Another adventure ensues…today we were picked up by two of Steve’s friends to head to North Bali to see the Bedulgal lake and the waterfalls that swallow the jungle of North Bali…10am sharp we are greeted by Johnny and his sidekick (for the life of me I cannot remember his name) we give them our itinerary which Steve wrote out for us and headed North. The two our car ride, was probably the funniest, most outrageous two hours of my life, no exaggeration. I have to sensor everything for the kid’s sake, but let’s just say, a few months ago Johnny ordered an American ebonics book online and showered us with his new American slang for the entire trip to Bedugal. I can’t remember the last time I laughed so hard for so long.
The 2 hours ride drove us through the thick Bali Jungle. Monkeys danced along the streets, while the rice and strawberry fields captured the scenery on either side of us. We arrive at our first destination Munduk where we could walk to Lake Tamblingan. The lake is large..we spot parasailers in the distance and fishing boats gliding along the lakes banks. The lake is positioned down the valley, so there is a heavy layer of mist that delicately lies over the water..the mountains careen above it and the dense tropical forest make it seem it like you are protected from the world.
We hop back into the car and head towards our next destination, Wanagiri. The windy roads through Pancasari make the trip a little difficult and Lacey and I definitely had our bout of car sickness..but the curvy streets were worth it. The first waterfall was very small but very peaceful…the hike to the second one was long and through a little village where the local kids followed us and helped us up the large stone steps to reach our destination deep in jungle of Wanagiri. The waterfall was incredible. We walked as close as we could to the pool below the fall without falling in and the sense of excitement was powerful. Johnny and sidekick helped us along the way..it felt like we had two bodyguards which were nice but funny at the same time…as I wrote earlier…these two were hilarious! Every word that came out of their mouth was beyond vulgar and hilarious.
The day was long and the sun hot and the air sticky, so we decided after hours of hiking around Bedugal it was time to head home. The ride back seemed very long as we were all exhausted and starving..once again we hadn’t eaten anything since our breakfast at 7 and it was now almost 5. We arrive at our hotel and thank Johnny and sidekick for such a great day…all they keep saying is “let’s party” but Lacey and I have relaxation on our mind…so we said our goodbyes.
We immediately jump in the pool and lay our tired bodies down by the pool. We get a call…our friend Zander Gladish from Marin has arrived in Kuta and we are all to meet for drinks and dinner at 7. We get ourselves together and await Steve and Zanders arrival. We all convene and enjoy our large bintangs before we walk down the beach to dinner. It is nice the little group we have now…4 friends, some new some old, all coming together somewhere in Indo. We dine at our local spot and laugh the night away.
Lacey and I are pretty beat from our hiking, so we retire to our suite with Steve and finish the night with more laughter and more bintang before calling it a night.
Today we plan to do a day of massages and beaching…have to keep a good balance right?
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Somewhere in Indo...
Somewhere in Indo…
This morning Lacey and I woke up uber excited…today was going to be like no other…somewhere in Indo there was going to be a surfing competition with the 40 top world surfers competiting in paradise at a secret location that would not be made public. However, thank god for Steve, because he knows the ins and outs of this island and knew exactly where to go. We hustled through our mini-breakfasts and hopped into our trusty van and headed to Padang. We rolled down the windows to soak in the sun and breathe in the beach air as we got closer to the secret destination. We know we are there by the Rip Curl tents swarming the cliffs. We park in a dusty parking lot and make our way down the steep cliffs towards the white sand beaches where we can see people starting to line up along the waters edge. The security check point is a tad scary as men with machine guns search our beach bags. Between our towels, Pringles and books we were good to enter.
The stairs we have to climb down are about 3 feet long, cement and scary! They are being hidden by the jungle banana leafs so getting to the beach is a little more difficult than expected..but when we arrive we dropped our bags in complete and utter awe to what lay in front of us. Pure white sand curling around our toes and the clearest waters one could ever imagine all settled within a tiny cove somewhere in Indo.
Okay so I will need to explain the “somewhere in Indo”…well and to explain that I am going to send you all to the Rip Curl streaming video: http://live.ripcurl.com/index.php?home
If you look closely to yesterday’s events (Wednesday here in Bali) you can probably catch some shots of Lacey and I as we had front row beach seats to watch the competition…at one point I was kicking it next to Andy Irons and Mick Fanning, two of the top world surfers. Yeah..I am not complaining. Some of the surfing we saw was I’m sorry to cuss…)(#$8032984 AMAZING! We witnessed Kelly Slater getting the only perfect 10 for an incredible double barrel on a solid eight-foot set as well as a “switch foot barrel” that was just insane!
If this competition was in the states..the beaches would have been like a madhouse..but somewhere in Indo..people are just peaceful and are here to watch the surfing, not to be the surfing groupies. The atmosphere is just like nothing I have ever experienced.
We took some amazing shots today of the surfers and the waves so be sure to check out Lacey’s pictures!
After 6 hours in the blistering sun…we taxi’d it back to our hotel. It was 4pm and we hadn’t eaten since 7, so we were beyond starving…after a dive in our pool we ran down the beach in a bar and ate our standards lunches: me: pizza Bianca (I am still a littler nervous to have any meat) lacey: chicken Sammie and fries. We have vowed to only eat local food however, we were famished and craving something greasy and yummy.
After lunch we got 1 hour massages by the pool for 10 dollars each and relaxed the rest of the day away. Dinner was simple..fried rice, movies and wine…our eyes were tired from the surfing we watched..Or more so we were tired from watching, oogling and drooling over the surfers.
This morning Lacey and I woke up uber excited…today was going to be like no other…somewhere in Indo there was going to be a surfing competition with the 40 top world surfers competiting in paradise at a secret location that would not be made public. However, thank god for Steve, because he knows the ins and outs of this island and knew exactly where to go. We hustled through our mini-breakfasts and hopped into our trusty van and headed to Padang. We rolled down the windows to soak in the sun and breathe in the beach air as we got closer to the secret destination. We know we are there by the Rip Curl tents swarming the cliffs. We park in a dusty parking lot and make our way down the steep cliffs towards the white sand beaches where we can see people starting to line up along the waters edge. The security check point is a tad scary as men with machine guns search our beach bags. Between our towels, Pringles and books we were good to enter.
