Straight off the plane in Jakarta, we nestled back into
getting scammed... Each time, we tell
ourselves to walk away from the airport, train, or bus stations, collect our
heads then make decisions. Maybe we were
too tired & overwhelmed. Whatever it
was caused us to sign up for the first hotel mentioned & jump in with the
first “taxi” driver who offered a ride.
Jakarta was not disappointing, only because we weren’t
expecting much. It’s a big city but
makes for a good meeting point. As soon
as Jason & Vanessa hit the tarmac, we high tailed it outta there, moving to
central Bali.
Ubud is a fantastic first impression of Bali. It is a quiet & beautifully artistic
city. Carvings, paintings,
jewellery... If only we owned a shipping
company. Indonesian food is quite good,
but when Italian, Mexican, & other tasty foods from around the globe are available,
it’s difficult to stick to the local dishes.
Our hotel was set on the edge of an inner city rice terrace with
mountains for a back drop. Most nights
were spent on the balcony watching the sunset with a glass of wine & a game
of Crib or ten. One night I looked up
expecting Jay to be nudging my chair, trying to get my attention but he
wasn’t. An earthquake, a small one, but
our first, had just rocked our third floor room. Jay & I were out of that hotel so fast, a
trail of smoke followed behind us.
Meanwhile Ben & Nessa were collecting necessities like beer &
wine... Apparently we were the only ones
who cared, or even felt it. The hotel
“Security Guard” looked irritated that we woke him from slumber for such a
minor vibration.
Our last day in Ubud spent at the Monkey Gardens (gardens
with lots of vicious monkeys... Sounds lovely, doesn’t it). As you walk the path to the hub, monkeys
slowly descend from the jungle, eyeing up tourists with all their pretty
trinkets. A sign at the entrance warning
people to put away shiny objects would have been helpful. Another smart thing would be not to feed the
thousands of wild, unpredictable monkeys amongst a crowd of helpless humans;
Worst idea ever. Oh, no, wait... The
worst idea was to let tourists feed the wild animals themselves. This way, they associate all humans with food
& stalk until something is sacrificed to the tribe, like sunglasses. Jay was a victim of this terrible
crime... Except the big guy missed his
sunglasses & instead, sunk his teeth into Jason’s back, and so concluded
our day trip.
With Jason all bandaged up, we moved north to Batur for the
volcano hike. I mean, what else is there
to do after an earthquake... The drive
up was wonderful. We did all sorts of
touristy things: Gorgeous rice terraces, taste all the strange & beautiful fruit
at a roadside stand, & check out the coffee & herb gardens. The gardens were really pretty cool. The smells wafting as you passed each plant
made my mouth water. Lemongrass, cinnamon,
oregano, vanilla... And the best aroma,
roasting coffee beans! The big thing at
these gardens was how they prepared the bean.
First, and most importantly, they feed the raw beans to a rodent for him
to digest, you know, to tenderise the bean (yuck!). Then the guy who drew the shortest stick has
to retrieve & clean the beans before they are roasted into the goodness
they become. After walking around &
imagining this was all in our own backyards, we took a seat & were served a
variety of teas, coffees, & liquers plus a cigarette rolled with their home
grown organic tobacco. It was all just a
really cool experience, especially since we were the only ones there (& all
for free.99!).
Jay & Nessa set us up with a beautiful hotel overlooking
Mt. Batur with the lake at its feet. Not
a bad place to call home for a night or two.
The hotel offered a guided trip up Batur but for a hefty price, so we
hit the streets looking for a better price, only the streets were empty. The town surrounding Mt. Batur looks deserted. As if it once was a bustling town with plenty
of hotels & restaurants but “The Fog” rolled through town & the locals
don’t want to talk about “it”. With no
luck, we popped our heads into a really quiet shop to ask if she knew how to
rent a driver & guide. Saying not
much, she called over an elderly man from across the street to organize a
trip. Now this seems a little shady at
first glance, especially when asked if he could provide a receipt, he grabbed
the cafe scrap paper & jotted a few things down. Everything worked out perfectly & Yoman, a
very helpful man, kind & generous, picked us up at 3:30AM. At the base we were assigned a guide
(unguided tours are not allowed) & up we went. Spectacular!
