Sex Offering

Sinar Bali allowed us to pay for ½ of a day and check out at 6:00 pm. This is a great feature because, it seemed that almost everyone's flight left at night. We were able to spend the day at the pool, then pack &amp, shower, and eat dinner before getting a cab to the airport. It had just started to rain when our cab arrived and it poured throughout the ride to the airport. When we arrived at the airport, we were informed that our plane had mechanical problems, had been replaced with another, but that the flight would be delayed 2 hours. KLM did give us vouchers for a sandwich and drink at an airport cafe. As we walked to the cafe to collect our refreshments, we noticed yet another offering (to the Gods)  There was one outside of every shop and some shops even had little alters mounted on an inside wall.  Of course they all contain a lit incense stick.

G - Look at that offering!!  It has a cigarette and a mint on top of the flowers.

P- It must be an offering to the god of sex!!  Give some flowers, eat your breath mint, and when it's all done, smoke a cigarette.

G- Hahahaha!!!!! And look, it's right across from the duty free liquor store.  That must be what the money is for; to buy the liquor.  How appropriate! 

As it turned out, the flight was delayed for 2 ½ hours and we didn't leave Bali until midnight.


P- It makes no sense that most of the seating is inside the area where you board the plane, but they won't let you into that area until just before the flight is about to board.

G- It's asinine. We're stuck in the terminal, which has very few chairs, while all of the nice chairs in the boarding area sit empty. I asked the guards when they'll start letting us in there, but they just said later.

P- It's also annoying that, in all of the Asian airports we've been to so far, you don't go through security scanning until just before you board the plane, so you can't even bring on water that you bought in the terminal.

G- Yes, that is extremely annoying. When we take that cheap Air Asia flight that has no services aboard the plane, we won't even be able to bring on water.

P- How long is that flight? 2 or 2 ½ hours?

G- Yes. Something like that. I sure wish they didn't allow smoking everywhere in this airport.

P- I know. It's killing me.

The rain stopped as we boarded the plane. We were surprised that we were served dinner, and KLM has pretty good airplane food. Then we watched Eat, Pray, Love; well we watched some of it. The flight was not long enough to watch the whole movie, so we got cut off somewhere in India.

Final Thoughts on Bali

Final thoughts on Bali:

When we first arrived, we were disappointed because we had imagined the movie version of Bali. After being there for a while, we came to love the people, we enjoyed learning about their lives and culture, and we grew to like Bali. We definitely preferred the feel of Ubud over the tourist areas of Kuta & Sanur, and we wish that we had spent more time in Ubud. If you plan to go, never believe anyone who tells you that Ubud is cooler than Kuta as the hottest days and nights we have ever spent have been in Ubud. That being said, we did enjoy Legian Beach and our stay at Sinar Bali Hotel, and we enjoyed meeting and talking to other tourists. The main tourist areas are so crowded and full of traffic, but there are many areas of Bali & Lombok that are very beautiful. We definitely recommend exploring both islands and not just staying in one spot.

Once on the ground, Bali is a cheap destination. For Americans, it is the time and expense of traveling to Bali that is the problem. While the Balinese are warm and friendly, the hawkers are relentless and wear you down to the point of exhaustion. While we understand that they are merely trying to earn a living, they destroy some of Bali's charm. Kuta and the boardwalk of Sanur are lined with shop after shop; all basically selling the same things. Many times we may have browsed in a shop or looked at their wares, possibly making a purchase, but because we were so harassed, we didn't dare even act interested. Fortunately we were isolated and protected inside the Sinar Bali Hotel compound and we think this is one of the reasons we stayed at the hotel so much. In addition to the hawkers, leaving the hotel compound was exhausting because the sidewalks are almost nonexistent or are in such deplorable condition that they are dangerous, forcing you to walk in the street most of the time. Motorcycles & cars park on the sidewalks and motorcyclists drive on them with impunity. It is often safer just to walk in the street but one must always remember that even if it is a one way street for cars, motorcycles can drive in any direction.

On Lombok we learned that while we like the less touristy areas, those areas also lack many services and choices to which we've become accustomed. Bali does have a large amount of western (primarily Aussie) food choices due to the large number of Aussie tourists.