The stairs we have to climb down are about 3 feet long, cement and scary! They are being hidden by the jungle banana leafs so getting to the beach is a little more difficult than expected..but when we arrive we dropped our bags in complete and utter awe to what lay in front of us. Pure white sand curling around our toes and the clearest waters one could ever imagine all settled within a tiny cove somewhere in Indo.
Okay so I will need to explain the “somewhere in Indo”…well and to explain that I am going to send you all to the Rip Curl streaming video: http://live.ripcurl.com/index.php?home
If you look closely to yesterday’s events (Wednesday here in Bali) you can probably catch some shots of Lacey and I as we had front row beach seats to watch the competition…at one point I was kicking it next to Andy Irons and Mick Fanning, two of the top world surfers. Yeah..I am not complaining. Some of the surfing we saw was I’m sorry to cuss…)(#$8032984 AMAZING! We witnessed Kelly Slater getting the only perfect 10 for an incredible double barrel on a solid eight-foot set as well as a “switch foot barrel” that was just insane!
If this competition was in the states..the beaches would have been like a madhouse..but somewhere in Indo..people are just peaceful and are here to watch the surfing, not to be the surfing groupies. The atmosphere is just like nothing I have ever experienced.
We took some amazing shots today of the surfers and the waves so be sure to check out Lacey’s pictures!
After 6 hours in the blistering sun…we taxi’d it back to our hotel. It was 4pm and we hadn’t eaten since 7, so we were beyond starving…after a dive in our pool we ran down the beach in a bar and ate our standards lunches: me: pizza Bianca (I am still a littler nervous to have any meat) lacey: chicken Sammie and fries. We have vowed to only eat local food however, we were famished and craving something greasy and yummy.
After lunch we got 1 hour massages by the pool for 10 dollars each and relaxed the rest of the day away. Dinner was simple..fried rice, movies and wine…our eyes were tired from the surfing we watched..Or more so we were tired from watching, oogling and drooling over the surfers.
our day in Ubud...
Ubud and more…
So it our first day venturing out without Steve and beyond the borders of Legian…today’s adventure: Ubud. Ubud defines Balinese culture with little streets full of local artisan shops, art galleries and cafes. I know I sound like an author of Lonely Planet, however I cannot reiterate enough the delight that this town is…Steve sets us up with his friend who we are technically hiring as our tour guide/driver for the day. Nanag picks us up at 10am as we arranged the night before and we head out of our safe zone and into the unknown. Our first stop in Ubud is a sacred temple before town. As we step out of the car, two men drape us in sarongs that go from high up on our waists down to the floor. It is peace and serene this temple. We tiptoe through the gates and begin to explore. We can hear the gitty school girls laughing behind the walls as our eyes gaze around the holy grounds. We meet an old woman weaving baskets to which the locals use to hold their offerings 5 times a day. The religious rituals are captivating and seeing the locals in prayer made us speechless in our tracks…we silently say our goodbyes without words and exit the sacred grounds…however before we set off to the next “wood carving village” in Ubud, Lacey and I need to use the little girls room…one person tells us the bathroom is one way, another man says another way…next minute we know we are being chased down the ally by the laughing school girls..their pigtails dancing in the wind…we approach them and all they can do is wave and say “hello” in perfect English…it was magical.
Now as I said, next stop, the wood carving village. We pull down another ally and stop at the doors of a large glass shop…at least 3 stories…we are instantaneously bombarded with friendliness from one of the workers of the shops. Friendliness turns to insanity and the man will NOT leave our side…we are trying to enjoy the art and every turn we make we have this dude in our face saying “you buy you buy you buy!!!” It was nice at first, his attentiveness but after 10 minutes, we couldn’t even move..we tried ditching him behind the naked wooden statues but we failed..finally we darted out the back and Nanag sees us running and the dude is CHASING US! No joke..we run into the car and he stands in front of the car handing us oranges. “no thank you” isn’t getting us far and Nanag can’t pull away..finally we just yell “GO” and we are gone…too much for us before a bintang or 8. ;)
Next stop, the monkey forest…we pull up and Lacey begins to hyper ventilate…okay I am exaggerating but a scary, vicious, blindsided monkey attack that left her hospitalized when she was a youngin’ and “ruined her ring finger” (her words) so she was indeed a little wary about entering the forest (new bad memories would soon haunt her, but not from a monkey..well..ha maybe) There are local women selling bananas at the entrance to the forest, Lacey declines, I pay 20,000 Rp (2 US dollars) for a big bunch of bananas…and we head in..2 minutes into the walk a monkey starts darting towards me..I freak out and throw the entire bunch of bananas at him…I am such a woos…but he was going to attack me I just knew it…regardless of having no more bananas we kept walking…monkeys were everywhere…I mean, babies, momma’s, the big fat daddios! They were everywhere..20 here and 20 there…it really was a monkey forest…So Lacey and I walk up the trail away from everyone else to try and see some monkeys in peace and next thing we know..we are a “miss!” to which Lacey turns around, sees an Indo with his pants at his ankles, pleasuring himself!!! We scream and start running…like running running…people are staring but we felt so violated! Nanag has the car running and once again we find ourselves fleeing like robbers from the scene of a crime.
Finally we reach a serenity..and by that I mean a village full of shopping and food. It is about 1pm so we are starving (we are up every morning by 630am and done with breakfast by 730) Nanag drops us off at the Lotus Café which has tables perched above a waterlily pond in front of a temple…once again a sight of pure beauty. We slip off our shoes and bow to our hostess before we climb up to our table where we sit Indian style and soak in our surroundings. After lunching on samosas and spring rolls we venture back into the village for some local splurging. And splurge we did…lots of shopping..lots of laughing..great afternoon.
