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Published: December 19th 2008
After a long day of travels from Borneo to Kuala Lumpur and a seven hour layover in the KL airport, we finally arrived in Bali. (Thank God Eddie came to hang out with us at the KL airport or else we really would have been bored!) We arrived in Bali and had arranged airport pickup to our first hotel. We decided we deserved a bit of a splurge while in Bali so we booked a little nicer hotel called "Ellie's" and headed there. It is between the main tourist area of Kuta Beach and the upscale tourist beach of Nusa Dua. Just a note about Ellie's: it is an amazing little hotel that is run by an English couple who are so helpful and all the staff is amazing. We settled in for the night and got some great rest on the most comfortable pillows ever!
The next day we planned to head to Kuta Beach so the boys can get some surf on a beach break before trying the harder reef breaks that Bali offers. We arrived in Kuta and to our amazement the waves were flat and the beach smelled like dead fish. Upon further examination we realized
that the beach smelled like dead fish because there were, in fact, small dead silver fish up and down the beach. We figured if the fish were dying we probably didn't need to be swimming in the ocean so we decided to head to the town to do a bit of shopping.
We immediately liked Bali when we arrived in the airport because, well, it was a bit like home. There were people with surfboards everywhere and advertisements for Billabong and Roxy, not to mention the people were so friendly (when they aren't trying to rip you off). I know, it sounds a bit like a double standard, but with the poverty here you can't really blame them for trying to get as much money from you as possible. The town of Kuta is filled with surf shops and the boys both went a bit crazy buying up some new stuff. I really was in the mood to spend money, but the world just wouldn't let me. Nothing fit and it was just one of those non-successful shopping days, which was probably a blessing in disguise.
The boys had better surf luck the following day, when we caught
a taxi to Dreamland, a world famous surf break. It was about chest high (smaller than normal, but a good warm up wave) and was breaking pretty nice. They rented boards and spent the day out in the surf, talking to locals and learning the wave. I was able to take some photos from the beach and just have a relaxing day laying out. The sun here near the equator gives you a really golden tan, but can also fry your skin within a few hours so I was careful to keep reapplying sunscreen, but the boys were not so lucky and were pretty red by the end of the day. Luckily, we had our air con room back at Ellie's to go to and relax with some DVD's they rented us.
After Ellie's we went off to Nusa Dua, the other side of peninsula from Kuta Beach. Jeff's parents had given us an early Christmas present and helped to put us up in a five-star resort for two nights. Nusa Dua is full of luxury resorts and the whole city itself is like a resort town. We arrived and checked in to our nice air conditioned room complete
with a balcony overlooking the hotel's garden. We needed to check our email since it had been a few days and went to the hotel business center to do so. Well, they wanted $10 for an hour of internet (when in town it is $.50/hr) so we said no way and started the long walk outside of the Nusa Dua resort walls and into the smaller town. We finally found and internet cafe, but the trek had wasted half of our day. Luckily, we had good news when we arrived at the internet cafe. Jeff's buddy, Tristan, had sent us an email saying he got us free tickets to the Angels & Airwaves concert that was happening the following day in Kuta Beach. Now, for those of you who do not know Angels & Airwaves, they are Tom Delonge's (from Blink 182) new band and although they aren't very good I still must stay loyal because of my blink love. Plus, now we had something fun to do the following night here in Bali. After the internet cafe, we decided to head out to the beach to look at the waves and on the way back into our resort from
the beach we heard a loud yell and tons of Balinese women chattering loudly about something. We quickly looked over at the area to see a man on the ground convulsing and seizuring hitting his head over and over on the concrete walkway. We immediately ran over there and Chris ran straight up to the man and held his head to prevent it from hitting the concrete anymore. Jeff was trying to communicate with the Balinese workers that we need a doctor and well... I was no good cause I just stood there (so much for my first aid training!). It took a good few minutes for the man's friends to realize what was going on (because they were on the massage tables nearby), but they eventually came over and had smelling salts and put a spoon in the man's throat. Blood was pouring out of his mouth because he had bitten his tongue, which was probably a good thing because this meant he did not choke on it. Luckily for all of them Chris was there to jump in- I was so impressed with how he just sprung into action and helped out. We left the scene before the
doctor came, but after his friends had it under control. It is definitely something I never want to see again and definitely a random lasting memory from our stay in Nusa Dua!