We will never, never, as long as we live, forget our snorkeling experience at Bunutan Beach (behind the Ayuerveda yoga studio and organic restaurant). The coral and fish were breathtaking! And we hope to stay in touch with many of the people we met during our stay in Bali. We will also remember Bali as the place where we learned that Connor had been accepted by LSU Medical School. It was fortuitous that we were Skyping with Gina's mom & Connor when his acceptance letter arrived and we were able to watch him open it and experience that moment with him.

Finally, we recommend the Sinur Bali Hotel Jl Padma Ultara, Legian, Bali, Indonesia (0361) 751404 sinarbali@dps.centrin.net.id.

Scenes in Bali

All over Bali, along the roadsides, you will see these 'petrol stands' selling gas for motorcycles.  Most are kept in Abolute bottles, we guess because they're glass and 1 liter each.  It's a saftey thing!!





Also all over Bali, along the roadsides, you will see roosters kept under baskets. We were told that they could not be allowed to walk freely because they would fight with each other. Apparently they were only allowed with the hens one at a time.

In some of the traffic circles there are huge statues of Hindu Gods.  It's hard to snap a photo as we speed by.

In new construction, and in buildings that just appear unstable, long bamboo poles are used as support braces.

Geckos are to Bali what cockroaches are to New Orleans; but less horrible!  This particular gecko was about 10" long and 1.5" wide.  He was a bug eating machine and apparently a permanent resident at the Sinar Bali restaurant where he spent his evenings hanging out by the light bulbs eating unsuspecting moths.

This is a Warung for locals and adventurous tourists, like us, willing to eat as the locals.  You selected your items from the glass shelves in front and from the hot pots down the side, then you paid based on the items you selected.  Kind've like A&G or Morrison's Cafeterias.

Bali's version of Meals on Wheels or Nola Lucky Dog vendors.

The Balinese cargo van.  There is not a thing in the world that cannot be hauled on a motorcycle!!
 
 
 

Balinese in-line family sedan.  Wonder why dad's the only one wearing the helmet.  Kids........ we can always make more of them.  Mom........ her head scarf and Allah are protecting her.
 
 
 

Many women could join the bull riders in a rodeo.  They are fearless as they ride, side saddle, in their long sarongs, holding on to their stuff, as the driver weaves through traffic.  They hold onto nothing on the motorcycle, merely balancing.

Chicken Head Soup

I finally awoke and could open both of my eyes. The left one was only a little swollen and red, but I was good to go. One more day and everything should be fine. After breakfast, we took our purchases, and my fanny pack, Sarah, to the post office to mail home. Sarah was not working out. Imagine that! She was too awkward and cumbersome with the big backpack. I purchased another small backpack to use as a day pack and to wear on my chest when my big pack was on my back. Sarah was sent packing and did come in handy to cushion our purchases. We shipped our box by sea and were told it would take 3 months. Thank gawd we were not in a hurry to get it home. Our work done for the day, we returned to the pool. On the way we passed a street food vendor who had quite a crowd.

P- What is he selling?

G- Looks like some kind of soup. It sure smells good.

P- Oh my gawd! Come see this...............

G- What is it?

P- The soup has chicken feet and chicken heads, with beaks and combs on them!!! Yes. Most definitely chicken heads.

The locals looked at the horror on Phyl's face and started laughing.

P- Is it good?

Locals – Yes. Very good.

Hawker -You buy?

P- Um, no. Thanks anyway.

G- I'd taste it because it smells good. Just don't get heads and feet in your bowl. It smells like it has a nice chicken stock, lemon grass, and veggies. But I'm not even remotely hungry.

P- It does smell good, but I don't think I could take the chicken eyes looking up at me.

G- Oh, please. The eyes aren't in the head. It's just a skull.

P- Ok. But I still see the sockets, which means the eyeballs must be floating somewhere in the broth.

G- Might I remind you that you take live, squirming crawfish, pour the poor bastards into a cauldron of hot, spicy water, then when they're cooked, you rip their heads off and suck the juice out, careful to pick out the fat in the heads, then eat the tails with the shit line on it.

P- I don't care. That's different!

G- It's not different. It's all in what you grow up eating.

