Bali April 2010

Bali 2010 Photos

Easter week holidays! My friend Marlee from the Melbourne Ukulele Kollective was going away to Turkey but some of her family were heading to Bali, and had - in an off-the-cuff moment - invited me along. So with only six days' notice I booked tickets and found myself making an early start for Tullamarine on my motorbike on Easter Sunday morning.

The smallish Pacific Blue flight wasn't quite full, slightly surprisingly; but there was a good holiday mood onboard. It's always fascinating to traverse the continent - over the top of Uluru and then Cape Leveque. I arrived around lunchtime - it took over an hour to get through the Visa on Arrival desk ($AUD30) and immigration. The interminable wait was made more frustrating by the lack of immigration staff - only to find around the corner a bunch of idle money-changer booths. I just used the ATM... the Commonwealth Bank one was the only one out-of-order. I played hard-to-get with the taxi drivers for a bit, paid the unwanted porter a $AUD2 tip, and settled in for the short ride to Legian. At a few intersections, small children carrying infants approached the car looking for a handout - not a very classy introduction to the place. On the other hand I was greatly amused by some of the loads being carried around on the small motor scooters; often substantial food stalls were cleverly mounted across the pack rack, so the bikes could be parked and business could start immediately.

Checking in at the hotel I was greeted by Cheryl and Amity - always great to have a wonderful welcome! And for approx $50/night, it was very comfy - 30m from the beach, 2 beds, fridge, TV and air conditioner. I met up with Joel and Janet as well - Wendy arrived late Wednesday night to complete the group. Sunday afternoon was a day for getting my bearings in the neighborhood and going for my first swim at the beach - brilliant water temperature and perfect waves for body surfing - wide sandy beaches though with a bit of mud, and quite a lot of rubbish in the murky water. I suspect that after the rainy season, heaps of street run-off brings all the chip packets to the beach. We went out for dinner at the Flying Piano - which I later discovered was also one of the recommendations of my cousins (Aarron & Peta) and were serenaded by the house buskers. On the way back to the hotel we took a shortcut through one of the big hotels - very swanky!

From Bali 2010

Then... disaster! The combination of early starts, my recent visit to the blood bank, some last minute inoculations, some excellent food and wine, possibly a couple of mouthfuls of sea water, and the change of climate and timezone, all conspired to cause some disruption to the standard operations of the stomach area and I spent much of the first night dashing to the bathroom. Rather spectacularly, I'd imagine. And frequently. Top end, if you're wondering.

So Monday was rather quiet for me. Our group went to a pub for lunch for my one indulgence for the week, of watching the Hawks v Cats AFL game from the MCG (bummer) - it was the Geraldton satellite signal, with lots of ads for big tractors and sheds. My lunch consisted of a couple of glasses of coke and I found myself scouting the venue of pot plants or other recepticles I might be able to reach in case of emergency but they weren't required. After a nap, I took an anti-nausea tablet that Chez had got for me, and I made it out for a late afternoon walk and a swim - then straight back to bed for an 11-hour sleep.

I felt much brighter on Tuesday. Chez had organised to visit Ketut - whose family they had become friends with over several visits. He and his family have been enduring more than the normal share of hardships of late (I'd performed with MUK at a fundraiser for them). Ketut came to pick us up and take us back to their flat in Denpasar, where I meet various members of his family including their niece Nyoman who is helping look after Ketut's son Wayan. Despite the language barriers it was great to be made welcome and to see a bit of daily life in Bali, and it was wonderful to see the bond between the two families from different cultures.

From Bali 2010

Back in Legian after lunch, I ventured out to buy stamps and postcards several blocks away and had fun poking the area. I must have been starting to look at home as I was stopped and asked for directions twice by other Australians - including a pair of deaf ladies. Fortunately "Double Six" is quite easy to mime. Back for a swim, then I thought I'd try the hotel masseuse (60000Rp for an hour - about $AU7) wihle several geckos looked on. Apparently my shoulder makes sounds like 'tak tak tak' in Indonesian. For dinner I managed just half a bowl of soup - the most sustenance I'd had in 2 days, but I was well on the mend.