By 4:00pm we are tired and our legs ache from the touristy day we had…Nanag drives our tired bodies back home, we say our overjoyed and truly appreciative thank yous to our new friend and slip on some nicer clothes to prepare for the exotic bumblebee dance that the local dancers were putting on at our hotel..we sip our bintangs and continue to soak in the culture dancing before us. The movements are exquisite and the songs accompanying them are dazzling. Throughout the show Lacey and I comment that we should take some private lessons before we return home…
Well the day is done…our eyes are saying goodnight before our heads even hit the pillows…tomorrow holds an even brighter future for us…we are heading to the worldwide surfing competition “Somewhere in Indo..” where exactly…we cannot say..see you on the beach.
So it our first day venturing out without Steve and beyond the borders of Legian…today’s adventure: Ubud. Ubud defines Balinese culture with little streets full of local artisan shops, art galleries and cafes. I know I sound like an author of Lonely Planet, however I cannot reiterate enough the delight that this town is…Steve sets us up with his friend who we are technically hiring as our tour guide/driver for the day. Nanag picks us up at 10am as we arranged the night before and we head out of our safe zone and into the unknown. Our first stop in Ubud is a sacred temple before town. As we step out of the car, two men drape us in sarongs that go from high up on our waists down to the floor. It is peace and serene this temple. We tiptoe through the gates and begin to explore. We can hear the gitty school girls laughing behind the walls as our eyes gaze around the holy grounds. We meet an old woman weaving baskets to which the locals use to hold their offerings 5 times a day. The religious rituals are captivating and seeing the locals in prayer made us speechless in our tracks…we silently say our goodbyes without words and exit the sacred grounds…however before we set off to the next “wood carving village” in Ubud, Lacey and I need to use the little girls room…one person tells us the bathroom is one way, another man says another way…next minute we know we are being chased down the ally by the laughing school girls..their pigtails dancing in the wind…we approach them and all they can do is wave and say “hello” in perfect English…it was magical.
Now as I said, next stop, the wood carving village. We pull down another ally and stop at the doors of a large glass shop…at least 3 stories…we are instantaneously bombarded with friendliness from one of the workers of the shops. Friendliness turns to insanity and the man will NOT leave our side…we are trying to enjoy the art and every turn we make we have this dude in our face saying “you buy you buy you buy!!!” It was nice at first, his attentiveness but after 10 minutes, we couldn’t even move..we tried ditching him behind the naked wooden statues but we failed..finally we darted out the back and Nanag sees us running and the dude is CHASING US! No joke..we run into the car and he stands in front of the car handing us oranges. “no thank you” isn’t getting us far and Nanag can’t pull away..finally we just yell “GO” and we are gone…too much for us before a bintang or 8. ;)
Next stop, the monkey forest…we pull up and Lacey begins to hyper ventilate…okay I am exaggerating but a scary, vicious, blindsided monkey attack that left her hospitalized when she was a youngin’ and “ruined her ring finger” (her words) so she was indeed a little wary about entering the forest (new bad memories would soon haunt her, but not from a monkey..well..ha maybe) There are local women selling bananas at the entrance to the forest, Lacey declines, I pay 20,000 Rp (2 US dollars) for a big bunch of bananas…and we head in..2 minutes into the walk a monkey starts darting towards me..I freak out and throw the entire bunch of bananas at him…I am such a woos…but he was going to attack me I just knew it…regardless of having no more bananas we kept walking…monkeys were everywhere…I mean, babies, momma’s, the big fat daddios! They were everywhere..20 here and 20 there…it really was a monkey forest…So Lacey and I walk up the trail away from everyone else to try and see some monkeys in peace and next thing we know..we are a “miss!” to which Lacey turns around, sees an Indo with his pants at his ankles, pleasuring himself!!! We scream and start running…like running running…people are staring but we felt so violated! Nanag has the car running and once again we find ourselves fleeing like robbers from the scene of a crime.
Finally we reach a serenity..and by that I mean a village full of shopping and food. It is about 1pm so we are starving (we are up every morning by 630am and done with breakfast by 730) Nanag drops us off at the Lotus Café which has tables perched above a waterlily pond in front of a temple…once again a sight of pure beauty. We slip off our shoes and bow to our hostess before we climb up to our table where we sit Indian style and soak in our surroundings. After lunching on samosas and spring rolls we venture back into the village for some local splurging. And splurge we did…lots of shopping..lots of laughing..great afternoon.
By 4:00pm we are tired and our legs ache from the touristy day we had…Nanag drives our tired bodies back home, we say our overjoyed and truly appreciative thank yous to our new friend and slip on some nicer clothes to prepare for the exotic bumblebee dance that the local dancers were putting on at our hotel..we sip our bintangs and continue to soak in the culture dancing before us. The movements are exquisite and the songs accompanying them are dazzling. Throughout the show Lacey and I comment that we should take some private lessons before we return home…
Well the day is done…our eyes are saying goodnight before our heads even hit the pillows…tomorrow holds an even brighter future for us…we are heading to the worldwide surfing competition “Somewhere in Indo..” where exactly…we cannot say..see you on the beach.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Shopping in Legian, surfing in Uluwatu
Today we decided to do a little more relaxing. For 5 dollars a day you can rent lounge chairs on the beach all day…so that’s what we did…actually I think Lacey bargained the dude down a bit to get to 5..but regardless..pretty good deal…we sat out all morning and watched the local riff raff surfing. Every two minutes a local woman will approach you and offer you a) fruit b) “mani pedi” c) massage for feet d) massage for back e) random things…you get used to it and you can’t give in or you will be bombarded all day.
After a morning of soaking in the sun and swimming in the Indian Ocean..we ventured down towards downtown Legian for some local shopping. We stopped at a nice restaurant on the beach for lunch and our 12:00 bintang beer. Some local kids sold us some friendship bracelets…probably some of the cutest kids and most grateful I have ever met.
