The start of Indonesia.

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The plane arrived very late on September 6th at Denpasar the international airport in Bali. Thankfully the airport was easy to figure out, getting the visa was like ordering cheese burgers at Mc Donald’s, and the taxi driver was honest and nice.

The area that we stayed in Bali is called Kuta, it is the closest area to the airport and mostly where all the backpackers stay. Because we arrived so late at night we stayed at the first place we found called Ap Inn. I have to say, in a very interesting way, it was so nice to be back in Southeast Asia. I mean interesting because, it was all the smells that I would usually find bad that made me happy to be back. Our room had the slight smell of mold, the streets had the slight smell of garbage, and there were rats around and cockroaches too. Most the shops were closed so late at night but I was still excited to get out there and eat cheap Asian food! My first meal back in Asia was at a typical stale shopping area where the vendors fight to get your business even at 1am on a Tuesday morning.

The next day the main objective was to find out how to get to the Gili Islands. Let me just summarize the day by saying we found a way for a fair deal. Then I changed money for some local currency, had a great Mexican food lunch, went back to the hotel and realized the money changer guy had robbed me! I went back and confronted him, and quicker than I expected he handed over part of what he stole from me. The robbery cost me a little less than a $100 but lesson learned; I am back in Southeast Asia.

The next day was the longest travel day to get to the Gili Islands. There was a van, a very long ferry ride, another van, and another ferry but finally we arrived at Gili Air. This island is part of a cluster of 3 islands called the Gili Islands. They are just to the north west of Lombok, Indonesia. On the way over on the last ferry we met this guy that recommended staying at his family’s bungalows, and typically I ignore these people, however he said that each bathroom has Aloe plants to help treat sunburns. What can I say, I burn easily, I was sold. The place is called Matahari, it is family owned and operated and it is perfect and fairly priced. The cooking is amazing and I love Indonesian food.

While on the island I have spent my time scuba diving, eating, walking around (because they have no motor vehicles), eating, playing in the pool, and eating. I arrived in paradise and I had no idea, I also think I am the first person to come to a Southeast Asian country and gain weight! People here are amazing. Everyone says hello, everyone smiles, they are very open to conversation, and they are just nice. While on the island, Ramadan was happening so we also got to experience some of the local culture, mostly them not eating and talking about the big celebration that would be happening on Friday for the Muslim New Year!

We dove with 2 diving companies both were very nice. Manta Dives was the first company, but it was the second shop, Oceans 5, that won me over. My dive master’s name was Jamal, a local, and he was awesome. On one of the dives he showed me a pigmy seahorse, this little guy was so cute, and he was barely the size of a dime and blended in with the fan he was living on. It was a very special moment to see him. I saw a lot of cool new things here while diving, so far I am impressed with the diving in Indonesia. The best part of Ocean 5 was they are a brand new facility so everything was pristine including their infinity pool which I spent a lot of time in while Dave played volleyball with the locals every afternoon.

It was very hard to make the choice to leave the island but there is so much to see and do here that I have to. Most important thing to know from this blog is that Indonesia is AMAZING!

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