DAY 1
After much waiting and travelling, we finally arrived in Salang, although we had never actually intended on coming here. We left Singapore at 630 in the morning, went through two immigration check points, and were in Mersing by about 1030. We had only planned on coming to Mersing as a transition point into the jungle, but once we got there there was nothing very appealing about it. The book described it as a small fishing town with lots of stray cats, and that’s really all it was; except, that Mersing is also the main transport hub for people coming to Tioman Island. Consequently, we decided to join the masses and head to the island as well, so we bought our ticket at the ferry terminal and continued to wait. They told us the ferry was leaving at eleven thirty, and by about 1/130 pm we finally got on board. It was another two hours or so before we got to Salang, on the north/eastern side of Tioman, and while it was a long wait, it was totally worth it.
This place is absolutely beautiful, and the book says it’s hardly one of the better beaches in Malaysia. As your walking along the jetty, all you see is turquoise blue water, coral and funny little fishies with long noses. It’s quite a sight and apparently the diving around here is phenomenal. Our favourite part about it is that it’s quiet. Normally, before we even step off any form of public transportation, we’re accosted by people trying to sell us tour packages, hotels, transportation and souvenirs. When we got off the ferry here, the only people who came remotely close to trying to sell us anything were the ladies at the tourist info centre that we stopped at to ask for directions. All they did was inform us that if we needed anything to come to them. Other than that, we made the entire walk to our hostel of choice (Ella’s), which is literally the second to last accommodations on this side of the jetty, and not a soul approached us with anything to sell. The extent of “touts” on this island seems to exist only in the signs offering massages with a phone number/place to contact if you’re interest. Who would’ve thought that you could actually decide when you wanted something and not be bothered about it until then. It’s quite a relief to be able to lie on the beach without constantly needing to turn people away.
That being said, our first day, all we did was lay on the beach. There are hammocks everywhere, 8 out here in front of Ella’s alone, with just about one on every balcony/porch (our’s included). Most people, who know me well, know that it is one of my lifelong dreams to own a hammock; thus, I am in heaven! Darren, my own little water bug, was in the water right away, and I took a nap, in a hammock. It was wonderful! Afterwards, we went for dinner and drinks, sat on the beach and I came and went to sleep. Darren stayed out with some people we met, but I was wiped and exhausted and was passed out by 10pm.
DAY 2
Yesterday was a good day—a very good day. Apparently it’s been fairly rainy here the last little while, but yesterday was just gorgeous weather! The sun was shining, and the tide was in (it was out in the evening when we got here, and the beach is much nicer when it’s in). After breakfast Darren, of course, was in the water right away, and I hunkered myself down into a hammock and just read the afternoon away. I did come out of my coma for a little while to join Darren in the water, but it was much cooler and much more relaxing in the swinging in the shade. That was the extent of our excitement for the afternoon. It wasn’t until about 3 pm that we finally decided to move and go get lunch. After lunch, we didn’t really do anything different, just a lot more laying around in hammocks and reading.
Our hostel/inn is probably one of the better ones on the island. It’s fairly basic, and by that I mean that we don’t have a sink just a tap, but as I said, it’s almost at the very end of accommodations on this part of the island and it’s consequently, very quiet. It’s also one of the only accommodations that’s right on the beach, and the best part is it’s not ridiculously priced. We’re paying Rm 50 a night (about $15), for our own little bungalow/”chalet”, with a hammock, and no more than a small paved pathway from the white sand beach. It’s fantastic! The owners of Ella’s are also making an effort to repopulate the turtles in the area as well. I’m not sure exactly why their efforts are needed, but as a result, there are two buckets of turtles at the restaurant/reception area. Two of the turtles were only a day old when we first got here, and the others are no more than a few weeks old. They are too cute. The teeny baby ones are so young they still have their little sacks stuck to their bellies, and one of the older ones has been named Nemo for its lack of a whole fin on one side. The owner also informed us that they have buried forty more eggs on the beach that should hatch in the next two months. They are currently expanding their little pond to keep the turtles in until they’re big enough to be released and fend for themselves. The great thing for us is that we get to take them swimming, though I’ve heard that they’re a lot faster than they look so we’ll have to keep a close watch on them.
Once we finally stripped ourselves out of the hammocks, we ventured out for dinner at one of the many seafood barbecues on the island. For some reason we ended up ordering chicken instead of seafood, but it was still excellent. They grilled the chicken, along with some potato, carrot and eggplant, and everything was moist and tender and oh so yummy! We had a really nice evening, just enjoying the ambiance and a little shisha (don’t worry mom, there’s no tobacco, it’s just molasses). We mixed two flavours, strawberry and mint, and Frank, you would love it, it ended up tasting to black liquorice. We stayed at the restaurant for about an hour or so until a lightning storm broke out and after another half hour of waiting we finally decided to make a run for it. On the way back we ran into the same guys we met the first day and sat and had a few drinks with them under the shelter of one of the picnic areas.
The rain was pretty brutal however, and the wind wasn’t helping much. I was sitting on the side closest to the water and the wind coming off the ocean basically blew the rain in sideways under our little shelter. Once we finally decided to move into a closed restaurant, I was already soaked down my one side, and a little cold. We then hung out in the restaurant just long enough for me to try off a bit, before deciding to call it a night and run back to our place. It was a nice night though, rain and all, and we both fell asleep pretty quickly, though Darren chose to sit outside for a while and take a breather before coming to bed ;)
DAY 3
It was a great day, not for all the exciting going ons, but more because of the lack thereof. Our day started at noon. Our usual breakfast place was either no longer serving breakfast, or they were out of eggs, it was hard to communicate which exactly. We had omelettes at a local hole-in-the-wall restaurant (always the cheapest and with great eats), after which we came back to our inn and basically carried on doing nothing. I wrote a little for the blog while Darren slept. Then I went to lay down for a nap in our hammock and Darren read for a while. At one point he woke me up for lunch/the meal between our noon breakfast and dinner, and we both somehow ended up passed out on the bed. We didn’t wake up until the children at our inn started making a bit of noise.
It was a good thing we did though, because some of the turtle eggs (which the owner “rescues” and barriers in the beach) had hatched. About ten of them hatched right beside the hammock I normally sit in, and ten little baby turtles have now become the newest residents of our beach. The owners keep them in a bucket on their porch, along with another bucket with some slightly older turtles. Apparently, the eggs are normally eaten where their laid before they even get the chance to hatch. On the odd occasion an iguana doesn’t devour them, it’s something like on out of every ten that might actually make it into the ocean, and most of those are also devoured by larger fish or birds before their shells harden. My first instincts were that Mother Nature should just be allowed to run its course, but apparently the bigger culprit of the declining turtle population is the boats and fishing nets. Apparently it’s a pretty big deal, so the locals who run our inn are making their own little conservation effort. Right before monsoon season when they leave the island, they’ll let all the little things go and hope for the best!
After a bit of watching the tiny little turtles scurry around we walked down to the other end of the village for dinner. If I haven’t mentioned already, there is a river about the island where you can often find monitor lizards of all sizes. Whenever we’re in the area, Darren insists on stopping to see if we can find any. Actually, after breakfast we had to wander by and watch two smaller ones swim up and down the dirty water. Our after dinner agenda was no different. This time however, we got to see more than just a small one or two. This one looked like it had eaten a small child! Whatever it ate, it must’ve just eaten something large because it was so fat it looked like it could barely move. I wasn’t about to risk this theory however, because though they normally look sluggish, they’re pretty quick. We stopped and stared of course, until it crawled under the bridge and couldn’t be seen anymore. We saw a lot of other little creatures that night, including large fruit bats, hermit crabs, big snails, frogs, and a “guppy”. Darren insists that I wrote about this. Apparently, a guppy is the only type of fish that can exist both on land and in water. He was pretty excited about seeing it. That night, we also saw some sort of possum or something crawling along the power lines. The island is full of life!
After dinner and a little walk, we stocked up on snacks and lay on the beach in hammocks, eating peanuts and listening to Coldplay. Not a bad way to end an evening if I dare say.
DAY 4
It was yet another lazy day, but with an earlier start than noon. We were out and eating breakfast by about 10am but again, had nothing special planned. We were going to go snorkelling, but it was pretty cloudy and windy and the water was pretty murky. Since I’ve finished reading my book, the extent of our activity today, was searching the island for Book 2 of “Lord of the Rings”. In his persuasion to get me to pick up the trilogy, he assured me it would take me forever to read and that it’s the one set of books you can find everywhere. Well, I read a lot more often than he does (usually 2-3 books to his 1), and I haven’t seen a copy of “Lord of the Rings” since we left China. Anyway, it doesn’t help that any books that do seem appealing are also not in English, so at the moment I’m reading a book called “The Little Lady Agency”, and I’m almost half way through already.
We had planned on maybe doing a hike instead of snorkelling, but our host informed us that there weren’t any trails and it was too easy to get lost in the jungle. Note taken. So we detoured a little on our way back from breakfast. I think Darren really wanted to go into the jungle to catch a glimpse of some more cool creatures and while we didn’t get to do that, we did some a few other things. Like, the river was really high and there weren’t any lizards in it, and instead we saw one walking around someone’s backyard. We were able to get pretty close, and it was nice not having to see them in the dirty water. We also saw a family/herd/pod of monkeys (what is the proper term for a group of monkeys?) raiding some mango trees behind some of the “chalets”, and a one point Darren thought he saw a monkey, which he then thought was a lizard, which turned out to be a squirrel; and, not two minutes later he thought he saw a rabbit, which was actually a coconut. Though he says he’s not getting restless on this lazy island, I think he’s more anxious for our jungle trek than he’s letting on.
Once we got back to our inn, it was more reading and lying around. The weather eventually brightened up and we went for a bit of a swim and a little sun bathing. But again, the day was altogether uneventful. We’re currently, once again, lying in hammocks, listening to music, wasting the night away. Not that I’m complaining. I could definitely get used to this.
DAY 5
Other than run a few errands in the morning, we literally did nothing. But it was still fantastic!
DAY 6
We woke up to a bit of a loud bang on the roof. I sent Darren out to inspect and when he opened the door there was nothing there. After a moment, one of the peanut bags slowly fell from above him, and sure enough, there was a whole family of monkeys about, who had apparently been raiding through our garbage.
It turned out to be a beautiful day. The crazy winds from the day before had blown away all the clouds and we were left with beautiful blue skies and calm waters. Finally, we could go snorkelling. We didn’t plan anything too exciting, like one of the trips out to special spots, we just went snorkelling off shore. There wasn’t quite as much to see as on the reefs of Amed, but we were still able to catch glimpses of rainbow coloured fish and other strange sea life.
Afterwards, while we were doing what we do best—sitting on the beach and reading—the monkeys came back! They were in the tree right next to our place. I grabbed a bag of peanuts and managed to tempt the thing out of the tree and onto the walkway. He was pretty cautious, and pretty crafty. I was actually amazed at how many peanuts it could shove in its mouth. It run around, shove them all in and then run back to a safe distance to eat them. If ever he got too close, the older looking monkey in the tree, would send out a little noise—as if a warning call—and the little guy would jump back as if checking himself. It may sound childish but we both found extremely amusing.
The rest of the day was spent doing the usual; we spent the evening watching a pretty intense lightning storm over the ocean; and, the next day, we were off.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Friday, July 23, 2010
The Wonderful World of Singapore
It's been a short trip (we just got here yesterday and we're leaving tomorrow), but Singapore has been pleasant at least. We had a pretty good idea of what we were getting ourselves into in coming here. We knew that it was more or less just another city, one of the cleanest we've ever seen, but a city none the less. Our plan in visiting Singapore was mostly just to see my cousin whom I haven't seen in 8 years, so we didn't do too much sightseeing.
Yesterday when we arrived we were in for a bit of a shocker however. We arrived at our hostel and the doors did not have any doorknobs. There were signs all over the doors however, that informed us that to check in/out we needed to call a number and/or ring the bell to get in. We rang the bell over and over and over again, and could hear people moving about on the other side of the door, but there was no answer. We probably stood outside for a good ten minutes before Darren finally got the nerve to knock... while it got a response, it was not a pleasant response. Apparently knocking is not acceptable here at the Sky Orchids Hostel. The land lady/owner was not impressed. Our greeting therefor, was a rude and unpleasant one. She was very abrupt and short with us and chastized us for knocking. When I told her that we did ring the bell, about "20 times", I was chastized for over-exagerating. I told her it was definitely at least "10 times" and even that she didn't believe because apparently she was only out of the room for a short period of time. Needless to say, we didn't exactly feel welcome. "Oddly" enough, once we signed the check in form and paid for our two nights she seemed to warm up a little. She gave us a swift run through of the procedures and goings about of the place and then left us to ourselves. She did warm up over the course of the day, and today she was more than pleasant. She even offered to let us have breakfast before our bus tomorrow morning, which is before "breakfast time" (7am to 10am). Knocking must be a serious pet peeve of hers because she seemed like an extremely angry woman at first; but, if not for that I'd say she was nothing but pleasant.
Despite our rude welcome, we didn't really go anywhere or do anything upon arrival in Singapore. We checked in and left briefly to get lunch and then we were back again watching movies with one of the other guests. One of the great things about Singapore is the cheapness of the food, and the variety. There's an Indian place down the street from our hostel and for S$ (Singapore Dollars) 3.80 we got a tray (like a baking sheet with a piece of brown butcher paper on it) with a heapful of seasoned rice, butter chicken, and vegetables. Mmmm! That was more or less the highlight of the day however. We really didn't do anything else but surf the internet and watch a movie or two.
This morning didn't start out much differently. Darren watched a movie with the same guest as the day before, and I surfed the internet. Not all of what we did was fruitless however, a lot of our internet time was spent researching the next leg of our trip. Once we finally got the motivation to get up and out though, we went back to the same Indian place, had lunch and then went to a transit area to buy bus tickets to Malaysia. We basically then forced ourselves to go to Little India, where Darren was trapped by the wonderful smells of curries, and my eyebrows were drawn to some much needed attention. From there (with some butter chicken and rice "to go") we made our way to the Singapore Botanical Gardens. We walked around for a bit and then sat on a bench and had our little snack. Other than watching a small, blonde, curly-haired child run awol from his nanny time and time again, and look at the pretty flowers, we just walked around aimlessly. We eventually got a hold of my cousin Ester, once she got off work and headed to the ION Mall to meet up with her.
The ION Mall and all other malls in Singapore are basically located in one area referred to as Orchard. This place is insane!!! I heard there was good shopping in Singapore but I didn't grasp exactly what that meant. There are seriously block after block after block of shopping malls; and, not just random boutiques but huge stores for Louis Vuitton, Channel, D&G, Emporio Armani, Rolex, and tons of other ritzy looking stores I've never even heard of! It's actually mind boggeling how many malls and shopping complexes they have. They even have one called "Lucky Mall" which more or less caters strictly to Filippinos! We didn't do any shopping though. The S$ is almost par to the Canadian dollar and Emporio Armani is not any cheaper here than it is back home!