The whole next day, Jeff and I lounged by the beach and pool at our hotel. Chris was still bright red and blistering from his day surfing at Dreamland so he opted to stay in the room and watch TV. Jeff was burnt as well, but he loaded up on the sunscreen and toughed it out for me. I mean- I'm in Bali- of course I want to go to the beach! Plus we are at this gorgeous hotel and I was going to take advantage of it. The hotel even had a gym that we found ourselves in for the two days. I know that I am the girl that NEVER goes to the gym, especially on vacation, but after not eating healthy or doing any exercise for 5 1/2 months, I thought I owed my body a couple days of working out.
That night was the Angels & Airwaves show in Kuta so we took a cab out a few hours before the show
to get our tickets and have some dinner (since dinner at the hotel was, of course, over our budget). The show was crazy. They played an acoustic set and the place was packed with Balinese kids and Aussies that were going nuts. We stood back because it was just so fun to watch all these Balinese kids take out their cameras and cell phone cameras to take pictures the entire show. They love their Tom Delonge over here. It was just pretty cool being half away around the world and seeing one of my favorite guys perform. Unfortunately, Tom looked old- yes I said it- old! He had a big ole beer belly and for the first time in my life I was a bit embarrassed for him. It was if my dad was on stage dancing around and singing awkwardly because that's what dads do. I never thought I would say it, but I must be getting old if the bands from my youth look like old men trying to relive their glory days. However, it was definitely a pretty cool experience and I am so thankful Tristan got us tickets because otherwise we would have never gone.
We had to check out of our place the next morning and were actually happy to go. We had an amazing time at the nice resort, but we missed being ghetto old backpackers. We did not meet one nice person at the resort (only snobby Europeans) and the staff really didn't give us the time of day because they assumed we did not have money to tip (which we don't!). I decided I can't wait till I get older and do have the money to spend at these nice resorts, but also decided it is a double edge sword. They are super posh, but by staying at them you miss a lot of the culture and the flare of the country. So many people could have just stayed at the resort and by doing so you literally could be anywhere: The Caribbean, the south of France, Cancun, Tahiti, Thailand, anywhere with a nice beach. The most memorable part of traveling for us has been the people we have met and the time where we would have to deal with a tough situation. Living the high life is just too easy! I know I will definitely want things to be easy
someday, but for now I think I'm happy with things being hard. Of course, I really sound like a snob since now I am complaining about my five star resort experience! How lame is that?
We decided we would head back to Ellie's at least for one more night since we liked it there so much. Chris had been in constant contact with David, the manager because he was helping Chris find a place to get tattooed. David and Caroline (the managers at Ellie's) picked us up from our hotel and took us to the tattoo resort in Seminyak so Chris could get his work done. The whole process was pretty quick and Jeff and I were able to walk around the town and see the beach. The beach and Seminyak was less than desirable and was actually quite dirty surprisingly. There were still people lounging on it, but it defiantly did not look very appealing. After Chris sat under the needle for about an hour or so we headed back to Ellie's so Chris could nurse his new tattoo and Jeff and I could continue sightseeing. The two of us decided to head off to the temple at
Uluwatu for sunset. The temple is set on these cliffs overlooking the ocean and the famous Uluwatu surf break. The temple itself was pretty cool, but the setting was absolutely gorgeous. The sheer cliffs overlook the crystal blue water and you can see the surf breaking into the caves below. There are tons of monkeys at the temple and they are probably some of the most aggressive and fat monkeys I have ever seen. I didn't think monkeys could get much fatter after Thailand, but I was wrong. We saw so many people get their stuff swiped by the monkeys. People would be wearing their eye glasses and the monkeys would sneak right up and grab them off their face (giving the people a little rabid scratch sometimes!). We also saw a few people get their cameras taken and one guy get his hat stolen right off his head. The workers even told me to take out my earrings because the monkeys could grab at them and rip a hole in my ear. Crazy little monkeys! They are smart though because the second they steal some person's things a man who works at the temple trades the monkey a bag
of fruit for the person's belongings. The monkey gets fed, the man gets a tip and the tourist gets their stuff back. It works out for everyone! Sunset at the temple was gorgeous and Jeff and I had a great time at our first Balinese temple.
