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I've figured out the motive behind my neighbor, Lynn's persistent nature in getting close to Paul and I. She told me her father's dying wish was that she become best friends with her neighbor since she has no living close relatives. So in order to do that I guess she felt the need to plan a shopping trip to buy an Indian outfit for me to wear to my friend's wedding this week, who is not Indian, complete with bangles to the elbows on both arms. So we were scheduled to do that upon our return from Bali. She also thought it was a wonderful idea to book a hotel room for us for a weekend somewhere four hours away, without us knowing, to surprise us so that we could celebrate our anniversary with them and the five kids the entire weekend. Too bad we booked a trip to Bali.
We started the morning off waking up at 6:05am, an hour past our alarm went off and 5 minutes after we were supposed to walk out the door. We scrambled to shower and take out the trash, zipped our bags up and booked it. Me with my carry on, and Paul lugging the one suitcase packed with both our things, people probably thought we were crazy almost running across the street dragging our luggage in the darkness of the pre-dawn morning. I believe Paul reached the full appreciation as I have for nice straight, clean sidewalks. The wheels of the suitcase didn't exactly role easily across the tile/dirt/cobblestone but we eventually made it to the subway. Conveniently, the subway took us all the way to KL Sentral where we could check our bags, check in for our flight, and take a 28 minute train ride to the airport. Paul is also beginning to realize that we really don't NEED a car.
We took a straight flight for 2 1/2 hours to the Bali airport, made it through customs, and planned to walk around the corner with our bag to find our taxi. Instead, a man who came out of nowhere, grabbed my bag at the same time I did and signaled me to follow. We did of course since he had our belongings for the weekend, as he walked our bag around the corner about 30 steps away. He quickly turned around and with no hesitation held out his hand to Paul and said "$10". Paul afterwards said he was impressed that I'm catching on and not giving my money to everyone who asks because I was very quick to say "no way!" So we settled on a $3 fee for the walk around the corner and walked outside of the airport to be greeted by a mob of taxi drivers. Paul managed to find the taxi driver waiting for us, and then had to manage to find me in the mob. We successfully got into the taxi that smelled like incense and began our drive to the hotel with the taxi driver narrating our drive there. We learned the food Bali is known for is baby gulling or suckling pig roasted whole on a stick over fire, and made plans to take a day long tour around the town Sunday and end it with a sunset dinner on the beach. Little did we know the what would have been most exciting part of the week would not be happening due to some unexpected circumstances.
In between our rides to and from the airport I took notice of the poverty of the people in Bali. The only places that weren't run down shacks that we saw were the shopping mall and hotels. Men were pushing food carts down the street barefoot, and women had opened up "restaurants" in the middle of vacant property. The Hindu religion and Asian culture had a tremendous impact on the architecture, and the smell of incense was everywhere.
We were told not to step on the offerings in the streets, but didn't realize that the offerings would be so prevalent. On every sidewalk and road there were little plates with flowers, food and incense. There were these statues below, scattered throughout the town on the side of the road to put the offerings on, and most were covered with umbrellas.
And, walking among all the people were wild dogs which were obviously used to the people, but looked like they had been fending for themselves.
We were told not to step on the offerings in the streets, but didn't realize that the offerings would be so prevalent. On every sidewalk and road there were little plates with flowers, food and incense. There were these statues below, scattered throughout the town on the side of the road to put the offerings on, and most were covered with umbrellas.
And, walking among all the people were wild dogs which were obviously used to the people, but looked like they had been fending for themselves.
The hotel was very nice, although it could have done without the one woman who thought it was okay to tan topless next to her topless 8 year old daughter who apparently was learning by example. The water at the beach turned out to be low tide every day after about 1:00, so instead of swimming we watched the Indonesian people wade fishing with their Chinese pointy hats about 300 yards out. After realizing the beach wasn't really for swimming we planned a boat trip out to a nearby island for the next day.
