Bali- cycling the islands

we were told that there are 2 ways to explore lembongan: scooter or bike. the books say that it's only a 4 hour round-trip ride by bike, so we decided that's how we'd tour lembongan and ceningan. we rented two mountain bikes for all of 8 AUD and set off on our ride.

the first thing to note is that we had no map. and even the few maps we did see, well, they were quite poor and don't actually show the little off-shoots on roads. signage isn't as bad as WA but it's not much better. so we did a few "turn arounds" whilst out on the roads. the second thing, sadly, is that we forgot the camera and so we have no pictures from the very scenic ride we did.

we headed around the island in the direction that is suggested in all guide books (clockwise) so as to avoid a serious hill within the first few kms. but don't worry, there were many a serious hill for us to do instead. we cycled lazily around lembongan, enjoying the bit of shade that the trees were providing. we pulled in an out of a few dirt roads, thinking that they led to beaches but in fact, they led right into someone's property. oops!

the first half of lembongan is rather uneventful, but beautiful. we (luckily) took a left turn at one point and discovered the "bridge" to ceningan. the bridge is little more then a wooden suspension bridge. it rattles as you cycle over it- to the point that it feels like each piece of wood is falling behind you after you touch it. i felt (relatively) safe though, as there were scooters whipping across it. you do have to wait your turn though, as it's not very wide (or secure...)

ceningan was much like lembongan but has nothing on it other then a few shack-shops for water and essentials for the locals. there's not even a warung on the island, which is a local eatery. the ride around, or should i say up, ceningan was pretty hard. though the island isn't actually that high, the hills/roads are killer steep and just seem to go up and up and up. i actually had to get off my bike a few times to push it up the hill! the view from the top (once we got there) was incredible: turquoise water and green islands. the ride down was equally, if not more, treacherous, as our brakes were sketchy at best. john had the joy of riding a bike with brakes that sounded like he was killing an elephant every time he pressed on them. and he pressed on them a lot as we wound our way down the hills. i had to stop riding a few times to keep myself further back, away from the noise (and to have a good laugh, cause i think we were scaring the villagers).

after crossing the bridge again, we decided to find a little beach to eat some fresh watermelon (yes, we'd been carrying it). we found a tiny little alcove with white sand, clear water and lots of little boats rocking in the wind. a great stop!

we then rode over to dream beach, which we'd been advised to check out. we navigated the sealed roads (with potholes big enough to take out a scooter) carefully but were rewarded with spectacular views as we pulled into dream beach. we had planned on swimming, but after taking a look at the massive waves and the rip only a few meters out, we decided that it was in our best interest to just wade and get our feet wet. instead we had a snack at the hotel overlooking the rugged bay and rested a little. we then plowed along tiny dirt paths along "devils snare" to more rugged coastline. the type of coast you don't get close too on the off chance that a wave crashes and takes you along for the ride!

our next stop was mushroom bay, which we'd been assured was far more of a proper swimming beach then jungubatu. alas, 'twas not. mushroom bay is the more upscale area on lembongan, with the big, swanky hotels crowded along a rather small beach space. many of the tourist boats drop people off for the day, the ferries all pulled into the bay and there were dozens of boats tied to the beach. we did manage to have a swim, but it was made less enjoyable by the sound of boat engines and that mild oily feeling you get in a harbour... needless to say, we didn't swim for too long!

we then chugged our way home. and i mean chugged. the ride from mushroom bay to jungubatu is very hilly with many unmarked/poorly marked roads. having no idea which one led us back to our hotel, we did a few too many in and out's on some killer hills. thankfully we'd run into our new friends (who'd been scooting around the island) so they were able to ride (a bit) faster then us and decide if we'd be able to continue. but a 50cc scooter carrying 2 people doesn't go up a hill much faster then a cyclist (in fact, sometimes one of them walked up). it didn't take too long for us to find the right path though and soon enough, we were back at the shop dropping off our bikes.

in my foresight, i'd arranged with our hotel to get a massage that night. on the beach. for all of 8 dollars. *sigh* it wasn't the best massage i've ever had, but it certainly wasn't the worst! can you really complain if you're paying less then 10$? i think not. nicely rested, we had drinks with our new friends that night, which was truly a great way to end our day, and our trip.

will we head back to bali? probably not. but are we glad we went? absolutely!
xo

Bali- "are you for scuba?"

let's just say, as a general rule that no, i am not for scuba.

