Adventuring in the Wild Blue Yonder: Log 24: To Indonesia!

Bali, Indonesia:

After an exceptionally long lay-over at 4am in Kuala Lumpur we landed in Denpasar, Bali at about 2pm and the time between the airport to the accommodation we found, it was a blur of getting fleeced for money, culture shock, and holy crap humidity! Thankfully Australia helped prepare us a bit better for the heat but man, when that %100 humidity hits you in the face you appreciate the equator a bit more than you did the hours before in the cold aircon airport terminals.

Biggest tip for those traveling to the developing world: do NOT let the porter’s help you with your bags, I wasn’t ready for this even having been exposed in Cambodia a few years ago. If you aren’t in the frame of mind you just loose money, and quick. They use the manic nature of landing at an airport for their con and in the midst of getting your visa on arrival, bags through the x-ray and customs, they ‘nicely’ carry it through for you, then drop you at the money exchange place and demand a tip of WAY to high an amount. And because I wasn’t accustomed to the exchange rate yet, and getting closer and closer to my neck with his creepy voice I gave him a US equivalent of a $10 tip. DOH! Ok Kat, kick it into gear!

The taxi ride offers were just as bad. Although I was trying to stick to my guns about the suggested price from our Lonely Planet guide we got fleeced again just trying to get into ‘town’. We kicked the location of Kuta-Legian as our first stop on a whim because we wanted a main tourist hub to get our barrings and some much needed sleep and shower. We were dropped on the ‘main street’, which turns out wasn’t really the main street, and started walking to find a place to call home for the night. Amongst hawkers trying to rent you transport and offers of massages, we finally started to see some non-Balinese people and the beach. We took a chance on a beach inn and finally had a chance to lay vertical and start taking it all in. After a nap and the gentle-rain-for-water-pressure shower we headed out to explore and find some local food to try. We walked around the streets and the very polluted beach but quickly decided to stop at Made’s Warung for supper and few drinks, tried to find a night market that Matt found in the lonely planet, but since found more dodgy streets that were really dark and unpopulated, so we went back to Made’s for another round of beers and then back to the guest house for the night. We had decided pretty quick to leave Kuta the next day and try to find something quieter.

Log 2

We hopped a bus from Kuta to Ubud, supposedly the artistic and cultural hub of Bali with less tourists and more green, which after the chaos of Kuta we were very ready for. The bus company was put together by a mission group with the goal of teaching locals English and pulling tourism to other parts of Bali with a well run, well managed transport company. After a 1.5hr quite pleasant drive in the bus, we landed in Ubud, found a homestay set back in an alley that opened up into a living compound of rooms to rent, the families buildings, and a temple in the back. We’ve since learned that is the general make-up of the Balinese home compound. More of that later.

Our homestay was really great for information, and after our initial distrust of the activities they said they could book for us, it turned out these really were the best options and they really were giving us a deal! Just when you start to get enough of being conned for money the nice people show up! We booked a Balinese cooking course for the next morning that included a walk through the ‘local’ market where the real veggies and spices were sold, and lessons on how to cook 7 dishes, plus a desert of banana pancakes and a rice wine with fruit drink. It was a really amazing morning and we met a French couple and ironically, some sisters from New Zealand. After the cooking class, the six of us all decided to go on a hike through the jungle that Rebekah had found in her guide book. After getting lost about 8 times, though to be honest I didn’t really care as we were just following the leader and getting to know the other people in the group. Eventually a local Balinese man came up to us and offered to show us the way and where to go, we found the terrace we were looking for and he just happened to pop up there again! 15min later we found ourselves being led through the jungle/ construction site, down dirt cliffs, and bamboo forest. He said we’d go down to the river and he’d show us how to get across. Upon finding the rivers edge and acknowledging the beauty if it, we were told we were going to ford the river, “No worry, it only to knees.” No problem, it was fast moving and pretty muddy but something told me this just couldn’t be knee deep. After looking at the river longer he says its going to be wasit deep on him, we should take off our pants to keep them dry. No good walking in wet pants right? No sooner did he say that, he de-pantsed in front of us and motioned us all to follow suit. Nooo thank you, I’ll walk in wet pants. After much encouragement, we all declined the offer and slowly waded into the river which quickly became chest deep. Shifting all our wallets and cameras into our hands, with shoes in hand, we crossed the river. Once across we climbed up the embankment and attempted to re-organize. Holy crap, we just forded a river in Indonesia. It was at that point that our guide told us to check for leaches, sometimes they live in this river… we think he was joking but we checked anyway. For the next hour we wandered through the jungle seeing his rice paddy he normally works in, hotel resorts, some of the local fruits and veg, papaya, bananas, cocoa bean trees, lots more rice, bamboo, a few very confused locals carrying wood, washing laundry or bathing in the river, and finally we found the main road again. That’s when he suggested his payment… There’s always a catch!