P- Maybe so, but I'm still not eating soup with chicken heads and feet in it. I don't even like chicken breast, I'm surely not eating a head.

G- Ok, Gladys, you don't have to. Move along.  Oh look!  The bakery cart is passing us.  Would you like a chicken head pastry?

P- No Agnes.  I'm not eating anything made with a chicken head!!

We returned to the hotel and washed some clothes in the sink.

G- Did you wash the clothes with the shampoo in this packet?

P- You mean the one the hotel provides?

G- Yes. The dandruff shampoo that looks like a vitamin C or energy drink packet.  The chick on the packet looks like she's pouring it into her mouth.

P- If that's all we have, then yes that's what I used. I like to scrub with the soap powder, then let the clothes soak in the shampoo so they'll smell good.

G- Ok. And since we're washing our underwear in dandruff shampoo, we never have to worry about dandruff in our nether regions.

P- I do constantly worry about that. You're crazy, Agnes!

For our last dinner in Bali, we returned to Patrick Warung. The food is good, the selection is good and the girls who work there are friendly and sweet. Plus, we agree with the sign, they really do have the coldest beer in Bali.

Beer v Ice Cream

P- Good morning!


G- Ugh! Morning. OMG! Now both of my eyes are crusted shut.

P- Just stay there baby and I'll wet your bib with warm water.

After chocking up a pound of mucus and bathing my eyes 2 times, I was able to open them and go to breakfast. For the love of God, we wish we didn't have to sit outside in the heat and humidity to eat breakfast. Basically, EVERYTHING, besides sleeping, occurs in the heat and humidity. It's a bad thing for someone with a cold. Phyl says it's a bad thing for everyone except someone who loves to be miserable. Oh, and I forgot to mention the mosquitoes that eat us during breakfast. We have to put on mosquito repellant before we even go to breakfast. Blech!!

Breakfast makes us hot, so we jumped into the pool to cool off. After a while, we decided to go to the beach. Hello! We are in Bali, on the Indian Ocean, so we must go back to the beach before we leave.

We ran the gauntlet through the alley, dodging motorcycles, and were encouraged by the sunshine when we arrived at Legian Beach. We were immediately approached by a hawker renting beach chaises and umbrellas. We negotiated 30,000 ($3.00 USD), he wiped down the cushions and we planted ourselves for the afternoon.

P- Ah! This is the life!

G- Yes. I could get use to this. I do miss our own ice chest full of beer.

P- Well, Wayan said he had an ice chest of cold beer for sale.

G- We may have to purchase some.

P- As soon as we go in the ocean I'll need a beer to quench my thirst.

G- Why in the world would the ocean make you thirsty?

P- I don't know, Agnes, but it does. Maybe it's the salt.

G- Well, close your mouth and you won't get salt in it.

P- Well, bite my ass and if you don't need a beer, I'll drink 2.

G- Freak! Any excuse to drink a beer.

P- I don't need an excuse, I'll drink beer whenever I want.

We sat on our chaises and watched a group of naked kids playing in the surf. Thank gawd they were not trying to woo-woo us! Then we watched a group of surfing kids. It sure looks like a lot of work for a very short ride. Kind've like climbing 3 flights of stairs, at a superslide, for a short ride down. Then we watched a large, very built French speaking man take a surf lesson and head out into the waves.

P- This should be fun to watch!

G- Yes. That dude is so big, he'll neve get up.

P- I got to give it to him for trying! It looks more like work than fun.

The guy did finally get up and managed to ride a short wave. We were pretty impressed. Then he brought the surf instructor to his son, who looked about 4 years old, and the instructor took the little boy to the waters' edge with a boogy board. He showed the little boy how to stand, bend his knees and hold his arms out for balance. The little boy mimicked everything the instructor did. Then the instructor took him into the waves. The little boy clung to the boogy board as he flew up onto the wave crests. He was very brave and even when knocked off, he jumped right back on. Then the instructor got a regular surfboard and took the little boy out.

G- Look at this! The little guy is on a full board.

P- It's going to really suck for his dad when he rides a wave much better than his dad. It's always easier for kids to do things like that.

G- How cute is he? Yes, lower center of gravity and lack of fear.

