Dirty Bali with splashes of light

Bali is a very unique place and there is much to love and an equal amount to hate. The people are very pushy for one thing. They get into your personal space, tug at your clothing and harrass you until they have your attention. They view foreigners as walking ATM's and they will offer you anything imaginable to make a buck. It is interesting at first, then a bit funny to egg them on, and finally it becomes extremely irritating. Everything is a haggle, we usually expect to pay around one third of the original price offered by the seller. We cannot even walk one step without ten people offering us transport, perfume, t-shirt, shorts, poncho, shoes, tours, exchange money, bikes, massage, rice or sell us their children. We have become weary of buying anything because it requires quite a bit of energy and time at each place.

Additionally, it is dirty. Yes, South America (Argentina in particular) was dirty but this place is, at timea, disgusting. The streets are riddled with litter, it often smells of indistinguishable stench, the beaches look like landfills (inside and outside the water), and even the holy temple sites are covered in trash. It is very sad to see but people seem to be oblivious to it.

Nothing here is free, everywhere you look someone is trying to take your cash. It's not a dangerous place, there is no theft or pickpocketing the way one may expect but rather they exhaust every option of parting you of your money. We pay for the toilets, camera fees to bring your camera into tourist sites and parking. There are entrance fees for everything because the locals will block off the area and ask for cash to let you in. For example beaches and beautiful sights are sectioned off with sticks and everything has a price tag.

Indonesia is a beautiful country with one of a kind breathtaking temples set on mountains overlooking never ending blue oceans. There is wildlife everywhere from monkeys, birds, frogs, lizards, cows and butterflies to Komodo dragons, elephants, horses, camels and Orangatangs. There is also a lot of culture here, most of which we are still learning about. The country is mainly muslim (88% of the muslims in the world live here), there are also many Buddhists but in Bali the people are mainly hindu. This is evident in their everyday living. There are sacrifices scattered all over the ground in the form of small bambo baskets filled with valuable things to the individual. The mountains are said to be holy in addition to the animals, springs and lakes. It seems, they pray to everything and are constantly in some sort of spiritual state in a land of a thousand Gods.

There are some areas that foreigners migrate to, and in these places the Balinese are accustomed to seeing travellers everywhere. Other places however, people point, stare, call out and laugh when they see someone who looks different. We rented a motorbike and rode around Bali for nearly a week which is a long time considering driving from one side of the island to the other takes only three hours.

The first temple we went to was in Uloowatu. They charged 1000 for parking and 3000 each for admissions. Not including the cost of the bathrooms (4000) the total was under $1. When we go to a temple, it is not about the architecture of the building or the energy surrounding the area that has been impressive. The buildings are generally falling apart and disappointing, the locals are puffing on smokes and talking loudly trying to sell their products or services. This temple in particular was set on a very high mountain overlooking the beautiful ocean and it was absolutely gorgeous. We had to rent sarongs to cover up our legs to enter the temple area and even Tyson had to wear the decency skirt. We hiked around the temple to the higher parts of the mountains but thanks to the recent rain, I fell butt first into the deep mud. While tyson tried to bravely rescue me, he also bailed into what we hoped was just mud. As mosquitos ate us alive, we ran to wash ourselves off with a hose just outside the bathroom. As soon as the bathroom guy noticed us, he demanded money which we refused. He turned off the water mid-rinse so we yelled our way to free water.

The coolest part of this temple was the monkeys. They were very accustomed to people and extremely smart. They played with us very gently and we snapped tons of photos. Their intelligence taught them to steal people's belongings and trade them back for food. For example they would steal maps, sandals, glasses, cameras and clothing and return them for apples, chips, crackers or any other edible item. Of course there were locals here to sell these foods to you. We spent more time with the monkeys and hiking than looking at the temple because it was not much to look at.

