Just got back from a week in Bali. Go ahead. Be jealous.
It was awesome.
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| Mark, Gloria, Chelsea, Mason |
It was a busy week filled with so many tourist activities,
but we still left feeling like we could have done more. We went to bars, drank
local beers, bartered with vendors, got massages, floated on bodies of water,
rode on bikes, rode on scooters, walked on beaches, saw a volcano, played with
monkeys, and so much more. It was an unforgettable week and we were lucky to
spend it with two friends, Mason and Chelsea, who had been traveling in Bali for
a few weeks prior to our arrival.
Regardless, coming back to cool winter weather in Korea
felt like a relief after a week of sweating out every ounce of fluid in our
bodies while in Indonesia. As a girl born and raised in Georgia, I think I have
a pretty good understanding of humidity. But Indonesia humidity is another kind
of beast. It’s the kind of humidity where even a t-shirt is too heavy; flip-flops,
swimsuits, and loose tank tops should be the uniform (tank top optional), and
carrying a large bottle of water everywhere is a must.
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| Pina colada in a carved coconut |
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| Chicken satay |
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| Crispy spring rolls with 3 dipping sauces |
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| My first Indonesian meal: chicken satay, fried rice, fried egg, and rice chips |
Another relief in coming back to Korea was the traffic
situation. Again, being from Georgia and experiencing more Atlanta traffic than
my road rage should allow, I think I have a pretty good understanding of what a
disorderly roadway looks like. And when we first got to Korea, I thought the
traffic was so disorderly it frightened me to watch the cars drive around from
my 9th floor apartment view. Things that happen on the regular
include: cars running red lights, mopeds and motorcycles using the sidewalk,
taxis driving into oncoming traffic so they can make their turn in 1000 feet,
and being cut off when the road is wide open for the other driver. But the
beastliness of Indonesia traffic rivals only the beastliness of its humidity.
The best way to describe it is if you can imagine a zoo
where all the animals got out of their cages at the exact same time and tried
to stampede down Peachtree Street in Atlanta during rush hour without any
functioning traffic lights. Traffic in Korea seemed so smooth and easy when we
got back! And although it sounds completely insane, surprisingly very few
accidents happen in Indonesia. Personally, we only saw the aftermath of one
accident during our week there. With very few traffic lights (and most people
running most of the lights that are there), drivers going the wrong way up
one-way streets, scooters flooding both sidewalks and roadways, people
tailgating just inches away from each other, vans full of passengers passing
each other on two-way streets when there is hardly enough time to get back to
their own lane, cars driving in the middle of two lanes, scooters constantly
merging into high-speed traffic, and pedestrians trying to make their way
across this whole mess, it’s nothing short of a miracle that we didn’t see many
damaged vehicles at all.
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| The driver goes on the right side of the car, and any side of the road |
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| A lot of traffic for not a lot of street |
But I digress. The traffic madness did not diminish the
fun and excitement of our adventures during the week.
Because we did so much (but mostly since I took about 500
pictures), I’m going to have to re-live the experiences of Indonesia in
segments rather than all in one post.
We started out adventures in Kuta, which is the young
person’s “party area” of Bali. Not many Americans go there; it’s more of a
spring break destination for Aussies as well as a place where lots of young
European travelers visit. We were very impressed by how many travelers we met
that were traveling alone – especially young ladies. American ladies can’t even
go to the bathroom alone!
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| Bali bombing memorial |
We visited Sky Garden, which is a huge (and I mean
HUUUUUGEE) three-level club in Kuta. It puts Miami clubs to shame. From the
rooftop at Sky Garden, you can see the Bali bombing memorial from the terrorist
attacks that occurred there in 2002.
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| Rooftop bar |
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| Da club |
Our night at Sky Garden gave us our first clue that our
dollar would go far in this country. It cost about 75,000 Indonesian Rupiah to
get in, which is a little over $5. And for that we could get all of our drinks.
And four 30-something adults can make that worthwhile.
Bintang is the local beer of Bali. It’s tasty – it
reminded us somewhat of Heineken.
In Kuta we stayed at a place called Troppo-Zone. It’s
actually a hostel with many rooms set up like hotel rooms. But with hostel
prices. Rooms were around $30 per night. Troppo-Zone clearly labels itself as a
“party resort.” Their logo says it all. And their blasting music at night,
regardless if there are 20 people at the pool or 2. Fun place indeed, but not
one with a “honeymoon-relaxing” or “family-friendly” atmosphere if that’s what
you’re looking for.
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| Pool #1 of Troppo-Zone |
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| Troppo-Zone's logo, pained on the ceiling by the pool bar |
The real gem of this place was the pool with a swim-up bar
and floating beanbag chairs. If there weren’t so many tank tops to buy,
massages to get, waves to surf, and meals to eat, I’m sure we would have been
busy relaxing at the pool for many more hours!
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| Pool #2: where we chilled |
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| How we chilled |
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| The landing for this jump was not pretty. |
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| Clothes for sale! Definitely made in Indonesia. |
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