In short order the little guy zoomed in on the board while dad was still floundering in the waves. Mom was taping the whole thing...... of the little boy and dad was being ignored. When he was finished, he was beaming!! He strutted onto the beach so proud of himself! We clapped and mom smiled at us.

Ice cream selling hawker – You buy ice cream?

G- Sounds good, but right now we're drinking beer.

Ice cream hawker – Beer and ice cream good.

G- No, beer and ice cream do not go well together at all.

P- Maybe in your world. You got any popcorn to go with our beer? We'd buy that.

G- Come back later.

Hawker – Ok. 10 minutes?

G- No.  Longer than 10 minutes.

We had just gotten our second round of beers when the ice cream hawker returned.

G- No dude. Not yet.

P- Still no popcorn in there?

Hawker – No popcorn. Ice cream.

G- Come back later.

Finally we bought an ice cream and the aggravating hawker went away happy. After a few hours, we headed back to the hotel.

P- What a relaxing afternoon.

G- Yes, because most of our afternoons are so stressful.

We ate dinner at a place called The Corner Bar that Rob had raved about for pepper steak. He said it was “lovely”. When it arrived, it was steak, cooked in a gravy and black pepper. We had expected it to be a steak cooked with green peppers and onions. Oh well, it was still “lovely”! The only thing we did find odd was that it had a nice gravy and should have been served with rice, but this was the one time it was served with french fries instead. Go figure!

Cak-Cak

Performance occurred at the patch on top of the cliff.

We arrived at Uluwatu about 15 minutes before the dance was to start. Pinky made an appearance, for which we paid a nominal fee and were given 2 squares of toilet paper.  We had to pull some of our personal stash from the bag.  We walked up the stairs to the temple, careful not to engage any monkeys which are much more aggressive than those in the Monkey Forest. Phyl says they were also bigger. We watched several monkeys rip items from people's hands and run off with them. Exactly what Phyl was afraid of.

P- I told you we had to be careful for the monkeys.

G- These are much more aggressive, but just stay away from them.

P- I'm not too worried because so many of these other people are encouraging them by having stuff out for them to steal. Just hold on tight to the camera.

G- Got it, Gladys. We'll snap a few photos and be on our way to the dance.

The temple was perched out on the edge, at the top of the cliff. Unfortunately, it was a very cloudy evening and the sunset at this temple is supposed to be fantastic. We did enjoy watching all of the men in their silky, brightly colored sarongs that everyone was required to wear. Some men did a better job of getting in touch with their feminine sides than others. We made our way to the seating and prepared for the Kecak & Fire Dance. The dance is the most unique Balinese dance because it is not accompanied by musical instruments, but 70 men imitate the sounds of musical instruments and provide sound effects. Throughout the performance, they make a cak-cak sound.

The performance was unusual, but very enjoyable. We were disappointed that the clouds completely eclipsed any views of the sunset.  We stayed after the performance to take photos with the performers, and walking back to the van was a little scary because it was dark and the monkeys were screaming in the trees.  If Gladys could have had me carry her, that would have happened.  Instead we held onto each other and walked, very quickly,  under the trees and screaming monkeys.  We tossed our borrowed silky sarongs and sashes onto the pile and headed to the van.  It had been a long day and we were happy to get back to the hotel and have dinner at the restaurant.

Western Influence

This morning we noticed new people at breakfast. One guy, Ron, an Aussie, who fancied himself quite the playboy started talking to us at the pool.

G- How long will you be in Bali?

Ron – I've been on Bali for almost a month. I'll go home soon.

P- You're here alone?

Ron- No, I've got a 24 year old Balinese girlfriend. I'm 53.

G- Oh, congratulations. (looks at Phyl and we roll eyes at each other)

The next morning at breakfast...............

P- Look at Ron's girlfriend. She always has a look on her face like she wants to vomit.

G- Yes. I noticed. Trouble in paradise.

That afternoon at the pool............

G- Ron, where's your girlfriend?

Ron- She's taking a nap.

G- Yes, the young ones do require a lot of sleep.

Ron – Oh, I make sure she needs a lot of rest.

G- (thinking) Touche'.

