Hello, apa kabar (how are you)? That’s Bahasa Indonesia, though there are
heaps of other languages this is the main one and it is quite easy to pick up
so we are trying to learn a new phrase or word every day. Aku baik – I’m good, or you can just baik baik;
maaf means sorry;, mabuk means drunk (which I’ve used); terimakaseh means thank you, or to make it
shorter makaseh and suma suma means your welcome. Anyways enough about that
lets talk about Bali- The Island of the Gods.
We landed at the Denpassar airport after 2.5 hour flight
with a sign greeting us saying “ Anyone who brings drugs into Bali receives the
death penalty” how welcoming is that lol, and yet magic mushrooms are legal
here they have signs outside bars “Magic Mushroom Shakes” so weird.
Our hostel is about a half hour from the airport. We were told first to get our bags and not
let anyone touch them or we would have to give them money, which lucky for us
they were on the conveyer belt as soon as we got to baggage claim and we
grabbed them before anyone could get to them.
Then, we were to proceed outside to the right and get a taxi at a flat
rate of 95,000 rupiah which converts to about $9.50 AUD.
It was mayhem outside, people with signs for arrivals,
people offering rides, there were people standing sitting, smoking, there were
people everywhere we could barely move.
We found the taxi stand and paid and then showed the driver our map and
directions. In Bali you actually have to
help the driver where to go as they don’t know where anything is which is
difficult because we didn’t know where anything was and he didn’t speak
English. Once he spoke to some of the
other drivers he started walking us to towards the taxi. The first thing we see was a parking lot full
of mopeds and I mean full, they were everywhere “gee babe, I hope that’s not
what they consider a taxi here!” We get
to this covered area with white tile floors which almost looked like a hotel
reception and waited there while the driver went inside for a few minutes, then
we get to a parking lot full of taxi’s - or taksi as they spell it- where the
driver had difficulty finding the right car.
Finally finding the right car we were on our way to Sanur.
The driving here is insane!
There are more mopeds on the street then cars, there are no speed
limits, no traffic lights and the lines down the centre of the roads might as
well be non-existant! Vehicles drive
where ever there is a space to drive; down the centre on the shoulder, if need
be on the sidewalk to pass, the mopeds just drive everywhere in and out of
cars, nobody uses their flashers but they do honk to let others no to move or
that they are coming up behind them or around a corner. Dan and I just looking out the window in
amazement , I couldn’t believe what I was seeing and I am not talking about the
scenery, I’m talking about what was taking place on the mopeds. There was a mother or father on a moped
(wearing a helmet) with a 5 year old holding on behind them (without a helmet)
and a newborn on their lap (obviously with no helmet) being held my one arm and
they drove with one hand!!! Insane. The
construction sites are just as insane. All the workers walk around in thongs
(flip flops), the scaffolds are made of bamboo which is fine as bamboo is
extremely strong but they just have pieces of wood laying across the walk area
and the workers don’t even wear harnesses!!!
The sidewalks in Sanur are broken in some area’s creating big holes that
are not even roped off so you basically walk at your own risk.
Sanur is where we are staying, its relaxed with a bit of a
nightlife and the beach is about a 10 minute walk, though every two minutes “do
you need taxi?” “do you need transport” “do you need taxi? No? How bout new tattoo?!?” Everytime we say no to something we are
getting offered tattoos, its so funny.
When we first got here it seemed a little dodgy; not just the driving
but everything I mean it’s so beautiful but run down at the same time. There are dilapidated buildings, portable
food wagons, sometimes there is garbage spattered around but yet beside that
there are brand new restaurants or resorts, and it is so green here like when I
was in Fiji , though in Fiji there wasn’t heaps of civilization but here its
everywhere. Our hostel is down this
dodgy alley way so when we got here I was like “oh dear. Ok; we are not in a 1st
world country anymore.” The hostel
itself is quite small and the owners live in the apartment upstairs. The whole thing is open concept with a really
great pool in the centre of all the rooms and you can watch movies from the
pool and there is a nice common area in the kitchen. Everything is on account, you don’t pay until
you leave and the internet is only 0.50 for three hours. To get to all the shops, bars and resorts we
were told “cross the highway to the other street and keep walking, it’s about 5
minutes” Boy, they really meant cross
the highway! Crazy Bali traffic! We have to cross two lanes to get to a middle
island that is up to my butt and then we have to cross another to lanes to get
the other side where everything is plus we have to make sure there are not
other mopeds coming off the street we are getting to because they will run you
over or drive the wrong way on the highway…like I said, insane
There is a strip of bars, shops and hotels which is really
cute and just comes alive at night with live music and the aromatic smell of
food and incense ( there is incense
everywhere, even at the airport.) -
Everyday the Balinese put out little baskets made out of banana leaves
the size of your hand with a cracker and rice with some incense, we believe it’s
an offering to the gods. Sometimes they
are put in big huge shrines, outside their shops, on the sidewalks.