first, i don't love the ocean (gasp!). don't get me wrong, i don't hate it. it's just that, well, we've only recently become friends. and i'm really a fair-weather friend. as in, if the weather is fair, i'll go in. but i still don't like it if i can't see the bottom or touch. and if i can't do either, i'm done for. panic mode sets in, lungs start to seize up and i freak out a little bit. pathetic, i know. i'm working on it.

second, the idea of sucking myself into a wet suit which makes me look like a seal (a delicious seal!), with fins the cry out "look at me, i'm a fish" and a big tank of air that's probably the shark equivalent of heroin, well that seems downright stupid. and terrifying. terrifyingly stupid.

third, snorkeling generally appeases my sense of ocean adventure in that i can see the fish, but i'm floating leisurely on top of the water, boat in sight.

so, it was just as much a surprise to me when i decided that in fact, i would discover diving! yes, i said it. i discovered diving. john was shocked as well when i said "you know, i think i might do the discover diving course" over dinner one night. he may have choked, i don't remember. i think i may have been delirious at the time. but before i could say "uhm, actually i'm kidding", i was signed up for the discover diving course. john, well onto becoming a seasoned diver himself, was pretty excited at the idea. i still wasn't sure.

if things had started out any worse, i probably would've said forget it: my alarm didn't go off, i woke up all of 2 mins before i had to meet my instructor and my group, i'd not eaten a thing and my ear was seriously blocked and sore from snorkeling the day before, which concerned me because of the whole ears/pressure thing when you dive.

my instructor was a really nice guy from north dakota, of all places. he'd been teaching scuba for well over 3 years and had a ridiculous number of dives under his belt (pardon the pun). there were 2 others on the course with me, but they were doing the full open water course and i was just a tag along on day one. the course started in a classroom, filling out paperwork ("uhm, i was/am asthmatic. does this pose a problem?" "well, how do you feel with your lungs?" "ok. no puffer for years" "ahhh, you should be fine. just initial this for me") and then watching the most amazing video (why isn't there a sarcasm font?) showing us the techniques we'd have to master in the pool before heading out...to the ocean!

the first hour or so of the course was in the pool, all kitted up in my wetsuit, fins, mask, tank, BCD (buoyancy control device, for those not in the know) and most importantly, the regulator (ie, breathing device). we practiced breathing underwater, removing our mouthpiece, clearing it, clearing our mask, staying buoyant, equalizing (popping our ears) and finally swimming around with all of our gear. i impressed myself with my ability to perform all the tasks at hand, but this was still in the pool. the ocean was still looming.

after a quick break, we packed up our gear and headed to the house reef, which john and i had snorkeled around the prior evening. as we prepared to flip off the boat, i thought "i must be nuts". too late. far too late.

and then it happened. i was underwater, in full diving gear, making my way down to the ocean floor. we started about 4m down and worked our way to 9.4m over the course of the 50 minute dive. we swam around reefs and saw many a new fish and sea life. it was relatively enjoyable until i realized how bloody cold i'd become. i was just about to signal that i needed to get out of the water when my tank decided to help my cause... it was getting empty and i could no longer keep buoyant in the water and slowly drifted to the surface. oops!

but no matter, i'd done it! i conquered the ocean. well, ok. a big statement but you know, it's a big deal for me. i did something i never (ever) thought i'd do and i had fun doing it. will i continue to pursue a life of diving? probably not. might i do the open water course? maybe, just so i can have the option to dive again if i ever wanted it. will you catch me doing a night dive or a cave dive? i highly doubt it. but then again, i never thought i'd get this far.

xo

Bali- Nusa Lembongan

the next stop on our trip was Nusa Lembongan, a small island about 30 mins (fast boat) off the coast of bali, across the badung straight. we departed from the small beach area of sanur, which is a bit more "typical tourist" bali, with a lot of western-style hotels, beach shops and more expensive restaurants. we were glad we'd decided to head to the islands!

we paid for our fast-boat tickets and had an hour to kill, but as we had our bags with us, we essentially sat in the shade and waited. we befriended a french couple traveling with their 5 year old son. interesting fact: we met more french travelers then any others. dozens. droves! it was easier for me to introduce myself in french and assume they were french then to speak english. it was odd. we asked them if bali had been well-promoted in france or something. none of them knew. and they were just as surprised to see the quantity of french tourists!