P- ( under her breath to me) He's a dirt bag! He probably needs to buy pills from the hawkers to make his banana strong.

The next morning at breakfast he told us about his daughter. Then made reference to his wife. That's when we noticed his wedding ring.

P- No wonder his 24 year old girlfriend looks revolted by the sight of him.

G- I wonder how much he's paying her for the week.

Rob couldn't look at Ron without shaking his head.

“It's just wrong.” He'd say. “You shouldn't have to pay for sex. Did you ladies get propositioned?”

Us- What? For sex? Um, no.

Rob- I barely made it out of the drive way when some dirty bugger asked me if I wanted sex.

This same day saw the arrival of 2 brothers, Asland & Askar, from Kazakhstan. Having only a general idea of Kazakhstan's location on a map, we looked it up. Kazakhstan is huge. Askar told us it was the 8th or 9th (I can't remember) largest country (based on land mass, not population) in the world. These boys were very smart!! They spoke a few languages, English, of course, & Russian was considered their mother tongue. Askar was extremely knowledgeable about world affairs and was clearly a history buff.

We asked him many questions about Kazakhstan and his life there. He joked that he had seen the movie Borat, that it was not even filmed in Kazakhstan, but that everything most people think they know about his country is from that movie. He asked about the American politics and why it was controversial for Obama to push for health care for all. He's obviously been following US news.

Their family consisted of an older sister who was studying at Columbia University, Askar who was studying at a University in Singapore, and Asland who was studying in India. They had a younger brother, still in the high school equivalent. Their father earned the equivalent of about $1,200/USD a month, and had recently moved the family to the capital, Astana. The brothers had met in Bali for vacation and the sister was flying to Singapore to meet them and travel to Korea. My question was, of course, how they could be studying all over the world if the family was not wealthy. He explained that 20-25 years ago, the current President of Kazakhstan thought it important to focus on education and established a scholarship program. Each year 3,000 scholarships are given to high achieving high school graduates. The scholarships pay tuition, room & board, and provides a living stipend. In return, they must return to Kazakhstan and work for a minimum of 5 years.

One afternoon we overheard playboy Aussie asking the brothers if women were easy in Kazakhstan. They looked kind've stunned and perplexed. He continued with “you know, are they promiscuous?” They continued to just look at him but said nothing. Finally he said, “is it easy to get sex in your country?' This they understood and replied, in unison, “oh, no, no, no.” Phyl and I discussed this later. Of all the things he could have asked them, this was his pressing topic. It's no wonder so many countries try to curtail Western influence on their citizens.

Frolicking in the Surf

Although Rob had been in Bali for 3 ½ weeks, he had never been to the beach and was excited when we told him we'd take him to the beach. The weather had settled into a typical New Orleans pattern of morning sun and an afternoon thunderstorm, so it took a few days to get an afternoon that wasn't rainy.


We walked down the narrow alley and again had to flatten ourselves against the wall several times to let motorcycles pass.

G- This really should not be allowed. If it's a foot path, motorcycles should not be allowed to come this way. I'm afraid one of them is going to roll over my long toes.

P- Your toes? The last one that passed had a side mirror that stuck out so far it scraped across my boobs.

G- Oh, yeah, me too. HA! Really, you should have turned the mirror in. That is ridiculous.

Rob loved the beach! Really, what's not to love? We played in the waves until we were worn out. Rob was like a little kid. Then we sat on beach chairs, under an umbrella, while Rob talked of feeling the UV rays. We weren't feeling any UV rays penetrating those thick clouds, but we didn't grow up under the London clouds and fog. Hawkers came around trying to sell us crap that we declined, until a Bintang beer man offered us ice cold beers, pulled from his ice chest. Now that's something we'd like to buy!! We watched the surfers, swam again, and after a couple of hours, walked back to the hotel.

After dinner Rob tried to talk us into going to a bar to listen to loud, rave music. Um, thanks, but no thanks. We learned the next morning that he 'took a nap' because it was too early to go out, and never woke up. So much for Mr. Party Animal!