The next temple in Tannah Lot cost 10,000 each to get in. We got there 30 minutes before dark and had to walk through over a kilometer of little stands with overpriced souveniers before getting to the temple. The temple here was beautiful and we took a few photos while it was still daylight. They had a holy snake that was all white and lives in a cave that they let people into. Part of the temple is also on an island so near that we can walk through the water to it. Here, (for a donation) they will give you a holy flower, glue rice to your forehead and let you splash holy water on yourself.
After dark we climbed the mountain where the main temple was and sat on the edge overlooking the dark ocean and huge waves. We stared into the darkness until out of no where beautiful fireworks appeared magically. It was a memorable moment.

We drove back to our couchsurfers home for the last night. During the drive we noticed some amazing resort style hotels and thought it would be nice to stay in one for a night or so. Eventually, with that thought, came the realization that we HAD in fact booked a nice hotel room in Bali before we left on the trip. Sadly, we mad missed the date and missed our chance to stay there. In the morning Tyson ruthlessly clogged our couchsurfer's toilet and left a note pretending not to know about it....

We left our comfy couchsurfing home and head for the hotel that we had no showed a few nights prior. We explained to them that we had tried to change the date (little white lie) and that perhaps there was a mistake. Luckily they accepted our story and gave us a lovely room for the night including a yummy breakfast the next day. We finally had wifi as well as a private beach, huge swimming pool, international cable and other amenities. The room was made of small stones and it almost felt like a big cave. The staff had placed flowers everywhere and the delicious smelling shampoo, soap, lotions, conditioner and body washes along with bottled waters, coffee, tea etc were free! This is not taken lightly by backpackers and we thoroughly enjoyed our stay. We hung out at the beach and by the pool, enjoyed Indonesian iced tea and used the wifi to catch up with life back home. We head out and ate local food from a warung, bought loads of snacks and McDonalds ice cream (the only place here that charges tax) and watched french movies on international cable.

The next day after a fancy breakfast and a dip in the pool, we took off on the bike with little to no plans of where to go next. It poured rain for most of our trip as we drove to the next city and the next temple. There are many many temples in Bali but each one is very different and unique. We saw several of them during our tour but were still surprised and exhilerated with each one.The next temple was in Tirtha Embul and we did not pay an admission here. There were holy spring pools that people were swimming in and praying. Inside the pool there were over twenty small fountains. The rule is that one must select eleven fountains to pray at and wash in, in the first pool, and three in the next. Locals were also leaving sacrificial inscence and bamboo baskets with flowers at the fountains. Tyson borrowed a sarong and went into the icy cold water while I passed on this activity and took photos instead. After the pool we walked through the actual temple structure which was fairly neat to see, but the most beautiful part has always been the surroundings of the temples. When we were walking to the motorbike, Tyson realized he had lost the only key to the bike. In a panic he set out to retrace his steps but the key was no where to be found. With increased anxiety we continued to search and asked the lost and found. They announced the lost key over the loudspeaker and someone had found and returned the precious key.

After that drama we went to another holy site where the people had cut t mple features into solid mountain rock. They were huge structures and the whole temple including the doors were cut out of rocks. This was also set amongst a beautiful river with giant trees and greenery. This place charged a high rate for the entrance, and to get to the actual temple, they force you to walk through a market where dozens of locals are attempting to sell their special products for a "cheap price". Before going into the temple area, we were asked (via a sign) to sprinkle holy water (provided) onto our heads which we did.

Then we drove through many towns including a cute and interesting town called Ubud. Here there was miles and miles of art galleries and wood working shops where there were beautiful wood carvings and pieces for sale. We continued on through many rice fields and little towns until we hit Mount Batur. Unfortunately for the last hour or so of our drive it was pouring Bali-style rain which is huge raindrops by the millions. We were instantly soaked and since we were driving to higher altitudes it also became increasingly cold. The cold wind hitting our wet bodies was the perfect situation for hyperthermia. In fact when we finally reached our hotel, Tyson's lips were clearly dark blue and I could not stop shaking. In Tyson's opinion this was the most difficult experience in our trip thus far, however I think the hot muddy hike to Red Frog beach in Costa Rica is still in first place.