The next morning, we said goodbye to Caroline and David (the Ellie's managers) and took the hour ride to Ubud in central Bali. Ubud is famous for its art and its Balinese culture. We arrived and found ourselves a room for the three of us WITH hot water for a whopping $3/person/night. That night we decided to get a quick taste of the culture and attend a Balinese cultural dance. We had planned to go see the dance at the main Ubud palace, but when we arrived back at our hotel the family who ran it asked if we wanted to go see their father's dance troop perform instead so of course, we said "yes." The father quickly went and changed into his dance outfit and boarded Jeff and I on the back of his motorbike (yes three grown people on a moto) and Chris jumped on with the son. We arrived at
Tom singing to me
Look at all the cell phone cameras! It was crazy. the dance just in time. Nothing like arriving at the cultural dance with one of the performers! The dance we saw was called Kecak. This dance does not require an orchestra and the music is provided by the many members of the chorus chanting loudly and making a "cak" noises continuously. The whole thing is quite entrancing and you quickly get drawn in to the noises they are making with their mouths. You can easily forget there are actually people making the music and not instruments. The dance depicts a battle from the Ramayana where the monkey-like Vanara helped Prince Rama fight the evil King Ravana. Throughout the dance, women in beautiful costumes and men dressed as kings and demons would appear and dance around the circular chorus. The women were moving their fingers and bodies in ways I had never seen. We absolutely loved it! We really started to feel we were getting a sense of Balinese culture, finally. After the Kecak, a man came out and performed a fire dance. They lit some coconut husks on fire and the man, dressed as a horse, came onto the stage and proceeded to stomp through the fire and galloping through
the burning embers. It was amazing- except for the fact that the wind was blowing the smoke directly in our direction.
The cultural experience continued the next day when we hired a driver to take us to some of the sights nearby Ubud that we couldn't reach by foot. That's the problem with Bali, the public transport (bemos) are hard to find and take so you must hire drivers or take taxis everywhere, which definitely does not help the budget. But, what are you going to do?
Ok, get ready for your Balinese culture/history lesson:
Our first stop for the day was Goa Gajah (Elephant Cave). The cave is carved into a rock face and you enter the cave through a mouth of a demon. Inside the cave there was so much incense you could barely breathe or see the broken Hindu statues. They say the cave and its surrounding statues probably date back to the 11th century and were then rediscovered in 1923 by a Dutch archeologist. There are nearby pools of water that legend says have healing powers so of course we had to throw a bit on our heads. You'll also probably notice the great
outfits at all the temples. Everyone is required to wear a sarong and a scarf around their waist so we were definitely looking good!
Our second stop was Pura Penataran Sasih. This temple has a large single-piece cast drum that dates back from 1000-2000 years old. They say it is the largest in the world, measuring 186 cm long. Unfortunately or fortunately (depending how you look at it), there was a ceremony going on so they were using the drum and we couldn't get good photos of it. It was quite neat to see an actual Balinese ceremony going on. There are many ceremonies here in Bali, but you would pray a lot to if you lived near seven active volcanoes and on one of the busiest fault lines in the world! When we asked our driver about this ceremony he told us, "It is a very small and short ceremony, only two days long. Most are seven or more days." How is that for devotion? This two day ceremony celebrated the "birthday" of this temple. There were people chanting and playing music and women carrying huge fruit baskets on their head full of offerings to the gods. Very
cool to see in person!
