After a little bit of drama getting off the plane (I didn't realize you needed $25 to enter the country and naturally I had like $15 cash on me, a super nice guy from Northern Oz loaned me the money and ended up being a great source of friendship throughout the trip) His name was Mark and it was his 12th trip to Bali so he knew tons of the locals and gave me lots of great advice and taught me how to surf!!! I surfed about every other day and by the end I was able to paddle onto waves and stand up and coast them in, well, most of the time! haha, surfing was a lot of fun tho - a great workout and the water there was awesome. Plus, you end up having lots of cool little chats with people while waiting for the next waves!
I took a day with a driver to travel around the island - I went to the volcano, saw a traditional dance, went to the holy springs temple, the elephant cave temple, silver factory, woodcarving shop, the tobacco/coffee/tea farm (I may have rolled some Bali tobacco and tried my first cigarette...but it is so filled with herbs and more natural substances that it tasted more like a swisher sweet). I also went to the Uluwatu temple at sunset one night - it is filled with monkeys! You can sit down right next to them or walk through swarms of them! The temples are all really beautiful and very sacred to the people - you have to be covered to the ankles and they have many different rules about who can enter - basically you have to be clean and not crazy. I saw a few different ceremonies and traditional dances that were really beautiful - bright, colorful costumes and loud music. They take ceremonies very seriously and will cook huge, elaborate meals.
I took a Balinese cooking class while I was in Ubud - they spend so much time on their meals because everything is made so fresh. They chop and grind fresh spices and herbs and vegetables to make amazing curries and salads - they are all about balancing sweet, spicy, salty and sour - you really can taste all 4 in just about every dish. The food was so good and so cheap - you pretty much never paid more than US$2 for a meal.
I spent 3-days and 2-nights in Ubud, which wasn't enough. It is the hippie village more in central Bali. There is tons of silver jewelry, arts and crafts, jazz music, monkeys roaming the streets and lush rice terraces. I went to the most amazing restaurant one night, Sari Organik. I had to take a motorbike about 1/2 mile out into the rice terrace - it was the smallest, curviest path ever and I was sure we were going to tip into the streams on either side of us. But the we made it to the elevated hut - there was a huge vegetable garden and everything they made was fresh from the garden! So good!!!! In Ubud I stayed in a bungalow, so I'm thinking it is going to be a little like roughing it - WRONG! I had this great little cottage and breakfast was brought to me on my verandah every morning!!
The people of Bali were incredible - the most friendly people ever. I was asked multiple times a day if I wanted a Balinese boyfriend, haha, when I told them I had a great boyfriend in Minnesota they said that was okay, I said I thought he might mind tho :) But, they were also inquistive about your name, where you were from, how you were doing, how many times you've been to Bali. And they wouldn't forget any of it and the next time they saw you, you were greeted with a hug or goofy handshake. One of the older guys told me, you come to Bali and you are never alone because we are all brothers and sisters here and it truely felt that way.
It was such an interesting place because it was tourism meeting third world - there were so many clear examples of both. It is a surfers paradise but there are lots of lush resorts and then lots of locals living in tarp huts, a ton of chaotic traffic - it really never matters what side of the road you are driving on, or heck, if you're a motorbike you might be riding on the sidewalk! You are constantly being hassled to eat here, or look in my store - or if you are on the beach - buy pinneapple, or a massage or get a pedicure, or buy these sunglasses. If I had the bag space I would have probably bought a ton because they have incredible deals and some really neat things! That being said, I apologize, this trip won't be bringing back much, if any, souveniours because I have to carry them and worry about them for far too long! Sorry!
I spent another day at the Safari and Marine Park which was pretty cool - I took a picture holding an orangutan and a tiger and volunteered during the elephant show and an elephant walked right over me! I also spent a day out on a large tender boat and we went to three different snorkel spots - it was the most colorful coral and so shallow so you were able to see a lot - and we brought bread with us so at one point I was feeding and surrounded by hundreds of fish! But my underwater camera decided to break at this point so I'm a little bummed about that...but taking lots of mental pictures, haha! We also stopped at a seaweed farming village!
I realize this is a long entry but it seriously only skims the surface of Bali! I met amazing people - locals and travelers alike and I'm so glad I took advantage of seeing this part of the world! Hopefully I'll have pictures soon and I will be able to share more stories with you all! This seems good for now! Lots of love all around!
Oh yes, and after those rough ten-days I went to the spa before catching my plane - I spent three-hours getting pampered for US$15 - aw :)
3 comments:
Smoking are we?... Hmmm... I dunno if I am into that ; )
No worries, I'm not either but it was one of those in the moment had to try it kind of things - haha...I mean I rolled it myself...okay, maybe that makes it sound worse! Either way, that was the first and last!
well this is such a good stuff. I agree Bali is really good place.
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