Everything is so cheap here, beer is about $1.50, smokes are
about the same, you can have a lobster dinner for $8.00, our first night we went for Panang – the food
sits out and you choose what you want and it is eaten cold. For 2 feeds, 2
beers and a pack of smokes are total was $8 and the food is so lush. It is so good here, there is so much flavour
and you get so much of it. The restaurants
are gorgeous with awesome service and yet we still only pay $5 a meal. Our favourite place to eat is at the beach,
$1 a meal and we are full after we eat it.
The beach is so cute. The water
is really blue and it is speckled with little fishing boats along the shoreline. To the right you have to big gazebo like huts
that you can sit and have a little picnic and enjoy a quiet lunch on the
water. If you go to the right (which is
where we like to eat) there is a long row of beach beds all covered by
umbrellas and right behind them is a long row of huts – each with a few tables
and chairs out the front – where you can buy snacks, drinks and beer, smokes,
clothes and food. This is where we get
our $1.00 lunches and the food is so good.
My new favourite dish is cap cay (chap chai) which is sticky rice,
chicken veg and an amazing sauce. Yum yum.
The other day we went into Kuta which is about a half hour
from where we are with our new friends MJ and Christine. Kuta is a party town if your looking for a
crazy night out Kuta is where you go. It’s
got a real buzz to it! The streets are
small with a cozy upbeat vibe and they are lined with discotheque’s,
restaurants, and shops galore. There is
this street (well there is a few of them) called Poppies 1, Poppies 2…which are
small side streets just lined with shops.
We are not down the street more then 10 seconds and we here “long hair
big dick?” “oh you? Long hair big dick” “oh
look at you, you must have big dick” “shit fuck shit fuck” honestly it was so funny and at the end of
the street guess what we saw? A shop
with hanging wooden dildos! No joke. We even got offered to buy a box of Cialis at
lunch!
The rest of the afternoon was to be spent at a beach bar on
Kuta Beach which is just covered in people.
People getting massages, people drinking, people surfing and of course
people selling stuff. We end up stopping
at this umbrella with a few plastic crates of Bintang (Indonesian beer), this
was the bar, the beach was scattered with them.
We just sat there all afternoon drinking with the young locals, watching
the crazy waves and the surfers. At 4pm
they set up a table with spirits! This
is what I call a beach bar! They had
music and the locals were so nice.
Everyone here is really nice and everything is pretty much done on a
trust code. You don’t pay till the end,
tabs are automatic, if you don’t finish your meal they are worried you didn’t enjoy
it, you can leave with your drinks, you can smoke everywhere and they love
Western World love songs! We had so much
fun!
Getting a taxi back was a little difficult. You want them to turn the meter on or they
try to rip you off and over charge.
Drivers were refusing to drive us with the meter but we finally found
one that would go on the meter. We
finished off the night with a free dinner and drinks at a new bar that just
opened and then drinks at the local bar Linga Longa.
It is so amazing here! We love it! We spend days by the pool
relaxing and hanging out with our new friends.
The temperature is cooler then Darwin, there is no humidity or dry it so
it is just hot with a bit of a breeze so it is perfect, I have a nice tan
already. It really is amazing here,
though we haven’t seen much yet but of course it still is a culture shock
especially the toilet situation. They
have toilets but most toilets are not equipped for toilet paper so once you use
it you have to dispose of it in the toilet…what do you do with poopy ones you
ask? The butt sprayer. Every toilet has a hose beside it so you just
spray yourself down and you are good to go.
I don’t use them I still use paper but Dan thinks they are fun! Like they say “When in Rome…”
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