Things have been so quiet on the forum that I have done a JBR from my recent trip. I didn't think I had done enough interesting stuff for a JBR, but once I started typing I just kept on going...either enjoy it or use it as a sleeping pill.
This was my first trip to Bali solo. I had been numerous times before, my first trip being in the mid 80's, but the majority of my trips being in recent years. What is it about this darn place that keeps calling you back time after time, the more you go the worse it gets. It would be so much cheaper if I was addicted to Mandurah!
Surprisingly, I was quite excited to be heading off alone. I am a selfish cow, and I was looking forward to just doing what I want when I want and how I want. I also figured I have enough friends over there by now to keep me amused, and I am also big enough and ugly enough to look after myself if need be. The cow is not only selfish but lazy, so I was also looking forward to spend more time relaxing and indulging myself, and less time shopping and stressing about excess baggage.
I headed off from Perth airport armed with my duty free and a sports bag full of ¾ shorts, some bali tops and a couple of bikinis. Arrival was sweet and after a quick ciggie and withdrawing $100 worth of rupiah out of the ATM I grabbed my bag, a quick salamat malam to customs and I was on my way outside. My friend was there to meet me and off to the Melasti Beach Bungalows, who kindly gave me the free upgrade, and into a room which was far nicer than I had expected. My thanks to Petron for convincing me that this was a good place to stay.
Now the shoppaholics on here will probably want to leave this JBR as I am way over the shopping thing. All I bought was a new bikini (which is a size too small but was on special - duh, when will I learn?), some DVDs and stuff for friends. I can bargain with the best of them, but choose not to grind them to the ground as I pay what I think is fair. I will, however, happily do the walk-away if I think the price is over the top.
The first few days were spent just surprising friends - I deliberately did not tell most of them I was coming, just so I could delight in seeing the surprise on their faces (did I mention selfish cow?). Darling Ricky who works outside of the Bali Garden Hotel, I could see his orange hat in the distance as I walked from Kuta Beach - I saw him sort of look along the beach, and gradually he rose from his seat every few metres I walked until he finally realized it was really me with my arms outstretched. The welcome is so good and once again I hold back the darn tears so I don't look like a woosy. The others at the Bali Garden are also so welcoming and I miss them, but Ricky is so special - I get to hear how the wife and kids are doing so well even in these hard times.
I spend most of my days just starting out by going to the pool for an hour or so in the early morning, then another shower and head out to wander around. An early makan siang and off to catch up with other friends. I text message Charlie (who is now a driver, but used to work at the Bali Aussie - anyone who has ever been there will remember him - if you want his mobile number pls let me know). He does not have my new mobile number so doesn't know who is smsing him, I see him walking up from Bemo Corner and love to see the surprise on his face. We go to Ketupat Restaurant for lunch (great Indo food, behind Jonathans gallery on Jl Legian). He has never been there before and loves it. I tell him to go upstairs to check out the view and the toilets, we have such a great laugh when we both realize he has gone to the ladies toilets in error.
I spend another lunch going to see Nick who works in a great coffee shop near the Melasti Beach Resort in Legian. He flatters me by calling me his MILF, but also has me in stitches by relating the stories of his conquests - nothing shy about these guys when you get to know them. He has also been involved in a motor bike accident since I last saw him and I am glad he has recovered, although the bike needed some repairs.
I spend most of my afternoons with my behind on a plastic chair on Kuta Beach, just chatting and watching the world go bye. So many people from so many places to have a chat with, and my friends at the beach bars who I have got to know over the years. I try to pay them and they say no, I have given them too much money (I have actually paid very little). I stay so late one night that it is dark and as I get ready to leave I hear a motorbike racing up the beach path outside the Inna Hotel, I then hear a screech as the bike does a 180 degree skid and I am thinking ‘hell no, this is a tourist who doesn't know what he is doing', it just turns out to be Krishna stopping to give me the European double kiss before he goes home. I never feel this special at home.
Come the Friday night, and I have arranged to meet the lovely Vicki M (from this forum) and her sisters, who are staying at Alam Kul Kul, for a drink. I haven't seen Vicki for a few months and never met her sisters before. They are all so lovely and well into relax mode, a shame they are leaving the next day. Their hotel is so nice and very peaceful, and we have a great time just chatting and having a few cold ones. I eventually have to use the bathroom in their hotel room and feel very, very insignificant when I see the sizes of the bras drying over the bath!
One of my friends in Bali who I have known for 3 years has often said I should come to Java for a visit to his village. He is one of the minority in Java in that he is a Hindu. Such a good person although he frequently chastises me on my bad habits, i.e. I smoke and drink far too much (like I need to travel that far to hear that!). Anyway, I decided that this trip I would take him up on his offer and he arranges tickets for us on the bus. We head off from Denpasar with various other travelers although I am the only westerner on the bus - rather pleased with myself as I feel like an adventurer! At various times during the trip to Gilimanuk (3 ½ hours), I have woken up only to see either a motor bike or a truck or both about 2 metres in front of the bus, but we are doing close to 120kph. I just don't look and decide to leave it to fate. My friend tells me later that is why he did not take me on his motorbile - too bloody dangerous.
