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We're still alive
Entry 8 of 14 | show all | print this entry |
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Hey there, it's been a while since we've made contact, but we're still alive and well. We are currently in Bangkok on day 2/3. We have reliable internet acces at our hotel, which is what kept us out of touch in Bali. Things were a bit more primitive in that way in Bali, Indonesia, believe it or not.
Our week in Bali was beautiful, hectic, eye-opening, and relaxing all at the same time. The country itself is amazingly pretty as far as the lush green forest, beautiful flowers, and endless rice terraces that dot every hillside go. What immediately took us aback was the sheer volume of people (and dogs). We expected a lot of people, being Indonesia and all, but we naively thought that would be different in Bali somehow. It wasn't. The journey from the airport in Denpasar to our hotel a little ways up in the mountains was characterized by insane traffic, composed of a million motorbikes with an average of 2.7 people per, weaving in and out of cars, trucks, and buses, all doing the same. It was immediately apparent that there were no traffic laws per se, just an understood mode of honks. Our driver, who was a friend of a friend of ours in Steamboat, kept us safe on these roads for the week, which is a full time job, which it was.
Nyoman Kelid was our driver's name- Nyoman indicates he is the third child, Kelid is the family name- Indonesia has a fairly rigid caste system like India. He made most of our arrangements for us for the week. He set us up with a beautiful hotel in Ubud, which is kind of a crafts village in the center of the island, for the first three days. It was right in the main area, but set on some beautiful property with a rice field and gorgeous flora right outside our window. He took us to various woodcarving shops, batik clothing shops (batik is a traditional hand-made cloth and patterning process), painting communes, and other various crafts landmarks.
We went up to a plantation where they grow all kinds of herbs, fruits and coffees. It was interesting to see things like vanilla and cinnamon in their natural setting- sometimes you don't know what it looks like before it gets to your table. By far, the highlight of this outing was the coffee and tea tasting. This area is known for a famous variety of coffee called Kopi Luwak, which is regarded as the most unique and desirable (and most expensive) coffee in the world. It's not any ordinary coffee- it goes through a "roasting" process that some might find crude beyond belief. The red ripe coffee beans are consumed in the raw by a mongoose-type animal. The stomach acids in effect "roast" the beans whole. somebody then picks the beans from the animal droppings, cleans them, then grinds them up and voile!- Kopi Luwak coffee. It sells for somewhere around $100/pound in uppity parts of the world (it's suspected that many consumers don't know how it's made, just that it's the most expensive you can buy). We got to try a cup for about $3. When in Rome...
We decided to then head to the east side of the island for some beach time. Nyoman Kelid drove us a little town called Amed that is a bit less travelled than nearby Tulamben and Padang Bai. It's a little beach community dominated by divers and their tourism. It was a nice change of pace from the much more populated area of the south. This isn't to say there wasn't plenty of people trying to sell you things you don't need, but the pressure and frequency was greatly reduced. We arrived there on New Year's Eve without a hotel, but no worries of finding one- we had Kelid. He seems to know everyone on the island of 2.5 million people. We stopped at his first recommendation and found it a bit dumpy for New Year's accomo, so we went to the next. For ten dollars more than the first place, we got a major upgrade- roughly two stars to four. This place was awesome. The room was huge, with walls full of windows (sliding glass doors) that looked out on the ocean. The restaurant looked over a huge pool, suitable for dive instruction, which looked over the ocean. They had a special New Year's menu with traditional Balinese dancing, which was really cool. Increasingly older and more proficient sets of girls would come out dressesed like ornate Hindu-style dancers and do their trance-like dance of poses and hand movements. We made friends with six other travellers from around the world and rang in the new year drinking Bin Tang, the beer of Bali and playing Uno, which was the game of choice for this group, who had been there a couple weeks. It was really fun. Relaxation took place over the next couple days.
We finished our Bali experience with a whirlwind tour of the east coast, down to the far south, with stops at a market in the oldest village in Bali in Candi Dasa, a lunch at a beachfront restaurant in Padang Bai, and then a sunset Balinese dance(show or play of traditional myth) in Uluwatu at the Monkey Temple. That's what we call it- there were thousands of mischievious monkeys running around stealing glasses off people's heads, cameras, and anything else that wasn't nailed down. The small amphitheatre for the show overlooked the ocean, which was a couple hundred feet down a sheer cliff, and features one of the best sunset views on the island. We then had dinner at a seafood restaurant on the beach (literally- the tables were in the sand) in Jimbarin Bai and then checked into some roach motel in Kuta Beach, the tourist hell of Bali. Tom has (had) a relative who had a hippie cult there around 1970 and imagines it looks nothing like it did then- this guy wouldn't have been caught dead in this today (he was caught dead in India several years later, but different story). Next afternoon, we got on a plane headed for Bangkok...
Latest Comments (3)
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Thanks For the Update!! (reply)
Jan 7, 2009 22:10 EST by chilledmama
I have been LOVING your news. Keep it coming.
Sounds like you got a real taste of third world driving. Takes me back to my days in SXM!! So fun.
Don't bring me back any of that special coffee...I'm good!
Peace~
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Also glad to hear... (reply)
Jan 7, 2009 20:34 EST by scrunchiborn
That you two are alive and well!! Bali sounds beautiful and exciting!! UNO on New years sounds like more fun than what I was doing!! (you know answering cops and sending ambulances all over can get old!!)
Love Ya, Be safe!!
Rachel
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so glad to hear (reply)
Jan 7, 2009 07:43 EST by bornbarbara
that you guys are well and had a good time in Bali. Thanks for posting! Watch out for those monkeys, and be careful. Love you,
Barb
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