I thought we'd said goodbye

On Wednesday 23^rd October we island hopped in Indonesia from Java to Bail on a local ferry.  This was significant.  Java is predominately Muslim with its mosque minarets calling to prayer, Bali is predominately a unique version of Hindu with stone temples & spirit offerings everywhere.  Bali is 1 hour ahead of Java.  Java is a malaria zone, Bali is not.  These are big differences considering the ferry ride was only 15 minutes!  Can mosquitoes fly in a straight line for 15 minutes?  However, in true Asian style the journey actually took about an hour as we were waiting 30 metres from the dock for a space.

Gavin Bernie Naomi Rosie on the ferry to Bali

Bali spirit offerings

 

We then had a 4 hour mini bus journey to our hotel next near a temple called Tanah Lot.

 

Thur 24^th Oct none of us were bothered to see the temple.  We all hired the mini bus driver to take us to Kuta (referred to by many as Australia’s Ibiza).  It seemed very nice to me.  The hawkers here were renting surf boards – but I’ve seen more waves at St Ives, Cornwall.  Naomi & I negotiated a sun bed price & I started on my tan.  Less than 2 months until I was to be back in the UK.  Less of the cultural stuff & more of the beach is my motto from now until home.  For some reason my skin is very fair & I usually just burn & peal.  Not this time.  With 6.5 months of living in the outdoors most of my skin was now used to seeing the elements.  With factor 30 I was not turning red, but nicely golden.

 

The sea was the warmest so far.  Lovely.

 

After the beach we headed to the shops.  Roxy, Rip Curl, Billabong & O’Neill all appeared to be their flagship stores.  Trouble is, they were all flagship prices!  If only we could have got to the outlet factories in Bandung.  (This request has gone onto my Intrepid feedback form).  It was all very glamorous.  I was back in the Western world.

 

Treating ourselves to the glamorous lifestyle far away from squat bogs, cockroaches & street food noodles, Sally suggested a beach bar called Potato Head in Seminyak.  Full of Westerners, western food, western prices & fab infinity pool we rented 2 big sun beds (not tables here sweetie).  It was good for an afternoon, but all too false for my liking.  I even managed to find a cockroach in the pool in the form of some bloke who I had noticed was chatting up EVERY lone female.  He tried it with me.  It was just like the movies.  He claimed to be a trader from Singapore.  I blatantly said trying to hide my grin “I bet you have lots of money”.  I remember he started to blurt on about money isn't everything.  I began to laugh.  Rosie joined in the conversation.  The so called chat up ended with the lead man asking “What have I done wrong”?  He moved onto someone else.

Infinity

Bernie Roberto Kaela Kreftie Naomi on our sun bed

Infinity at sunset

 

Fri 25^th October Naomi & I headed to the Tanah Lot temple as we thought we ought to go being the reason why Intrepid brought us here.  Being the responsible tourist that I think I am & given the advice of what to wear by Sally we wore our sarongs & sash’s.

 

I’m still not sure if we were conned into donating the equivalent of £1.  “Place some money in here.  You can then wash your feet, drink the holy water, have a yellow mark on forehead, flower in hair & I’ll open the barrier” mumbled the holy man.  Up the steps we walked to the temple, only to find a closed gate 20 steps later far from the top of the temple.  What’s this?  “Why can’t we go up”?  “Not open to tourists” said the holy man.  After confirming with the hotel receptionist & Sally, the temple is only open to Hindus.  However, I only gave holy man a donation because I wanted to see the temple & I’m sure he knew this.  Holy man = con artist!  I’ve obviously not learnt as much as I’d thought on this journey!

 

It annoyed me why seeing, let alone staying there was on the Intrepid itinerary.  Even from a distance it looked nothing special.  I’ve since learnt Intrepid are not staying in Tanah Lot from 2014.  Result!

 

Fri 25^th Oct was a 3h drive to Ubud.  This was a unique town.  It had the ambiance of a British village full of art & craft shops + cafes.

 

Our Intrepid trip finished on Sat 26^th October & I moved to a homestay just along the road from the hotel.  I was given a room with a balcony overlooking a rice paddy.  Very nice.  The family had the biggest cockerel I had ever seen.

My balcony

Ducks in the rice paddy from my balcony

Family pet or food or both?

 

In the afternoon I took a walk through the monkey forest with Bernie, Rosie & Richard.  Keeping my distance from the nasty but can’t-get-enough-of moneys, I literally bumped into Fi & Al!  I knew they were coming to Bali during their after Odyssey travels, but I was not sure when or where.  It was a great surprise after I thought we’d said goodbye on the 6^th October in KL.

 

On Sun 27^th Oct I did a Lonely Planet walking tour.  Not the best!