Anyway, the highlight and purpose of our trip was that for the first time in 8 years I was able to see my Manang Ester! We met her at the MRT (skytrain station) in the basement of the ION. On the B2 level (I think) there is a massive "Food Hall" featuring all sorts of Asian cuisine (there's also a "Food Republic" featuring yet more Asian cuisine on the 4th floor as well). Ester took us down there and we took our pick for dinner. With the help of Ester, we picked well! We picked Malaysian food coincidentally and it was excellent. I like Darren's more than I liked my own and basically stole most of his sauce. It was a spicy, prawn and noodle dish with a coconut milk based soup. So rich and creamy and delicious! We topped it off with some fresh coconuts both as refreshment and desert! We more or less spent the evening chatting and catching up. As I haven't been back to the Filippines in 8 years, and have only recently begun establishing contact with my extended (and very extensive) family, my time with Ester was more like a lesson in my own family tree. There are so many aunts and uncles and cousins that I can hardly keep track of who's who and who's related to whom and how. How Ester does it I'll never know. It was great to see her though and Darren and I had such a wonderful time. Ester is actually the first of my extended family Darren has ever met, and it couldn't have been better. (Thanks so much for the great evening Ester and for the shirts!) Hopefully, it wont be so long before he meets the rest of the family or before Ester and I see each other again! 2012? Fingers crossed!
The visit was bittersweet in a way. While it was great to see her, the visit really was too short. Darren and I are exhausted though. I think China wore us out. (Yes! I realize that I'm talking of being warn out from travelling, but it really is exhausting!) We've had little to no motivation to sight-see, and there have been days where we hardly leave our room/bungalow. Consequently, the very thought of staying in a city for too long is exhausting. We're almost half way through our trip and the clock is ticking, but both Darren and I feel compelled to s t o p. That doesn't mean leave and go home, but I think at some point we really need to just quit moving for a while. We thought that was what Bali was supposed to be, but even then we never really stopped for more than a few days, and you're constantly thinking about and planning the next step. I think what we really need is to sacrifice a week or two and just let go--get comfortable and slip into a mindless routine for a while. The constant stop and go is getting to us and wearing us thin (we got here yesterday and tomorrow we're catching a bus at 6am for example). The longest we've stopped has been just enough to get to know an area and start to relax and then we're right back on the road again. We're losing steam and it's time for a little R&R. Real rest and recuperation. So we may choose Malaysia to stop, or maybe Thailand, or maybe we wont have a choice at all and our minds and bodies will just give in wherever they land next. Who knows. We'll figure that out when we get there. Hope you don't all want to shoot us for complaining of fatigue, and hope you're all enjoying your summer!
Yesterday when we arrived we were in for a bit of a shocker however. We arrived at our hostel and the doors did not have any doorknobs. There were signs all over the doors however, that informed us that to check in/out we needed to call a number and/or ring the bell to get in. We rang the bell over and over and over again, and could hear people moving about on the other side of the door, but there was no answer. We probably stood outside for a good ten minutes before Darren finally got the nerve to knock... while it got a response, it was not a pleasant response. Apparently knocking is not acceptable here at the Sky Orchids Hostel. The land lady/owner was not impressed. Our greeting therefor, was a rude and unpleasant one. She was very abrupt and short with us and chastized us for knocking. When I told her that we did ring the bell, about "20 times", I was chastized for over-exagerating. I told her it was definitely at least "10 times" and even that she didn't believe because apparently she was only out of the room for a short period of time. Needless to say, we didn't exactly feel welcome. "Oddly" enough, once we signed the check in form and paid for our two nights she seemed to warm up a little. She gave us a swift run through of the procedures and goings about of the place and then left us to ourselves. She did warm up over the course of the day, and today she was more than pleasant. She even offered to let us have breakfast before our bus tomorrow morning, which is before "breakfast time" (7am to 10am). Knocking must be a serious pet peeve of hers because she seemed like an extremely angry woman at first; but, if not for that I'd say she was nothing but pleasant.
Despite our rude welcome, we didn't really go anywhere or do anything upon arrival in Singapore. We checked in and left briefly to get lunch and then we were back again watching movies with one of the other guests. One of the great things about Singapore is the cheapness of the food, and the variety. There's an Indian place down the street from our hostel and for S$ (Singapore Dollars) 3.80 we got a tray (like a baking sheet with a piece of brown butcher paper on it) with a heapful of seasoned rice, butter chicken, and vegetables. Mmmm! That was more or less the highlight of the day however. We really didn't do anything else but surf the internet and watch a movie or two.
This morning didn't start out much differently. Darren watched a movie with the same guest as the day before, and I surfed the internet. Not all of what we did was fruitless however, a lot of our internet time was spent researching the next leg of our trip. Once we finally got the motivation to get up and out though, we went back to the same Indian place, had lunch and then went to a transit area to buy bus tickets to Malaysia. We basically then forced ourselves to go to Little India, where Darren was trapped by the wonderful smells of curries, and my eyebrows were drawn to some much needed attention. From there (with some butter chicken and rice "to go") we made our way to the Singapore Botanical Gardens. We walked around for a bit and then sat on a bench and had our little snack. Other than watching a small, blonde, curly-haired child run awol from his nanny time and time again, and look at the pretty flowers, we just walked around aimlessly. We eventually got a hold of my cousin Ester, once she got off work and headed to the ION Mall to meet up with her.
The ION Mall and all other malls in Singapore are basically located in one area referred to as Orchard. This place is insane!!! I heard there was good shopping in Singapore but I didn't grasp exactly what that meant. There are seriously block after block after block of shopping malls; and, not just random boutiques but huge stores for Louis Vuitton, Channel, D&G, Emporio Armani, Rolex, and tons of other ritzy looking stores I've never even heard of! It's actually mind boggeling how many malls and shopping complexes they have. They even have one called "Lucky Mall" which more or less caters strictly to Filippinos! We didn't do any shopping though. The S$ is almost par to the Canadian dollar and Emporio Armani is not any cheaper here than it is back home!
Anyway, the highlight and purpose of our trip was that for the first time in 8 years I was able to see my Manang Ester! We met her at the MRT (skytrain station) in the basement of the ION. On the B2 level (I think) there is a massive "Food Hall" featuring all sorts of Asian cuisine (there's also a "Food Republic" featuring yet more Asian cuisine on the 4th floor as well). Ester took us down there and we took our pick for dinner. With the help of Ester, we picked well! We picked Malaysian food coincidentally and it was excellent. I like Darren's more than I liked my own and basically stole most of his sauce. It was a spicy, prawn and noodle dish with a coconut milk based soup. So rich and creamy and delicious! We topped it off with some fresh coconuts both as refreshment and desert! We more or less spent the evening chatting and catching up. As I haven't been back to the Filippines in 8 years, and have only recently begun establishing contact with my extended (and very extensive) family, my time with Ester was more like a lesson in my own family tree. There are so many aunts and uncles and cousins that I can hardly keep track of who's who and who's related to whom and how. How Ester does it I'll never know. It was great to see her though and Darren and I had such a wonderful time. Ester is actually the first of my extended family Darren has ever met, and it couldn't have been better. (Thanks so much for the great evening Ester and for the shirts!) Hopefully, it wont be so long before he meets the rest of the family or before Ester and I see each other again! 2012? Fingers crossed!
The visit was bittersweet in a way. While it was great to see her, the visit really was too short. Darren and I are exhausted though. I think China wore us out. (Yes! I realize that I'm talking of being warn out from travelling, but it really is exhausting!) We've had little to no motivation to sight-see, and there have been days where we hardly leave our room/bungalow. Consequently, the very thought of staying in a city for too long is exhausting. We're almost half way through our trip and the clock is ticking, but both Darren and I feel compelled to s t o p. That doesn't mean leave and go home, but I think at some point we really need to just quit moving for a while. We thought that was what Bali was supposed to be, but even then we never really stopped for more than a few days, and you're constantly thinking about and planning the next step. I think what we really need is to sacrifice a week or two and just let go--get comfortable and slip into a mindless routine for a while. The constant stop and go is getting to us and wearing us thin (we got here yesterday and tomorrow we're catching a bus at 6am for example). The longest we've stopped has been just enough to get to know an area and start to relax and then we're right back on the road again. We're losing steam and it's time for a little R&R. Real rest and recuperation. So we may choose Malaysia to stop, or maybe Thailand, or maybe we wont have a choice at all and our minds and bodies will just give in wherever they land next. Who knows. We'll figure that out when we get there. Hope you don't all want to shoot us for complaining of fatigue, and hope you're all enjoying your summer!
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Artistically and Culturally Ubud
After leaving Lovina, Darren and I ventured here, to Ubud. I'm not sure exactly where to begin in explaining this place, but just as it's located, it seems a pleasant middle ground between the quiet North and East coasts, and the hustle and bustle of the peninsula.
Most of the guidebooks will describe Ubud as a sort of art and craft mecca. It's not said to hold much in terms of sightseeing, but its where locals and westerners alike come to create and sell works of art. Everywhere you go in fact you can find just about any type of handicraft, from silver jewellery, to wood carvings, to paintings, to clothing. Consequently, there also seems to be a little more "culture" here if you will. In the South, the Australian/Western lifestyle has "tainted" the culture of the people (as I've already mentioned), and on the other coasts, while the people live their day to day, it's a life of necessity (they fish, they eat, they sleep). Here in Ubud, you see all sorts of colour and goings on. There are touts calling out "transport" or "teksi" at every corner and in between, there are art/craft shops EVERYWHERE, and more temples here than there are churches in Abbotsford, and in the evenings you can buy tickets to any one of the cultural village dances that surround the area.
So, what did we get up to? Well, for starters on the shuttle bus on the way here from Lovina, Darren befriended two Danish girls in the backseat. So when we got to Ubud, the four of us ventured out together and found some quaint little bungalows, complete with bunny rabbits, not far from the main road (Monkey Forest Road). Our first day here, we also managed to bump into Laura (Sirtonski), which was fortunate because she didn't bring her phone and it would've been a disaster trying to meet up via e-mail in just a few short days. So, we had plenty of company to share our time with here.
Our first day, we sort of just wandered around, scoped out some decent restaurants and got a feel for the area (as we always do). We also managed to venture into the market on the first day, which we weren't far from in the first place (never a good thing for me), and though I had every intention of making no purchases, I left with two new pairs of sandals. The first pair really was quite innocent. After my Islanders busted (yes Tanya, they are not invincible in heat, humidity and salt water) the only sandals I could find in my size in Amed were bright blue and they just didn't match any of my clothes, so I bought a pair of black ones of a slightly classier caliber. I wore the sandals right away, and then of course, one of the evil genius salesmen pointed to my shoes and asked me how much I paid for them, I lied by Rp 5000 and he offered to sell me another of the same pair for Rp 5000 less than that. I was enticed (I'm a sucker, what can I say?), and I bought another pair, a slightly different style and different colour. I couldn't help myself. Darren scolded the man for getting me into trouble ;) and I'm now packing five pairs of shoes. (I'm a pack rat of sorts, and I'm keeping my Islanders to have repaired, and I've kept the ugly blue sandals because the others are too pretty to wear if I decide to go muck about on a beach or something.) Anyway, after a short nap, we eventually met up with Laura for dinner in the evening. We were all quite exhausted and called it a pretty early night.
With the reputation for a haven of art, I was determined to find myself a painting of sorts to take home as a souvenire. So the next day, Darren and I set out walking the streets, popping in and out of the shops and checking out all the different paintings and wood work. Like China, any art that catches on is then replicated in mass numbers. Just about everywhere you go, all the art looks the same. They all paint the same style of Buddhas, traditional Balinese art, abstracts and assorted marine life. While all of it is quite beautiful, there's something about seeing a piece en masse that makes it lose its appeal. So, despite walking for over three hours, I found nothing that struck me enough to purchase. At least not until I had stopped looking (which is always the case it seems). The problem with this particular piece, is that it's bigger than any wall I've had in any place I've ever lived. There might be a wall at my mothers house large enough for it, but you'd have to rearrange all the furniture, and I don't live there. The painting is beautiful (it's a slightly abstract painting of Buddha's face and head, which you can find anywhere but not quite at this level), but it's far too large to even consider. So, I'm walking away emptied handed; well, almost. That evening, we met up with Laura again, had a wonderful dinner, some great desert, and great conversation.
That night we made plans for the following morning (instigated by Laura, Darren and I have been rather lazy on the sight seeing). We hired one of the many drivers lining the streets to drive us to Goa Gajah (some temple ruins). Before entering we were approached by a man carrying a decent sized python (the largest documented python was found in Indonesia) charging a not so small fee to take pictures with the snake. I was intrigued. Nervous, but intrigued nonetheless. So, I had my photoshoot with the snake (for Rp 20000 Laura made sure to just keep snapping photos). Darren (unaware of the cost) had his photos taken as well, with one or two of us together with the snake; after which, we moved on and headed into the temple grounds. Unlike Uluwatu, there were no monkeys here, just a lot of broken stones and ruins. It was actually quite beautiful, very lush and green. We wandered through at our leisure, taking pictures and eaves dropping on the information the hired guides were giving the other tourists. Apparently the temple has both Hindu and Buddhist history but we simply admired the ruined architecture. At one point, a small man carrying a broom who had clearly been chewing too much beatlenut, enthusiatically led us behind the rocks to show us some small details of the ruins. He was a little jittery and pretty excited with a big orange smile (the beatlenut stains your mouth orange/red). After leading us in a small circle we would have otherwise done on our own anyway, he stuck out his hand begging for a small fee. I had a feeling it was coming anyway, but we found him rather amusing and Laura parted with a few thousand (maybe thirty cents). While Laura and I were being "guided" by the strange man, Darren stopped to say a small prayer for his uncle and Mama, and we just enjoyed the peace and quiet of the cool stones before heading back to the city.
The days in Ubud sort of melt together, but I think all we did yesterday was go to the market. I'm compelled to say that we did something else in the morning, but as I have no recollection and no photographic evidence of anything in particular happening, I have but to assume that nothing else happened. So as far as I can remember, yesterday we went to the market to procure a few things we couldn't leave Bali without. For me, it was a set of mosaic tiled plates. You can get them back home at Home Sense, but not in abundance or for the same price you can here. They are a set of three, different sized bowl like plates, and their made of mosaic green glass tiles. There were so many different colours to choose from, but I managed. Darren on the other hand, had fallen in love with the idea of a hand carved chess set. Now, Darren and I are very different types of buyers, and if we were both like him it would take days to buy anything; but, if we were both like me, we would have run out of many a month ago! I headed into the market searching for my set and had picked it out, made the deal and sealed the purchase within about ten minutes. See, Darren didn't just buy a chess set, he scoured the market, and the whole of Ubud, comparing pieces and boards and craftsmanship and prices. He eventually narrowed it down to two: one board he liked better than the other, but one set of pieces he liked better than came with the nicer board. So after pondering at the market for a long while, we went back to this other shop (a good twenty minutes away), where Darren examined and went back and forth in his own mind for almost an hour! In the end, he bought the board with the pieces he liked best, and got the guy to throw in a pair of earings for me (no doubt to sweeten me up after waiting so long ;)). After running back to our bungalow (we were almost late meeting up with Laura) we had yet another wonderful dinner, with two deserts! (The home-made coconut pie is amazing! I think even Brennan would like this pie!)
A funny thing about Indonesia, which is such a far cry from what we experienced in China, is the male attention. In China, it is non existent; in Indonesia, it is subtle but nonetheless present. As we were walking back from dinner that night, Darren was on the other side of the street, and Laura and myself were on one side. As per usual, a guy asked, "You want transport?", which we declined, to which his response was, "You want boy?" We laughed out loud, informed him we had a boy, "Two of us for one boy!" Later that night, a guy again asked me and Darren if we wanted transport, we said no, and he offered me a helicopter ride for free (:S). Also, in the market on our first day a guy asked me if I wanted to buy a watch. I said no, so he asked if I wanted a boyfriend. I told him I already had one, so he asked if I wanted one more. It is humorous. Last night, we even had a guy simply say "Yes?" as we walked by. Not really sure what that was supposed to mean? Was he asking if we wanted to transport like everyone else? Yet still, my immediate response was to say no, and I didn't even know what I was saying no to!