After downing our bintangs we started for the shops..In Bali there are shops after shops after shops..mostly selling the same thing…we wonder how they stay open..but the tourist economy during the high season is what keeps them going we assume… the local jewelry is breathtaking..so intricate and beautiful and so cheap I feel bad only spending a dollar here and there, but as Lacey and I decided…time to stock up! (note, all my girlfriends will be getting earrings for Christmas this year oh and maybe next)
After our early afternoon of shopping, Steve picked us up and we made our way to UluWatu..here is a pic that shows what it is like: http://images.google.co.id/imgres?imgurl=http://somedaynevercomes.com/images/65.jpg&imgrefurl=http://somedaynevercomes.com/article/uluwatu-surfing&h=480&w=640&sz=109&hl=id&start=2&sig2=PZbaYRdyKJ1TQxtvJ9qZVA&um=1&tbnid=-6W2qCz9aekJGM:&tbnh=103&tbnw=137&ei=CLKPSMrYNovO6gO4_sGnBw&prev=/images%3Fq%3Duluwatu%2Bsurfing%2Bcompetition%26um%3D1%26hl%3Did%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26sa%3DN
There is one of the 12/year surfing competitions starting today and lasting for 10 days. Steve is helping work it so we decided to check it out during the “waiting” period.
This place is simply amazing. High cliffs lead down to white sand beaches where you have to climb under boulders to get to the clear beaches. The surfers are so far out you can barely see them, but the waves crashing near them are bigger than any I have ever seen. After playing in the water and threatening to take off my clothes and head out to the surf, we headed back up the cliff where about 10 local restaurant/bars hide against the mountain. Steve introduced us to all the owners including one of his friends they call “Blackie” who developed a crush on “us westerner girls” he tried to ask Steve how to “play it with us” and steve just laughed! He was sweet but hilarious at that.
After watching the sun set across the Indian ocean and seeing all the tired surfers hike up after being in the water all day..we decided to call it a night and head to dinner…We are heading there actually today for the competition so more updates on Uluwatu to come shortly.
We drove back into town and had dinner in Oboroi. We dined at an amazing Italian trattoria…and when I say amazing..I mean A16 style amazing. And for sooo cheap. We had drinks, the best pasta I have ever had (I am not exaggerating) and appetizers for about 10 dollars each…we are living like royals here because everything is pennies!
After dinner we called it a night…as the next day we had our adventure planned in Ubud.
Cheers!
After a morning of soaking in the sun and swimming in the Indian Ocean..we ventured down towards downtown Legian for some local shopping. We stopped at a nice restaurant on the beach for lunch and our 12:00 bintang beer. Some local kids sold us some friendship bracelets…probably some of the cutest kids and most grateful I have ever met.
After downing our bintangs we started for the shops..In Bali there are shops after shops after shops..mostly selling the same thing…we wonder how they stay open..but the tourist economy during the high season is what keeps them going we assume… the local jewelry is breathtaking..so intricate and beautiful and so cheap I feel bad only spending a dollar here and there, but as Lacey and I decided…time to stock up! (note, all my girlfriends will be getting earrings for Christmas this year oh and maybe next)
After our early afternoon of shopping, Steve picked us up and we made our way to UluWatu..here is a pic that shows what it is like: http://images.google.co.id/imgres?imgurl=http://somedaynevercomes.com/images/65.jpg&imgrefurl=http://somedaynevercomes.com/article/uluwatu-surfing&h=480&w=640&sz=109&hl=id&start=2&sig2=PZbaYRdyKJ1TQxtvJ9qZVA&um=1&tbnid=-6W2qCz9aekJGM:&tbnh=103&tbnw=137&ei=CLKPSMrYNovO6gO4_sGnBw&prev=/images%3Fq%3Duluwatu%2Bsurfing%2Bcompetition%26um%3D1%26hl%3Did%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26sa%3DN
There is one of the 12/year surfing competitions starting today and lasting for 10 days. Steve is helping work it so we decided to check it out during the “waiting” period.
This place is simply amazing. High cliffs lead down to white sand beaches where you have to climb under boulders to get to the clear beaches. The surfers are so far out you can barely see them, but the waves crashing near them are bigger than any I have ever seen. After playing in the water and threatening to take off my clothes and head out to the surf, we headed back up the cliff where about 10 local restaurant/bars hide against the mountain. Steve introduced us to all the owners including one of his friends they call “Blackie” who developed a crush on “us westerner girls” he tried to ask Steve how to “play it with us” and steve just laughed! He was sweet but hilarious at that.
After watching the sun set across the Indian ocean and seeing all the tired surfers hike up after being in the water all day..we decided to call it a night and head to dinner…We are heading there actually today for the competition so more updates on Uluwatu to come shortly.
We drove back into town and had dinner in Oboroi. We dined at an amazing Italian trattoria…and when I say amazing..I mean A16 style amazing. And for sooo cheap. We had drinks, the best pasta I have ever had (I am not exaggerating) and appetizers for about 10 dollars each…we are living like royals here because everything is pennies!
After dinner we called it a night…as the next day we had our adventure planned in Ubud.
Cheers!
Pictures!!!
hello all! so here are the first pictures of Lacey and I in Bali..they track the time we landed to our first hotel, to our first days in Legian, our surfing trip to Ulu Watu and today's day trip to Ubud...
enjoy! much more to come!!
PICTURE LINK: http://picasaweb.google.com/ehermann/Bali3Days
enjoy! much more to come!!