Our small contingent headed back to Ubud and decided to get dinner together at a place called The Dirty Duck, famous for its Crispy Duck. We laughed and got to know each other some more and had a great evening. This has to be the greatest part about traveling, is the people you meet along the way when you don’t have hard and fast plans.

Log 3:

Our next adventure was a Cycling/culture tour just north of Ubud. We picked up our other tour guests, which was fascinating! Simon and Alex were both English engineers, Simon traveling with his wife and trying to start up some NGO work, Alex traveling on his own and getting a break from the London life before taking a job in Kuala Lumpur. Mike and Maya were an American couple that quit their jobs and have been traveling for the last year, ending in March this year!! After that they plan on moving to Beirut, Maya grew up in Lebanon, to live for 2 years, both also engineers! Matt and I were no longer feeling strange for quitting our jobs and traveling as ‘older former responsible’ people. The 4 others in our group had all become disillusioned with the working world and were out trying to reconnect with something inspiring. We were among equals! We started at a volcano Gunung Agung and mountain for breakfast after our guide Darma gave us the run down of his live and how he came to be a guide. He takes care of his family and his parents, and loves learning and interacting with tourists, as he now understands us. The Balinese, still being very tied to nature, family, and tradition, don’t understand our need to see other places and travel and leave where we have grown up. It is not something that ever occurs to them. We didn’t actually get to the cycling part till about 11am, but we were learning heaps about the culture and the way the Balinese live so we were quite happy. They put us on the bikes and we rode through villages, and family compounds. The family compounds are almost like a walled off village holding an entire family unit, grandmother and father, their children and spouses, and their children. Traditionally, the youngest boy born is responsible for taking care of his parents and his wife moves to their compound with him. He is also responsible for any unmarried sisters that stay with the family. So most compounds limited by space mostly, house anywhere from 15-40 people. The Balinese are Hindu, but even more than that they are classified as Balinese Hindu, very much the same as other Hindu cultures, but they are a bit more Animistic in their beliefs, so more nature and animal spirits are involved in their ceremonies.

We also took us through a compound and showed us the daily routines of the people living there. They had 2 pigs, and 2 cows… I was GEEKED!! The pigs were ‘European’ pigs, as they were pink like a general commercial pig, and the cow’s were Bali cows, found wild in South East Asia and Malaysia but are becoming more rare. A family with cows is well off, as a cow is a big investment. They are mostly used for milk and rarely meat as most of the rural Balinese are vegetarian being Hindu.

We also stopped at a coffee plantation where we were shown how they harvest and roast coffee beans. They also make Lowak coffee the most expensive coffee in the world. The bean is eaten by a civet cat and pooped out, washed and roasted. Its usually $70 to drink a cup at home, but we could sample it for $3. Heck yeah i was going to try poo coffee! It actually wasn't bad, more mild and less acidic that regular coffee!! It was great fun.

