Finally a Check In - Kuta and Ubud!

2/13/2012 6:42 PM

Kuta Beach Sunset

What a day! Woke up this morning at about 8 AM and went and had my breakfast at the hotel`s restaurant. It hit the spot and the coffee is good. I am still on the hunt for a new hotel so I spent a little while wandering around both the town and the beach this morning. I was not intending on surfing today so as to give my body some sort of rest after Kinabalu, however, that fell through after I saw the beach.

So on my way back to my hotel, I stopped in at one of the local surf shops to arrange a lesson for the afternoon. For $20, you get a two hour lesson as well as a board rental for the entire day. So I pretty much spent the entire day up until about 4PM on the beach. Surfing is hard but so much fun as well as incredibly exhausting. Going to be an early night tonight as I want to be up early to surf the big morning waves tomorrow.

2/14/2012 7:39 AM

Another beautiful morning in Bali.

2/15/2012 6:32 PM

Ok wow. So I didn`t write yesterday. This surfing is beginning to take its toll on me; well that and all the other ``activities`` that Kuta is so well known for. So I meant to write this last night but it was late when I got in. So I`ll put in my best effort to remember!

Kuta Beach

So yesterday morning I headed to the beach around 9:20 for my surfing lesson. I had a new teacher who was actually better, at least in my opinion, than the one I had the day before. So I spent a couple hours surfing with him. I finally got standing on the board and am pretty comfy on a long board. Tomorrow I should get something a bit shorter which will be interesting.

Now, I’ve been meaning to buy a cell phone for a while now, so I finally decided to do it. So I was talking to my surfing instructor who offered to take me to a local place where he knew I wouldn’t get ripped off. This worked out very well for two reasons. First, he brought me to a good shop where I got a knock-off of a Nokia phone, made in China obviously, for about $40… a phone that would have cost probably $400 back home. With the SIM card, which will last the entire month, it cost me $47… well worth it in my mind. Second, in exchange for taking the time to bring me to the store on his motorbike, I offered to buy him lunch. Now, I would have paid that $47 just to find this hole-in-the-wall. They`re main dish is called Sasung. Which is pork, slow cooked with onions, green chilies, ginger and pig`s blood served with rice. This is possible one of the best dished I`ve had this month. The total just over 26k Rupiah… a bit less than three dollars for both; it was absolutely delicious.

So after that he dropped me back to my hotel (I keep referring to him as `he’ simply because I cannot remember his name). At around 4PM I headed back down to the beach for the afternoon waves; there seem to be two sets of waves here, one in the morning around 9 AM and the other in the afternoon around 4 PM, which is good, because it provides time to power nap during the heat of the day; and when I say heat I mean like 34 degrees with a burning hot sun. So yeah, a bit more surfing then a local guy from Couchsurfing, Basya, texted me that he was in the area. So we meet up and watch the sun set with my surf instructor and a few other locals. 

Around 6:30 Nisa texted me, a girl from Jakarta, letting me know that they had just arrived in Bali and were going to eat some street food and the go to Sky Garden, one of the most happening clubs in Bali, later that night. Street food and bars; I definitely couldn’t turn that down. So Basya and I headed back to my hotel for a bit and meet up with Nisa and her sister Dheya at about 8:30. Dinner was absolutely delicious. Probably the second best meal I`ve had since being here. I can`t remember the name, but it’s pretty much rice served with about 8 different sides, from things like spicy  grilled chicken to dried fish and hard boiled eggs. They love their chili in this country… that’s all I can say. All for the price of about $1 US.

Day at the beach with the Locals

After dinner we headed back to their hotel room to hang out for a bit as we didn’t want to arrive at Sky Garden before midnight. 

Now, Sky Garden is located next to the Monument for the 2002 Bali Bombing. People come to Kuta for two things; to learn to surf and for some of the most out of this world clubs in all of Asia. I`m here for the former… Seriously! Anyways this club consists of 6 stories with everything from lounges, to disco-techs, to strip clubs to live music to fire-eating entertainers. It`s completely out of this world. So we arrived just after midnight. Now, security is high in these clubs… really high. At the entrance are four armed guards, equipped with both hand guns and semi-automatic assault rifles. These are not your run-of-the-mill bouncers from back home, these guys are serious. So after a quick pat-down you pass though an ex-ray machine and metal detector. Once through here you are in. Now an interesting fact, that is not all that surprising in reality, is that Westerners, or Bules as they call them, do not have to pay cover. So I got in free where as the other three I was with had to pay cover. I won’t comment on that practice.  

Anyways, I got back relatively early without drinking all that much. Ridiculous experience… the clubs here put the ones back home to shame.

So today I got up around 9 AM and went for breakfast. I decided I was not going to surf today and give myself a day off considering I haven’t done so since coming down from Kinabalu. I did a bit of shopping, bought some shorts and flipflops and had a relaxing afternoon.