Once passed the various solicitations, we met up with the Danish girls to check out the Bamboo Bar for some live entertainment. Given that drinks started at Rp 75000, we had "mocktails" and only one a piece before deciding to leave, heading back to our bungalows with snacks and beverages from the local corner store. We chatted and entertained each other with various forms of dance until late into the night. We said goodbye to both Laura and the Danish girls, who all left today, and Darren and I are once again on our own. Stuck with eachother's company. (Just kidding!)
It was nice to have a few friends to spend the days with, and it was great seeing Laura and hanging out with her again. While we were in Hong Kong she was pretty busy finishing up her school year and just tending to her daily life, so it was nice to just sit around and chat and catch up after all these long years. Today, Darren and I just ran some errands, getting ourselves ready to head to Singapore tomorrow. It'll be a short visit there as it's quite expensive and we're both anxious to keep going on our travels (I am especially anxious to head to Thailand); but, it'll be nice to see my cousin and catch up with her as well. So it's off tomorrow, to yet another mysterious land for a few days, and then we're bound for Malaysia.
PS- I'm really looking forward to eating Indian food in Little India in Singapore! Mmmm, butter chicken!
Most of the guidebooks will describe Ubud as a sort of art and craft mecca. It's not said to hold much in terms of sightseeing, but its where locals and westerners alike come to create and sell works of art. Everywhere you go in fact you can find just about any type of handicraft, from silver jewellery, to wood carvings, to paintings, to clothing. Consequently, there also seems to be a little more "culture" here if you will. In the South, the Australian/Western lifestyle has "tainted" the culture of the people (as I've already mentioned), and on the other coasts, while the people live their day to day, it's a life of necessity (they fish, they eat, they sleep). Here in Ubud, you see all sorts of colour and goings on. There are touts calling out "transport" or "teksi" at every corner and in between, there are art/craft shops EVERYWHERE, and more temples here than there are churches in Abbotsford, and in the evenings you can buy tickets to any one of the cultural village dances that surround the area.
So, what did we get up to? Well, for starters on the shuttle bus on the way here from Lovina, Darren befriended two Danish girls in the backseat. So when we got to Ubud, the four of us ventured out together and found some quaint little bungalows, complete with bunny rabbits, not far from the main road (Monkey Forest Road). Our first day here, we also managed to bump into Laura (Sirtonski), which was fortunate because she didn't bring her phone and it would've been a disaster trying to meet up via e-mail in just a few short days. So, we had plenty of company to share our time with here.
Our first day, we sort of just wandered around, scoped out some decent restaurants and got a feel for the area (as we always do). We also managed to venture into the market on the first day, which we weren't far from in the first place (never a good thing for me), and though I had every intention of making no purchases, I left with two new pairs of sandals. The first pair really was quite innocent. After my Islanders busted (yes Tanya, they are not invincible in heat, humidity and salt water) the only sandals I could find in my size in Amed were bright blue and they just didn't match any of my clothes, so I bought a pair of black ones of a slightly classier caliber. I wore the sandals right away, and then of course, one of the evil genius salesmen pointed to my shoes and asked me how much I paid for them, I lied by Rp 5000 and he offered to sell me another of the same pair for Rp 5000 less than that. I was enticed (I'm a sucker, what can I say?), and I bought another pair, a slightly different style and different colour. I couldn't help myself. Darren scolded the man for getting me into trouble ;) and I'm now packing five pairs of shoes. (I'm a pack rat of sorts, and I'm keeping my Islanders to have repaired, and I've kept the ugly blue sandals because the others are too pretty to wear if I decide to go muck about on a beach or something.) Anyway, after a short nap, we eventually met up with Laura for dinner in the evening. We were all quite exhausted and called it a pretty early night.
With the reputation for a haven of art, I was determined to find myself a painting of sorts to take home as a souvenire. So the next day, Darren and I set out walking the streets, popping in and out of the shops and checking out all the different paintings and wood work. Like China, any art that catches on is then replicated in mass numbers. Just about everywhere you go, all the art looks the same. They all paint the same style of Buddhas, traditional Balinese art, abstracts and assorted marine life. While all of it is quite beautiful, there's something about seeing a piece en masse that makes it lose its appeal. So, despite walking for over three hours, I found nothing that struck me enough to purchase. At least not until I had stopped looking (which is always the case it seems). The problem with this particular piece, is that it's bigger than any wall I've had in any place I've ever lived. There might be a wall at my mothers house large enough for it, but you'd have to rearrange all the furniture, and I don't live there. The painting is beautiful (it's a slightly abstract painting of Buddha's face and head, which you can find anywhere but not quite at this level), but it's far too large to even consider. So, I'm walking away emptied handed; well, almost. That evening, we met up with Laura again, had a wonderful dinner, some great desert, and great conversation.
That night we made plans for the following morning (instigated by Laura, Darren and I have been rather lazy on the sight seeing). We hired one of the many drivers lining the streets to drive us to Goa Gajah (some temple ruins). Before entering we were approached by a man carrying a decent sized python (the largest documented python was found in Indonesia) charging a not so small fee to take pictures with the snake. I was intrigued. Nervous, but intrigued nonetheless. So, I had my photoshoot with the snake (for Rp 20000 Laura made sure to just keep snapping photos). Darren (unaware of the cost) had his photos taken as well, with one or two of us together with the snake; after which, we moved on and headed into the temple grounds. Unlike Uluwatu, there were no monkeys here, just a lot of broken stones and ruins. It was actually quite beautiful, very lush and green. We wandered through at our leisure, taking pictures and eaves dropping on the information the hired guides were giving the other tourists. Apparently the temple has both Hindu and Buddhist history but we simply admired the ruined architecture. At one point, a small man carrying a broom who had clearly been chewing too much beatlenut, enthusiatically led us behind the rocks to show us some small details of the ruins. He was a little jittery and pretty excited with a big orange smile (the beatlenut stains your mouth orange/red). After leading us in a small circle we would have otherwise done on our own anyway, he stuck out his hand begging for a small fee. I had a feeling it was coming anyway, but we found him rather amusing and Laura parted with a few thousand (maybe thirty cents). While Laura and I were being "guided" by the strange man, Darren stopped to say a small prayer for his uncle and Mama, and we just enjoyed the peace and quiet of the cool stones before heading back to the city.
The days in Ubud sort of melt together, but I think all we did yesterday was go to the market. I'm compelled to say that we did something else in the morning, but as I have no recollection and no photographic evidence of anything in particular happening, I have but to assume that nothing else happened. So as far as I can remember, yesterday we went to the market to procure a few things we couldn't leave Bali without. For me, it was a set of mosaic tiled plates. You can get them back home at Home Sense, but not in abundance or for the same price you can here. They are a set of three, different sized bowl like plates, and their made of mosaic green glass tiles. There were so many different colours to choose from, but I managed. Darren on the other hand, had fallen in love with the idea of a hand carved chess set. Now, Darren and I are very different types of buyers, and if we were both like him it would take days to buy anything; but, if we were both like me, we would have run out of many a month ago! I headed into the market searching for my set and had picked it out, made the deal and sealed the purchase within about ten minutes. See, Darren didn't just buy a chess set, he scoured the market, and the whole of Ubud, comparing pieces and boards and craftsmanship and prices. He eventually narrowed it down to two: one board he liked better than the other, but one set of pieces he liked better than came with the nicer board. So after pondering at the market for a long while, we went back to this other shop (a good twenty minutes away), where Darren examined and went back and forth in his own mind for almost an hour! In the end, he bought the board with the pieces he liked best, and got the guy to throw in a pair of earings for me (no doubt to sweeten me up after waiting so long ;)). After running back to our bungalow (we were almost late meeting up with Laura) we had yet another wonderful dinner, with two deserts! (The home-made coconut pie is amazing! I think even Brennan would like this pie!)
A funny thing about Indonesia, which is such a far cry from what we experienced in China, is the male attention. In China, it is non existent; in Indonesia, it is subtle but nonetheless present. As we were walking back from dinner that night, Darren was on the other side of the street, and Laura and myself were on one side. As per usual, a guy asked, "You want transport?", which we declined, to which his response was, "You want boy?" We laughed out loud, informed him we had a boy, "Two of us for one boy!" Later that night, a guy again asked me and Darren if we wanted transport, we said no, and he offered me a helicopter ride for free (:S). Also, in the market on our first day a guy asked me if I wanted to buy a watch. I said no, so he asked if I wanted a boyfriend. I told him I already had one, so he asked if I wanted one more. It is humorous. Last night, we even had a guy simply say "Yes?" as we walked by. Not really sure what that was supposed to mean? Was he asking if we wanted to transport like everyone else? Yet still, my immediate response was to say no, and I didn't even know what I was saying no to!
Once passed the various solicitations, we met up with the Danish girls to check out the Bamboo Bar for some live entertainment. Given that drinks started at Rp 75000, we had "mocktails" and only one a piece before deciding to leave, heading back to our bungalows with snacks and beverages from the local corner store. We chatted and entertained each other with various forms of dance until late into the night. We said goodbye to both Laura and the Danish girls, who all left today, and Darren and I are once again on our own. Stuck with eachother's company. (Just kidding!)
It was nice to have a few friends to spend the days with, and it was great seeing Laura and hanging out with her again. While we were in Hong Kong she was pretty busy finishing up her school year and just tending to her daily life, so it was nice to just sit around and chat and catch up after all these long years. Today, Darren and I just ran some errands, getting ourselves ready to head to Singapore tomorrow. It'll be a short visit there as it's quite expensive and we're both anxious to keep going on our travels (I am especially anxious to head to Thailand); but, it'll be nice to see my cousin and catch up with her as well. So it's off tomorrow, to yet another mysterious land for a few days, and then we're bound for Malaysia.
PS- I'm really looking forward to eating Indian food in Little India in Singapore! Mmmm, butter chicken!
Friday, July 16, 2010
Lulls in Lovina
In retrospect, there was no point in leaving Amed. We basically came to Lovina to do nothing—the same nothing we were doing in Amed, but at a slightly higher cost and with a few more tourists. Consequently, there isn’t much to share, but I’ve already finished reading my latest book (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) and I’m bored. While we have done nothing except go for a few walks and make one trip into town to buy contact solution there are only a few not too boring things to note:
First: When we arrived in Lovina our driver took us to this hotel (the one we’re currently staying in) and we asked about prices. The quoted price was definitely more than we were comfortable spending and wanted to look elsewhere. The very lovely manager asked us where we wanted to go because Lovina has “organised pricing” and she could apparently tell us what their prices were. Darren gave her a funny look and said, “Organised pricing? Is that legal?” She quickly corrected herself and said “organised tourism”—same thing! She was cheeky and delightful, and Darren says she reminded him of my mom, so here we’re staying. It’s not as nice as our place in Amed and is twice the cost, but it does have AC. We did check out the place next door which, according to the guidebook (Lonely Planet on a Shoestring), was supposed to be a little grungy but dirt cheap. Our guidebook is two years old and since it was written, that particular hotel was bought out by the French and is now pretty nice and three times as expensive. So we didn’t settle without checking the surrounding competition. We had also just finished a gruesome hike through the night and I for one didn’t really care where we stayed, I just wanted to sleep.
Second: While the touts (people who try to sell you stuff on the streets/beach) can be quite distracting and annoying, they do deserve some level of respect. Darren and I agree that when it comes to beggars, we’d rather give people money for a service of sorts than to just give it to them for free. In China we saw a lot of both types of people, and we figure that if a man with no legs can manage to sell flowers, or an old frail couple can still manage to sing and entertain, then surely anyone can do some sort of thing to earn a small amount of coin. Thus far in Indonesia, we have seen no beggars—maybe because Bali is celebrated for its craftsmanship, but everyone here as something to sell. Whether its salt in Amed, or pearls in Lovina, no one right out asks you to give them your money, they always seem to find ways of utilising whatever abilities they have to “earn” it. The husband at “Bali 9” for example, not only owns a restaurant, but he does oil paintings, batiks (dyed cloth paintings), rents motorcycles, arranges transportation (not sure if he’s an actual driver or not), makes necklaces, and probably many other things we haven’t heard of yet. The people here are extremely resourceful, and while the constant and persistent push for massages, bracelets, and wood-carvings can drive you crazy, you can’t help but respect the simple fact that they’re just trying to earn a living.
Third: That being said, I think everyone in Bali is an entrepreneur in the making. The business approach here is so very different from anything we’ve experience so far, and so much better. The people here don’t just call out at you yelling prices and offering you goods/services, they always start by getting to know you, and it’s always the same routine: “Hello. How are you? What’s your name? Nice to meet you. My name is (Wayan). Where are you from? Where are you going?” The last question usually prompts either, “Do you need teksi/driver/transport?” or “Do you want to see the dolpins?” or “You need motorcycle?” etc. And if you decline, they don’t just shrug and watch you walk away, but they tell you their name again and that if/when you’re interested in transportation/dolphins/motorcycles to remember them and to come see them and that they’ll give you “cheap price”. Then they cheerfully say good-bye. Even the children use this same method of building a relationship with you. It’s amazing and I’m a huge sucker for it.
Fourth: In Indonesia in general and probably all of Asia, there is a definite community feel. Everyone on this street knows each other and I think it would be safe to say that they more or less run their business together as well—“organised pricing/tourism”. The couple that manages our hotel for instance, also manages the “PADI Dive Resort” down the street, and as with all hotels, they also provide various forms of transportation and “actifities”. From what we’ve experienced as we walk up and down the streets, if you want to rent a motorcycle/scooter, you have to book a day in advance so that they can make sure they have one to rent to you. This morning we asked if there were any available, and the manager ran down the street to find us one. The scooter she had hired for us was from the man who runs the restaurant that we regularly eat at who also rents it out and provides transportation. I’m also pretty sure that the “loundry” service offered at our hotel is the same laundry service offered at the shop just outside the gates to our hotel.
There are also restaurants along the street which are basically established side by side, and all day the women who run these warung sit next to each other gabbing and peeling garlic. Their menus are almost identical, as well as their prices, and even their “specials” are the same.
I think my favourite part about the community feel here though, is the way that the “village” really does raise the family. For example, at “Bali 9” (our go to restaurant), they have three children, one of whom is just over a year old. If the wife/chef is on her own or it is particularly busy, the women who run the resort/tourist information centre across the street will take little Korma off her hands. This evening while we were eating, little Korma was across the street with the manager of our hotel, her husband, the girl who owns the shop outside our hotel, and a number of other locals. A boy down the street was playing the guitar and singing, while the boy who lives next door (son of the owners of Bali 9) rode his bike back and forth, singing with the guitarist and playing with his sister and the other local kids. It’s just really great to see the whole community actually function as a community. They all help each other and spend the evenings together visiting. All the kids in the community play together (their social dynamics are hilarious) in the streets, and each of the neighbours does their part to keep an eye on them.