The next day we woke up ready to experience Bali as most people think Bali is. We were driven by taxi 45 minutes through moped traffic and realized in Bali, the cars drive on the line so that the mopeds can drive on either side.
Most drivers drive with one hand on the horn and one on the wheel and are not afraid to use the horn. They very casually drive, honking every 15 or so seconds. I think this is what prevents the road rage drivers. I might start using my horn more to let out some of that bottled up frustration when I drive. We made it to the catamaran sail boat and sailed out past all the morning fisherman who would wave as we passed. The water got more blue the further we went from the mainland. One of the reasons we chose this boat trip out of the five choices we were given was that the pamphlet claimed you could fish for the two hour boat ride to the other island. Of course the first thing Paul did when he got on the boat was ask one of the crew members about the fishing, and the chance of catching something.
The guy assured him that usually they catch one or two good size fish on the way over each day. Paul's excitement about this was quickly extinguished 20 minutes into the ride when he went to ask when the fishing started, and realized the boat did the fishing for him. The one rod on the boat was tied off, so it wasn't actually an interactive fishing experience. Paul decided it would be better to spend his time sleeping.
While he did that, I realized I was better off laying flat on my back in the center of the boat to lessen the affect the waves were having on my motion-sickness prone self. This was my view:
Most drivers drive with one hand on the horn and one on the wheel and are not afraid to use the horn. They very casually drive, honking every 15 or so seconds. I think this is what prevents the road rage drivers. I might start using my horn more to let out some of that bottled up frustration when I drive. We made it to the catamaran sail boat and sailed out past all the morning fisherman who would wave as we passed. The water got more blue the further we went from the mainland. One of the reasons we chose this boat trip out of the five choices we were given was that the pamphlet claimed you could fish for the two hour boat ride to the other island. Of course the first thing Paul did when he got on the boat was ask one of the crew members about the fishing, and the chance of catching something.
The guy assured him that usually they catch one or two good size fish on the way over each day. Paul's excitement about this was quickly extinguished 20 minutes into the ride when he went to ask when the fishing started, and realized the boat did the fishing for him. The one rod on the boat was tied off, so it wasn't actually an interactive fishing experience. Paul decided it would be better to spend his time sleeping.
While he did that, I realized I was better off laying flat on my back in the center of the boat to lessen the affect the waves were having on my motion-sickness prone self. This was my view:
When we finally arrived at the island we got massages by two Balinese women. Paul verified afterwards my masseuse was the only one with callous like sandpaper on her hands. I believe I got a complimentary body exfoliation with the massage. Afterwards we watched people snorkel in the very cold water, and Paul slept some more. He deserved every hour of sleep he got that weekend after the long week he had before. 
The water at this island was a little clearer, but still the picture of Hawaii sticks in my head and was constantly competing with these beaches. Hawaii still wins in my book. The day was very relaxing and enjoyable, and was a nice break from city life. That evening we got back on the boat with the same 5 people we road to the island with: 3 Germans and 2 Russians. And that was just as interesting as it sounds. The Germans spoke a language that sounded much harsher than Spanish, the only foreign language I'm accustomed to hearing, and the Russians held up their end of being just exactly as I would expect any Russians to be. The man was extremely tall and looked like he would win any fight with one punch. The girl looked snooty, even though I don't think she was or meant to be, and neither of them cracked a smile the whole day even during the two thousand four hundred eighty seven pictures they took of each other posing. In addition, the girl's hairy legs really added to the whole tough Russian character I so was hoping for. And to top it off, the one word I understood them say throughout the day was vodka. Needless to say, little communication went on between us and anyone on the boat, making for a nice relaxing ride to the island, but some other things got in the way of a nice relaxing ride on the way back.