PICTURE LINK: http://picasaweb.google.com/ehermann/Bali3Days
1st Day in Bali
Well we are on day 3 of our Bali adventure so let me do a little recapping to what Lacey and I have been up to the last couple of days…
Day 1…
First full day in Benoa. We woke up still a tad jet lagged at the Conrad Hotel in Benoa. We pulled ourselves together and walked down to the terrace where a huge feast was waiting for us. The buffet had the most random foods you would think of for breakfast. You had the option of the standard toast and fruit and egg selections, but then you also had the option to have things like, fried rice, miso soup, squid salads, shrimp cakes and other local foods. We stuck with what we knew and ordered omelets. Well little did we know, and when I say little I mean pun intended…our omelets were the size of golf balls and the sausages were an inch long. People here actually understand what portion control is! So we finished up our munchkin meals and headed for the beach. We laid ourselves down on two lounge chairs just feet from the clear blue water. We soaked up the sun and relaxed our tired bodies until it was time to find where we were going to stay next, as we only booked one night at the Conrad. So we enlisted the help of the concierge…and it became her mission to help us find our next destination (I know we should have done some prior planning…) first our concierge said to go just down the beach.. “just very close down the beach” we would see one hotel that had availability. Well just down the beach turned into a 4 mile power-walk which was fine but we were exhausted and in need of a local bintang beer by the time we arrived…oh and the hotel was nothing great. So we headed back to find a new place, maybe even one closer to our friend Steve. After about 45 calls to a variety of different resorts, hotels and inns we found availability. We arrived at our hotel and they had two options for us. 1) A nice, larger suite with a large bathroom and mini kitchen about 30 yards from the beach and steps away from a large, beautiful pool. Then option 2) “well we have an apartment”…hmmmm an apartment??? We said, “suite?” They said, “apartment”…so we decided to take a look…about 500 yards from the pool and far from the beach…up two stories, dark and stinky they open a door to a room with a purple mini couch and a chair and two twin beds that were half the size of a normal, American twin, oh and it really smelled…Lacey and I look at each other and say, “Suite Please!” so there you have it…we have the nice room, that still smells like my grandmother’s house, but it will suffice. The price is actually half of what it says it goes for online…it is pretty suite..and Lacey, damn she is a bargainer. so we talked them down for a good price..and a great location…9 nights here we come…We throw our things down and start to explore. We walked around, found the good spots to each, sat on the beach, then it was time to do something in town…and by that I mean..4 dollar massages…our friends Kevin and Hank came back from a weekend surf trip and met up with Steve, Lacey and I and we all jumped in a cab..which by the way…is cents is rather than dollars and we headed to our massage parlor *steve’s recommendation*…we go inside and there is a glass window with about 35 girls’ pictures on the wall. They ask you “hard, medium or soft” I laugh..just because you know why…and we all take our pick of girls. I sadly said medium thinking it would be a good work out for my sore back after 24 hours of traveling..um I was so wrong…the point that she started walking on my back and ankles was the point I started tearing up…it hurt so much and when I asked to go softer…her feet dug deeper…I guess I insulted “Kiki” as her picture called her. Lacey asked for it “soft” and her lady “Karin,” gave her a lovely breast and gyno exam..oh for just 4 dollars. We felt violated…but it was hilarious..it was that time we needed like 8 more bintangs...so instead of going to a bar, we asked the cabbie to take us to a market. We walked into the local Batang Market in Legian and almost fainted from the “stink stink" fruit which is a Indonesian fruit that reeks like a dead animal. We grabbed bintangs, waters, Pringles, mentos candies and diet cokes and booked it. We cabbed it home and when we walked into the room I realized my camera and the room key were still in the cab that had driven away. Anyone who knows me knows I started to cry and freak out and cuss the world to everyone around me…to which Lacey had to do major MAJOR damage control because I happened to say F*#$ too many times on the phone with the front desk and then hang up..then slam the phone…twice. Wait…three times…The security desk came to the room and asked me if I wanted to look at the security tapes so we could get the cab number…I said absolutely…I go to a little room, with 5 security guards to watch their 1 camera tape…I get there and I see that something is not right…um..they were streaming me the live video of what was happening right now in the hotel…I tried to explain that what we were watching was happening as we spoke but they couldn’t comprehend…I kept saying “17:40 to 18:00 not present” but they kept telling me to watch…in my state I was in I got beyond frustrated…so I took the mouse and tried to figure out their security systems on my own..all I could figure out was how to change the color of the backdrop…I got frustrated..cussed some more and stormed out…I needed a drink so we got dressed and walked down to the “sunset dream bar.” I have never seen so many ugly people at one bar (which by the way only has 10 stools) in my life…they were all drunk and tank-topped with sleeve tattoos…and yes this was our outdoor hotel bar. We downed our “vodka sodas” and by that I mean bali sodas and headed to Lanai Bar/Grill…now let’s talk about the food here..every restaurant is like a Cheesecake Factory…they have everything from pizza, pasta, hamburgers, tacos, fried rice, gelato to weird local foods that I wouldn’t know how to spell…they have books as menus…we meet up with Hank, Kevin and Steve and some of Steve’s local friends and enjoy a nice American meal…after a couple capharina’s…I had forgotten about my lost camera…Lacey and I were still struggling with jet lag so we called it a night after dinner..when we walked back we noticed a security guard lingering outside our room…he goes “camera?” I go “YEEEEEAH!!!” he goes “come with me” I walk to the lobby and see the cab that we had taken back from the market…the cab driver had been waiting for 3 hours for us to return from dinner…he handed me my camera with the most sincere smile. His genuine respect for me made me tear up. This just hints to type of people that live here…everyone is beyond generous and sweet and caring to the foreigners that invade their towns. He shook both my hands as I repeated my thank yous…I gave him 20 dollars as a thank you but he deserved more…he wouldn’t accept anything else…to put it in perspective..the locals make around 10 dollars a day in high season…but they wouldn’t even accept a tip as a thank you.