 

On Monday 28^th October Fi, Al & myself went to the east coast town of Tulamben to snorkel over the USS Liberty ship wreck.  I had read about it in the LP.  It is only 50 metres from the shore off a beach.  Where else in the world can you snorkel over a ship wreck?  I also thought I’d said goodbye to Julie & Andy on Oct 8^th.  Since then, they had decided to come to Bali diving.  We all met up & snorkelling we went.  It was warm, clear & fab.  A great day.  It also marked the furthest East I travelled on my career break.

Odyssey beer O'clock again

 

Fi & Al at the water temple on the way back to Ubud

On Tue 29^th Oct Fi, Al & I went on a cycling tour.  We got to see a good sample of the Bali countryside.

Civit cat poo coffee

Buffet breakfast looing at Mt Batur

Fi & Al looking after the bikes in a rice paddy

 

Wed 30^th Oct I was up at 1.45am to do a sunrise hike up Mt Batur with Fi & Al.  Like many tourist tours in Bali it was a western price.  However, like most tourist tours in Asia it was not of Western standard.  My patience was beginning to run out with guides you did not need but had to have etc.

 

The pick-up driver got a hotel location wrong & I was guiding him to the name of a hotel to pick up other passengers on his list in Ubud at 2.30am.  I don’t know if it was a limited choice of words due to the language barrier or the female/male culture difference, but he seemed to blame me for being late!

 

Like so often, mainly due to the accent/pronunciation I could not understand the English speaking guide!  (Sometimes I think I can’t moan as I know no other language-but I don’t claim to & certainly don’t charge for it).

 

To top it all off, the guide began blatantly asking for tips.  “You come from London.  London people very nice.  Last week someone from London said goodbye by shaking my hand & left me Rupiah in palm”.  Well, not me mate ‘cos this has cost me X quid & it’s not worth it & you have not done anything above/beyond what’s expected.  That’s what I wanted to say.  That’s what I’ve wanted to say so often during my journey in SE Asia.  I noticed tips in SE Asia were becoming more & more expected, especially in the very “tourist” areas.  If a tour had been great value for money or the guide had been excellent I’d tip.  Those experiences were becoming less & less.

Sun rise over Lombok

 

On Thursday 31^st October I thought I’d try another Lonely Planet walk as I like my self guided walking tours.  This was called Campuan Ridge.  The 1^st 20 minutes were fab, but I’d turn back after that if I was you.

 

On Friday 1^st November Andy & Julie picked me up in their hire car & we went on our own Bali tour.  About 10 hours after starting out, after driving through pouring rain & arriving back in the dark we discovered the main roads in Bali are like narrow country roads back home with slow moving vehicles you can’t overtake due to the twists & turns.  Signposts are rare & when in existence very small.  However, we had a laugh & managed to find the UNESCO rice terraces at Jati Luwih, drove through lovely scenery & soaked in Banjar hot springs.

So this is how pineapples grow

Julie & Andy in the rice terraces

I've been cleaned by holy water!

 

On Sat 2^nd Nov most shops & restaurants were shut because it was yet another ceremony.  I was looking for an open restaurant when I heard my name shouted.  I found Naomi, Kaela, Krefti & Bernie sat at a table from the Intrepid trip. They had just arrived back in Ubud after a week around Bali doing a combination Intrepid trip.  After I thought we’d said  goodbye a week earlier it was great to see them again.  We swapped our stories of travels in Bali.

 

My homestay family drove me to my next hotel I had booked in the beach town of Sanur.  I’m so thankful I arrived because it was the most scary driving I have suffered on this journey.  Granddad was driving.  (That should say it all – but with the added factor of being Indonesia).  As we reversed out the garage into moving traffic the spirit offering fell off the dash board due to the braking.  I thought I’m doomed.  I seriously hopped the make of people carrier had undergone crash test dummy exercises & passed well.  I could not understand the language but I think Grandma kept advising & holding granddads arm suggesting him to slow down, not tailgate, red means stop, there’s not enough space between the moped-us-the oncoming lorry to pass, don’t overtake here on a blind bend & get into your lane as there’s traffic coming towards us NOW!

 

My hotel in Sanur was lovely with an excellent pool.  The water was the warmest so far.  Sanur beach was OK, but there is better in paradise.  Not crystal clear water-a bit murky.  No waves due an off shore reef.  At low tide the sea went too far out.  It was shallow & left a muddy slick.  At high tide there was too much sea grass & rubbish floating about to enjoy the water.  The top end resorts employed people to rake it away.  Too many boats on the beach you had to swim around.  Too many man made break waters spoiling the beauty.  The town was full of Western OAP’s.

 

Anyway, my tan was coming along nicely & I caught up with my blog posts.  (It was painful doing those because the hotel internet was about the slowest of my journey.  I timed it – 1 hour to upload 40 pictures.  I hope you like them).