We finally arrive, after the ferry crossing, in the town nearest his village. A hotel room is found at dirt cheap prices and I crash for the night. Next morning two friends arrive on motorbikes to transfer us to the village which is really only 20 minutes out of town. I am introduced Indonesian style - ‘these are my friends' and I jump onto the bike with a total stranger. A quick false start while the driver is told to give me his helmet and we are off! Up through the main street dodging cars and trucks and then we turn off at the road to the village. I am enjoying myself immensely until we get to some paddy fields and two huge (I mean huge) water buffalo just appear from the left and we swerve to miss them. I have a heart attack, while no-one else bats an eyelid.
We get to the village and I am introduced to everyone, none of them speak English and my Indonesian is limited to less than kindergarten grade. Everyone is introduced to me as ‘this is my mum, dad, auntie, uncle, nephew, sister etc' so I therefore do not know anyone's name. My friend, who has been awake most of the night guarding me on the bus etc promptly falls asleep, and I am left smiling at everyone. I am served a glass of hot, very very sweet tea which I drink whilst making ‘delicious' noises. I don't think anyone in the whole village has seen too many Aussies before as there are a variety of people wandering past who are all rather fascinated with me and basically all I understand is ‘rokok' - which means they are amazed (maybe appalled) that a woman is smoking.
There are numerous farm animals wandering past, but I am obviously a novelty because even the rooster stops in amazement and eyes me up and down for such a long while that it is embarrassing. My friend later tells me he thinks the rooster fancies me (and I am old enough to be flattered once again)!
At last the sister comes up to me and drops a pair of thongs in front of me and says ‘Jan, jalan-jalan' - I understand enough to know we are going walkies. Well off we go through the dirt tracks, past some surprisingly modern looking houses to visit her friend. People are gathered outside each house and shout comments at the sister (I presume the comments were similar to ‘who the hell is that'). We go into a house and I am invited to sit on the couch where the oldest woman I have ever seen is asleep. The sister and friend promptly disappear to make me a glass of the very very very sweet tea, and of course the poor old lady wakes up to find a total stranger sitting beside her. This darling old lady just sits up, looks at me, laughs and says ‘tidur tidur' and doesn't bat an eyelid. She is amused that I have caught her asleep.
Anyway, I have a wonderful time in the village, enjoy a trek barefoot through the rice fields, the local kids come and keep asking ‘what is your name' and laugh when I answer. I enjoy a motorbike ride at night until a bright green snake appears on the road in front. ‘Very dangerous' my friend tells me, and I ask ‘are there snakes in the rice field?', ‘yes' he says. Thank you very much!
Time to head back to Bali, and I start to get a bit emotional saying goodbye to Ibu and the rest of the family. Ibu has gone to so much trouble for me and her cooking is absolutely delicious. I wish I could tell you all the stories, like Aunty wanting me to come mandi in the river, but it would take so long. My friend's sister and brother in law take us to the train station on the motorbikes. I did not have a helmet for this trip and I think it must have been a long time since anyone had seen blonde hair - so wonderful seeing everyone look, then stop and wave to me in surprise.
Back to Bali via train, bus, ferry, bus. On the ferry I need to visit the ladies and my darling friend gives me directions. I head into the worst smelling, hell hole I have ever seen (please bare in mind that I have lived in the middle east for a few years, so I know a hell hole when I see one). I get back and tell him ‘thank you very much for the warning' - of course he just laughs!
Ok, I am back in Kuta and I have behaved myself for 3 days now. Off to the Reggae Bar to have a few drinks and dance the night away. I quickly find my very sweet dreadlocked friend who sings all the wrong words to the songs and we have a few drinks and I dance in my usual un-coordinated style. Who cares, I love the place and the music and nobody gives a toss anyway. My dreadlocked friend drops me back to my hotel and I do a bit of a stagger back to the room.
My last full day in Bali is spent doing God knows what. I know I went down to the beach bar later in the afternoon to relax over a few quiet ones. It is later than normal and I am talking to my local friends as well as an American (who it turns out has been working in Cambodia specializing in bomb disposals) and an Aussie (fireman) and his teenage daughter.
We are all just sitting around and the next thing we hear is a loud ‘boom' followed by a softer ‘boom'. No-one panics, we just all look at one another and say ‘what the f... was that'. We all speculate and soon after an ambulance flies past us on the beach track. It turns out it was the bombs at Raja's and Jimbaran Bay.
I shall not go into too much detail as none of us really knew what was happening. The bomb expert and the fireman were absolutely correct in their assumptions it turned out. My local friends told me to stay on the beach for a while, which I did, until we all decided we should just go home. We did not know at this stage what had happened, was it a bomb, was it a gas bottle? Strangely enough, I was talking to a friend of LizandSurya
who has recently joined the forum. How bloody small is this world?
I went back to my hotel, one of my local friends joined me there very shortly so I would not be alone, and translated the local TV broadcast for me. Could not get through for ages on sms, but to their credit my local friends (a lot of whom are from Java), started to text making sure I was safe. You newbies who will hear all the horror stories about the Javenese please take note!
The next morning was my scheduled flight out of Bali and surprisingly it was very calm at the airport. One of my local friends took me to the airport, and one of his friends who works in security there, took me through the whole process to my departure gate without hassle. I am sure the other passengers thought I was a criminal being escorted by security, but he even gave me his mobile number in case I had any problems. I was so privileged to be looked after so well - I thank everyone who extended their kindness.
I am back home now, have just booked my next trip in March and I just can't wait.
Selamat tidur to those who are still awake, and selamat mimpi to those who have nodded off.
All questions welcome, Jan