I miss my chair on Gili Air!
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Kuta,
Bali,
Indonesia
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Day 164 - Having a poor nights sleep I got up for breakfast and joined Mego as we left and took a horse kart to the jetty. I am in a horrendously low mood today and have conceded that I should never spend more than 2 hours doing absolutely nothing ever again! At Bangsal we were transferred to the bus rather painlessly and I had a nice seat at the back of the bus by the open door.
The ferry to Bali was heaving when we boarded and the atmosphere really alive with enthusiastic food sellers and buskers, who hot-footed it off as we were departing. The journey was set to take 4 hours, and one hour in, a frenchman came from inside with the most sick looking boy on his arm (I think suffering from the night before). But I swear the mere sight of him induced my sea sickness and thus had to spend the next 3 hours clinging onto the back of the bus focussing on the horizon!
When I wandered downstairs in search of the toilet I looked into the vehicle hold and saw the lorrys and buses swaying quite violently with the rough waves and in the middle, on top of a red lorry cab, a man was curled up fast asleep! At one point the ferry seemed to stop and turn to avoid some sailing boats, but not knowing what the hell was going on I thought it was curtains and we were sure to sink! Sometimes I think I am a dreadful traveller for someone who is travelling around the world!
A bit late we arrived at Padangbai in Bali and the engine was switched off... yet we were still at sea. A boy next to me translated the loud speaker and it seemed we had to wait for two boats to depart from the jetty before it was free. This took over two hours! It became dark and cold on the deck and I was glad to have Mego with me as it was so boring! A little Indonesian came up to me and showed me a text he had written in english asking for my mobile number and after I said no, he collected up his friends stuff to go upstairs and put my backpack on his shoulder! I thought he was joking and as I shook his hand, took it back and the look on his face seemed to show he sincerely was going to take it, thinking it was his mates!
After 7 hours on ta ferry that should have taken 4 hours and should have been expected at Padangbai, thus ensuring the jetty clear, at 7:30pm, we alighted. It didn't take long for me to realise I'd lost my ticket, but still followed the crowds to the minibuses to Kuta. A driver took me and Mego to his bus, which needed to more passengers, and assured me it was a better bus than the one we were about the get on. I am dubious though, as because I was the last passenger to get on I had the middle seat in the middle row (again), which had no cushion in the seat and no back (thus being effectively a bench!) and also as we travelled, glorious fumes from the revving exhaust filled the bus! As he didn't try and charge me for the ride having lost my ticket, I thought I was in no position to complain, and so leant my one shoulder on the side of the blokes chair next to me and tried to get comfy. Despite being desparately able to sleep, the lack of support made it impossible to do so without landing my head on the lady's lap behind me and so sat in an intoxicated stupor for the hour and a half it took to reach Kuta.
In Kuta, Mego and I walked to find a hotel and as most were either full or had just one room available, we left each other and I found a room for 50,000IDR. However, as the guests had only just checked out, it wasn't clean yet (at 10pm!) I didn't feel hungry, but having survived on bourbons and sprite since 11am, I knew I needed to eat something proper and went around the corner for some fish soup (which included the fish head... the best bit!) and so I was well happy. The room was ready when I went back and had a GLORIOUS fresh water shower.
Day 165 - Spent the day walking around Kuta buying essentials; SD cards and the like and getting generally hacked off with the traffic and braun walking around the place. I invested in a practical pair of flipflops and was astonished when the owner, in all seriouness asked me for 120,000IDR for a starting price! I returned the favour with $1 and so we agreed on $3 and I 'exchanged' my old ones for his bin. The blighters then tore my feet up for the next 3 days and I have now reverted back to my trusty tevas.
The most eventful part to the day was when I was cornered in a shop when looking for some Coco Chanel Mademoiselle perfume and the bloke emptied half the bottle on my arm to try... it was quite certainly NOT Coco Chanel Mademoiselle, and instead some floral, Granny poof that had been disguised in an authentic bottle and I then reeked of for the rest of the day. Needless to say I didn't buy any!
Had dinner at Maccaroni as recommended by Marni for a 'pasta hit', and it was goood.
Day 166 - Another day doing very little but making the most of the cheap prices and filling my rucksack with DVDs. In the evening I went for a walk about and ended up in a bar with a band playing and stayed there for a while until they played too many songs by the Chilli Peppers and so found myself in another bar which can only be described as Indonesia's answer to Manhattens in Hereford. That is to say lots of tattoos, punks and black clothing. Here I watched a very skinny, elderly Aussie with a silver mullet jam the likes of Bob Dylan and then gave me a CD because I was leaving Kuta tommorrow (everyone else in the bar was expected to come again tommorrow I suppose).
Don't like Kuta one bit and even the nightlife was a little wanting. However it has given me time to take my leave of Asia - it took me a few days, but I am quite happy and excited to move on to the next step. However, it will be a shock to be surrounded by english speaking people again and I am aware that I am in the habit of eating with my mouth open, like the locals, which I will have to control... never resorted to spitting and blowing mucus from my nostril on the floor though, thank goodness!
Day 167 - Final day doing nothing much but losing my sunglasses (for the second time this holiday) and finding them still in the internet cafe when I went back over an hour later - I am lucky! At the airport the plane was delayed before we had even checked in! I went to go through departures and was asked for 150,000IDR airport tax - cheeky Indonesians ripping you off until the end! Having changed all my money to Australian dollars (and the tax in that currency being twice the price!) I had to go back out of the airport to the ATM and back through security and passport control for the second time! Having done this I had a little money in hand; usually enough for a meal, but as I went to buy a bottle of water I was further incised that a) if you buy water in the airport you still can't take it on the plane (that's two security checks before you're allowed on then!) and b) the price was 20,000IDR for a bottle (they usually cost between 7,000 and 8,000IDR!)
Crap place to get delayed too as there's no space to relax - the floor is all tiled and lined with shops blaring out music and the number of unruly kids that are following me about today I don't know! The plane didn't leave until gone 1am (2 hours late).