The water at this island was a little clearer, but still the picture of Hawaii sticks in my head and was constantly competing with these beaches. Hawaii still wins in my book. The day was very relaxing and enjoyable, and was a nice break from city life. That evening we got back on the boat with the same 5 people we road to the island with: 3 Germans and 2 Russians. And that was just as interesting as it sounds. The Germans spoke a language that sounded much harsher than Spanish, the only foreign language I'm accustomed to hearing, and the Russians held up their end of being just exactly as I would expect any Russians to be. The man was extremely tall and looked like he would win any fight with one punch. The girl looked snooty, even though I don't think she was or meant to be, and neither of them cracked a smile the whole day even during the two thousand four hundred eighty seven pictures they took of each other posing. In addition, the girl's hairy legs really added to the whole tough Russian character I so was hoping for. And to top it off, the one word I understood them say throughout the day was vodka. Needless to say, little communication went on between us and anyone on the boat, making for a nice relaxing ride to the island, but some other things got in the way of a nice relaxing ride on the way back.
The water was very choppy heading back that evening, and the wind was very very strong. I chose to stay seated if I had a choice so not to fall over from the rocking boat. The wind however, picked up so much that it started blowing the vinyl mats for laying out on the boat, almost overboard. I attempted to save the day by catching one in the air right before it went overboard, and was thanked with a slap in the face from the mat which was uncontrollable in the wind, and then the boat proceeded to throw me on the floor and I tumbled and rolled a few times. I was the only one laughing at myself. Paul said he wasn't laughing because he thought I was going overboard. Thank goodness I didn't, and now I know Paul might actually try to prevent me from going overboard! I thought sometimes there were days he would choose to have me walk the plank. Glad I was wrong.
The next day I woke up with a bad sinus infection, and Paul seemed to not feel too good as well. We had to cancel our trip around town and stayed in bed the entire day. The taxi driver took us to a pharmacy where they gave me some medicine which I later realized was an herbal something or other, which explained why it had to be taken every 30 minutes. Ineffective to say the least. Being sick on vacation wasn't exactly what we had in mind. The following day we slept late, still feeling sick, ate lunch on the beach and left for the airport.
Upon our return, I somehow missed Lynn taking me to get an Indian dress to wear to my friend's wedding this week, which I'm sure Madison will be thankful for, and quickly unpacked and repacked and made the 22 hour flight to Houston. For the 5 people who we chose not to believe who said Bali isn't what most people think, I'd have to agree. While beautiful, if you're going to take the time to fly 24 hours, be prepared that it's no Hawaii. If you're dead set on Bali, check out the island Lombock. This might be the very best part of Bali. We didn't make it that far.
July 17, 2010 at 12:49 AM
Another interesting adventure. I am glad you warned me about Bali, as that is one place I have always thought of as the ideal paradise. I haven't been to Hawaii for many years, but I think I will just hold on to those memories. I am sad to hear that your life seems as cursed as mine. This reminds me of my trip to Jamaica, where I feared for my life for the first few days. I know everyone will be excited to see you when you get home. Enjoy the wedding and your friends and family. Have a safe trip back to your water filled apt. and more adventures! We love you guys!
July 17, 2010 at 4:25 AM
awww I am so sad you had a bad time, next time let me know where you are going and I will give you some more insider tips as well. We spent two and a half weeks in bali and there are some great places no one tells you about. Ubud is just about one of the prettiest places on the island. it isn't near the beach and there are places not so touristy it is more rainforest and rice patties and you can even do a little mild white water rafting. Which beach did you stay on. I really hope it wasn't Kuta because that is the most touristy one. Lombok is much more serene but there are certainly great places in Bali. I know you might not want to go back to give it another try but I encourage you to maybe give it one more shot but ask me and I can do a little more research for you first! :) Depending on how adventurous you want to be there are some other islands right there in malaysia that are great for a break but they don't have all the tourist excursions, they are mostly just a relax on the beach sort of place. Also a really nice resort on Lake Pedu that is very quiet and romantic again just peaceful not touristy action packed. Seriously let me know where you want to go and I can give you great sample itineraries for Thailand as well.