Fifth: Today while we were walking down the beach, Darren picked up a rock and hucked it at one of the sand crabs. He claims he just wanted to scare it (because apparently their running into a hole every time you get near them isn’t enough), but he actually hit it. He smashed up the poor things legs (the crab was probably only the size of a nickel) and it lay on its back twitching in pain. ***Apparently killing/torturing harmless creatures for fun/amusement is the sign of a sociopath serial killer. I’m just saying…
First: When we arrived in Lovina our driver took us to this hotel (the one we’re currently staying in) and we asked about prices. The quoted price was definitely more than we were comfortable spending and wanted to look elsewhere. The very lovely manager asked us where we wanted to go because Lovina has “organised pricing” and she could apparently tell us what their prices were. Darren gave her a funny look and said, “Organised pricing? Is that legal?” She quickly corrected herself and said “organised tourism”—same thing! She was cheeky and delightful, and Darren says she reminded him of my mom, so here we’re staying. It’s not as nice as our place in Amed and is twice the cost, but it does have AC. We did check out the place next door which, according to the guidebook (Lonely Planet on a Shoestring), was supposed to be a little grungy but dirt cheap. Our guidebook is two years old and since it was written, that particular hotel was bought out by the French and is now pretty nice and three times as expensive. So we didn’t settle without checking the surrounding competition. We had also just finished a gruesome hike through the night and I for one didn’t really care where we stayed, I just wanted to sleep.
Second: While the touts (people who try to sell you stuff on the streets/beach) can be quite distracting and annoying, they do deserve some level of respect. Darren and I agree that when it comes to beggars, we’d rather give people money for a service of sorts than to just give it to them for free. In China we saw a lot of both types of people, and we figure that if a man with no legs can manage to sell flowers, or an old frail couple can still manage to sing and entertain, then surely anyone can do some sort of thing to earn a small amount of coin. Thus far in Indonesia, we have seen no beggars—maybe because Bali is celebrated for its craftsmanship, but everyone here as something to sell. Whether its salt in Amed, or pearls in Lovina, no one right out asks you to give them your money, they always seem to find ways of utilising whatever abilities they have to “earn” it. The husband at “Bali 9” for example, not only owns a restaurant, but he does oil paintings, batiks (dyed cloth paintings), rents motorcycles, arranges transportation (not sure if he’s an actual driver or not), makes necklaces, and probably many other things we haven’t heard of yet. The people here are extremely resourceful, and while the constant and persistent push for massages, bracelets, and wood-carvings can drive you crazy, you can’t help but respect the simple fact that they’re just trying to earn a living.
Third: That being said, I think everyone in Bali is an entrepreneur in the making. The business approach here is so very different from anything we’ve experience so far, and so much better. The people here don’t just call out at you yelling prices and offering you goods/services, they always start by getting to know you, and it’s always the same routine: “Hello. How are you? What’s your name? Nice to meet you. My name is (Wayan). Where are you from? Where are you going?” The last question usually prompts either, “Do you need teksi/driver/transport?” or “Do you want to see the dolpins?” or “You need motorcycle?” etc. And if you decline, they don’t just shrug and watch you walk away, but they tell you their name again and that if/when you’re interested in transportation/dolphins/motorcycles to remember them and to come see them and that they’ll give you “cheap price”. Then they cheerfully say good-bye. Even the children use this same method of building a relationship with you. It’s amazing and I’m a huge sucker for it.
Fourth: In Indonesia in general and probably all of Asia, there is a definite community feel. Everyone on this street knows each other and I think it would be safe to say that they more or less run their business together as well—“organised pricing/tourism”. The couple that manages our hotel for instance, also manages the “PADI Dive Resort” down the street, and as with all hotels, they also provide various forms of transportation and “actifities”. From what we’ve experienced as we walk up and down the streets, if you want to rent a motorcycle/scooter, you have to book a day in advance so that they can make sure they have one to rent to you. This morning we asked if there were any available, and the manager ran down the street to find us one. The scooter she had hired for us was from the man who runs the restaurant that we regularly eat at who also rents it out and provides transportation. I’m also pretty sure that the “loundry” service offered at our hotel is the same laundry service offered at the shop just outside the gates to our hotel.
There are also restaurants along the street which are basically established side by side, and all day the women who run these warung sit next to each other gabbing and peeling garlic. Their menus are almost identical, as well as their prices, and even their “specials” are the same.
I think my favourite part about the community feel here though, is the way that the “village” really does raise the family. For example, at “Bali 9” (our go to restaurant), they have three children, one of whom is just over a year old. If the wife/chef is on her own or it is particularly busy, the women who run the resort/tourist information centre across the street will take little Korma off her hands. This evening while we were eating, little Korma was across the street with the manager of our hotel, her husband, the girl who owns the shop outside our hotel, and a number of other locals. A boy down the street was playing the guitar and singing, while the boy who lives next door (son of the owners of Bali 9) rode his bike back and forth, singing with the guitarist and playing with his sister and the other local kids. It’s just really great to see the whole community actually function as a community. They all help each other and spend the evenings together visiting. All the kids in the community play together (their social dynamics are hilarious) in the streets, and each of the neighbours does their part to keep an eye on them.
Fifth: Today while we were walking down the beach, Darren picked up a rock and hucked it at one of the sand crabs. He claims he just wanted to scare it (because apparently their running into a hole every time you get near them isn’t enough), but he actually hit it. He smashed up the poor things legs (the crab was probably only the size of a nickel) and it lay on its back twitching in pain. ***Apparently killing/torturing harmless creatures for fun/amusement is the sign of a sociopath serial killer. I’m just saying…
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Suck It Up Princess!: From Fever to Hypothermia
After scuba diving Darren still had the diving bug, but seeing as we already blew our budget with the diving, we settled for the much cheaper snorkelling. Surprisingly, the snorkelling was pretty amazing. You don’t realize when you’re just swimming about exactly what’s going on beneath you. Within a few feet from the shoreline we were yet again above another lively reef. Some of the fish just off shore we hadn’t even seen at the Japanese wreck. It could’ve been because the tide was in, and so the shallow waters are filled with more algae and other small things for fish to nibble on. We saw big blue/rainbow ones, we saw other big black ones eating little blue ones, and we were swimming with whole schools of tropical fish right at the surface. Swimming with tropical fish has yet to cease to blow my mind!
While the tide seemed to have brought in a little extra colour however, it also brought in some little extra jelly fish. Even while trying to put on my fins in the shallow end something stung me and I flicked off this tiny little squishy thing no bigger than a dime. We didn’t think much of it until Darren and I were both swimming and finding ourselves being stung by unseen predators! I swam to shore and asked the guy we rented the gear from and sure enough he told us they were jelly fish. Apparently they come in with the tide to snack on all the stuff that gets unsettled, but he said, “They just tiny. No problem. If you see big one, then you have problem”… comforting. So while Darren and I were swimming through trying to enjoy the beautiful fish, I couldn’t help but be a tad paranoid. The last thing I wanted was for Darren to have to pee on me. Yuk! With the tide also came a bit of garbage, and I freaked out at the sign of both plastic bags; and the dead chicken which made its way to shore wasn’t too motivating either (it smelled horrible!). So I left Darren to snorkel a bit on his own and I went to lie on the beach and read my book in peace, without being stung. If you’re expecting me to go on and tell you about a hilarious story where I got to pee on Darren, I’m sorry but we’re all disappointed there. The snorkelling didn’t really get any more exciting than little jellies and some colourful fish.
Later that day, I was so exhausted. We went in for an early lunch and I could barely keep my eyes open. The plan was to head to bed early so we could hike a volcano (and leave Amed by 1230am); so, I didn’t want to take a nap or I knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep, but there was no helping it. I would have slept all day, but Darren woke me up after an hour to make sure that I didn’t sleep too long. When he woke me up I was boiling and still completely exhausted. While eating dinner we deduced that the reason I was so tired must be because I had too much sun. It wasn’t until later that night however, maybe around seven or eight that we figured out I was burning up with a fever. Not sure what it was from (I had a sore throat on and off for a few days) but I was hot… I mean, I couldn’t tell I was hot but Darren assured me that I was boiling up. All I knew was that I felt like crap. At one point in the night I think Darren got pretty nervous because my heart was pounding and I was burning up (he put two blankets on me to help break the fever) and I barely broke a sweat. Needless to say, our plans to hike a 3000 meter volcano in the middle of the night were postponed. With the help of Dr Darren, I did eventually break the fever and I spent the next day sleeping it off.
Because we had cancelled our plans the first night, we had to pay extra the next. Our guide works for an organization, but had booked the day off to take us up and consequently lost money at our no show. We didn’t mind paying the extra cash, but we (I mean I) felt bad and we didn’t want to flake out on him twice, so even thought it may not have been the wisest decision, we went the following night anyway.
So, they picked us up around midnight, we drove about an hour and a half to the “Temple Market” which is about 1300 m up the mountain (Agung). At about 2am we were on the mountain. Now, this wasn’t like any hike we ever did in China. There were no wooden foot paths or cable cars to take you up and/or down, and it wasn’t a two day hike where you walk up for a bit and then across for rest of the time. No, this was a hike straight up the side of a volcano. For nearly 2000 meters (I know that’s only 2 km) we literally climbed up rocks in the pitch black of night, with only our headlamps to light the way. The only remnant of a path was the occasional foot hole that may or may not have been a foot hole. It had rained the night before, so the rocks were moist, most of them loose, and all other terrain was basically hard mud. To top it off, this was not like the other volcanoes on the island that have visible lava flowing in their craters. This volcano, though active (it last erupted in the 60’s) was so high up that it was freezing cold! Between still feeling like crap (weak and exhausted), being cold and it being the middle of the night, the hike was tough… and all I kept hearing in the back of my mind was “Suck it up Princess!” Yes, Tanya, your voice somehow lingered into my thoughts, and whenever I started to feel really sorry for myself, in crept your voice “Suck it up Princess!”
So suck it up I did. I mean, how many times in my life am I going to get to hike a volcano?! Even if it was a tough hike and I wasn’t feeling a hundred percent, I was hiking a volcano in Bali! So, I took my time and went slow, but we still made it to the top about an hour before the sun was expected to rise. Without any sort of warning, our guide just stopped, nestled into a corner and lay down to sleep. It didn’t take Darren and I long to follow suit, and soon we had found a nice “soft” patch of rocks and huddled up to keep warm. The wind was blowing pretty consistently, and it was a cold wind (“Suck it up Princess!”). We lay there for about an hour before the sun started to make its appearance. We quickly got up and climbed the last five minutes to the top of the crater. I must say that the sunrise was absolutely breathtaking. At 3000 some odd meters, you are literally above the clouds (at least most of them) and to see the sun rise over the clouds like that is phenomenal! My hands were so cold I could hardly operate my camera but I did manage, of course, to get a half decent shot or two.
Our guide made us coffee (with what was now lukewarm water, but whatever, I’ll take it!) and fed us some snacks and soup (much appreciated). Once the sun graced us with her presence, we, with numb hands and feet, started our decent. The decent was probably harder in some ways than the climb. It didn’t require quite the same cardiovascular stamina, but the balance and muscle use just wasn’t there. It’s hard to manage on slippery wet rocks when you’re not even sure you’ve made contact until you jar your knees. We had a couple close calls, and Darren scraped up his wrist a bit, but we eventually made it down safe and sound.
It was quite the experience; though, not quite what I was expecting. One way or another, that’s one more thing to cross off my bucket list. Of the things left to do, I think ride an elephant just might come next! Otherwise, I’m still feeling a bit off, but the fever is gone. Nothing a few lazy days on the beach can’t cure ;). We’re in Lovina now and it’s not as quiet as Amed (or as cheap) but we’re in a quaint littler area. We’ve already found the restaurant we’ll probably eat every meal at for the next few days. It’s the cutest little warung run by the cutest little family. Their two daughters are adorable; and, not only did they greet us and introduce themselves (the youngest is barely a year), they also did the same dance over and over again almost the entire time we ate dinner. I know I’m sold on the children and the food was pretty fantastic and well priced, so Darren will be back for sure!
With the purse strings slightly tightened I think Lovina will be mostly uneventful, at least until we’re back on track. I definitely have no problem with doing nothing on the beaches for a few days. I’m just gonna have to “suck it up” I guess ;). Hope everyone back home is happy and healthy. We’re trying to send a little sun your way, hope it’s working!
While the tide seemed to have brought in a little extra colour however, it also brought in some little extra jelly fish. Even while trying to put on my fins in the shallow end something stung me and I flicked off this tiny little squishy thing no bigger than a dime. We didn’t think much of it until Darren and I were both swimming and finding ourselves being stung by unseen predators! I swam to shore and asked the guy we rented the gear from and sure enough he told us they were jelly fish. Apparently they come in with the tide to snack on all the stuff that gets unsettled, but he said, “They just tiny. No problem. If you see big one, then you have problem”… comforting. So while Darren and I were swimming through trying to enjoy the beautiful fish, I couldn’t help but be a tad paranoid. The last thing I wanted was for Darren to have to pee on me. Yuk! With the tide also came a bit of garbage, and I freaked out at the sign of both plastic bags; and the dead chicken which made its way to shore wasn’t too motivating either (it smelled horrible!). So I left Darren to snorkel a bit on his own and I went to lie on the beach and read my book in peace, without being stung. If you’re expecting me to go on and tell you about a hilarious story where I got to pee on Darren, I’m sorry but we’re all disappointed there. The snorkelling didn’t really get any more exciting than little jellies and some colourful fish.
Later that day, I was so exhausted. We went in for an early lunch and I could barely keep my eyes open. The plan was to head to bed early so we could hike a volcano (and leave Amed by 1230am); so, I didn’t want to take a nap or I knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep, but there was no helping it. I would have slept all day, but Darren woke me up after an hour to make sure that I didn’t sleep too long. When he woke me up I was boiling and still completely exhausted. While eating dinner we deduced that the reason I was so tired must be because I had too much sun. It wasn’t until later that night however, maybe around seven or eight that we figured out I was burning up with a fever. Not sure what it was from (I had a sore throat on and off for a few days) but I was hot… I mean, I couldn’t tell I was hot but Darren assured me that I was boiling up. All I knew was that I felt like crap. At one point in the night I think Darren got pretty nervous because my heart was pounding and I was burning up (he put two blankets on me to help break the fever) and I barely broke a sweat. Needless to say, our plans to hike a 3000 meter volcano in the middle of the night were postponed. With the help of Dr Darren, I did eventually break the fever and I spent the next day sleeping it off.
Because we had cancelled our plans the first night, we had to pay extra the next. Our guide works for an organization, but had booked the day off to take us up and consequently lost money at our no show. We didn’t mind paying the extra cash, but we (I mean I) felt bad and we didn’t want to flake out on him twice, so even thought it may not have been the wisest decision, we went the following night anyway.
So, they picked us up around midnight, we drove about an hour and a half to the “Temple Market” which is about 1300 m up the mountain (Agung). At about 2am we were on the mountain. Now, this wasn’t like any hike we ever did in China. There were no wooden foot paths or cable cars to take you up and/or down, and it wasn’t a two day hike where you walk up for a bit and then across for rest of the time. No, this was a hike straight up the side of a volcano. For nearly 2000 meters (I know that’s only 2 km) we literally climbed up rocks in the pitch black of night, with only our headlamps to light the way. The only remnant of a path was the occasional foot hole that may or may not have been a foot hole. It had rained the night before, so the rocks were moist, most of them loose, and all other terrain was basically hard mud. To top it off, this was not like the other volcanoes on the island that have visible lava flowing in their craters. This volcano, though active (it last erupted in the 60’s) was so high up that it was freezing cold! Between still feeling like crap (weak and exhausted), being cold and it being the middle of the night, the hike was tough… and all I kept hearing in the back of my mind was “Suck it up Princess!” Yes, Tanya, your voice somehow lingered into my thoughts, and whenever I started to feel really sorry for myself, in crept your voice “Suck it up Princess!”