when it was time to get on the boat, we sauntered down the beach with our bags and started counting the other people waiting. turns out, it was going to be a full boat with 18 passengers and bags. i'd like to point out that this boat was approximately the same size as the speedboat my grandparents had when i was a kid, which we used on the safe, flat river and only ever took 8 people. ok, well maybe not that small but it wasn't big. at all. and this boat was going to carry 18 people, all of their bags, and 2 workers across the open ocean. not just open, but rough, large waves and strong currents. yikes! we waded through the water and climbed aboard. amazingly enough, we all "fit", though my left butt cheek was so cramped by the end of the ride i could barely stand it! john had a friendly passenger fall asleep on his shoulder, which amused me to no end! (and still makes me giggle a bit)

after our short ride across the ocean, we pulled in to jungubatu beach. we waded to shore, grabbed our bags and headed to our hotel, which was also one of the diving centres. luckily we'd booked ahead, as almost all the people we met told us how difficult it had been to find a place. peak season in bali runs from july-october, mostly due to europeans taking summer holidays.

lembongan is one of 3 islands- nusa penida is the bigger of the 3, and nusa ceningan is the smallest, so lembongan is technically the goldilocks of the islands. with an estimated 5000 people on the 8km squared island, there's a bit more of a sense of isolation then on bali. there are no cars and minimal shops, most of which are little beach shack types. the primary attraction to lembongan (other then the fabulous isolation) is the coral reefs for snorkelling and diving, and the 'killer' surf breaks.

the islands economy revolves around, of all things, seaweed farming. the lucrative substances are agar- a vegetable gel used in cooking, and carrageenan- used in cosmetics and foodstuffs. according to my rough guide, seaweed is quite fussy stuff to farm, requiring a flow of water but no strong current, and must remained covered even at low tide. there are a variety of seaweed types that are grown, but the most valuable is the green cotoni variety, which is worth at least twice as much as other varieties. once it is harvested, the seaweed is then dried, which provides a strong, difficult to describe, interesting smell (i use that in the mom sense). the seaweed beds are hardly noticeable during the day, but when the sun starts to set and the tide goes out, it's quite the sight.

and we couldn't have had a better view of the sunset and low-tides then from the restaurant at our hotel. which happens to be the best and cheapest (my two favourite things!) on the island, according to most travel guides. nothing like some good food, a bintang (for john. local beer) and the sunset to help you fall into utter relaxation.

the hotel itself was great. we had a nice little garden view room, which was in a newly built compound behind the hotel. we had to walk behind the hotel, through the local shacks, coconut trees and drying seaweed to get to our area. and once you walked in, it was hard to tell where you were...until you smelled the drying seaweed and constant smoke from the burning of offerings to gods, garbage and other such things that can be burned. it takes a bit of getting used to. in fact, it takes a lot of getting used to.

essentially, the time we spent on lembongan can be summed up as follows: eat, relax by pool, drink fresh coconuts, read books, snorkel/dive, eat, sleep. repeat. ok, so we may have done a bit more, but that's the jist of it really. our few adventures on the island are still to come...

xo

Bali- bike tour

we scheduled a bike tour for our last day in the ubud area. i'd been told by clients that it's a great way to see "the real bali" for a reasonable price. we got picked up at our hotel at 8am. it felt far to early, mostly because we needed to set an alarm (in reality, we'd been waking around 7:30 anyhow...) we were the first ones in the van and we sat back to enjoy the ride while we drove around ubud area to pick up the rest of the party.

and what a party it was! the rest of the group on our tour were australian, all somehow related and most definitely bogan (please refer back to "lessons in australianese"). a flurry of styled "footy" hair, designer sunnies and white wife beaters jumped into the van, speaking loudly over the two of us. it took a good hour to pick everyone up, but it took us most of the day to work out the family relations in the van.

first on the itinerary: traditional indonesian breakfast at a restaurant overlooking gunung batur (active volcanoe) and lake batur. the view from the restaurant was spectacular. the volcano is a popular day hike (which we'd hoped to do), usually requiring a 12-3AM departure so as to reach the top by sunrise- before it gets too cloudy to see and too hot to function (hence why we didn't end up doing the hike...). breakfast was great. traditional indonesian breakfasts typically comprise of fresh fruit and fruit juice, nasi goreng or mie goreng (yes, for breakfast), eggs, some sort of chicken type dish, and fried bananas (which are sooooo good!). i opted to make my breakfast slightly more "american" and forgo the chicken and gorengs.

from there, we drove to a coffee plantation. our guide, wayan, was full of useful information about coffee growing, fruit trees and cacao. i particularly like the snake fruit tree, which has such sharp spikes you can't touch the tree. the fruit itself is unique, and you can't eat too much because it dries your mouth. tasty.