Hari Raya Galungan



JoAnn making her offering

 All of Bali was preparing for the Hari Raya Galungan (ga-loon-gan), the Balinese equivalent of Christmas. It is the most important feast for Balinese Hindus and celebrates the creator of the universe (Ida Sang Hyang Widi) and the spirits of honored ancestors. The festival symbolizes the victory of good (Dharma) over evil (Adharma). Tall bamboo poles, called “penjor” are erected, on the right, outside of each residence and business. The poles are decorated with coconut leaves, fruit, & flowers and have lantern looking things hanging from them. The lantern looking things are woven from coconut leaves. Also, the little alter that hangs just outside each residence and business is highly decorated with woven palm leaves, plaid fabric, flowers, & fruits as offerings for the spirits.

Preparations begin 3 days before the festival. Two days before the festival Balinese cakes called jaja are made; they are used as offerings and eaten on Galungan. The day before the festival, animals are slaughtered for the feast and as offerings. On Galungan day, everyone goes to temple in the morning, then gets together with family in the afternoon.

It was nice to learn about the festival preparations from JoAnn & Adiyanti, especially because we are missing Christmas this year. JoAnn lamented the amount of work it took to prepare for the festival. It reminded us of our complaints about how much you go through preparing for Christmas. Unfortunately for JoAnn, 10 days after Galungan is Kaningan, the day the spirits return to heaven, and this day is celebrated with the same feast as Galungan. Thankfully we don't have Christmas Day and then 10 days later, have to do it all over again.

The Legian Beach area was deserted on Galungan. It was so nice to walk around without traffic, hawkers or beckoning shopkeepers. The hotel was very quiet with most of the staff on vacation.

In the afternoon, we watched as the “big boss” of the hotel arrived to make an offering at the hotel alter. He had his wife and children (about 2 and 5) with him and they were dressed in their temple clothes.

It is such a departure from the west to see how comfortable Balinese men are in, effectively, skirts.

Both men and women wear a sarong- a Kamen.

Women's tops are called – Kebaya

Men's tops are called – Baju Koko

And men wear a little fabric 'hat' called – Udeng

We enjoyed experiencing this Balinese holiday and seeing a family dressed in their holiday/temple clothes. Two days later we were touched when JoAnne arrived with a bag of goodies for us. She brought us: oranges, apples, little bananas, some funny looking fruit that resembled sea urchins (rombutan), a cake (Apum), rice crackers, and some candies made of black rice (dar darl). Everything was quite tasty, and we were very appreciative that she shared her holiday treats us.

We chatted with JoAnn and cracked up as she lamented the fact that her son always wants to wear jeans and she's always complaining and trying to get him to wear cotton pants because the jeans are so difficult to wash, wring out by hand, and they take 2 days of full sun to dry. Kids are a pain in the ass in every culture!!

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.

Snorkeling in an Aquarium

Laurie & Bo had rented a car and invited us to go with them up the east coast of Bali to Amed. Michael had told us about a great snorkeling spot just south of Amed at Bunutan Beach. We got up early (6:00 am), big surprise, ate breakfast and handled bathroom issues before leaving in their Suzuki Sidekick.


G- We swore we'd never get into a Suzuki Sidekick again after that 3 hour drive from hell into the rainforest of Belize, but here we are.



Bo & Laurie


P- I know. After that ride my heart was where my liver was supposed to be and my kidneys were in my throat. Basically all of my organs felt like they had been put into a bingo ball dispenser and tossed around.

G- Yep. I'll never forget the “shaken adult syndrome” we got on that road.

Phyl & I sat in the small, questionably secured, backseat with Bo driving and Laurie riding shotgun. Laurie kept insisting that she'd get in the back and Phyl should get in the front, but after we had ridden back with them from dinner one night, Phyl never wanted to ride shotgun again. Driving, and riding, in Bali is terrifying. Almost all roads are 2 lanes, one in either direction, and as they drive, all cars play a game of leapfrog to get ahead. Added to the mix are the mopeds that are always zooming around. It is common to pass around turns or even if there is a truck coming at you head on. Balinese driving brings the game of chicken to a whole new level.

Also, the driver sits on the right side of the car, so Bo must shift with his left hand and remember to stay on the left side of the road. The combination of issues makes the rider feel she has been on Pontchartrain Beach's Wild Mouse. We were terrified and white knuckled for the first half of the 3 hour drive, but then we became desensitized and just rode as if we were on a Sunday drive. At least most of the roads were better than those in Lakeview.

