Back to Bali

After 4 days in Lombok we decided to return to Bali and to the Sinar Bali Hotel where we were very comfortable. We were not “feeling it” in Lombok and without our own transportation, were trapped at our hotel. We woke up, packed (we have already become quite fast and efficient at packing), and had some breakfast, careful not to drink too much. As we waited for the shuttle van to arrive, the guy who had arranged our transportation got a phone call telling him to send us in a cab to the tour booth. Apparently the shuttle van was full and they could not fit us. When we got to the tour booth, we, an Indonesian girl, and 4 Germans, were herded into a beat up van, without a/c. Phyl and the Indonesian girl rode in the front and Phyl noted that her ipod contained Usher, Lil Wayne, & Pink. During our ride we passed a 4 story Muslim school that the driver told us was built by 'Arab Saudis'. After riding for about an hour, we were deposited at the ferry terminal and told to go inside a very small, crowded, snack shack.

G- My gawd! I feel like I'm going to pass out.

P- It's like a sauna in here.

Hawker #1 – You buy rice?

G- No, thank you. (to Phyl) Did you see that sweat drip off my elbow?

P- Yes. Do you see the sweat dripping off my hair? Sweat is flowing between my boobs like the damn Colorado River through the Grand Canyon!

G- My pants are soaking. I can't tell if it's sweat, if I peed on myself or if 'the scourge' is overflowing. I need a bathroom.

P- There's a bathroom in that corner.

G- I am absolutely NOT going in there. God only knows what might crawl out of the hole in that dark, dank catacomb.

Hawker #2- You buy fruit?

P- No, thank you. (to Gina) I'd go stand outside to get some air but then I'd be standing in the sun.

Hawker #2 – Long ride. 4 hour.

G- No, thank you. (to Phyl) I may have never sweated this much in my whole life. Maybe not even in Nola, when I cut the grass, in the middle of the day, in August.

Hawker #3- You buy knife?

G- No, thank you. (to Phyl) What in the hell would we do with a knife? Can you see getting that past the TSA?

Hawker #3- Very nice. Carve wood. Lombok.

G- Very pretty, but no, thank you.

P- The ferry is late. Give me some more water.

Hawker #1- You buy rice?

G- No, thank you. I realize that 5 minutes has passed, but I'm still not hungry.

P- How can anyone eat in his heat? I may never eat again.

G- Let's go stand over there. It's shaded and not inside.

P- How will we get our ferry tickets?

G- We'll follow all of these Germans when they walk to the ferry. We're clearly all in the same group.

It was cooler outside the snack shack. While we waited we began talking to Alfred, a German traveling around S.E. Asia. The ferry arrived and we were handed a ticket as we walked with the group of Germans. After boarding the ferry, we quickly learned that the interior compartment of this ferry had a/c. We grabbed a seat behind Alfred and chatted about our trips as hawkers passed trying to sell us food and water. Alfred was then approached by 2 guys telling him that his ticket only allowed him passage in the non air con area and that he'd have to pay 50,000 rphs if he wanted to stay in the air con room. Of course this was bullshit because all of our tickets were the same. The guys were clearly not ferry employees, and no one else was being told to pay extra. Alfred stood his ground, stating that his ticket was an air con ticket and that the captain could come and address the matter with him. We continued to chat and ignore them. The guys argued their point for quite a while, but finally gave up and went away. This is the first time we had ever witnessed an attempt at fraud; all other people are actually trying to sell something.

The ride was uneventful and pleasant in the a/c. A movie was even shown during the trip. We enjoyed talking to Alfred and we were highly amused watching the Indonesians watch a silly karate movie where a little girl beat up numerous large men. Phyl was laughing out loud as the Indonesians cracked up. It was quite entertaining, watching the Indonesians, not the movie itself.

Once we docked on Bali, we were grouped according to our destinations, and walked the same trek we had when we left. We were crammed onto another old, non air con van, our backpacks stacked and smashed behind the last seat and the door. I sneezed, coughed until I choked, blew my nose and was generally miserable. Thank Gawd we had gone to the bathroom on the ferry. Pinky was proving to be one of our most valuable purchases! We bounced along for 2 hours before being dropped off at some random spot in Kuta. One couple advised the driver that they had purchased transport to Sanur. The driver questioned the veracity of their statement and told them that they should have been in a different van. Ours was the van they had been told to get into. Basically, they were screwed. Good thing they did not have a hotel booked in Sanur and had the flexibility to sleep in Kuta and go to Sanur the next day.

We ran into a Circle K and purchased something to drink and some cough drops, sans ants, while Alfred watched our bags, then we shared a cab to our respective hotels. It was nice returning to Sinar Bali Hotel and felt like returning home, or at least to the familiar, even though we had only stayed there for 5 days. It was comforting to see familiar faces. It's amazing how quickly you adjust and attach to a new environment.