We talked through the cremation ceremonies, and burial rituals and their meanings, and how they differ from Christian beliefs because they believe in reincarnation. Still on our bikes, we visited a rice field that was being harvested and the locals with smiling faces and encouragement gave us bundles of cut rice to beat on boards to drop the grain heads. Another group was collecting the grain and sifting out large pieces of the plant and leaves, and putting it into bags to be thrashed later to remove the hulls. The beaten bundles of rice greenery is then carted off to feed cows and pigs. The locals were loving having their picture taken and getting to see the photo on the screen. One older lady was cackling with laughter each time. We headed back to the bikes and geared up for the ‘up hill’ portion of the bike that was optional. Did I pass it up and sit in the AC van? Nooo. 90% humidity and 90 degrees, we only biked 10km but by the end my legs were jelly and sweat was pouring off me! It was absolutely beautiful country though, rice paddies, more family compounds, kids wanting to ‘high-five’ you on your way by with a very loud HELLO and lots of giggles. We stopped at one point to rest and 4 little girls were there ready to relieve you of your empty water bottles before you could hardly drink the water first. Bali’s new plastic recycling initiative gets children, and adults for that matter, to collect bottles and get paid for them, so finally there is a place for all the plastic bottles to go instead of down the valley’s and into the rivers.

Our guide also explained why there is trash everywhere on the ground, and there is not much incentive to pick it up. The rural people used to prepare and eat their meals using entirely natural material, the stone mortar and pestle and the banana leaf. He showed us different folding techniques to make plates, bowls, spoons, and cups. Then the banana leaf was just tossed out in the garden back to nature. But when plastic arrived in the villages about 20 years ago, the concept that plastic doesn’t degrade wasn’t understood. So its still tossed out into the garden or street. Trash that didn’t biodegrade wasn’t heard of until 20 years ago. Because there is a bit of a social caste order, anyone that gets educated from the lower classes can’t tell a higher order without them thinking they are just showing off so they don’t listen. The government is not stable enough or trusted enough to take a stand on it but it is slowly making it into the culture.

When our bike ride finally finished we were at a lovely little restaurant that had a buffet lunch set out for us with all Indonesian food, and we quickly got into it. Of the 10 on the tour, 5 of us set out on the uphill bike, and only 1 gave up in the middle because his bike was faulty. Proud to say I was the only lady that attempted and made it through, though I didn’t look very lady-like by the end. I basically tipped my waterbottle over my head to cool off at the finish and to cool my beet red face!

We all sat around talking for another few hours with our guide, all telling stories of traveling or learning more about Balinese culture, and work mishaps from our previous lives. Matt and I ended up entertaining with a few veterinary stories but nothing gory to scare our new friends. Back in town they dropped us at the Monkey Forest, which is an old temple with 100’s of cheeky little Balinese macaques. Given the chance they will steal something from you and offer their hand for food. If you give them food and they don’t like it they might not give your stuff back or they’ll chuck it into the river. There were many levels, with carvings and statues, and even a carving of a komodo dragon which we had to be silly and pretend to hug!!

Alex, Matt, and I ended the evening with a Balinese dance show and some beers and tapas in Ubud, oh and a much welcomed bowl of ice cream… maybe it was just cold and I was hot but man, that was the best ice cream ON the planet! The traditional dancing tells stories of the Hindu religion mixed with the more animistic ‘black magic’ that they are contantly trying to scare away. The music was really different from anything western and the normal intervals we think about don’t exist here. Even the normal scale of 8 notes didn’t exist, their scale only has 7 notes. I was personally mesmerized by the once stringed instrument that was played on the knees. It looks similar to a Chinese instrument I’ve seen as well as one that I had seen in Cambodia. I was going to talk to the man after the show but wasn’t quick enough. DOH!

Log 4:

I must confess to losing track of all sense of days and dates and time. Beyond knowing when its sunrise and sunset of a day, that’s about all the time I’ve managed to keep. In less than 1 week I’ve managed to leave organized time-trialed life behind. Its wonderful.

