Indonesia: Bali

My Bali Mastercard Ad:

Queen bed and private bathroom which includes a large rock formation: $14

Dinner, including main course, two side dishes, two beers, and coffee: $6

A woman who only has two teeth telling you that you need a pedicure: Priceless...

I arrive in Bali slightly nervous about not having already obtained a visa, and prepared for long lines, forms, etc. Turns out, all you need is $25 USD (or $10 if you are staying within 7 days). I jump in a taxi and as my Balinese driver teaches me some Indonesian (Telemakasee is "thank you" and Sama Sama is "your welcome"), we weave around motorbikes and other miniature cars (seems like everywhere else in the world the cars are of Mr.Bean size and we are driving tanks in the U.S.).

Kuta is the main tourist destination in Bali and I spent my first few nights staying slightly down the beach in the more local / expats center of Seminyak. I drop my bags off at The Blue Ocean - a hostel just off the beach. My room is huge and includes an old rusty fridge that appears to be broken, a hodge-podge of rusty dishes and silverwear, and what appears to be blood splatters on the wall. I feel as though I am Leonardo Dicaprio in "The Beach". I walk into the bathroom and see that it is "outdoors" (meaning no roof) and there is a rock formation forming half of the room. Meanwhile, the local guy who lead me to the room, has returned with a piece of paper on which I need to write my name and passport number. He hands me a towel and some toilet paper and says, "great, you pay later". Check-in is such a breeze in Indonesia.

The beach running from Kuta through to Seminyak is crowded with locals and tourists playing drums, dancing, and playing soccer and paddle ball in the sand, while older Balinese men fish in the ocean and the younger Balinese surf.
My first night, I sit down to dinner and a local sitting across from me, named Nadi, tells me that in Kuta you eat dinner around 10pm, take a nap, and then head to the bars and clubs around 2am to 6am. He gives me maps and a vile of what he says is "ancient Chinese medicine to combat 'Bali Belly'." Bali Belly is what most people contract who both live and visit Bali for longer than a week (or sometimes shorter) based on the conditions for cooking, preparation of the meals, etc. I thanked him and said a silent prayer that I both never contract Bali Belly and never have to consume the red pellets inside the tube he has just given me.

The next few days were spent lounging on the beach and wandering the streets of Kuta. I met a girl from New Zealand, Johanna, who was on her 3rd trip to Bali and working with manufactuers on her two fashion lines. Marcus (my friend from Australia) arrived that day and the three of us spent the next few nights in Kuta having dinners in outdoor restaurants and drinks on a rooftop bar called "Sky Garden". A few yards away is the empty lot where the club that was bombed several years ago used to be located. A few yards from that is a large memorial including a plaque with the names of everyone who was killed in the bombings (around 200). It seems impossible to think anyone could have done such a thing here. The people are all so kind and always smiling. They say that all Balinese never want to live anywhere else and view Bali as a paradise. Every local person I speak with tells me that Bali is better than anywhere on Earth and no matter where I go, Bali will be the best. It is also said that when the Balinese are reincarnated, as their Hindu religion believes, they will want to return to Bali.

The streets are full of dogs, but the dogs seem to be well fed and groomed. A taxi driver tells me that the Balinese believe when you are reincarnated you come back as a dog, so everyone must treat them well.

The family seems to be of great importance in Bali as well. There are children everywhere playing with their parents on the beach and surfing.

After some time in Kuta, Marcus and I decide to get a ride further north to the town of Ubud. Two Dutch girls I meet on the ride tell me that in six months of travel, I am the third American they have met and they ask why more Americans don't travel (I have been asked this in nearly every country I have visited). I tell them I'm not sure but hope that soon changes.

Ubud is known as the "cultural center" of Bali. The place we stay has pathways winding through the jungle and we must take a stone bridge across a stream, followed by many stairs up to the rooms. The entire place is gorgeous and costs $12 a night...

The streets, as in Kuta and the rest of Bali, are full of offerings (the Balinese create a new offering everyday and place it in front of their home / business).

Our first day in Ubud, we head to the market where I buy a sarong (you aren't given "beach towels" here...) which the woman blesses before giving it to me, and says I will now have "good luck." The next day we walk through "Monkey Forest" where monkeys run free all around you. Marcus sits down and a monkey tries to steal his water bottle.

We then wander through rice paddies and see a procession of Balinese women carrying fruit and other platters on their heads. The women in Bali carry everything on their heads - it seems incredible that they are able to balance it all.

The next day we wake up at 2:30 am and are picked up by a driver who takes us to the base of the volcano, Batur. We meet our guide and he gives us flashlights (as we will be hiking up the volcano in the dark, so that we reach the top before sunrise) and wraps white scarves around our waists, as the volcano is considered a holy place. A local who is going to sell bottles of Coke at the top, tags along with the three of us and we make our way in the dark up the side of the volcano. As we stumble/struggle up the side in our hiking shoes, our guide wears flip flops and a local woman passes us, barefoot and carrying a sack of rice on her head... It was so incredible to be climbing up an active volcano in the dark, with the only light coming from our 3 flashlights and the stars above.

