Bali

Broome to Bali: Serene Isolation to Jovial Chaos

The basis of this trip around the world (after the NOLS section) was two-fold: 1) to find different volunteer opportunities in different countries and 2) to not plan too much and make choices based on other people's recommendations.  Clause number 2 is what brought me to Bali.  My beloved NOLS instructor Marcelo gave me an entire itinerary should I choose to follow it.  His recommendations were largely based on his love of surfing, but there is plenty for this non surfer to enjoy as well (until I find some cajones to give surfing a try). So far Bali has provided a life of leisure.  I have eaten many delicious meals (mostly of fried noodles and vegetables with peanut sauce), ordered far too many mango lassis (creamy mango drink), and indulged in desserts such as coconut pie and fried banana.  And the cost of fine dining?  Never more than $10, even the night I got seafood as well as a cocktail!  To ease my achy muscles that hauled myself and my 50 pound backpack for many miles recently, I stopped in at a massage shop (one of many that line the streets of Bali as frequently as we see Starbucks in a big city [which they do have here, of course]). The price of this blissful hour of muscle relief (during which the tiny masseur is literally climbing all over you)? A mere $7...it's been difficult to stop myself from going every day, so far I've gone twice.

After sleeping on the ground for 45 days any bed feels suitable for a princess, throw as many peas under there as you want, as long as I'm not sleeping on sticks, rocks, or jagged ground anymore.  I was lured into a fancy hotel the first night--a large brick temple like place with a lush jungle terrace around a clean little pool.  My fancy abode cost me $25, I have since humbled down to $10/night accommodations, giving up the pool, but usually still getting breakfast and an occasional lakeside view.

To fulfill my life as a tourist, I went to visit Tanah Lot temple at sunset.  Tanah Lot is a beautiful stone temple built right on the ocean.  So close to the ocean in fact, that when the tide is high, access to the stairs is under water.  There is some sort of holy snake that hasn't grown in 40 years that makes a highly overrated attraction at Tanah Lot, as well as some holy water blessing that you can pay to receive.  It was all around a beautiful site, and I took a million pictures to try (and fail) to capture the beauty of it.  I did not feel too silly with my camera out the whole time because the place was filled with snap happy tourists. I was not surprised when one family approached me with their camera, so I smiled and nodded "yes, I'll take your picture," but oh no!  I was the tourist attraction, they wanted a picture with the tall, blonde (and for good measure extremely beautiful) white girl.  I have come to terms with the fact that I'm pretty short, so it made me laugh to be called upon for my height.  But the family was very amicable, each member shook my hand and thanked me for being in their picture.

After sunset I went to my first Kacek fire dance performance.  I have since been to another one and as it turns out, they all tell the same story (which I am still not clear on, something about desire and power and spirits?). Of course each performance has its differences, so I was happy to sit through another of the same show where men chant and sing to set the tone, and characters dance around in beautiful, ornate costumes.

On my second day in Bali, I decided to brave (emphasis on brave) the traffic and rent a scooter to get out of Kuta which has a sort of Cancun/Panama City Beach vacation feel.  For a whopping $50 (insurance included) I got myself a scooter for the week and took off for Kintamani, a tiny town on the north side of the island.  These two descriptors did not necessarily help me since I had no idea which way was north, nor we're any signs posted to say "Kintamani, that way." With this solid foundation of information I took to the road, completely making up where I thought I needed to go, until I finally asked a gas station attendant where Kintamani was.  It turns out I was headed the right way, and so my journey continued as such, me stopping every time there was a fork in the road to ask "Kintamani?" "Kintamani?" Everyone was quite helpful and two hours later I was greeted by a Balinese man ready to take me to a room at his hotel, the giant backpack seems to be a dead give away.  He was very helpful, and set up a sunrise hike for me-the reason I came, and the rest of the staff seemed to cater to my every need.  I went to bed around 6 to be ready for my 3:30 am wake up call, and at 4 o'clock I was being led up Mount Batur. It was totally dark, but looking up the entire path was lit by tourists' flashlights.  We got to the top just as the first bit of light was creating silhouettes of the surrounding landscape.  Then the clouds rolled in and we sat in fog for 30 minutes hoping we wouldn't miss the entire sunrise.  Luck was on our side though, and just as the sun was creeping over the horizon the clouds began to part (sporadically, but enough to offer amazing glimpses of the sunrise).  Once the sun was up and the clouds cleared the view was amazing for a breakfast of eggs and bananas cooked in the steam pockets of the volcano (did I mention Mt Batur was a volcano?).  Sunlight made the hike back down a breeze and I was back in my hotel by 9:30 with the rest of the day ahead of me.  I was sad to leave the friendly staff at my hotel, but I was out of things to do in Kintamani so I hopped back on the trusty bike and headed south to Ubud. I was hesitant to stop as Ubud is recently famous for being featured in 'Eat, Pray, Love,' but after a few hours I began to warm up to the less chaotic, party vibes of Kuta, and the less isolated feel of Kintamani.  I don't know what else I'll get up to in my next week in Bali, but hopefully find the courage to surf and relax a bit before heading to Thailand where elephant volunteering and farm work await me.  Until then, Namasté.