we were shown the process of picking, preparing, cleaning and roasting the beans to make balinese coffee. interstingly, there is a special coffee called "kopi luwak", which is coffee essentially shat out by a mongoose. seriously. i'd heard of this coffee before (some in-flight magazine); it's expensive and apparently delicious. the mongoose's intestinal tract cleans the beans like no human can. i've posted pics from the mongoose "cleaned" coffee on the left, and human cleaned (that's by human hands, not intestines!) on the right. note how white the beans are on the left. none of our tour group chose to try the luwak coffee so i can't report on it's flavour. we did all try other beverages on offer, as well as the pure tobacco they had on the table. well, john and i opted not to smoke a hand-rolled cigarette, what with neither of us being smokers. but the aussie's on our tour thought it was a good idea and got their smoke on. it was all very novel to them, even though it was just a plain cigarette... odd. very odd.

finally, we were getting on the bikes! wayan told us it would be approximately 2 hours of downhill bike riding. the bikes were reasonably comfortable, but a bit small even for me. we rode (i use this loosely) through the backroads of bali, stopping periodically for wayan to talk about an area, educate us on balinese culture, or to allow the rest of the group to catch their breath. i'll point out that few of them lit up whilst riding the bikes as well- right after complaining about how hard the ride was. so healthy. so, so healthy.

we saw stunning vistas of lush green rice paddies, papaya and coconut trees galore, rice being dried by the side of the road and intricately built temples all over the villages. we learned about culture, gods, caste systems, rice farming, village chiefs and typical marriage celebrations. we discussed death and the cremation ceremonies (which many balinese save for their entire lives. it's incredibly expensive to cremate but absolutely necessary in the hindu faith). we also saw the poverty of the area, the garbage on the side of the roads, the dirty rivers and the people toiling away in the heat. but even with some of the dire circumstances we saw, the people were always friendly, smiling and welcoming. it's a really nice thing to see and makes us westerners realize how much we complain considering what we have.

our tour finished at the bike tour operator's house. we were ushered in to their compound for a balinese feast. though we'd all said "we're not really that hungry", i can assure you that we all went back for seconds and some for thirds. the owner delighted us with stories of how the balinese live in the family compounds whilst we stuffed our faces with amazing indonesian food- the best meal we had in bali.

we were then rolled back into the van and taken back to the hotel, full enough not to need dinner but early enough to enjoy the pool one last time.
xo

Bali- island exploration

we waited until the 3rd day of our trip to head to the australian embassy in denpasar, at the suggestion of the australian government. they told us that we'd need 3 days from entry and then 5 days to process the visas. it was going to be just enough time for us to get it all done before flying back to australia, assuming all went well. we killed two birds with one stone and decided to hire a driver for the day, as we'd been told it's both reasonably priced and the best way to see the island in a short time. he could take us to the embassy and then escort us around with what little time of the day we'd have left.

we arrived at the embassy, passports in hand, finger crossed. we had to go through a few security measures, signing in, getting visitor passes, relinquishing cameras/phones, etc. we were then ushered into the embassy grounds. in what might be the greatest feat of government efficiency i have ever seen in my life (ever!), the process of "approving" our visas and printing/pasting them into our passports took all of 5 minutes. i was astounded! i looked at the woman and said "is that it?" she laughed and said "yup". back through security we went, realizing we'd spent more time in security then in the visa processing. amazing! 8 months, and a serious amount of money later, we officially became australian residents! we had way more time then we'd expected with our driver, as that entire process took less then 30 minutes. so off we went to explore bali!

our first stop was Tanah Lot, home of the temple "Pura Tanah Lot". the temple is one of the most highly photographed areas in bali and is a very popular tourist destination. the temple sits on a rock formation in the sea, which can be accessed by foot at low tide only. it's said that the temple was established by a priest in the 15th century, after praying so hard that the rock formation separated from the mainland. the sea snakes in the area are said to be protecting the temple from evil spirits. we strolled the grounds of Tanah Lot for a while, following the path along the coast and exploring a few other random shrines. we had lunch at the end of the trail, overlooking the crashing sea below.

we then stopped into yet another monkey forest. i won't go into much detail because well, it's much the same as before.
our next destination was the botanic gardens in candi kuning. they cover approximately 154 hectares and are home to over 1700 plant species. it took us about an hour to drive there, but the scenery was amazing, providing us with views of lush, green mountainside and rice paddies. the gardens themselves were quite nice, and we enjoyed our time walking around in the cooler mountain region.

from there we moved on to bedugul, 1400m above sea level, to view the Ulun Danun Batur temple, situated on lake bratan. the town of bedugul is a mountain-resort town, which caters to the weekend-retreaters and water-sport enthusiasts, as there are 3 major lakes in the area. it's also well-known for it's fruit production. the temple itself seems to rise out of the lake, especially in the late afternoon or on overcast days, when the mist sits lower on the lake.

