey... someone had to take the picture!
everyone we met in the tiny villages that we passed through were all very friendly and perhaps a little bit curious as to why I was passing through. Occasionally, a local village resident would ask my guide (in Indonesian) a couple of questions which would engender a brief discussion, before the local villager would just sort of laugh a bit and bid us a good day. This happened several times and each exchange was remarkably similar. I have no idea exactly what was being said, but I'm pretty sure it went something like this:

Local Villager: "Hello, who's your friend?"
Guide: "He's a tourist from America. He's paid money to to go for a walk through the village and the rice fields."
Local Villager: "Let me get this straight; he paid to come here and just walk around?"
Guide: Yep!
Me; "Hello."
Local Villager: "Well, tell him if he has any money left that I have some clothes that he can wash."

I can't be sure that this was exactly (or even close) to what was actually said, but from talking with my guide,
Steph & LeeSteph & LeeSteph & Lee

Stephanie and Lee were two really cool girls from Singapore. Stephanie (on the left) recently took a solo trip to the U.S. and for some inexplicable reason, wound up in the Bronx. Other than that, she seemed pretty smart. You will notice one person cropped out on the left of the photo. Anique, a nice Aussie girl, is really a very pretty girl, but on this day took a horrifying photo (by her own admission), so at her request, I have cropped her out.
Maddey, afterwards, I gather that it was something along these lines. I guess folks find it hard to believe that someone would pay money to go for a walk in a place, albeit beautiful and unique, but a place that they live and work in everyday.

On Sunday, I took in a white water rafting trip. What a blast! Class IV rapids with a 4-meter drop-off towards the end, and you can be that I made sure I was sitting in the front of the raft for that one! It was a great ride and I was assigned to a raft with our guide and three young Japanese guys who turned out to be a lot of fun. Before setting out, our multi-lingual, Indonesian guide gave, what I assume, was a brief overview of what to expect along the way, as well as critical safety info... in Japanese. Afterwards, he took me aside and explained the same thing (I think) in English. He explained, "You will see much jungle, waterfall very big, and..." as he leaned in closer, "if you are very lucky..." lowering his voice as if to tell me a secret, "You will see the monkey." Well, there was lots of jungle, the waterfall was pretty impressive, but there was no monkey - of any sort - to be seen. Perhaps that was a good thing.

Bali has been a lot of fun, but it's time to move on. Flores and Komodo Islands are next.


Additional photos below
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Home With a ViewHome With a View
Home With a View

This family was kind enough to let me - a perfect stranger - walk into their home and take a couple of photos. The Balinese folks that I've met have been some of the warmest and hospitable folks that I've ever known.
Rice Terrace PaddiesRice Terrace Paddies
Rice Terrace Paddies

Outside of the coastal cities in south, most of Bali is agricultural. Rice is grown almost everywhere.
Plowin' It Old SkoolPlowin' It Old Skool
Plowin' It Old Skool

No John Deer here. Most field work is still done exclusively using non-mechanised means. This is a pretty typical scene.
Terraced IrrigationTerraced Irrigation
Terraced Irrigation

Water is pumped up from the river, and free-flows down via a series of aqueducts at each level.
Fake NikesFake Nikes
Fake Nikes

I bought these fake Nike river shoes for $4 US. They lasted less than 8-hrs before falling apart.


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