We make it to the top before sunrise and our guide cooks us eggs and banana sandwiches with the steam from the volcano. As the sun comes up from the horizon where the sky meets the ocean, we can see a lake below us, at the center of the crater, and other volcanoes in the distance.

After sunrise, we hike to the summit, stopping to feel the steam coming out from crevaces in the volcano (that is steam rising in the photos below).

By the time we make it back down the volcano and back to our hotel, I have to sleep for about seven hours before going to see a Balinese dance troop perform that night. At the end of the performance, a Balinese man who looks about 85, comes out carrying a wooden horse and walks through a huge bonfire and then repeatedly across the hot coals. I think I was holding my mouth and closing my eyes for half of the time he was on the coals... unbelievable.

Leaving Ubud, we take a bus to the port town of Padangbai, in order to catch a ferry to the neighboring Indonesian country of Lombok, where we will spend the next week. Below is a map of Bali, for anyone who is not familiar:

More to come from Lombok, Indonesia!

Road Rules: Sydney to Brisbane

I didn't realize Mercedes makes camper vans... apparently they do as that is what we've been driving, sleeping, eating in for the past 8 days / 1,022 kilometers / 639 miles, up the coast of Australia from Sydney to Brisbane.

Our first stop was Hunter Valley, the Australian wine country, where we sampled sparkling red wine (a first for Erin and I) followed by dinner with an Aussie family who Brad coaches in tennis (Brad and Marcus are our travel companions and thankfully do all of the driving as well).

Next stop, South West Rocks, a quaint beach town housing a famous old jail that sits on a cliff overlooking the ocean. After wandering around the jail grounds, we loaded ourselves back into the camper to make the drive to Byron Bay - one of the best beach towns I've ever been. Backpackers, surfers, and Indigenous people sit in coffee shops and cafes, in between spending time on the gorgeous coastline. A ship that has sunk just off the coast, provides one of the most famous surf spots in Australia, to which we had a view from where we were camped.
The next five days were spent in Byron, beginning with the famous "Blues and Roots Festival" (a week long concert featuring everyone from John Mayer and Wolfmother to The Roots and Paul Kelly (the Australian Bob Dylan). It rained both days we attended, which lead to mud everywhere (I don't know if my shoes will ever recover) and Marcus and Brad decided to try out some mud sliding.

My favorites at the concert included Missy Higgins (Aussie), John Butler Trio (Aussie), Katchafire (Kiwi), and Ben Harper who closed out the show and brought Jack Johnson out for a guest appearance, while everyone danced/sang along in the rain.

The last two days in Byron began with a breakfast of Lowens (oat cereal with dried fruit), followed by "boot camp" on the beach (the boys do this in Sydney and decided Erin and I should join in) which consists of a run through the soft sand on the beach, a swim in the ocean, and then sit-ups, push-ups, etc. The rest of the day was spent with some beach time, a walk along the coast with some other friends of Marcus and Brad, named Paul (Aussie) and Adriana (Brazilian).

Our last day in Byron we decided to make a trip to the Hinterland (inland) and check out the town of Nimbin. Imagine Australia as a country that is slightly hippie-esque and this town as the capital. Nimbin makes the Haight look like Pacific Heights. The entire town is trying to reform the marijuana laws. Rainbows, dreadlocks, bare feet, it felt as though we were in a movie set. These pictures don't do the place justice.

For my last dinner in Bryon, the boys said we had to try some Kangaroo. This was slightly difficult after having seen more than a few on our drive and never having thought of kangaroo as a meal... but I'm all about trying new things on this trip so for anyone who would like to give it a go, it tastes somewhat like steak with more of a gamy aftertaste.

Leaving Byron, we stopped at a wildlife preserve and were able to see many animals I have never seen/heard of before. We also were able to see some crocodiles and koalas as close as I have ever been (and as close as I would be comfortable, to the croc).

Next on the route was lunch on the Gold Coast / Surfers Paradise, which reminds me of Waikiki (high rises just off the sand), before making our final stop on the camper van tour in Brisbane.

If Sydney were New York City, then Brisbane would be Boston. It feels slightly more slow paced and even more of a suburban feel with tree lined neighborhood streets surrounding the water, and parks scattered throughout.

I had to say goodbye to Erin, Marcus, and Brad, to venture on my own for a one night stop in Perth (on the western coast of Australia) before heading on to Bali. Perth is another great city, and like the others, very suburban/park like atmosphere even with the downtown area high rises.

To close out my tour of Australia, my taxi driver taught me some more key Aussie phrases/terms: sheila (girl), bloke (boy), "She'll be apples" (no worries), "laid flat out like a lizard drinkin'" (sitting around drinking... I'm serious, this is what he told me it means), "good on ya" (nice work).

Much love for Australia!