From Bali 2010

On Wednesday, Ketut took Chez & I to see his family village on the north end of Bali. The road lead through the endless suburbs and traffic of Denpasar, past a flock of ducks being herded across the main road, then through the more stately Klungkung, past rice paddies and then up into the mountains; the mountain pass we took was quite new and apparently shortened the old journey considerably. At one lookout I was impressed by the local custodian walking around the carpark picking up litter... only to then dump it over the edge. On the way down the other side I noticed a couple of water pumps that had been donated by Rotary International Japan, which was interesting given my Dad's involvement in Rotary. We stopped at a general store, of sorts, where I managed a guava juice for breakfast, and we bought some supplies for the village. Then up the mountainside to Ketut's sister's place for a quick visit, and then finally a few minutes further to Ketut's family's farm/village. Cheryl commented that there'd been a number of improvements since her last visit: primarily electricity and a new building of several rooms. Again the language barrier was evident but smiles and gestures went a long way; the kids were playful but a bit shy, and when Ketut was showing me around the family temple next door, his parents taught Chez the right way to shell peanuts.

From Bali 2010

We then headed back via the other side of the volcano - quite a spectacular uphill drive over many kilometres and past dozens of small villages, through the mists and rain - up to the ridge at about 1500m. Then back through the Denpasar traffic which I was starting to lose patience with, as interesting as it is to drive through neighborhoods of other cultures. For dinner we were back at the Flying Piano & I think I actually managed proper food.

From Bali 2010

The next day I did a downhill mountain biking tour - one of the great suggestions from Peta. It was fantastic - in 40km we barely had to turn the pedals. There was still the ordeal of traversing the city - and my fellow minibus travellers were very quiet, it turns out that most of them had been partying it up the night before and were rather seedy. It was good that the first stop was at a coffee plantation for a tour and a tasting, and I regret not buying a couple of packets to take home. Later, getting aboard the bikes on the rim of the crater we were able to start our gradual coast downhill, past fields and villages and towns, schools and shops - it was a great montage of Balinese life. We were constantly greeted by all the schoolkids and other locals, calling out "Hellooo", and giving lots of friendly waves & smiles. There were a couple of 'exciting bits' on the bike ride where we could let loose, on a steep section, but it was mostly quite gentle. We stopped and visited a small house as well. The tour finished with a very nice lunch and I could swap travel stories with my tour companions - as green as they were. The tour bus back lacked aircon and one fellow tourist in particular was torn - window open and get sunburnt, or window closed and feeling flustered and nauseous? I suggested to the driver to drop me off at the top of Legian (in order to bypass the time-consuming navigation of the Kuta streets that make my back laneway look spacious) but it was my turn to be last on the drop-off list. As a result I got the slow-motion tour of Kuta, past the crowds of Bintang-singletted tourists and had a glimpse of the Ground Zero monument - I hope never to require emergency services to be able to get to me in that neighborhood, the traffic logistics are prohibitive.

From Bali 2010

Chez had booked our Thursday evening dinner on the balcony of the hotel restaurant, hoping to catch the sunset. My final evening was a bit of a celebration - Joel proposed to Janet and she accepted, much to the delight of Amity who had been bursting with the secret all week. I got to provide the musical backing for the proposal song "500 Miles", and there was a bit of a singalong into the night - I think I managed to rather impress the waitress.

From Bali 2010

On Friday I had thought to maybe do another tour but I decided to just have a relaxing day. Chez and Amity preferred my room to their own so they moved their stuff down as I checked out. I went shopping (lunch at Mugshots), had another massage, went for a long body surf (brilliant conditions)... all the good holiday stuff. For my final excursion Ketut took Chez, Wendy and myself to Tanah Lot, an ancient temple just off the coast. It was hard to see too much as it was dusk when we arrived but it was quite the tourist spot, and a very nice place to visit.

From Bali 2010

Back in Legian, Ketut dropped the others back to the hotel but first he found me a taxi to the airport for my almost-midnight flight. In the end I was a quite a bit early, even with the numerous security checks and administrative stages. Departure tax was 150000Rp cash - lucky Wendy had told me about this because I wasn't expecting it. That left me with 40000Rp, just enough for a can and a packet of chips.

Huge thanks to Chez, Amity, Joel, Janet and Wendy for pointing me in the right direction, looking after lots of the details of finding my way around, and looking after me when I was crook!
Ideas for next time:
More of Kuta, either just stay in a resort, or stay completely away! Lombok, Gili, Dolphins, elephants + elephant caves, monkeys. But the next trip is looking like being the Cairns Ukulele Festival.