So suck it up I did. I mean, how many times in my life am I going to get to hike a volcano?! Even if it was a tough hike and I wasn’t feeling a hundred percent, I was hiking a volcano in Bali! So, I took my time and went slow, but we still made it to the top about an hour before the sun was expected to rise. Without any sort of warning, our guide just stopped, nestled into a corner and lay down to sleep. It didn’t take Darren and I long to follow suit, and soon we had found a nice “soft” patch of rocks and huddled up to keep warm. The wind was blowing pretty consistently, and it was a cold wind (“Suck it up Princess!”). We lay there for about an hour before the sun started to make its appearance. We quickly got up and climbed the last five minutes to the top of the crater. I must say that the sunrise was absolutely breathtaking. At 3000 some odd meters, you are literally above the clouds (at least most of them) and to see the sun rise over the clouds like that is phenomenal! My hands were so cold I could hardly operate my camera but I did manage, of course, to get a half decent shot or two.
Our guide made us coffee (with what was now lukewarm water, but whatever, I’ll take it!) and fed us some snacks and soup (much appreciated). Once the sun graced us with her presence, we, with numb hands and feet, started our decent. The decent was probably harder in some ways than the climb. It didn’t require quite the same cardiovascular stamina, but the balance and muscle use just wasn’t there. It’s hard to manage on slippery wet rocks when you’re not even sure you’ve made contact until you jar your knees. We had a couple close calls, and Darren scraped up his wrist a bit, but we eventually made it down safe and sound.
It was quite the experience; though, not quite what I was expecting. One way or another, that’s one more thing to cross off my bucket list. Of the things left to do, I think ride an elephant just might come next! Otherwise, I’m still feeling a bit off, but the fever is gone. Nothing a few lazy days on the beach can’t cure ;). We’re in Lovina now and it’s not as quiet as Amed (or as cheap) but we’re in a quaint littler area. We’ve already found the restaurant we’ll probably eat every meal at for the next few days. It’s the cutest little warung run by the cutest little family. Their two daughters are adorable; and, not only did they greet us and introduce themselves (the youngest is barely a year), they also did the same dance over and over again almost the entire time we ate dinner. I know I’m sold on the children and the food was pretty fantastic and well priced, so Darren will be back for sure!
With the purse strings slightly tightened I think Lovina will be mostly uneventful, at least until we’re back on track. I definitely have no problem with doing nothing on the beaches for a few days. I’m just gonna have to “suck it up” I guess ;). Hope everyone back home is happy and healthy. We’re trying to send a little sun your way, hope it’s working!
Sunday, July 11, 2010
A Japanese Ship Wreck
For starters, after re-examining the heinous cry last night, we determined that it wasn’t a child, and was in fact a cat. Whatever the poor thing was ailing from it was put out of its misery, presumably by another cat, but not before claws were drawn and more hideous noise ensued, including the input of a pig. After that though, there was relative silence. Until, the rooster started. We thought it was bad last night, but my word it only got worse. The thing started around 4 am and not a word of a lie, it’s still going. Of course, these things don’t happen singularly. No, the calls occur in response to the calls of the entire rooster community. So, even as I sit here, I can hear the cocks receding into the distance and then getting louder as they make their way back up the line. Darren really wishes he had a beebee gun; in fact, he was at the point where he was contemplating jumping the fence to strangle the damned thing. Unfortunately, I don’t think we’ll be able to escape the haunt of the rooster, unless of course we trade it in for the haunt of techno beats in the city.
On a much more peaceful note, Aislinn, guess what Darren and I did today? Guess… Nope, we didn’t eat any strange animals. Nope, we didn’t administer a test to see if the rooster would prefer cold or warm water… and nope, we didn’t fly a kite. Give up yet? Or maybe you’ve guess it already… we went scuba diving! (I thought you might like that one.) Aislinn I think you’d absolutely love it! I know you’ve been snorkelling, and that for sure is super cool, but scuba diving is really a treat!
There is a Japanese ship wreck of the coast of a little village about 20 minutes from where we’re staying (there’s also a US ship wreck about the same distance in the opposite direction). Linda, a French woman and diver staying at the same place as us, recommended the Japanese wreck over the US wreck. So this morning after breakfast Darren and I headed over and joined one of Linda’s lessons. They suited us up and took us into the pool to familiarize us with the equipment and procedures, and to help us get accustomed to the breathing. Darren picked it up right away, me on the other hand, I had a little trouble. I’m a little claustrophobic and something about breathing under water just didn’t feel natural at all (of course). For years people have told me to breathe in my nose and out my mouth, but of course, with diving you have to breathe in and out of your mouth. I panicked a little and would breathe in too much and out too little so that I couldn’t breathe in anymore and consequently, felt like I couldn’t breathe at all. Thank goodness we were in just a small pool to start because I was constantly holding things up to go to the surface to breathe. With Linda’s expertise however, I did manage to calm down and get used to the whole idea, and out we went into the big blue ocean (the Indian Ocean).
If I haven’t mentioned it already, the water in the Indian Ocean is very warm so there’s no unpleasant, breath taking shock of cold when you enter the water. I think warm waters must be perfect for a first-time diver. Anyway, into the water we went, our “fins” on and Linda helped us (basically just me) descend into the waves and almost immediately it was brightly coloured fish! Where we came down (right off the beach) it was just rocks and no coral, but right away a bright blue little thing was swimming beneath me. It was only a matter of minutes before we were in deeper waters and as the coral came into view, so did hundreds (and I literally mean hundreds) of fish is every shape, colour and size. We saw quite a few from the Finding Nemo cast, including Dora, Maurice, Flo, Star (I think that’s the starfish’s name), Bubbles/the yellow one that likes bubbles, and maybe a few others (no clown fish or puffer fish though). It was pretty exciting. All the different coral was amazing too. We also saw some of those see plants that recede into their little holes if you touch them (like on the Little Mermaid). Aislinn, you’ll have to educate me on what all this stuff is really called one day so I don’t have to keep using Disney references. I did not, unfortunately, see a mermaid, but one day I’ll get my chance.
The wreck itself was pretty cool and it’s amazing how much marine life thrives off of something like that. Even the old toilet was filled with life. I don’t know if it’s the carbon or what but the entire ship has more or less turned into one massive reef, and as Aislinn will surely tell you, reefs provide a great ecosystem for fish and other creatures. I did manage to get some pictures (I rented the company’s underwater camera) but as I have yet to master by buoyancy, they’re not fantastic. I had a hard time controlling my movement, and my depth perception under water is horrible. Also, by the time we went into the water with the camera (our second dive) the current seemed to have picked up and the water wasn’t quite as clear as it could’ve been. Nonetheless, it was absolutely amazing and Darren and I both really enjoyed it.
Darren especially did quite well in the water. His buoyancy was a lot better than mine. I’m not sure if it was his buoyancy/control, or just his sense of awareness, but the other guy with us (Ben) had a little trouble keeping track of his gangly limbs. He is only 16 and maybe not used to his body yet. He definitely kneed me in the head, kicked me with his fins a few times and ran into me various other times, and into Darren as well. He also wandered off quite often, to the point where we, nor the instructor, knew where he was. That being said, the goggles do inhibit your peripheral vision somewhat. But don’t worry no bumps or bruises to prove as evidence. I did however, suffer a small sting. There is some brown sort of plant life the guide informed us not to touch. Linda had rubbed up against some and had a rash all over her hands. Apparently, the stuff is supposed to make you pretty itchy. My encounter happened as Darren and I were posing for a photo. The guide was trying to take a picture, and what with the current and my already poor control skills, Darren and I (more just me) drifted back into a patch or coral without realising. At least I didn’t realise until I felt a sharp sting on my knee. It stung for a bit but no major damage done—just a small red bump now. I felt really bad though because I was taught that coral takes a long time to grow. The instructors even told us to make sure that we were always parallel to it so we wouldn’t damage it with our fins, and there I go and basically kneel right onto the stuff.
Anyway, we already had plans to get our certificates in Thailand, but I don’t think we’re going to end up waiting until then to do this again. It was a little expensive but we both (Darren especially) really enjoyed it, and they registered our dive on-line with their association, so we’re already one dive ahead to getting certified! It’s still early in the day but I couldn’t wait to post, I didn’t want to forget anything. Aislinn, if you haven’t already (and I don’t think you have) you have to try scuba diving. Maybe Darren and I will get enough hours to take you (not likely, but maybe).
*In the case of irregular internet access (like now) I'll be posting multiple entries at a time and post-dating them.
On a much more peaceful note, Aislinn, guess what Darren and I did today? Guess… Nope, we didn’t eat any strange animals. Nope, we didn’t administer a test to see if the rooster would prefer cold or warm water… and nope, we didn’t fly a kite. Give up yet? Or maybe you’ve guess it already… we went scuba diving! (I thought you might like that one.) Aislinn I think you’d absolutely love it! I know you’ve been snorkelling, and that for sure is super cool, but scuba diving is really a treat!
There is a Japanese ship wreck of the coast of a little village about 20 minutes from where we’re staying (there’s also a US ship wreck about the same distance in the opposite direction). Linda, a French woman and diver staying at the same place as us, recommended the Japanese wreck over the US wreck. So this morning after breakfast Darren and I headed over and joined one of Linda’s lessons. They suited us up and took us into the pool to familiarize us with the equipment and procedures, and to help us get accustomed to the breathing. Darren picked it up right away, me on the other hand, I had a little trouble. I’m a little claustrophobic and something about breathing under water just didn’t feel natural at all (of course). For years people have told me to breathe in my nose and out my mouth, but of course, with diving you have to breathe in and out of your mouth. I panicked a little and would breathe in too much and out too little so that I couldn’t breathe in anymore and consequently, felt like I couldn’t breathe at all. Thank goodness we were in just a small pool to start because I was constantly holding things up to go to the surface to breathe. With Linda’s expertise however, I did manage to calm down and get used to the whole idea, and out we went into the big blue ocean (the Indian Ocean).
If I haven’t mentioned it already, the water in the Indian Ocean is very warm so there’s no unpleasant, breath taking shock of cold when you enter the water. I think warm waters must be perfect for a first-time diver. Anyway, into the water we went, our “fins” on and Linda helped us (basically just me) descend into the waves and almost immediately it was brightly coloured fish! Where we came down (right off the beach) it was just rocks and no coral, but right away a bright blue little thing was swimming beneath me. It was only a matter of minutes before we were in deeper waters and as the coral came into view, so did hundreds (and I literally mean hundreds) of fish is every shape, colour and size. We saw quite a few from the Finding Nemo cast, including Dora, Maurice, Flo, Star (I think that’s the starfish’s name), Bubbles/the yellow one that likes bubbles, and maybe a few others (no clown fish or puffer fish though). It was pretty exciting. All the different coral was amazing too. We also saw some of those see plants that recede into their little holes if you touch them (like on the Little Mermaid). Aislinn, you’ll have to educate me on what all this stuff is really called one day so I don’t have to keep using Disney references. I did not, unfortunately, see a mermaid, but one day I’ll get my chance.
The wreck itself was pretty cool and it’s amazing how much marine life thrives off of something like that. Even the old toilet was filled with life. I don’t know if it’s the carbon or what but the entire ship has more or less turned into one massive reef, and as Aislinn will surely tell you, reefs provide a great ecosystem for fish and other creatures. I did manage to get some pictures (I rented the company’s underwater camera) but as I have yet to master by buoyancy, they’re not fantastic. I had a hard time controlling my movement, and my depth perception under water is horrible. Also, by the time we went into the water with the camera (our second dive) the current seemed to have picked up and the water wasn’t quite as clear as it could’ve been. Nonetheless, it was absolutely amazing and Darren and I both really enjoyed it.
Darren especially did quite well in the water. His buoyancy was a lot better than mine. I’m not sure if it was his buoyancy/control, or just his sense of awareness, but the other guy with us (Ben) had a little trouble keeping track of his gangly limbs. He is only 16 and maybe not used to his body yet. He definitely kneed me in the head, kicked me with his fins a few times and ran into me various other times, and into Darren as well. He also wandered off quite often, to the point where we, nor the instructor, knew where he was. That being said, the goggles do inhibit your peripheral vision somewhat. But don’t worry no bumps or bruises to prove as evidence. I did however, suffer a small sting. There is some brown sort of plant life the guide informed us not to touch. Linda had rubbed up against some and had a rash all over her hands. Apparently, the stuff is supposed to make you pretty itchy. My encounter happened as Darren and I were posing for a photo. The guide was trying to take a picture, and what with the current and my already poor control skills, Darren and I (more just me) drifted back into a patch or coral without realising. At least I didn’t realise until I felt a sharp sting on my knee. It stung for a bit but no major damage done—just a small red bump now. I felt really bad though because I was taught that coral takes a long time to grow. The instructors even told us to make sure that we were always parallel to it so we wouldn’t damage it with our fins, and there I go and basically kneel right onto the stuff.
Anyway, we already had plans to get our certificates in Thailand, but I don’t think we’re going to end up waiting until then to do this again. It was a little expensive but we both (Darren especially) really enjoyed it, and they registered our dive on-line with their association, so we’re already one dive ahead to getting certified! It’s still early in the day but I couldn’t wait to post, I didn’t want to forget anything. Aislinn, if you haven’t already (and I don’t think you have) you have to try scuba diving. Maybe Darren and I will get enough hours to take you (not likely, but maybe).
*In the case of irregular internet access (like now) I'll be posting multiple entries at a time and post-dating them.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Get Me Out of Kuta
Upon our arrival in Bali, Darren and I hopped in a “teksi” and headed to Kuta. Kuta is the main hubbub of the island and where Darren’s friend Laura lives. Before arriving, she gave us the lowdown on where to go for accommodations and there we went. Our driver was super nice, and seeing palm trees and blue skies seemed promising. Kuta however, was not so promising.
Before deciding to go to Bali/Indonesia, I asked around to see what peoples’ opinions were of the island; and, the consensus was that Bali was beautiful and full of culture. It’s my opinion, that none of these people were talking about Kuta. Kuta is basically to the Australians what Mexico is to a lot of North Americans. It is a city catered to “hooligan” surfers (who albeit are very good looking) but rude and crude. It has always been my understanding that the Asian culture in general (from East to South East) is conservative and somewhat passive. From what I’ve been told, this is more or less the case; but again, Kuta is the exception.
For the most part, the tourists in Kuta are just plain crude. They come to Kuta on short vacations to surf and party, surf and party, surf and party. They are loud and vulgar and seem to have little to no regard for the culture or the people (the religion in Bali is primarily Hindu, with a bit of Muslim as well). Consequently, the people who deal with the tourists have also become fairly crude. The touts (people trying to sell you stuff) are super aggressive, a lot of them try to sell you mushrooms or “epinephrine”, occasionally they call they refer to women as “Pussy”, and twice Darren and I were referred to as “stingy”.
There are also two main streets in Kuta, Poppies 1 and Poppies 2. Most of the affordable accommodation is in this area (which is still super over priced for what you’re getting), and so are all the night clubs. From outside our room, we could see the Sky Garden night club (the one Laura works at), and from inside our room we could hear it. That place would be going all night long. But, the proximity to the night clubs wasn’t the part that bothered us. Everyone, and I mean everyone (tourists and locals alike) driver motorcycles (with their surf boards attached of course) through the city—which, by the way, has the narrowest streets ever and no sidewalks. Trying to get to breakfast was a nightmare and only got worse as the day went by. Also, even though people don’t spit or pee in public like they do in China, the city and the beach especially, was surprisingly dirty. (Not to mention that Darren and I were harassed every five minutes by touters, sometimes the same ones over and over again.) People just don’t bother using trash cans—that being said, there aren’t a lot around to make use of.