After watching the celebration for a while we headed to Gunung Kawi, which houses the most impressive ancient monument in Ubud. There are ten shrines (candis) that are cut out of the rock face to imitate actual statues. They are about 21 feet high and absolutely huge in person. They say that they are a memorial to an 11th century Balinese king, his family and of course, his concubines. Again, there is a river with some holy water in it so once again we sprayed ourselves with it. I mean, what harm could all this Hindu holy water really do?
With all this holy water to keep us going, we headed out to the most famous holy water spot in all of Ubud, the Tirta Empul. The Tirta Empul was discovered in AD 962 and believed to have magical powers. The springs bubble up into different pools that the Balinese bathe in. The pools were extra crowded when we got there, so we decided not to go for a dip and get our clothes soaking wet, but we had a great time watching so many fully clothed people dunk themselves into the holy
pools. There were old women in bras, little kids and everything in between!
Next stop, was the huge volcano of Gunung Batur. The whole area is a giant crater with another, more volcanic crater on the inside. The rim of the huge crater where we stood is 1500m above sea level. The interior crater, which is what you focus on is 1717m above sea level. You can hike to the top, but it is dangerous because of the constant activity on the mountain. The last major eruption was in 1963 and leveled much of the town beneath the crater. They did have a minor eruption in 1994, but most of the people are now located along the rim and therefore fairly safe. Like I said, all the active volcanoes on the island simply add to the reasons why the Balinese people are so dedicated to their gods. It takes a lot of ceremonies and offerings to keep all seven volcanoes happy!
On our way back to Ubud we were able to do a trek through some of the rice paddies that Ubud is so famous for. Of course, we admired all the great Balinese artists and made our
way through the markets. Since this is our last stop in Asia, I knew I had to treat myself to another massage. I actually went for a three hour spa package that included an hour massage, hour facial, a skin exfoliation, a conditioning hair treatment and a bathe in flower petals all for under $19 USD. These are the things I am going to miss about Asia. My skin came out feeling totally rejuvenated- exactly what I needed after five months on the road.
After our big culture experience in Ubud, it was time to head back to the sand and surf. We took a bus/boat out to Nusa Lombongan (1 1/2 hours by boat from Sanur). The ride was quite interesting. We were on this boat with these claw like stabilizers and the waves were so high the boat was tipping from side to side. Our luggage got soaked and Chris just happened to be sitting in the perfect spot to have a giant wave perfectly crash over his head! I laughed my butt off.
Nusa Lembongan was gorgeous! The water was the prettiest I have seen on this trip. It was blue and teal and you
could see all the way down to the bottom. We negotiated a price to stay at Tarci bungalows. Chris, Jeff and I got a two story bungalow with balcony right on the water for $3/person/night. It was awesome. We spent the next few days making friends with the Balinese guys that worked there, lounging on the beach and the boys did some surfing. There were three major breaks off the island, Shipwreck, Lacerations and Playground. Playground had the least scary name so they pretty much stuck to that break, plus it was a left and the other breaks were right and Jeff is a left guy! Every night we got to see the most gorgeous sunsets and fall asleep to the sounds of the ocean. Except it was freaking hot so I did have some trouble sleeping. This little place was exactly what I have been looking for this entire time. I wanted a little hut on the beach where I didn't have to wear shoes if I didn't want to and I could walk out my door and be on the sand. This little island was what dreams were made of! We were only spending about $10/day including our
bungalow, meals and beers! If we had chilled out there for a month our budget would be back on track, but unfortunately we had to leave to head back to the mainland.
We spent one night in Sanur, a small sleepy town on the beach, but with no real character. From there we were off to the airport to end our Asian adventure.
We really enjoyed Bali and all it had to offer. We have heard from so many locals say that the tourists are really lacking due to the media attention focusing on all the Bali bombings. After the bombings in 2002, then again in 2005 and now all the threats since the bombers were executed, this little island is struggling a bit. Once you arrive in Bali, all your fears and hesitations melt away. The people are so friends and I am just sad that the terrorists hurt the locals the most. The locals depend on our tourists dollars to feed their families and when the terrorists attack here, it directly affects them.
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ValCarbone
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You guys look like you are have an amazing adventure. I think of you often. Have a very merry Christmas!!! Miss you xoxox ~Val