Today was Saturday, known only because my computer said so, and Mat and Alex and I rented motor bikes to go see the Elephant caves and Gunang Kawi, both 11^th century Hindu temples. Matt and I being new to the motorbikes, it took us a bit to get used to them, but the Balinese traffic wasn’t as forgiving as a deserted road say in New Zealand where we taught Matt to drive my manual transmission car. I thought the controls would be similar to the 4 wheelers I had driven before, but the throttle turned out to be the handle bar which didn’t work well with my ingrained panic move of white knuckling the handle and missing the breaks. Soon we were off though, with Alex in the lead. Along the way to the caves, Matt being a bit more timid with speed, got lost and he missed the turn off for the caves. Alex and I headed back ontot he road to try and head him off but not before he had gone about 5kms up the road. I also managed to tip a locals bike over, during a throttle panic move, but the lady checked the bike out and we only found a bent fender. She was a sarong vender and I slipped her 50,000 rupiah, which equaled about 5 US dollars, but was probably more than she usually makes in a week let alone a day. She was very thankful and when I continued to apologize and looking worried she kept saying, “Don’t worry, all ok, I Balinese it forgiven, all forgiven.” Still feeling like a giant idiot, we headed off to see the temple.

Back onto the road again, before we got far, Matt managed to spill out and get some road rash, he was fine with more wounded pride than anything. We made it the 15km further to the other temple and being Hindu temples, we had to cover our knees and wear waist sashes to be dressed appropriately. Thankfully I had worn some plants just rolled up mid shin, but Matt was in shorts so the guardians of the temple gates kept having to outfit him with a sarong. Upon seeing knees, the many many sarong venders along the way were adamant that you needed to buy a sarong for the temple and Matt got schnookered into buying one, even though they had ones to use at the gates for a much smaller donation of a few pennies. Another hot, humid day, and us still not quite used to it, we sweated the day away and with the many steps in the temple grounds, and a short trek through the even more humid rice paddies, we stopped for a well deserved drink of ginger-lemonade at a café before heading back to Ubud.

Once back we made plans to go out for dinner and drinks with our ever helpful homestay worker Kadat (pronounced Ken-yet) He made the suggestions for the cooking class as well as the cycling tour, organized our motorbikes, and our boat for our next adventure. Ironically, Alex had befriended him before meeting us and had gone out for drinks with him and his friends before. After finally figuring out the connection between Alex’s friend and his great deals, we were even more thankful for his help. He suggested a blues bar in the town of Ubud for our evening excursion and after sharing with me his love of music, I promptly donated my travel fiddle to him. I started out inspired to bring it along and share music with the locals, as well as keeping up my skills for my return home but after lugging the thing around Australia where no session materialized, and now Indonesia with the heat, the novelty was quickly wearing off, and there was going to be no relief in the other countries had have scheduled to see. Kadat had never seen one before and told me he would find a teacher and learn to play to his baby boy, or he would find someone that would play it. When we met in the evening for the night out, we met his brother and good friend Pinpin, who brought his car around to give us a lift into town. They all knew the bouncer at the bar we were going to, Wing, so we got first rate service when we arrived. They made us a table on the side and gave us appetizers while we waited too! An AMAZING blues band was playing that sounded just like an old grizzled black man from the deep south but he turned out to be Balinese! The band continued with a few British ex-pats one that played a MEAN harmonica and a singer that blew me away! She had GROOVE! We took dinner suggestions from our new friends and I had the best fish I’d had in awhile called Seafood Laksa, and they ordered western food and wanted to know if we thought their chicken carbonera type dish served with chips was any good, they picked at is and finally ate it but I had to laugh at the whole scenario. We ended the night after a few beers and some great story telling from Kadat and his friends, they even gave us a ride home as well as to the ATM to cash for our trip to Lombok and the Gili islands the next day.