Driving through Bali in itself is a memorable experience. In the main downtown areas there are thousands and thousands of bikes that want to be where you are. There are few cars or trucks and the bikes rule the roads. They go anywhere they want weaving through traffic, onto sidewalks and curbs. Hesitation on the bike can be dangerous because everyone keeps going. Bikes will go forward as long as they see space, even if it is the tiniest spot. Cars here are very tolerant of bikes and getting ahead first is not seen as "cutting off", it is merely seen as getting there first. Tyson and I have both agreed that driving a motorbike here is actually much safer than driving one in Vancouver because people here are accustomed to them and other vehicles are more tolerant.

We have been eating mainly Indonesian food except when Tyson craves a burger and we try to find a tourist place. The local food is comparitively cheap and pretty good. They have many types of soups including Bakso and Soyo Ayam (chicken). They serve all their food in thick brown baking sheets and there is no cutlery. We have also been eating Sattes (barbeque chicken) with peanut or sweet sauce and special sticky rice as well as vermicelli noodles fried with chicken and vegetables among many other local foods that are more difficult to explain. Babi Guling for example is roast suckling pig and you get a cut from each part of the body. Probably not so great for your cholesterol, but still tasty.

When we got to Mount Batur we haggled ourselves an acceptable rate at a local hotel and tried to dry up. We head out to a warung for food and chatted with a local artist who tried to sell us his paintings. Our intention was to hike this famous volcano (Batur) and see the sunrise that we had heard so much about. The price the hotel first offered for the hike was $50 each (400,000 rupiah) and over the next few hours we managed to get him down to 300,000 rupiah for both of us for the 6 hour hike. The main problem was that the hike is very straigtforward and safe so there was no reason for a guide but apparently it is mandatory and the police will take you to jail if you do not hire a guide. I am certain the man was bluffing but we fell for it anyway and handed over the cash.

At 3:30am we were woken up and dragged into the dark night with twenty or so other tourists (many who had paid the full price asked of them). We hike about two hours where we watched the outstanding famous sunrise. It was beautiful and a once in a lifetime opportunity. It was very cold at the top and even here there were people selling coke, snacks, water and one guy even offered to sell me the jacket off his back. We continued hiking through the morning to the peak of the volcano overlooking the lake and small city. The paths were very steep and narrow at times with large drop offs on either side but we made it through. We played with the monkeys living on top of the mountain and saw all the craters including the last which was created in the year 2000. Using the steam from the volcano our guide cooked us breakfast including a soft boiled egg and cooked banana sandwhiches which were very tasty after all the excersize. During the hike we met a french Canadian guy who decided to tag along with us to Lovina which was to be our next destination. So we packed up, ate another banana crepe and coffee at the hotel and took off.

There are very few petrol stations in smaller cities and the locals buy all the gas in one liter Absolute vodka bottles in the mornings and sell them with a profit to desperate drivers throughout the day. We got stuck purchasing petrol from one of these people at one point even though it is not advised because they have been known to mix other cheaper products into the fuel. We survived however until the next gas station where we filled up. With the french guy in tow we arrived to Lovina and haggled a hotel room with two single beds. He took one bed and we squeezed into the other and split the cost by three.

This town was supposed to be a beach paradise, quieter than Kuta with nicer beaches. In reality however, the beach was filthy and we were quite dissapointed. The locals explained that because it is rainy season, the water becomes more dirty. Although we still swam in the warm ocean (farther out was cleaner) it was definitely not the paradise we had envisioned. With very little tourists, the locals here were even more desperate for business, offering one hour massages for $3. We ate local soup and head back to the hotel for a while. Later on we bought snacks from the local Circle K and watched movies on the computer till we passed out.

After deep fried banana bread and syrup for breakfast we head back to Kuta passing through many cities and towns. Once in Kuta we began searching the tourist agencies for our next activity. There is an island here where komodo dragons live and we decided to fly to Labon Bajou in Flores to see the dragons. We found a guy who would sell us flight tickets for a reasonable rate and set out in the pouring rain to find a hotel room. After checking out many places that were trying to rip us off, we found a decent one in the heart of town that included two breakfasts. Unfortunately the guy who we decided to buy the flights off of did not show up to our hotel to meet us for the tickets. Later that night we tried other agencies and found one with a higher rate but we decided to go for it anyway.