Our first night there, Darren and I did check out Laura’s club; there were free vodka redbulls from 12-12:30 so how could we not!? Though the crowd was young and pretty outrageous, it was nice to get out a let loose a bit. We went with two girls we met, also from Canada, and hung out and danced for a couple hours. While it may sound like we were contributing to the problem (and maybe we were), I must point out that Darren and I were in bed and passed out by 2am, while everyone else kept going until the soccer game was over (4ish) and then some. However, even in our sleeps we knew when someone scored because the whole city seemed to explode. At any rate, after a few days, Darren and I were suffocating in Kuta. We couldn’t stand it any longer, and our impression of Bali certainly wasn’t the serene relaxation we had been anticipating. Before we were able to leave Kuta completely though, we hired a driver and went down to Padang Padang and Uluwatu. Padang Padang was a small and beautiful white sand beach at the bottom of a high cliff. There were quite a few people there but it was still so much more peaceful than Kuta. There were even a few monkeys wandering around. We stayed and swam for a little while and then headed to Uluwatu and went to one of the temples. They tide sarongs around our waists to cover our legs and uphold their ideas of modesty, and then were asked to remove our sunglasses and jewellery. Apparently the monkeys have learned that if they take your shiny things (including your camera) they can hold it ransom for food. There were monkeys everywhere at this temple (macaques), and we walked around, watching the monkeys more than taking in the cultural experience (oops), while I kept a firm grip on my camera. Some of the monkeys were pretty gutsy and a few of the bigger ones would stroll right by you like it was no big deal at all. Some of them would turn their backs to you if you started to take pictures, or start to creep towards you. One of them even came right up to Darren and tugged on his sarong. The greatest moment of the evening though, was when Darren was leaning up against a wall, casually holding onto our unopened 1L bottle of water, when this monkey came up, grabbed the bottle with both hands and bit a hole in the bottom. With Darren still holding on, the monkey just started to drink, until Darren was forced to put it down and the monkey tore a huge hole in the bottom and went to town. This same monkey, not fifteen minutes earlier came right up beside Sonia (a girl from Edmonton) and I as we were taking pictures and started jumping up and down. He was not a small thing and between the sudden movement and the sound of impact we both screamed—while everyone around us laughed of course. I don’t know if it was a reaction to our screaming or a yawn, but he showed his teeth and they were huge. It’s no surprise that he was able to puncture that bottle so easily. Overall, it was a great night; the first great night in Bali, and we knew that if we wanted more we’d have to get out of Kuta. So, the next morning we hopped in a van and headed to Ahmed, which the guidebook more or less described as off the radar—perfect!
When our transportation picked us up, there were six of us. The other four got dropped off in Ubud and it was just Darren and I heading off to the east coast. Ahmed is a small fishing area (more than a town) of black (volcanic) sand beaches and calm waters. (Kuta had white sand beaches and great surf.) The day we got here, we saw little to no other westerners (a few on the ride up, but none in the village). We wandered around trying to find a decent place to stay, and settled on Amed Butu. We did check out one place before hand which was so amazingly beautiful, and no one else was staying there. It had huge beds with canopies, wooden floors, air con (which does not come standard like it does in China), huge glass doors which opened into an outdoor pool, and there was a common area with a TV and pool table. The place was beautiful, but the starting price was also Rp 475,000 ($60—which isn’t expensive at all in terms of accommodations back home, and especially not expensive in light of what you’re getting, but it’s expensive for Bali and for us), though she did go down to Rp 300,000. We kept walking (me wanting to go back the entire time), and at one point, we thought that if we could get her down to Rp 200,000 we’d take it fore sure. But we found another place, basically at the edge of the main road and here we stayed (for Rp 80,000=$10/night, breakfast—coffee, watermelon and banana pancake—included). We have our own little bungalow (only a short walk from the water) with a soft bed, a small closet, some nice character, and like all the other bungalows in the area, an open air shower (which is pretty cool). It’s pretty simple but it’s wonderful, and so much better than where we were staying in Kuta (and for Rp 40,000 less).
So, not only are we ten times happier with our accommodations here in Ahmed but our first night was also a great sign of things to come. Darren and I met a diver who’s been staying in one of the bungalows for a month now, and she gave us a brief run down on where to eat and things to see. We had dinner at a restaurant she recommended and have really come to like the owners/chef and her husband. We also had to check out the beach, and not a minute after we set foot on it, several kids came running towards us. They were a ways off and Darren and I thought we could turn around and go back up the road without them noticing, but we were so wrong. We were swarmed by children trying to sell us salt in small baskets made of dried palm leaves. They all had little pieces of paper with their pitch written on it in different languages. All of them were apparently selling “Balinese salt” to help them pay for school. I’m still not sure what the big deal is with the salt, but Darren and I weren’t really interested, especially for Rp 20,000. It was hard to say no to the little kids though (which is the point of course). They really were cute, and all named Wayan. Well, many of them are named Wayan, which is apparently the “number one name in Bali”. There were another couple of kids named Ilo, one in particular who was super tiny and would just hold her salt up as high as she could and say “it’s good”. So cute! Instead of buying a bunch of salt, Darren and I told them that if they made us necklaces out of shells we’d come back the next day and buy a few. This of course prompted the next step in the deal and the children started asking what time we’d be there, how many necklaces we’d buy (they told us we had to buy five, one from each of them), and what price we’d buy them for (Rp 10,000 if it was good, Rp 5000 if it was no good). They were quite the miniature business people.
After they went scurrying off looking for sea shells, Darren and I spent the rest of the evening sitting on the rocks, watching the sun set, and watching some of the local kids play soccer on the beach. Darren also befriended one of the local fishermen, and I made a few friends out of the kids—who really loved my camera and having their pictures taken, “One more! One more! One more poto!” (that’s not spelled wrong, just phonetically). The fisherman Darren met offered to take Darren fishing, which he might do in a day or two, and even invited us into his home to meet his family. We sat and talked with his wife and child, and a few of their friends for a while which was really nice. The people here speak minimal English, but enough that we can hold a basic conversation.
While we really like our bungalow by the way, there does seem to be a variety of wild life, and a crying baby, living next door. Several times in the middle of the night Darren and I were awaken by varying loud and unpleasant noises. The first was a rooster who cocked for a very long time, which wouldn’t have been too bad, except that each of his cocks was followed by the howl of a dog. Once that stopped, a child eventually started screaming bloody murder. There was some debate however of whether or not it was a child or a very disturbed cat. We also heard pigs, motorcycles, and while I was sleeping, I heard Darren. Apparently sometime in the night, he found a cockroach in his armpit. Thankfully, he was smart enough not to tell me about it until today.
This morning, Darren and I went in search of an ATM. I knew there might be a risk of the area not having one, being that the guide book mentioned that Ahmed had less tourist amenities, but we took a chance. The ATM was a few villages away in Kota which took us about an hour to get to, but it made for a nice ride through the villages. In Kota, we grabbed some cash, stored up on some snacks at the supermarket, had lunch, and came back to Ahmed to lie on the beach and swim for a while.
The water was warm and calm and so clear. Pretty amazing actually, especially considering Indonesia’s general lack of environmental awareness. Unlike the beach in Kuta, we were only bothered two or three times by touters, and there was barely anyone else there.
After dinner and a shower, we headed back to the beach where we knew our little friends would be waiting for us. Sure enough, the minute we sat down, a bunch of heads popped up (they were at least 300 meters away) and came running towards us. They started shoving their prized necklaces in our faces and the dealings began. Now however, instead of five, we had to buy 8, and two of the girls (Wayan and Ilo) were missing (Ilo, who was maybe 4 didn’t make a necklace, and Wayan had to go home). Darren and I didn’t have any change, and the necklaces were Rp 10,000 a piece. Some of them were really nice, most of them looked like they should—made my children—and we bought 10 because all we had was a Rp 100,000 bill. Most of the kids were really cute about it. Some (by that I mean one really ballsy girl) were a little peeved about us buying two from two girls and only one from the rest, but we tried to make change but no one in the village could break a 100 (this same little girl sold me a very nice necklace, I later found out, a tourist gave her). One of the little girls clearly tried to make a necklace, and ended up making something between a necklace and bracelet, and not with the best craftsmanship. She held up hers with the rest, frowned and said that it was small. I picked it up, tried to put it on my head, but it was unlikely I’d even be able to get that on a baby’s head. It was too long for a bracelet, but also too short to wrap twice around my wrist. Everyone laughed, and she (another Ilo) looked so defeated. I handed it back to her, and once Darren and I decided that we had to buy at least one from each kid, I took her tiny necklace and her whole face lit up. She kept saying “thank-you, thank-you” and eventually even said “mercie beaucoup”. Once we got all the necklaces sorted out, Darren handed the kids the Rp 100k, told them one last time that they had to share, and told them to “get out of here”; at which point, they all ran screaming and laughing down the beach and into the night.
It’s kind of funny because when the driver dropped us off here in Ahmed he told us “this is the real Bali”, and he was so right. In two short days we’ve experienced more culture here than we did with 4-5 days in Kuta. Everyone is as friendly as we’ve heard they are, and the scenery is really beautiful! This part of Bali actually reminds me a lot of the Filippines. The beach here, with all the fishermen, reminds me of the one in Pandan, and the people, and even some of the language reminds me a lot of the Filippines too. I’m definitely starting to understand why so many people love it here so much. I think tomorrow we might see about snorkelling at the Japanese ship wreck, and once we’re done in Ahmed (if ever) we’re off to Lovina to swim with the dolphins.
Before deciding to go to Bali/Indonesia, I asked around to see what peoples’ opinions were of the island; and, the consensus was that Bali was beautiful and full of culture. It’s my opinion, that none of these people were talking about Kuta. Kuta is basically to the Australians what Mexico is to a lot of North Americans. It is a city catered to “hooligan” surfers (who albeit are very good looking) but rude and crude. It has always been my understanding that the Asian culture in general (from East to South East) is conservative and somewhat passive. From what I’ve been told, this is more or less the case; but again, Kuta is the exception.
For the most part, the tourists in Kuta are just plain crude. They come to Kuta on short vacations to surf and party, surf and party, surf and party. They are loud and vulgar and seem to have little to no regard for the culture or the people (the religion in Bali is primarily Hindu, with a bit of Muslim as well). Consequently, the people who deal with the tourists have also become fairly crude. The touts (people trying to sell you stuff) are super aggressive, a lot of them try to sell you mushrooms or “epinephrine”, occasionally they call they refer to women as “Pussy”, and twice Darren and I were referred to as “stingy”.
There are also two main streets in Kuta, Poppies 1 and Poppies 2. Most of the affordable accommodation is in this area (which is still super over priced for what you’re getting), and so are all the night clubs. From outside our room, we could see the Sky Garden night club (the one Laura works at), and from inside our room we could hear it. That place would be going all night long. But, the proximity to the night clubs wasn’t the part that bothered us. Everyone, and I mean everyone (tourists and locals alike) driver motorcycles (with their surf boards attached of course) through the city—which, by the way, has the narrowest streets ever and no sidewalks. Trying to get to breakfast was a nightmare and only got worse as the day went by. Also, even though people don’t spit or pee in public like they do in China, the city and the beach especially, was surprisingly dirty. (Not to mention that Darren and I were harassed every five minutes by touters, sometimes the same ones over and over again.) People just don’t bother using trash cans—that being said, there aren’t a lot around to make use of.
Our first night there, Darren and I did check out Laura’s club; there were free vodka redbulls from 12-12:30 so how could we not!? Though the crowd was young and pretty outrageous, it was nice to get out a let loose a bit. We went with two girls we met, also from Canada, and hung out and danced for a couple hours. While it may sound like we were contributing to the problem (and maybe we were), I must point out that Darren and I were in bed and passed out by 2am, while everyone else kept going until the soccer game was over (4ish) and then some. However, even in our sleeps we knew when someone scored because the whole city seemed to explode. At any rate, after a few days, Darren and I were suffocating in Kuta. We couldn’t stand it any longer, and our impression of Bali certainly wasn’t the serene relaxation we had been anticipating. Before we were able to leave Kuta completely though, we hired a driver and went down to Padang Padang and Uluwatu. Padang Padang was a small and beautiful white sand beach at the bottom of a high cliff. There were quite a few people there but it was still so much more peaceful than Kuta. There were even a few monkeys wandering around. We stayed and swam for a little while and then headed to Uluwatu and went to one of the temples. They tide sarongs around our waists to cover our legs and uphold their ideas of modesty, and then were asked to remove our sunglasses and jewellery. Apparently the monkeys have learned that if they take your shiny things (including your camera) they can hold it ransom for food. There were monkeys everywhere at this temple (macaques), and we walked around, watching the monkeys more than taking in the cultural experience (oops), while I kept a firm grip on my camera. Some of the monkeys were pretty gutsy and a few of the bigger ones would stroll right by you like it was no big deal at all. Some of them would turn their backs to you if you started to take pictures, or start to creep towards you. One of them even came right up to Darren and tugged on his sarong. The greatest moment of the evening though, was when Darren was leaning up against a wall, casually holding onto our unopened 1L bottle of water, when this monkey came up, grabbed the bottle with both hands and bit a hole in the bottom. With Darren still holding on, the monkey just started to drink, until Darren was forced to put it down and the monkey tore a huge hole in the bottom and went to town. This same monkey, not fifteen minutes earlier came right up beside Sonia (a girl from Edmonton) and I as we were taking pictures and started jumping up and down. He was not a small thing and between the sudden movement and the sound of impact we both screamed—while everyone around us laughed of course. I don’t know if it was a reaction to our screaming or a yawn, but he showed his teeth and they were huge. It’s no surprise that he was able to puncture that bottle so easily. Overall, it was a great night; the first great night in Bali, and we knew that if we wanted more we’d have to get out of Kuta. So, the next morning we hopped in a van and headed to Ahmed, which the guidebook more or less described as off the radar—perfect!
When our transportation picked us up, there were six of us. The other four got dropped off in Ubud and it was just Darren and I heading off to the east coast. Ahmed is a small fishing area (more than a town) of black (volcanic) sand beaches and calm waters. (Kuta had white sand beaches and great surf.) The day we got here, we saw little to no other westerners (a few on the ride up, but none in the village). We wandered around trying to find a decent place to stay, and settled on Amed Butu. We did check out one place before hand which was so amazingly beautiful, and no one else was staying there. It had huge beds with canopies, wooden floors, air con (which does not come standard like it does in China), huge glass doors which opened into an outdoor pool, and there was a common area with a TV and pool table. The place was beautiful, but the starting price was also Rp 475,000 ($60—which isn’t expensive at all in terms of accommodations back home, and especially not expensive in light of what you’re getting, but it’s expensive for Bali and for us), though she did go down to Rp 300,000. We kept walking (me wanting to go back the entire time), and at one point, we thought that if we could get her down to Rp 200,000 we’d take it fore sure. But we found another place, basically at the edge of the main road and here we stayed (for Rp 80,000=$10/night, breakfast—coffee, watermelon and banana pancake—included). We have our own little bungalow (only a short walk from the water) with a soft bed, a small closet, some nice character, and like all the other bungalows in the area, an open air shower (which is pretty cool). It’s pretty simple but it’s wonderful, and so much better than where we were staying in Kuta (and for Rp 40,000 less).