Around 2 Nisa texted me and I met up with her and Dheya. We went swimming and lounged around the pool at the hotel for the afternoon. I`m back at my hotel at this point and deciding what I should do tonight. Il probably go eat some street food and call it an early night. I want to surf early tomorrow morning.

All for now.

2/16/2012 4:37 PM

Bah I don’t feel like writing right now. But I’ll do a quick check-in nonetheless. So it’s the afternoon of the 16^th and I’m still here. I’m beginning to feel like this place is home. 

They are currently fumigating the property for mosquitoes, something they do everyday which pretty much consists of blowing smoke with some toxic substances though all the plants and bushes. Sounds healthy right? So im stuck in my room for a little while. Should have gone out before they did it, but too late now. 

I’m meeting up with Nisa and Dheya again this afternoon. Not sure what the plan is, but should involve the beach, street-food and sunset. 

Not much else is new, I’m thinking about going on a holiday up to Ubud for a few days for some peace and quiet where there is nothing but temples, rice fields and relaxation. I’ll maybe go up there in 4 or 5 days. I’m not sure whether I will hire a taxi to take me up there or just rent a motorbike and drive up myself. It’s not too far and definitely doable on my own however, there is the issue of me not having an IDP (International Driver’s Permit). This is not a roadblock, however, if I get pulled over I could face fines of up to $50. They are not legitimate fines; rather the money goes directly into the pocket of the corrupt police officer that pulled you over. There will not be any other issue than that; I simply don’t want to pay it. So I may opt to get a taxi there and rent a bike while I’m there where the chances of getting stopped are significantly decreased.

2/16/2012 8:34 PM

So another day well spent. Watched the sunset on the beach with a few of the locals; meeting up with Dheya and Nisa for dinner in about 15 minutes. Not going to go out tonight as I want to be up early for the surf tomorrow.

2/21/2012 5:54 PM

So I have not written anything in the last five days; I’ve been incredibly sick and have done pretty much nothing but lie in bed. I’m not sure what I picked up, but it was nasty. I am mostly recovered at this point, yet still not feeling 100% percent.

So there really isint much to say about the last 5 days…. I spent most of it watching either the National Geographic or Animal Planet Channel. 

Rices fields in Ubud

I’ve just arrived in Ubud and I’ve opted to stay at a place about 3km outside of the town. This has afforded me some peace and quiet after the party atmosphere of Kuta. However, I must say, the duration of this trip is finally getting to me. I am willing to admit that I am homesick. I think it’s mostly the fact that I have been cooped up in a hotel room for far too long and have been felling pretty lousy. Hopefully Ubud will lift my spirits. 

I’ve got a motorbike here so I’m going to go into town and find some dinner before I call it an early night.

2/22/2012 10:47 AM

So I am really out of the habit of writing regularly after having been sick for so long. I’ve still got the tail-end of this bug, but I refuse to let it keep me inside anymore. 

View from my Hotel - Ubud

So I’m staying at a place called Pura Alum Dewata which is a tiny, boutique style hotel, with four rooms. All the rooms overlook a little stream. The hotel is built on a cliff overlooking a little gully with a few cows in it. Around it are endless rice fields. As much as it is beautiful and peaceful up here, Ubud is not for me. It is seen by many as the honeymoon capital of Bali for obvious reasons. There is no night life here and few of the westerns that are here are backpackers. It is quite a change from the atmosphere of Kuta.  I will explore the surrounding area by motorbike today and most likely head back to Kuta tomorrow.

2/23/2012 12:59 PM

So I’ve just arrived back in Kuta with my spirits slightly higher. I’ve been feeling rather bummed lately, mostly due to my being sick for the past week. I’m not entirely sure what I will do today. I would like to go surfing, but debating whether that will help or hinder my cold. The salt water might do some good, but I’ll be in Lombok either tomorrow or the day after so I’m not in all that much of a hurry to get surfing. 

2/23/2012 1:50 PM

So I’ve just come back from lunch, which is one of the first solid meals I’ve had in the past week. My new favorite dish you ask? Sasung. Pork, slow cooked in pigs blood, chilies, onions and ginger, served with rice and French beans; so delicious and spicy enough to clean out my sinuses. Mind you, that said, once this trip is over, I will NEVER eat rice again. I am so, unbelievably sick of white rice. 

So no surfing today; instead, I’m going to spend it planning my trip to Lombok and the Gili Islands. I have not yet entirely decided when I will be going, but it should be soon. I got back here about an hour ago with the intent on leaving tomorrow, but I think I will stay in Kuta for a few more days, I love it here. The locals are all really nice, the town is wonderful, and the beaches are fantastic. 

Ubud Rice Fields

Bali is by far a place one MUST experience. It is unlike anywhere else in the world. Kuta is fantastic for surfing, taking it easy and meeting people. Ubud, is the cultural and honeymoon capital that is filled with cottage industry with everything from spectacular carpenters to glassblowers. Ubud is a place that I will one day return to in many, many years. Right now, however, it’s not my scene.

Time to catch up with my Blog and get posting!