Since we had left one of our bags at the couchsurfing house before we took off on our motorbike adventure, we had to go back there for the rest of our cash. I waited at the agency while Tyson and Frenchy drove to pick up the dough. Unbenounced to me, Frenchy had left a large deposit with the agency guy to hold our tickets. An hour went by and the boys were not back yet so the agency guy had to close and did not sell us the tickets. As he closed down the shop, the boys showed up but it was too late. One thing lead to another and to make a very long story short, the guy lied to the boys saying I had asked him to cancel the tickets and that he was going to keep half of the deposit. To stay true to the story but maintain my lady status I will just mention that I severely lost my cool and turned up the volume including some profanity while Tyson held me back. Yes, things escalated from there to the point where the agency guy took off and Frenchy agreed to take off in the morning.
True to his word, Frenchy stole one of the two free breakfasts and left us in peace. It was back to the two of us, the way we liked it. Within one hour in the morning we bought tickets to Gili Island, scrapped the Komodo idea since it wasn't working out, exchanged money and haggled the hotel room down another 20,000 rupiahs in exchange for the free breakfasts. We spent the day enjoying the dirty beaches, McDonalds ice cream (locals cannot afford to eat here so it is one place that is only foreigners except behind the counter), and pushy sales people. During the afternoon rain we napped for four hours and head out to dinner. Kuta is the number one place Aussies come for holidays so the tourism industry really caters to their likes. We ate Australian food for dinner (big burgers and chunky fries) and bought chips, strawberry/chocolate bread and cookies for dessert and borrowed free wifi from the neighboring hotel to check in back home.

The basic rooms here are very basic in that they do not have internet, hot showers or any other extra comfort measures. Hot water in a room significantly raises the price and internet is rarely free. For this reason, we are behind in posting photos and blogs which is a bit annoying.

The next morning we got up at 5:30 am and waited for our 6am pick up to head to Gili. The shuttle finally came and we slept for the 1.5 hour drive to the ferries in Padongbai. Here we bought return tickets back to Kuta and boarded the slow boat to Gili. While the public ferry to Isla Grande in Brazil remains the worst boat ride of my life, this was a very close second. Many locals and drunk Aussies had chose to ride this day and they were loud and dirty. People puked, the bathroom was just a hole in the ground with a bucket to wash your hands in, the ground was wet and filthy and people were smoking and spitting the whole ride. It may have been ok except that the ride was about six hours long. Tyson popped a gravol and slept through the whole disgusting ordeal while I endured the stinky experience on my own. An old man forced us to buy his rice because he looked poor and desperate and pushed the rice into our bags.

While Buenos Aires people smoked an awful lot, I believe that the people here smoke just as much. I have not met one local who does not smoke. For $1-$2 a pack, it is affordable as well. I think the tobacco companies are loving these these third world countries who chose nicotine over food and water.

Overall Bali is the first place I would be ok with not returning to. While there is definitely a lot of beauty here, I feel that the people are slowly yet surely forcing most of it to shit. Whether it is poverty, lack of education, lack of morals or values, indifference or ignorance, the result is still murder of the environment. Since Indonesia consistes of 17,000 islands and 255 million people and I have not experienced even .5% of it, I cannot pretend to know what the country is all about. As for Bali however, it has not been my favorite place so far.

Little boys and girls run around naked and pee everywhere. I witness the mothers doing regular lice checks and kids as young as 10 can be seen driving motorbikes. The men spit up chunks and everyone litters. Everything gets wrapped up in 2 or 3 layers of paper then 2 more of plastic. While we have experienced much genuine kindness, caring and hospitality here, the standards of living are much lower than what we are accustomed to.

I hope I do not come off snobby because in no way shape or form do I think highly of myself and it is not my intention to put the locals down. I am merely listing off my observations and the fact that if there is no change here, the land will be lost.
"If we are not happy and joyous in this season for what season shall we wait"