This place is paradise for many reasons..and I know that by only being here a day…
Tomorrow we head to Ulu Watu to see the white sand beaches and soak in the surfer lifestyle….of to bed…
Day 1…
First full day in Benoa. We woke up still a tad jet lagged at the Conrad Hotel in Benoa. We pulled ourselves together and walked down to the terrace where a huge feast was waiting for us. The buffet had the most random foods you would think of for breakfast. You had the option of the standard toast and fruit and egg selections, but then you also had the option to have things like, fried rice, miso soup, squid salads, shrimp cakes and other local foods. We stuck with what we knew and ordered omelets. Well little did we know, and when I say little I mean pun intended…our omelets were the size of golf balls and the sausages were an inch long. People here actually understand what portion control is! So we finished up our munchkin meals and headed for the beach. We laid ourselves down on two lounge chairs just feet from the clear blue water. We soaked up the sun and relaxed our tired bodies until it was time to find where we were going to stay next, as we only booked one night at the Conrad. So we enlisted the help of the concierge…and it became her mission to help us find our next destination (I know we should have done some prior planning…) first our concierge said to go just down the beach.. “just very close down the beach” we would see one hotel that had availability. Well just down the beach turned into a 4 mile power-walk which was fine but we were exhausted and in need of a local bintang beer by the time we arrived…oh and the hotel was nothing great. So we headed back to find a new place, maybe even one closer to our friend Steve. After about 45 calls to a variety of different resorts, hotels and inns we found availability. We arrived at our hotel and they had two options for us. 1) A nice, larger suite with a large bathroom and mini kitchen about 30 yards from the beach and steps away from a large, beautiful pool. Then option 2) “well we have an apartment”…hmmmm an apartment??? We said, “suite?” They said, “apartment”…so we decided to take a look…about 500 yards from the pool and far from the beach…up two stories, dark and stinky they open a door to a room with a purple mini couch and a chair and two twin beds that were half the size of a normal, American twin, oh and it really smelled…Lacey and I look at each other and say, “Suite Please!” so there you have it…we have the nice room, that still smells like my grandmother’s house, but it will suffice. The price is actually half of what it says it goes for online…it is pretty suite..and Lacey, damn she is a bargainer. so we talked them down for a good price..and a great location…9 nights here we come…We throw our things down and start to explore. We walked around, found the good spots to each, sat on the beach, then it was time to do something in town…and by that I mean..4 dollar massages…our friends Kevin and Hank came back from a weekend surf trip and met up with Steve, Lacey and I and we all jumped in a cab..which by the way…is cents is rather than dollars and we headed to our massage parlor *steve’s recommendation*…we go inside and there is a glass window with about 35 girls’ pictures on the wall. They ask you “hard, medium or soft” I laugh..just because you know why…and we all take our pick of girls. I sadly said medium thinking it would be a good work out for my sore back after 24 hours of traveling..um I was so wrong…the point that she started walking on my back and ankles was the point I started tearing up…it hurt so much and when I asked to go softer…her feet dug deeper…I guess I insulted “Kiki” as her picture called her. Lacey asked for it “soft” and her lady “Karin,” gave her a lovely breast and gyno exam..oh for just 4 dollars. We felt violated…but it was hilarious..it was that time we needed like 8 more bintangs...so instead of going to a bar, we asked the cabbie to take us to a market. We walked into the local Batang Market in Legian and almost fainted from the “stink stink" fruit which is a Indonesian fruit that reeks like a dead animal. We grabbed bintangs, waters, Pringles, mentos candies and diet cokes and booked it. We cabbed it home and when we walked into the room I realized my camera and the room key were still in the cab that had driven away. Anyone who knows me knows I started to cry and freak out and cuss the world to everyone around me…to which Lacey had to do major MAJOR damage control because I happened to say F*#$ too many times on the phone with the front desk and then hang up..then slam the phone…twice. Wait…three times…The security desk came to the room and asked me if I wanted to look at the security tapes so we could get the cab number…I said absolutely…I go to a little room, with 5 security guards to watch their 1 camera tape…I get there and I see that something is not right…um..they were streaming me the live video of what was happening right now in the hotel…I tried to explain that what we were watching was happening as we spoke but they couldn’t comprehend…I kept saying “17:40 to 18:00 not present” but they kept telling me to watch…in my state I was in I got beyond frustrated…so I took the mouse and tried to figure out their security systems on my own..all I could figure out was how to change the color of the backdrop…I got frustrated..cussed some more and stormed out…I needed a drink so we got dressed and walked down to the “sunset dream bar.” I have never seen so many ugly people at one bar (which by the way only has 10 stools) in my life…they were all drunk and tank-topped with sleeve tattoos…and yes this was our outdoor hotel bar. We downed our “vodka sodas” and by that I mean bali sodas and headed to Lanai Bar/Grill…now let’s talk about the food here..every restaurant is like a Cheesecake Factory…they have everything from pizza, pasta, hamburgers, tacos, fried rice, gelato to weird local foods that I wouldn’t know how to spell…they have books as menus…we meet up with Hank, Kevin and Steve and some of Steve’s local friends and enjoy a nice American meal…after a couple capharina’s…I had forgotten about my lost camera…Lacey and I were still struggling with jet lag so we called it a night after dinner..when we walked back we noticed a security guard lingering outside our room…he goes “camera?” I go “YEEEEEAH!!!” he goes “come with me” I walk to the lobby and see the cab that we had taken back from the market…the cab driver had been waiting for 3 hours for us to return from dinner…he handed me my camera with the most sincere smile. His genuine respect for me made me tear up. This just hints to type of people that live here…everyone is beyond generous and sweet and caring to the foreigners that invade their towns. He shook both my hands as I repeated my thank yous…I gave him 20 dollars as a thank you but he deserved more…he wouldn’t accept anything else…to put it in perspective..the locals make around 10 dollars a day in high season…but they wouldn’t even accept a tip as a thank you.
This place is paradise for many reasons..and I know that by only being here a day…
Tomorrow we head to Ulu Watu to see the white sand beaches and soak in the surfer lifestyle….of to bed…
Friday, July 25, 2008
First leg of the trip done...sitting in Narita Tokyo
Well...I didn't think 11 hours on a plane would be that hard...well I was wrong..cramped in economy class is not the way to travel abroad (note to self) and US Airways not the airline to choose when traveling abroad! But I am here..sitting down just waiting to board the next 10 hour flight to Bali...