So, not only are we ten times happier with our accommodations here in Ahmed but our first night was also a great sign of things to come. Darren and I met a diver who’s been staying in one of the bungalows for a month now, and she gave us a brief run down on where to eat and things to see. We had dinner at a restaurant she recommended and have really come to like the owners/chef and her husband. We also had to check out the beach, and not a minute after we set foot on it, several kids came running towards us. They were a ways off and Darren and I thought we could turn around and go back up the road without them noticing, but we were so wrong. We were swarmed by children trying to sell us salt in small baskets made of dried palm leaves. They all had little pieces of paper with their pitch written on it in different languages. All of them were apparently selling “Balinese salt” to help them pay for school. I’m still not sure what the big deal is with the salt, but Darren and I weren’t really interested, especially for Rp 20,000. It was hard to say no to the little kids though (which is the point of course). They really were cute, and all named Wayan. Well, many of them are named Wayan, which is apparently the “number one name in Bali”. There were another couple of kids named Ilo, one in particular who was super tiny and would just hold her salt up as high as she could and say “it’s good”. So cute! Instead of buying a bunch of salt, Darren and I told them that if they made us necklaces out of shells we’d come back the next day and buy a few. This of course prompted the next step in the deal and the children started asking what time we’d be there, how many necklaces we’d buy (they told us we had to buy five, one from each of them), and what price we’d buy them for (Rp 10,000 if it was good, Rp 5000 if it was no good). They were quite the miniature business people.
After they went scurrying off looking for sea shells, Darren and I spent the rest of the evening sitting on the rocks, watching the sun set, and watching some of the local kids play soccer on the beach. Darren also befriended one of the local fishermen, and I made a few friends out of the kids—who really loved my camera and having their pictures taken, “One more! One more! One more poto!” (that’s not spelled wrong, just phonetically). The fisherman Darren met offered to take Darren fishing, which he might do in a day or two, and even invited us into his home to meet his family. We sat and talked with his wife and child, and a few of their friends for a while which was really nice. The people here speak minimal English, but enough that we can hold a basic conversation.
While we really like our bungalow by the way, there does seem to be a variety of wild life, and a crying baby, living next door. Several times in the middle of the night Darren and I were awaken by varying loud and unpleasant noises. The first was a rooster who cocked for a very long time, which wouldn’t have been too bad, except that each of his cocks was followed by the howl of a dog. Once that stopped, a child eventually started screaming bloody murder. There was some debate however of whether or not it was a child or a very disturbed cat. We also heard pigs, motorcycles, and while I was sleeping, I heard Darren. Apparently sometime in the night, he found a cockroach in his armpit. Thankfully, he was smart enough not to tell me about it until today.
This morning, Darren and I went in search of an ATM. I knew there might be a risk of the area not having one, being that the guide book mentioned that Ahmed had less tourist amenities, but we took a chance. The ATM was a few villages away in Kota which took us about an hour to get to, but it made for a nice ride through the villages. In Kota, we grabbed some cash, stored up on some snacks at the supermarket, had lunch, and came back to Ahmed to lie on the beach and swim for a while.
The water was warm and calm and so clear. Pretty amazing actually, especially considering Indonesia’s general lack of environmental awareness. Unlike the beach in Kuta, we were only bothered two or three times by touters, and there was barely anyone else there.
After dinner and a shower, we headed back to the beach where we knew our little friends would be waiting for us. Sure enough, the minute we sat down, a bunch of heads popped up (they were at least 300 meters away) and came running towards us. They started shoving their prized necklaces in our faces and the dealings began. Now however, instead of five, we had to buy 8, and two of the girls (Wayan and Ilo) were missing (Ilo, who was maybe 4 didn’t make a necklace, and Wayan had to go home). Darren and I didn’t have any change, and the necklaces were Rp 10,000 a piece. Some of them were really nice, most of them looked like they should—made my children—and we bought 10 because all we had was a Rp 100,000 bill. Most of the kids were really cute about it. Some (by that I mean one really ballsy girl) were a little peeved about us buying two from two girls and only one from the rest, but we tried to make change but no one in the village could break a 100 (this same little girl sold me a very nice necklace, I later found out, a tourist gave her). One of the little girls clearly tried to make a necklace, and ended up making something between a necklace and bracelet, and not with the best craftsmanship. She held up hers with the rest, frowned and said that it was small. I picked it up, tried to put it on my head, but it was unlikely I’d even be able to get that on a baby’s head. It was too long for a bracelet, but also too short to wrap twice around my wrist. Everyone laughed, and she (another Ilo) looked so defeated. I handed it back to her, and once Darren and I decided that we had to buy at least one from each kid, I took her tiny necklace and her whole face lit up. She kept saying “thank-you, thank-you” and eventually even said “mercie beaucoup”. Once we got all the necklaces sorted out, Darren handed the kids the Rp 100k, told them one last time that they had to share, and told them to “get out of here”; at which point, they all ran screaming and laughing down the beach and into the night.
It’s kind of funny because when the driver dropped us off here in Ahmed he told us “this is the real Bali”, and he was so right. In two short days we’ve experienced more culture here than we did with 4-5 days in Kuta. Everyone is as friendly as we’ve heard they are, and the scenery is really beautiful! This part of Bali actually reminds me a lot of the Filippines. The beach here, with all the fishermen, reminds me of the one in Pandan, and the people, and even some of the language reminds me a lot of the Filippines too. I’m definitely starting to understand why so many people love it here so much. I think tomorrow we might see about snorkelling at the Japanese ship wreck, and once we’re done in Ahmed (if ever) we’re off to Lovina to swim with the dolphins.
Monday, July 5, 2010
Almost There
I'm currently sitting in Starbucks at the Kuala Lumpur airport awaiting our flight to the glorious beaches of Bali. We've been here for almost 7 hours and we've got another 2 to go.
Before leaving Hong Kong, Darren and I debated whether or not it would be worth it to spend our 9 hour layover in a hotel/hostel. The two biggest factors in this decision, as with most decisions we make, was time and money. The only hotels anywhere near the airport (which is basically in the middle of nowhere) are the Pan Pacific, the Concorde, etc. These hotels average upwards of $100 for one night. The closest hotel we could find for a lower price was $42, but was fully booked. Every other form of accomodation is about an hour away. So our choices were as follows: pay a ridiculous amount for a bed nearby at a luxury hotel; travel almost an hour into town for affordable accomodations (getting there around 3am, sleeping for about three hours, then having to leave by about 6am to catch our flight out); or, sleep in the airport. Guess which one we chose?
No, this is not a trick question. If you know us at all (or if you're Laura and you were there to witness the discussion), you can probably guess that we slept at the airport. Now, before arriving I was dreading this decision. I had this notion that the Kuala Lumpur Airport was some sort of tin roof/dirt floor, or something resembling a Chinese train station. Maybe I'm just too accustomed to the "cleanliness"/lack thereof of Chinese transportation, because I think the airport is actually fairly clean. It does help that spitting and hawking loogies, and urinating on the floor is not common practice here in Malaysia (THANK GOODNESS!). Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised.
That being said, it was almost 2am when we got through customs and we were certainly not the only ones with plans to set up camp on the floor. As we walked through the small airport (which is still probably double the size of the one in Prince), we saw plenty of people ten steps ahead of us, sprawled out in a corner or along a wall, eyes covered, snoozing away. At 2 in the am, the airport was actually pretty quiet, and Darren and I nestled in, made ourselves a little sleeping quarter and did our best to konk out.
About two hours into our snooze however, the airport exploded with people. When we fell asleep the AirAsia check-ins weren't even open and so there was little activity. At about 4 in the morning though, there were huge line-ups of people checking into flights. Once the hustle and bustle started, it didn't let up. We would wake up at intervals to crowds of people not more than a few feet from us, and by around 6am, there was no blocking out the noise.
So, true and faithful, we joined the line of zombies and headed to Starbucks. It's funny how you can walk into a Starbucks and feel right at home. Most of the people here are foreigners and English speakers and with a nice mug of Americano, it hardly feels like you've left home; except, that Malaysia has a huge Muslim population--full burkas and traditional modest garb everywehere--something we don't see much of at home.
So here we are, empty mugs of coffee, our bags piled into a corner, killing time until we leave for Bali. Anxiously awaiting.
Before leaving Hong Kong, Darren and I debated whether or not it would be worth it to spend our 9 hour layover in a hotel/hostel. The two biggest factors in this decision, as with most decisions we make, was time and money. The only hotels anywhere near the airport (which is basically in the middle of nowhere) are the Pan Pacific, the Concorde, etc. These hotels average upwards of $100 for one night. The closest hotel we could find for a lower price was $42, but was fully booked. Every other form of accomodation is about an hour away. So our choices were as follows: pay a ridiculous amount for a bed nearby at a luxury hotel; travel almost an hour into town for affordable accomodations (getting there around 3am, sleeping for about three hours, then having to leave by about 6am to catch our flight out); or, sleep in the airport. Guess which one we chose?
No, this is not a trick question. If you know us at all (or if you're Laura and you were there to witness the discussion), you can probably guess that we slept at the airport. Now, before arriving I was dreading this decision. I had this notion that the Kuala Lumpur Airport was some sort of tin roof/dirt floor, or something resembling a Chinese train station. Maybe I'm just too accustomed to the "cleanliness"/lack thereof of Chinese transportation, because I think the airport is actually fairly clean. It does help that spitting and hawking loogies, and urinating on the floor is not common practice here in Malaysia (THANK GOODNESS!). Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised.
That being said, it was almost 2am when we got through customs and we were certainly not the only ones with plans to set up camp on the floor. As we walked through the small airport (which is still probably double the size of the one in Prince), we saw plenty of people ten steps ahead of us, sprawled out in a corner or along a wall, eyes covered, snoozing away. At 2 in the am, the airport was actually pretty quiet, and Darren and I nestled in, made ourselves a little sleeping quarter and did our best to konk out.
About two hours into our snooze however, the airport exploded with people. When we fell asleep the AirAsia check-ins weren't even open and so there was little activity. At about 4 in the morning though, there were huge line-ups of people checking into flights. Once the hustle and bustle started, it didn't let up. We would wake up at intervals to crowds of people not more than a few feet from us, and by around 6am, there was no blocking out the noise.
So, true and faithful, we joined the line of zombies and headed to Starbucks. It's funny how you can walk into a Starbucks and feel right at home. Most of the people here are foreigners and English speakers and with a nice mug of Americano, it hardly feels like you've left home; except, that Malaysia has a huge Muslim population--full burkas and traditional modest garb everywehere--something we don't see much of at home.
So here we are, empty mugs of coffee, our bags piled into a corner, killing time until we leave for Bali. Anxiously awaiting.
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Yangshuo and Back Again
Okay! Sorry! Sorry! Sorry for the delay! We are fine and happy and healthy. I haven't written in a while just because we've been busy, and sorry for not e-mailing any of the family. We spent about a week in Yangshuo and the wonderful thing about it, is that you really can just go there and fall off the face of the earth... which obviously, we did.
So like I said, we were in Yangshuo for about a week. It's more or less been known as a backpacker's paradise, a popular place for climbers and a place of laid back, local feel. Every year it becomes more and more commercialised and I think we made it just in time. Along the road to the Yu Long, Moon Hill Cave, and the town of Xingping they are building three archways which are rumored to charge 80 RMB just to use the road. It's the opinion of many travellers that this toll is going to ruin Yangshuo. The reason people love it is because, like we did, you can just bike along the many roads, through the villages, go for a dip in the river, or just wander through the farm country. With an 80 RMB toll, a lot of budget tourists, like ourselves, will be turned around. Not to mention, that climbers are not exactly the wealthy amongst them all, and their reasons for visiting Yangshuo will be deterred as well.
That all being said, Darren and I really did love Yangshuo. I think we rank it second (to Dali) of the Chinese towns we've visited. We loved it for its laid back feel. The first few days we were there it rained endlessly. Our hostel was just outside the main city in a little farming village and the patio looked over a garden of sorts. It was beautiful, but all that rain meant insane humidity and a lot of mosquitoes. Darren and I both were bitten numerous times. Being that the activities in Yangshuo are all outdoor, there wasn't much to do in the rain. We were happy to do no more than stroll through town the first two days, and on the third day we decided to brave a bike ride. Darren, myself and Hannah (an English teacher from NY/Oregon) got our bikes while it wasn't raining, and headed into some of the countryside. Along the way, we met one of the many little old ladies selling flower crowns, and Hannah and I couldn't resist. We rode around all day with our little crowns on. It did begin to rain again though, and we did get quite drenched and muddy. We had planned to make it all the way to the Dragon Bridge, but at one point, the rain got really bad, and we stopped under a tree, alongside a water buffalo, to figure out what we were going to do. Darren had a strong urge to pet the bull, and despite my warnings he slowly ventured towards it, and sure enough, it planted its hooves and lowered its head and got its horns ready. Thank goodness it was tied to a tree or Darren could've been in rough shape. Ha ha ha. It was wet, we were soaked, and back to our hostel we went.
That night, we ventured out on the town with a couple other people, had some dinner, watched the soccer game and found ourselves in a Chinese bar. Wow! That was an experience. First of all, the Chinese music is terrible, and I don't just mean Chinese pop music, but the Chinese songs done to the tune of "If You're Happy and You Know It Clap Your Hands". Not only that, but the DJ would sing along and then randomly yell into the mic. It was so loud and so ugly. The best part of it though, was that every bar in Yangshuo seemed to have a pole. That was funny. Still not as funny as the full out hawaiian print outfits. There were three guys in the bar wearing hawaiin shirts, two of which were also wearing matching shorts! It was priceless. They thought they were pretty hot too, and the dancing was fantastic! It's not like the bars at home where all the girls dance and the guys watch from afar, too cool for school; no, these guys were going all out--dancing the night away. There was also this one girl, wearing a shirt that said "Too much fun" and she would do this strange girating move around the pole. She shook her whole body and somehow managed to move forward, spasming all the way. It really did seem more like a seizure. I think the person who enjoyed himself the most was Neil. Him, the pole, and the guy who grabbed his but, all had a great night!
After the third day of straight rain, the sun eventually did come out and it came out strong (which didn't deter the bugs however). It was HOT! Very HOT! We took our first chance to get on a "bamboo" (I put that in quotations because they're really just plastic pipes made to look like bamboo) raft and float down the river (and by float, I mean go upstream by motor). What I should probably mention, is that the day before our hostel owner told us not to eat any pork. Apparently there'd been some sort of disease going around and a lot of pigs were dying and ending up in the river (the Li River). Sure enough, in the course of the hour and a half that we floated upstream, we saw so many pigs, belly up and bloated that we lost count. We lost count around thirty and that was early on. It got so bad that we had it down to a science. We could roughly estimate how long they'd been in the water based on how bloated they were and how they floated (how much of the body was above the water and what direction the legs stuck out in). Don't get me wrong, the karst mountains and scenery were beautiful and amazing, but it was hard to concentrate with dead pigs floating everywhere.