Our drive took us past beautiful rice field terraced hills, into the mountains,and around the volcano. Upon arrival in Bunutan, we extricated ourselves from the tuna can, regained the feeling in our bodies, and located snorkeling gear to rent. When we returned from the rental shop, Laurie was beside the car surrounded by about 6 little girls trying to sell her trinkets and asking her for pens. We then searched the road for the Ayurveda Restaurant because Michael told us to snorkel direction behind it. As beautiful as the Legian beach is, the Bunutan beach is covered in fairly large lava rocks. We stumbled over the rocks and could barely put on our fins and masks before we reached the edge of the reef just 10' offshore.

What we saw took our breath away. Neither Phyl nor I have ever seen such an amazing reef!! Every color and shape of coral was just beneath us: fan coral, brain coral, staghorn, elkhorn, one that looked like tiny little rose buds, cabbages, and large flat ones. The colors were lime green, seafoam green, periwinkle blue, light blue, pink, yellow, purple, orange; basically every pretty color in the big 64 Crayola pack. The fish were plentiful and varied in color as much as the coral. They came in all sizes and shapes. We even saw parrot fish, a trumpet fish and angle fish. The fish were also in an amazing variety of colors, especially neons. Numerous times were were surround by schools of a certain variety. It was like swimming in a salt water aquarium and it was amazing!!!!!!! Even Bo & Laurie, experienced divers, were very impressed with this reef.

After the reef we drove north of Amed to swim over the Liberty Ship wreckage. Unfortunately, visibility was low and it was a place requiring diving, not snorkeling. We then ate lunch and got back into the wild mouse for the ride home.

G- You know, Bo, I'm not even afraid anymore.

Laurie – I still get scared when we're passing and moving head on at a truck.

P- Bo, I think you actually love driving here. It appeals to your wild driver side.

Bo – I do love it. Even though it looks like chaos, there is an order to it. The passers know that if they can't make it around in time, the car headed at them will slow down and give them time.

P- I can't say that I've seen an accident.

G- I see you've been trying to pass that damn green van for a while now, but he seems to be keeping you from doing so. (No sooner had I said this than the paved road dropped to a gravel road and Bo floored it when the green van had so slow down.) Ha! Take that, you bastard! (Bo was pleased with himself)

P- Oh God! I think Gina would love to drive here now that she's gotten over the fear.

G- I think it could be fun.

P- Not for me as your passenger.

G- You've let me drive all over Europe.

P- You were on the American side of the road and driver's seat was on the left. Also, they don't play leapfrog like they do here.

We finally returned to our Homestay sunburned, sweaty & exhausted. We took cold showers and went off for dinner.

G- (After we had climbed back into the tin can) Did you see the naked lady bathing in the stream/ditch?

P- Yes, I sure did. It's so bizarre to see such a thing.

Bo – Bathing for temple tomorrow.

G- Well, she was behind some high grass and it is beginning to get dark. I guess you gotta do what you gotta do.

P- If we didn't have that shower, I'd have gotten into the ditch before now. Of course, I would've kept my clothes on.

G- Don't throw stones, Gladys. You have been known to strip off your clothes at many a water's edge.

P- Shut up!

We ate a yummy dinner at Naughty Nuri's, a place where we could get a grilled hamburger, a rarity in Bali. However, keeping with the Balinese tradition of no air con, we sweated profusely throughout dinner. Upon our return to the Homestay we took yet another cool shower.

G- I have never showered so frequently, yet remained so stinky. I feel like I always smell of b.o.

P- I'm going to do laundry tomorrow.

G- Good. All of my shirts need to be soaked. They may never come clean. And even though we're washing our underwear every night when we take our showers, they could probably use a good soaking too. You gonna go stand in the ditch at the concrete slab for clothes washing?

P- Uh, no...I thought I'd just do it here in the sink with the soap we bought.

G- I don't know, seems like since we're in Bali you should wash like the Balinese.

P- OK, then maybe you should do the laundry.

We surrounded ourselves with our mosquito net and seeing as we'd been up since 6 am, we were asleep by 9:30pm.