Luckily I sat next to a young couple traveling to Tokyo to "meet the parents". Nick, a young senior to be at Chico from Merced, his girlfriend, Niko, lovely and pilot as can be, a Tokyo native..We chatted during the times we were all awake...he was very nervous, puking in the bathrooms here and there...I tried to use the couple years I had on them to give him some advice...I like to think I did some good! By the end of the flight he seemed excited to meet her mom and dad, oh and her entire extended family as that is the Japanese culture.
So now I am off the flight and trying to figure out where to go next..while there are signs in English..things are very different here...I ask a nice little lady where I go to connect to Japan Airlines and she instructs me with the utmost kindness...I see the shuttle I am supposed to take and make a run for it...there are very much about procedure here, and I had to fill out my name, etc...then I hoped on the overly packed shuttle to terminal 2. There were no seats...everyone on top of one another...then out of the blue a nice young american (carnegie mellon class of 07 named Mark (i think) says "hey there..you can squeeze next to me" next thing I know I have another American friend! He is beyond polite and helps me figure out how to get to my gate! I wish I had asked him for his email to thank him..but I was in a rush to check in at JAL.
So now I am here..boarding pass in hand..it's 3:00pm here and 11:00pm PST so I am a little thrown off. I am looking forward to sleeping on this next leg because when I arrive it will be 10:25 and time to hit the town (as Steve planned) He will be lounging with Lacey at our hotel (The Conrad Hilton) sipping cocktails on the beach until I arrive...then we will all toast to our arrival.
Well..counting down to the moments I step off this next flight and step into paradise...
Luckily I sat next to a young couple traveling to Tokyo to "meet the parents". Nick, a young senior to be at Chico from Merced, his girlfriend, Niko, lovely and pilot as can be, a Tokyo native..We chatted during the times we were all awake...he was very nervous, puking in the bathrooms here and there...I tried to use the couple years I had on them to give him some advice...I like to think I did some good! By the end of the flight he seemed excited to meet her mom and dad, oh and her entire extended family as that is the Japanese culture.
So now I am off the flight and trying to figure out where to go next..while there are signs in English..things are very different here...I ask a nice little lady where I go to connect to Japan Airlines and she instructs me with the utmost kindness...I see the shuttle I am supposed to take and make a run for it...there are very much about procedure here, and I had to fill out my name, etc...then I hoped on the overly packed shuttle to terminal 2. There were no seats...everyone on top of one another...then out of the blue a nice young american (carnegie mellon class of 07 named Mark (i think) says "hey there..you can squeeze next to me" next thing I know I have another American friend! He is beyond polite and helps me figure out how to get to my gate! I wish I had asked him for his email to thank him..but I was in a rush to check in at JAL.
So now I am here..boarding pass in hand..it's 3:00pm here and 11:00pm PST so I am a little thrown off. I am looking forward to sleeping on this next leg because when I arrive it will be 10:25 and time to hit the town (as Steve planned) He will be lounging with Lacey at our hotel (The Conrad Hilton) sipping cocktails on the beach until I arrive...then we will all toast to our arrival.
Well..counting down to the moments I step off this next flight and step into paradise...
I'm out!!
I am off to the airport! Flight leaves at 11:30am! I have my dorky flying pillow at hands reach and as well as my trusty Ambien...Looking forward to getting lots of rest because when I get there I guess Steve has already lined up a night of fun!
Looking forward to my next post from Paradise!!
Bon Voyage!
Looking forward to my next post from Paradise!!
Bon Voyage!
Monday, July 21, 2008
4 days and counting...
Well..this week is the week! I will be touching down in paradise this week! I think I have everything in order, now it is just time to do all the last minute chores! I spent about 100 dollars at walgreens yesterday mostly on Sunscreen! Since when is sunscreen like 15 bucks a mini-tube! Ridiculous! But from what I hear sunscreen in Indonesia is about 50 bucks a tube so..there ya go! Over the past few months, since I decided to go on this tropical adventure, I have purchased about 15 new bikinis, so I am set in that department. I went to REI yesterday and fully dorked out. I got fanny packs, wallet protector fanny packs, a hiking fanny pack..I didn't know they made so many different type of waist accessories! I will be totally cool sporting these..Can't wait to post pics of me in the variety of styles! I couldn't think of what else to buy, as I know I don't need much in the way of clothes as it is 90 degrees with 160% humidity..I think bikinis and suncreens and fanny packs will be all I can handle in the heat!
Anyways I take off Friday at 11:30 am and will touch down in Denpasar at 10:45PM..ready to relax with a cocktail on the beach and wake up rested in Paradise!
Anyways I take off Friday at 11:30 am and will touch down in Denpasar at 10:45PM..ready to relax with a cocktail on the beach and wake up rested in Paradise!
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Miette finds a sitter!
Ha, so as many of you know I still have this little, runt like kitten that I got for my parents as a gift for when our 24 year old cat Malone dies...which you think would have been by now as he has a thyroid condition, kidney failure and congestive heart failure but nope he is still happy as a healthy clam so that means, yep I still have Miette at my apartment. So when I planned my adventure, I knew I would have to make plans for this little terror of a cat, so I started asking my friends what they thought would be the best place for her...When I would ask people what should I do with her, their first response would be "well how long are you gone?" Then I would reply with "about 3 weeks...." most answers were "give her to your parents, or put her in a kennel.." but not my friend Justin's...his response: "JUST PUT HER DOWN" ummmm no crazy man...so that said, I went with option c: have a friend live at my apartment..so my overly gracious, most amazing friend Laura has volunteered to do just that. So I made a list of to-do's and miette's needs for her with contact information and all that just so she has something to reference. Below I have attached some of the highlights from the list for everyone's enjoyment.
