Bali + Jogja

Asia
June 13th 2010

Published: June 13th 2010

So I'm back from Bali (where my dad's from) and Yogyakarta. I wasn't able to track down my dad's family, so I guess I'll never knew what became of them... at least not for now. Nonetheless, it was still an emotional trip and I absolutely love this little surf town... to the point where I thought about converting and convincing my dad to move back there for a year or two.

My first impression of Bali: It's the Vegas of Indonesia, especially since it has a Hindu-majority, the culture is pretty different from the rest of the archipelago, and folks come from all over Europe to commit vast acts of debauchery (most of the people in Kuta were either from Australia and Netherlands). It differs from Jakarta in some aspects: life is more calm, and people don't give you dirty looks for being scantily clad (because everyone else is too). Prices are higggghhh because of all the unsuspecting tourists, but thankfully I don't get jipped as much since I have my dad's Balinese accent... and I'm browner than the natives.

My first night there I was already hit by a mo-ped (I was already anticipating it), and gotten harassed by the vendors. I couldn't partake in the famous nightlife since I was with family, but I did manage to grab a Bintang beer with my brother in law, who's pretty cool. He's a Republican in the Air Force back in Louisiana, and you'd think we'd butt heads over some issues, but we had pretty good conversations about life amidst all the scantily clad Bintang waitresses.

We also went to Borobudur in Jogja, which was a pretty big hike and also, my first exposure to Buddhism in a while. What else can I say... the gudeg here is good, the batik is plenty, and my skin got DEVOURED by some mosquito-thing at one of the other temples (I'm hoping for no staff infection anytime soon). Still, I'm loving Indonesia and glad to be back with my nieces and nephews in Jakarta 😊

-Mel

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