The next day Darren and I rented a scooter one day (it was nice not to have to work up any more of a sweat than we had to) and headed through the country to the Moon Hill Cave. It's a pretty cool mountain. There is a crescent shaped archway in the top of the hill and apparently has over 20 or 30 climbing paths. We didn't go all the way to the top of the archway (because we didn't know you could) but the trek to the archway itself was a scorcher. It was about 20 minutes to a half hour up, and again down and Darren and I were both sweating fiercly. I can't explain it, but that my shirt became a towel, a damp towel. We were so hot and so sweaty that we decided to find ourselves a little spot to go swimming. We took the scooters out to this great little spot by the river where they dock some of the bamboo rafts. There was a couple there, the girl sitting under the tree while the guy was in his underwear diving off the rafts. There was another guy, just sitting on the edge, cooling his feet in the water and sipping on some local beer (Liquan). I wasn't prepared for a swim, but Darren went in for a dip, and after sitting on the raft, sweating bullets, I waited for the swarms of tourists floating by to subside, and I took off my shirt and jumped in as well. It was so incredibly refreshing! The river was quite clean and so cool. It was so clean, that even though I accidentally swallowed a mouthful, I haven't caught any parasite or anything.
The next day was just as hot as the last, if not hotter, and we rented scooters again; Hannah and Margaret on one, and Darren and myself on another. We got an early start and spent a good couple hours just sitting on the rafts and diving into the water. It was really the perfect way to spend such a hot and humid afternoon. Just to put things into perspective, it was so hot, that my hair would start to dry within minutes of getting out of the water and was almost completely dry after no more than ten minutes on the scooter. After getting back, we headed to Gon's Noodles, a delicious local noodle place, and sat down for a late lunch. We must've timed it perfectly because all of a sudden, the rain came coming down. It was still super hot, but not it was super wet! Thankfully, by the time we finished lunch, the rain was done too! We headed back to the hostel and Hannah and I showered and got ready to go to a cooking class. Darren didn't want to come, something about paying to learn to cook Chinese when his mother could teach him for free, but Hannah and I really enjoyed ourselves. It was pretty fantastic actually. They picked us up and did a tour through the market, teaching us about different vegetables and spices, and different meats. At one point, our instructor pointed us to the part of the market where dogs sit in cages waiting to be butchered. At this point I stayed with her and the vegetables, but from what I was told not only were there live dogs, but hanging pieces of butchered and skinned ones as well. Bah! On a lighter note, they took us to this quaint littler barnhouse in one of the smaller villages, set up and equipped for our cooking lesson. We made pork (or in my case, chicken) stuffed vegetables (one pumpkin flower, one piece of fried tofu, a piece of eggplant, and a mushroom), cashew chicken, fried eggplant, Chinese spinach, and the local delicacy, beer fish. It was all excellent and so much fun. We all had our own chopping boards, our own clevers, and our own woks. Hannah and I really enjoyed being able to cook again.
The rest of our time in Yangshuo was spent shopping and relaxing. We went to the river and Gon's Noodles one more time, and before we knew it it was time to head back to Hong Kong. We took a train to Shenzhen from Guilin (and from Shenzhen we took the MTR to Hong Kong). As another side note, China is overall a very safe place, but it seems the only crime we did witness was in Guilin. I already mentioned the pick pockets, but as we were walking to the train station, we also saw a very angry man throw his cell phone to the ground, get up and hit a woman across the face, twice. Darren and I were so shocked we just stood there, frozen. If someone does something like that back home, the general reaction is one of outrage and people call the police if not deal with it with their own form of justice. In China though, people barely flinch. It's not the custom to interfere and it seems that there's no exception.
Well, we're back in Hong Kong now and my first plans on coming here were to cook. I wanted to cook some of the Western style foods I had been craving, and just generally cook food that didn't involve mass amounts of oil. Go figure that the first thing I would cook was spaghetti and garlic bread. I rarely make spaghetti at home and yet of all the things I have the opportunity to make, I make spaghetti. It wasn't the best spaghetti in the world, but it was good. That and salad. It was so nice to have a good salad, with fresh vegetables. The last salad I had in China, was lettuce, corn, onion and tomato. The salad I made here, was lettuce, carrot, tomato, cucumber and dried cranberries! Ooo, and my wonderful friend Laura (who's put us up for a few days) had la dinner party the night before, and so Darren and I were able to reep the leftovers! She made grilled cheese sandwiches (with real cheddar!!!) , while we ate leftover Greek salad (which is the best kind), and she fed us cake and Doritos as well! This afternoon, Darren was fortunate enough to have some marinated lamb skewers for lunch with fresh vegetables.
By the way, when we got to mainland China, it dawned on us just how different Hong Kong really is from China, and now that we're back in Hong Kong, the difference is only more apparent. Everything in Hong Kong seems cleaner, even the people. Not only that, but after two months of learning the language and counting on it to get by in our day to day, we suddenly can't use it anymore. Laura was saying that Hong Kongers will actually give you dirty looks if you speak Mandarin and don't speak it well. It's like reverse culture shock in some ways. Our first day back in Hong Kong (where most of the people speak English) and we suddenly felt lost and unable to communicate. I found myself repressing urges to speak in Mandarin. Certain words and phrases had become a reflex and now we don't need them anymore (for those who don't know, in Hong Kong they speak Cantonese, which is pretty different from Mandarin).
Anyway, from here, we're leaving for Bali and I can't wait to see what kind of food they have in store for us there. Everyone we talk to raves about the food in SE Asia. The satays, the curry... I'm really excited (to eat of course. As if I starved in China which couldn't be further from the truth). So it's to a whole new world once again, and like always, I'll try to keep everyone updated, but there's no telling what the internet access will be like on the beaches ;). We are talking about getting a cell phone for SE Asia, so if I can't always update the blog, family, we will be able to call more often.
We may or may not have lunch with Tom and Rosemary tomorrow (Darren's cousins), and then it's Bon Voyage once again. It's going to be very different and hopefully exciting!
So like I said, we were in Yangshuo for about a week. It's more or less been known as a backpacker's paradise, a popular place for climbers and a place of laid back, local feel. Every year it becomes more and more commercialised and I think we made it just in time. Along the road to the Yu Long, Moon Hill Cave, and the town of Xingping they are building three archways which are rumored to charge 80 RMB just to use the road. It's the opinion of many travellers that this toll is going to ruin Yangshuo. The reason people love it is because, like we did, you can just bike along the many roads, through the villages, go for a dip in the river, or just wander through the farm country. With an 80 RMB toll, a lot of budget tourists, like ourselves, will be turned around. Not to mention, that climbers are not exactly the wealthy amongst them all, and their reasons for visiting Yangshuo will be deterred as well.
That all being said, Darren and I really did love Yangshuo. I think we rank it second (to Dali) of the Chinese towns we've visited. We loved it for its laid back feel. The first few days we were there it rained endlessly. Our hostel was just outside the main city in a little farming village and the patio looked over a garden of sorts. It was beautiful, but all that rain meant insane humidity and a lot of mosquitoes. Darren and I both were bitten numerous times. Being that the activities in Yangshuo are all outdoor, there wasn't much to do in the rain. We were happy to do no more than stroll through town the first two days, and on the third day we decided to brave a bike ride. Darren, myself and Hannah (an English teacher from NY/Oregon) got our bikes while it wasn't raining, and headed into some of the countryside. Along the way, we met one of the many little old ladies selling flower crowns, and Hannah and I couldn't resist. We rode around all day with our little crowns on. It did begin to rain again though, and we did get quite drenched and muddy. We had planned to make it all the way to the Dragon Bridge, but at one point, the rain got really bad, and we stopped under a tree, alongside a water buffalo, to figure out what we were going to do. Darren had a strong urge to pet the bull, and despite my warnings he slowly ventured towards it, and sure enough, it planted its hooves and lowered its head and got its horns ready. Thank goodness it was tied to a tree or Darren could've been in rough shape. Ha ha ha. It was wet, we were soaked, and back to our hostel we went.
That night, we ventured out on the town with a couple other people, had some dinner, watched the soccer game and found ourselves in a Chinese bar. Wow! That was an experience. First of all, the Chinese music is terrible, and I don't just mean Chinese pop music, but the Chinese songs done to the tune of "If You're Happy and You Know It Clap Your Hands". Not only that, but the DJ would sing along and then randomly yell into the mic. It was so loud and so ugly. The best part of it though, was that every bar in Yangshuo seemed to have a pole. That was funny. Still not as funny as the full out hawaiian print outfits. There were three guys in the bar wearing hawaiin shirts, two of which were also wearing matching shorts! It was priceless. They thought they were pretty hot too, and the dancing was fantastic! It's not like the bars at home where all the girls dance and the guys watch from afar, too cool for school; no, these guys were going all out--dancing the night away. There was also this one girl, wearing a shirt that said "Too much fun" and she would do this strange girating move around the pole. She shook her whole body and somehow managed to move forward, spasming all the way. It really did seem more like a seizure. I think the person who enjoyed himself the most was Neil. Him, the pole, and the guy who grabbed his but, all had a great night!
After the third day of straight rain, the sun eventually did come out and it came out strong (which didn't deter the bugs however). It was HOT! Very HOT! We took our first chance to get on a "bamboo" (I put that in quotations because they're really just plastic pipes made to look like bamboo) raft and float down the river (and by float, I mean go upstream by motor). What I should probably mention, is that the day before our hostel owner told us not to eat any pork. Apparently there'd been some sort of disease going around and a lot of pigs were dying and ending up in the river (the Li River). Sure enough, in the course of the hour and a half that we floated upstream, we saw so many pigs, belly up and bloated that we lost count. We lost count around thirty and that was early on. It got so bad that we had it down to a science. We could roughly estimate how long they'd been in the water based on how bloated they were and how they floated (how much of the body was above the water and what direction the legs stuck out in). Don't get me wrong, the karst mountains and scenery were beautiful and amazing, but it was hard to concentrate with dead pigs floating everywhere.
The next day Darren and I rented a scooter one day (it was nice not to have to work up any more of a sweat than we had to) and headed through the country to the Moon Hill Cave. It's a pretty cool mountain. There is a crescent shaped archway in the top of the hill and apparently has over 20 or 30 climbing paths. We didn't go all the way to the top of the archway (because we didn't know you could) but the trek to the archway itself was a scorcher. It was about 20 minutes to a half hour up, and again down and Darren and I were both sweating fiercly. I can't explain it, but that my shirt became a towel, a damp towel. We were so hot and so sweaty that we decided to find ourselves a little spot to go swimming. We took the scooters out to this great little spot by the river where they dock some of the bamboo rafts. There was a couple there, the girl sitting under the tree while the guy was in his underwear diving off the rafts. There was another guy, just sitting on the edge, cooling his feet in the water and sipping on some local beer (Liquan). I wasn't prepared for a swim, but Darren went in for a dip, and after sitting on the raft, sweating bullets, I waited for the swarms of tourists floating by to subside, and I took off my shirt and jumped in as well. It was so incredibly refreshing! The river was quite clean and so cool. It was so clean, that even though I accidentally swallowed a mouthful, I haven't caught any parasite or anything.
The next day was just as hot as the last, if not hotter, and we rented scooters again; Hannah and Margaret on one, and Darren and myself on another. We got an early start and spent a good couple hours just sitting on the rafts and diving into the water. It was really the perfect way to spend such a hot and humid afternoon. Just to put things into perspective, it was so hot, that my hair would start to dry within minutes of getting out of the water and was almost completely dry after no more than ten minutes on the scooter. After getting back, we headed to Gon's Noodles, a delicious local noodle place, and sat down for a late lunch. We must've timed it perfectly because all of a sudden, the rain came coming down. It was still super hot, but not it was super wet! Thankfully, by the time we finished lunch, the rain was done too! We headed back to the hostel and Hannah and I showered and got ready to go to a cooking class. Darren didn't want to come, something about paying to learn to cook Chinese when his mother could teach him for free, but Hannah and I really enjoyed ourselves. It was pretty fantastic actually. They picked us up and did a tour through the market, teaching us about different vegetables and spices, and different meats. At one point, our instructor pointed us to the part of the market where dogs sit in cages waiting to be butchered. At this point I stayed with her and the vegetables, but from what I was told not only were there live dogs, but hanging pieces of butchered and skinned ones as well. Bah! On a lighter note, they took us to this quaint littler barnhouse in one of the smaller villages, set up and equipped for our cooking lesson. We made pork (or in my case, chicken) stuffed vegetables (one pumpkin flower, one piece of fried tofu, a piece of eggplant, and a mushroom), cashew chicken, fried eggplant, Chinese spinach, and the local delicacy, beer fish. It was all excellent and so much fun. We all had our own chopping boards, our own clevers, and our own woks. Hannah and I really enjoyed being able to cook again.
The rest of our time in Yangshuo was spent shopping and relaxing. We went to the river and Gon's Noodles one more time, and before we knew it it was time to head back to Hong Kong. We took a train to Shenzhen from Guilin (and from Shenzhen we took the MTR to Hong Kong). As another side note, China is overall a very safe place, but it seems the only crime we did witness was in Guilin. I already mentioned the pick pockets, but as we were walking to the train station, we also saw a very angry man throw his cell phone to the ground, get up and hit a woman across the face, twice. Darren and I were so shocked we just stood there, frozen. If someone does something like that back home, the general reaction is one of outrage and people call the police if not deal with it with their own form of justice. In China though, people barely flinch. It's not the custom to interfere and it seems that there's no exception.
Well, we're back in Hong Kong now and my first plans on coming here were to cook. I wanted to cook some of the Western style foods I had been craving, and just generally cook food that didn't involve mass amounts of oil. Go figure that the first thing I would cook was spaghetti and garlic bread. I rarely make spaghetti at home and yet of all the things I have the opportunity to make, I make spaghetti. It wasn't the best spaghetti in the world, but it was good. That and salad. It was so nice to have a good salad, with fresh vegetables. The last salad I had in China, was lettuce, corn, onion and tomato. The salad I made here, was lettuce, carrot, tomato, cucumber and dried cranberries! Ooo, and my wonderful friend Laura (who's put us up for a few days) had la dinner party the night before, and so Darren and I were able to reep the leftovers! She made grilled cheese sandwiches (with real cheddar!!!) , while we ate leftover Greek salad (which is the best kind), and she fed us cake and Doritos as well! This afternoon, Darren was fortunate enough to have some marinated lamb skewers for lunch with fresh vegetables.
By the way, when we got to mainland China, it dawned on us just how different Hong Kong really is from China, and now that we're back in Hong Kong, the difference is only more apparent. Everything in Hong Kong seems cleaner, even the people. Not only that, but after two months of learning the language and counting on it to get by in our day to day, we suddenly can't use it anymore. Laura was saying that Hong Kongers will actually give you dirty looks if you speak Mandarin and don't speak it well. It's like reverse culture shock in some ways. Our first day back in Hong Kong (where most of the people speak English) and we suddenly felt lost and unable to communicate. I found myself repressing urges to speak in Mandarin. Certain words and phrases had become a reflex and now we don't need them anymore (for those who don't know, in Hong Kong they speak Cantonese, which is pretty different from Mandarin).
Anyway, from here, we're leaving for Bali and I can't wait to see what kind of food they have in store for us there. Everyone we talk to raves about the food in SE Asia. The satays, the curry... I'm really excited (to eat of course. As if I starved in China which couldn't be further from the truth). So it's to a whole new world once again, and like always, I'll try to keep everyone updated, but there's no telling what the internet access will be like on the beaches ;). We are talking about getting a cell phone for SE Asia, so if I can't always update the blog, family, we will be able to call more often.
We may or may not have lunch with Tom and Rosemary tomorrow (Darren's cousins), and then it's Bon Voyage once again. It's going to be very different and hopefully exciting!
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