By 7AM we had reached the mouth of the main crater, just in time for
sunrise with our thick coffee & boiled eggs, hot from a steam pocket of the
volcano. What a way to start your
morning.
The Gilis were now in our sights. The smallest & quietest of three islands
off the N.W. coast of Lombok, Gili Meno was very appealing. Yoman was an honest guy, just trying to make
a buck but never in exchange for bad karma.
Our experience in Batur prompted us to use him for our trip to the Gili
Ferry pier. On our way out of town, he
stopped near the local Temple & has us outfitted with traditional Balinese
religious garb. In our sarongs & the
boys with their extra flare, we walked towards the Temple where it was clear we
were the only tourists there (adding to the experience). Arriving at the ferry port a few hours later,
we were scammed by the locals once more before setting off to Meno for beach
action. Tsunamis, earthquakes,
volcanoes... What’s next? Apparently a water spout. A few KM’s away from our chugging boat was a
massive thunder cloud & three spouts poking out from the bottom. Far enough out of harms way, we sat &
enjoyed the sight.
Stepping foot on Meno was lovely. The water was turquoise & warm, the sand
soft, the sun hot, & the people few.
A horse drawn carriage pulled us to the other side of the island where
we set up in a really cool two room hut complete with an outdoor –ish rain
shower & views of the ocean. We
quickly unpacked, stripped down, & hurried ourselves to the beach for a dip
& a drink. The snorkel gear was put
to good use. A short hike up the beach
to Turtle Haven to check out the coral & have a chilled out turtle check us
out, then have the current drop us off right back at the hut; Lovely.
The beautiful night brought out the locals to the only “pub”
just a light stroll up the beach. A $1
local beer washed down the fresh local snapper quite nicely. Just as soon as we leaned back in our chairs,
the young guys grabbed the guitars &water jugs from behind the bar, started
up a fire, & pulled up a seat for a jam.
Shy at first, they eventually loosened up & sang out Balinese songs
until late in the night. I could have
sat out all night listening to that...
The moment reminded me of home.
Apparently there are no ATM machines on Meno (which seems
obvious, but to us) so over to the next island, Gili “T”, which was much more
“civilized” with money machines, bars, hotels, & gift shoppes. Not as crazy as some islands we’ve been to,
but when coming from somewhere like Meno, it’s a big change. Our days on “T” were few, one spent on the
beach & the other spent under the shelter of our balcony, away from the
monsoon. With a short break in the
clouds, Nessa & I took off searching for a bottle of red to keep us cozy
while holed up, away from the weather.
This was a serious mission. We
waded through flooded streets, weaved through strange alley ways (also
massively flooded), & all for a couple bottles of warm beer. We arrived home, soaked to the bone &
legs dirty with swamp water, to our men snuggled together, watching other grown
men hurt themselves for a good laugh... How romantic.
Island life was coming to an end. It was time to head back to Bali for one last
hurrah, before Australia. We knew that
Lombok was what Bali was 30 years ago, but flying out of Bali didn’t give us
the time. As soon as we pulled into Kuta,
we all knew this was not a place for relaxing.
Kuta was insanely crowded.
Hotels, scooters, people, & malls fought for their spot nearest the
beach. Our boys were kind enough to get
lost in the maze of hotels searching for the best deal. Turns out Kuta is not known for making
deals. We checked into the cheapest
rooms we could find & hurried off (with a brief stop at a sushi place... I
love little towns & all, but I like sushi too!), to the nearest internet
cafe to see about catching the next train bound for paradise. Up the road a little was a little less busy
& still close to the airport. We’d
check in there & scooter down to the very south of Bali for a little peace
& quiet. Now that was an idea! The chaotic city roads eventually gave way to
winding treed country roads. The beaches
down here were virtually empty. I think
I can speak for everyone & say that it was a great day getting thrown
around by the massive waves then letting the sun dry our skin. Only bummer was that my scooter had one of
its mirrors jacked. Ya win some, ya lose
some.
Indonesia was a blast.
Mother Nature put on quite a show for us. Now let’s see what Australia is all about!