Feeding
*
2x per day (morning and night) wet food
*
Dry Food Bowl Should always be full
*
Water Bowl (try to keep full but she knocks it over because she likes playing in the water)
Litter Box
*
Try to keep it cleaned everyday (for smelling purposes)
*
I will lay out plastic bags to clean and you can just drop in garbage shoot
*
There is Arm&Hamor Litter sanitizer that I pour in her litter every new batch
Sleeping
*
She starts the night by sitting/sleeping on the nightstand
*
I wouldn’t leave any water glasses on the night stand because she knocks them over and they break (once again she loves to play in water) – I recommend a water bottle by the bed
*
Keep the comforter in the closet during the day when you are not there..you never know when she wants to piss me off and pee on it
*
She will end up either next to you sleeping sharing your pillow, or under the covers against your legs…try not to kill her by rolling over her..she usually will cry if you are in her way.
Heat:
*
If for some reason she goes into heat, don’t freak out…just you may not want to sleep there that night because she moans really loudly.
Random Miette
- In the morning, don’t be weirded out if she follows you wherever you go and cry..she just knows you are leaving and gets sad
*
If you can’t find her she hides under the bed or in the hall closet on the shelves
*
She likes string cheese, so if she is good you can give her half a string cheese in little pieces
*
The windows should stay closed when you aren’t home but if you are home, you can crack them, as you know she likes sitting on the window sill.
*
She likes Gossip Girl Monday nights (or on my dvr recordings) Nate is her favorite, she may jump up on the TV table to watch
*
Don’t be alarmed if she jumps up on the toilet and into the sink..she is a water baby and likes getting wet
LAURA YOU ARE A LIFE SAVER!!!!
Feeding
*
2x per day (morning and night) wet food
*
Dry Food Bowl Should always be full
*
Water Bowl (try to keep full but she knocks it over because she likes playing in the water)
Litter Box
*
Try to keep it cleaned everyday (for smelling purposes)
*
I will lay out plastic bags to clean and you can just drop in garbage shoot
*
There is Arm&Hamor Litter sanitizer that I pour in her litter every new batch
Sleeping
*
She starts the night by sitting/sleeping on the nightstand
*
I wouldn’t leave any water glasses on the night stand because she knocks them over and they break (once again she loves to play in water) – I recommend a water bottle by the bed
*
Keep the comforter in the closet during the day when you are not there..you never know when she wants to piss me off and pee on it
*
She will end up either next to you sleeping sharing your pillow, or under the covers against your legs…try not to kill her by rolling over her..she usually will cry if you are in her way.
Heat:
*
If for some reason she goes into heat, don’t freak out…just you may not want to sleep there that night because she moans really loudly.
Random Miette
- In the morning, don’t be weirded out if she follows you wherever you go and cry..she just knows you are leaving and gets sad
*
If you can’t find her she hides under the bed or in the hall closet on the shelves
*
She likes string cheese, so if she is good you can give her half a string cheese in little pieces
*
The windows should stay closed when you aren’t home but if you are home, you can crack them, as you know she likes sitting on the window sill.
*
She likes Gossip Girl Monday nights (or on my dvr recordings) Nate is her favorite, she may jump up on the TV table to watch
*
Don’t be alarmed if she jumps up on the toilet and into the sink..she is a water baby and likes getting wet
LAURA YOU ARE A LIFE SAVER!!!!
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
10 Days to Go until we are in Paradise!
Well as the departure date creeps up...I am trying to get everything locked and loaded so I can jet out of here feeling confident that I have packed all that I need and have tied up any lose ends here in San Fran. The packing list was created and I realized I really need to go dork out at REI and stock up on things like 1) an eye mask for sleeping on the plane - I mean hell I will be in the air for about 25 hours 2) A sleeping pillow for the plane..once again I will be sitting in the same chair for about a day, combining that will a nice cocktail of ambien and valium, I will definitely need a pillow 3) some dorky, yet top of the line fanny pack that will strap around my belly and keep my passport safe 4) a tote bag that locks - because god only knows I don't want to be the next brokendown palace victim and have some guy smuggle heroin into my purse and then be executed in Bali...so yes I will lock my luggage. 5) Hiking boots for when I ride/possibly purchase an Elephant in rural Bali hmmm I think that is it. However there are some other major red boxes on my to do list that need attention this weekend as well..like 1) A cute flying outfit. My friend Mary thinks I should get decked out and preppy, which isn't a bad idea because I have an aisle seat and I plan to flirt with whomever has the window to make a switch..Valium+Sleeping Pillow = needs a window to pass out on. 2) a vaccination yellow card - which my crazy, heath ledger cocktail pushing doctor totally messed up on. She left off the two most important vaccines..*NIT* (* that's for you Mary *) 3) A camera memory card - I must keep all my blogging followers up to date on my pics...I have been working my ass out to make sure I don't scare you guys, as I will probably live in a bikini for the month.
I think that is all that is really left on my major to do lists! Now I just need to pack! 10 days left, I think I can get er done!
I think that is all that is really left on my major to do lists! Now I just need to pack! 10 days left, I think I can get er done!
Monday, July 7, 2008
My Partner in Crime...
So my solo trip has been delightfully adjusted by the addition of friend to join me on my Bali Adventure. Lacey Hermann and I will now be setting sail together on July 25th for the tropical island and plan to expand our horizons together in this foreign destination. On the to-do list will be: 1) Ride Elephants 2) Learn to surf 3) Shop - Yes Garrett I will get you an authentic weapon 4) Relax and Tan 5) Relax and Tan some more 6) Teach Literature at the Teman School 7) Travel around the island with our trusty tour guide/friend/host/rockstar surfer Steve. 8) Have the time of our lives!
I can't tell you how excited I am that I have a partner in crime for this adventure...the stories we will bring back will be epic no doubt!
I can't tell you how excited I am that I have a partner in crime for this adventure...the stories we will bring back will be epic no doubt!
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