Well, though there was some speculation on whether or not I would pass immigration at the airport here I am happy to report not only was there no problem getting an Indonesian visa, but I got it at a discount! Welcome to Bali, where everything can be bargained. I have no idea why the border dude gave me $5 off (maybe it had to do with my shocking good looks...) but I was not about to start asking questions.Bali is an Indonesian island known for its good surf, nice beaches, and cheap goods. I would like to add a few things to that: too many hawkers who do not give you a second of peace, strange business practices where people actually get mad and belligerent when you do not buy from them, and beautiful country side. I took a driver with a few other people yesterday and he got pretty mad at us for not wanting to eat at the exorbitantly overpriced restaurant that he took us too - probably missing out on a pretty commission. But really... the place wanted min. $5 for lunch without drinks! Well $3 - beer included - is about my top mark.
My first stop in Bali was Kuta Beach, the place where the terrorists bombed the clubs back in 2002 and 2005. I am glad to report that despite the bad history, people are still bar hopping til the early morning hours there. I also treated myself to the nicest hotel i have stayed in yet during this trip! TV, air-co, pool with a swim up bar... ah, the luxuries of life.
After Kuta I headed up to a small town called Ubud. The hotel was not quite as nice as Kuta, but at $7 you can not really ask for much. In ubud I saw an official Bali style fire dance. Although it lasts about 1 1/2 hours, I am pretty proud of the fact that i stayed there for a full hour and did not fall asleep once! Yeah - that is attention span progress for me! There must be something in the air here..
Now I am hanging out on the black sand beaches of Lovina, in the north of the country. I plan on doing some major vegging out here, as well as some diving. From Lovina you can organize some dives to the best place in Bali - a national marine park in the west, and a shipwreck dive in the east!
Happy Hanukkah! (For those that are interested.. no - in this Muslim nation there are not many lights to be seen from the windows. Since I am wary to draw too much attention to myself I have decided to light a mosquito coil every night in place of candles. It is a 2 for 1 deal for me: it gives off some light, and it minimizes the ritual scratch dance every morning.
6 comments:
And now you are on the Isle of Bali! Any remnants of the Dutch Bossy Men overthere? In Holland those indonesian restaurants are quite popular. Good old nostalgic feelings I reckon.
And how about that diving, done yet? Bet it is great in those (warm?) waters. I hope you find a fellowman to light the Hannukah/mosquito coils with, sing the "red, white, purle and yellow, green, blue and pink" song and Grant's "don't forget the pepper" song.
Don't forget: for the ultimate fun..... some good oldtime kick-dancing!
Happy Hanukah To You. Lots of love, mom
whats shakin in bali? according to this report.. its the ocean floor:
http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/
asiapcf/12/07/bali.quake.ap/
index.html
Also according to that report, you can blame the eco hippies for upping to price of your hotel. Glad it was nice though. I wish I was on a black beach right now. its cold and rainy here. truly storming. I like it though, if you cant have sun, let it rain.
Enjoy the conference, if you decide to take it in (let me know if Holland and Florida REALLY are going under water. I want to invest in a boat), and dont forget to brush up on your earthquake drill procedures.
and can you please update the "Where am I Now" part of your blog? I like looking at all the lines. and a big HAPPY HANUKAH from me and dries. he is busy grating the potatoes right now for the latkes. Im sure they will be great. They always are..
A big thanks to Nicole, for keeping us updated on the latest geothermic activities of the week. I just saw a Reuters’ report that 82 cats possibly infected with the ring worm escaped from the “euthin-asian station,” so don’t pet the felines Mon. (I made that up, so that clever play on terms between euthanasia and asia can be credited to me).
Anywayssssssss, I like Ubud! The name of that town rings true to me. I also generally like the name Bali, it's easy to both spell and pronounce... way to go Far East/Oceanica (mom?). But on a negative, maybe it's ok to refer to a beach’s color over there, but I truthfully don’t see why it needs to be a color thing. Either way, just remember that when you get back over here, you can’t go around saying “Oh, the St. Pete beaches are sooooo nice because they are all white.” I don’t know how long you’ve been gone for, but racism doesn’t fly here.
By the way, shoot me when I start bragging about tv and ac accessibilities. I don’t know if you know, but I am doing a bit of traveling myself… to Disney! Gosh, I hope that electricity won’t be rationed too harshly or the democracy won’t get put on “temporary” hold… oh wait this is America, phew! I’ll just have the coveted opportunity of paying for a coffee at the cost of your hotel room (though the hold democracy concern is actually a valid).
Keep it real on East side (no joke). Love,
Bud Baros
According to a CNN report, Dad made a doo this morning...
Hi Mon,
Been having a little trouble with my computer. It went dead for a few days and now its back among the living again. Guess it was tired and needed a vacation. Wish we could bring Grandpa back that easily.
Glad you were able to light some sort of light for Chanukah. It's the thought that counts, they say. Chanukah was a bad time for me. The holiday really got me down. and I realized Grandpa is really gone forever!
Nicole if you read this drop me a line. I haven't heard from you since you left the good old USA.
I'll be seeing Bud on Sunday. Can't wait to see you too. Much love, Nanz
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