our last stop for the day was back in ubud. we were interested in catching the traditional dance show at the king's temple before heading back to the hotel. the show was interesting but i won't say that i loved it. the music is mostly chimes, bells and gongs played with what i'm sure is a specific order but sounds like a garbled explosion of noise to me. the dancing itself was unique, but we decided it was more of a pantomime then dancing. the ladies moved their arms and hands more then anything, and their facial expressions ruled the show. their eyes were huge and the eye movements were crucial in the ladies dances. the dances have varying stories, from kings to jokers to nymphs to mythical creatures. the show was an hour and a half long, which was too much for me in the end. but the costumes were stunning and the crowd seemed to respond well to the performers.

after a full day, we were knackered. so it was time to head back to the hotel- we had another big day ahead of us.
xo

Bali- arrival and ubud

we arrived at the airport in denpasar at approximately 11:45pm, 30 minutes after the flight was scheduled to land. it had been a long day for us as we'd been on course all weekend. oh well, we thought, at least there's a driver waiting for us on the other side... fools! fools! it took us about 2 hours to get to "the other side".

the indonesian airport was shoddy at best. we scrambled off the plane (from the first row!) only to discover a large group of lines snaking around the terminal. we got into one to buy our "visas on arrival", which for some reason make more sense then getting a visa in australia (which you can't actually get). after paying 50$ US for the visas, we jumped into another line. a painfully long line. we moved to the front of the queue at a snail's pace of 5mph (that's meters, not miles!). i tried not to be "that westerner" but i couldn't help thinking that such a disgrace at immigration wouldn't happen in canada... right?

when we finally crossed over, we went out to find the driver the hotel sent for us. and there he was, with a little hand drawn sign with my name on it...2 hours later! we hoped into the mini van and desperately clung to the seats as he drove - read: careened- through the streets. i figured it was best to close my eyes and ignore it all. about 20 mins later, we were ushered into our hotel room and drifted off to sleep.

day one in bali was spent as follows: wake up, eat breakfast, put on bathers and sunblock, grab book, sit by pool..... eat dinner, go to bed. that's about it. actually, we did go out for a walk late in the day and discovered that in fact, our hotel was in the middle of nowhere. we took a leisurely stroll through the rice paddies and in the streets of the slummy-village. we sort of felt like movie stars with all the locals and the kids shouting out at us, giggling and practicing their english. it was pretty sad to see the amount of garbage by the roadside and to note the state of the water in the "rivers" they were bathing in. felt a bit wrong knowing that we were staying in luxury only meters away!

day 2 was spent slightlly differently: we ventured into ubud. now, ubud is revered by most perthites as being "a really artsy, relaxing village with good shopping. but a much better vibe then the built-up areas, like kuta and it's soooo cheap". i have one thing to say to perthites: travel more! whilst (sorry chris) ubud is an interesting city, it is by no means a chill, little relaxing village. the main street is insanely busy, with barely enough room for one car, let alone multiple cars, scooters and pedestrians. it's hot, dusty and filled with people asking if you "need transport" or if we'd like a massage at the spa they're standing in front of. it's also full of shops- but not interesting, unique shops. nope. filled with shops like dolce and gabanna, ralph lauren, and the lesser known australian brands that i *ugh* deal with all the time. needless to say, we were mostly disappointed with ubud.

thankfully, we found a few great little restaurants which served the most amazing food (yes, even for us vegos!). we also stumbled upon an art gallery wherein the artist took photographs of water and printed them on canvases. they sound lame as i'm describing them here, but i can assure you that they are incredibly amazing. in fact, we purchased from the gallery.

we also strolled into the monkey forest. aptly named because there are approximately 340 grey, long-tailed macaques. you can buy bananas at the entrance but we chose not to because well, i didn't really want a monkey crawling on me. the monkeys are pretty funny though- eating bananas, grooming, stealing snacks and water from tourists hands and bags. john had a monkey "attack" him for the 1.5L water bottle he was carrying. one of the forest caretakers told us that monkeys love water bottles. i have a video of a monkey opening a water bottle (sealed with plastic on the lid) and taking a drink. too funny!

in the end, we just strolled around ubud until we were hungry enough to eat dinner. we found a great little organic/vegan restaurant which took forever to serve us but was well worth it in the end. after which, we sauntered over to the king's temple and waited for the mini-van to escort us back to the hotel. we did, after all, have a big day ahead of us at the australian embassy!

xo