Priscilla Chan

We found a place to live! Ros and I are staying in a koskosan about 5 mins away from where Rollan and Allen are staying. It’s not bad – the room is clean (which is very important), spacious and has AC (equally important). And, for a little touch of luxury, there’s a cleaning service every day. That’s right, high class all the way. Anyways, the room is definitely liveable and it’s saving us lots of money. The cost of staying at the hotel for one week is equal to staying in this room for one month. I’d say the only downside is that there isn’t a kitchenette or mini fridge – which means that I’ll be eating out a lot! We’re also getting motorbikes in the next couple of days which should help us out in the moolah department. Although I’ve never actually driven one, I’m confident that I can drive one. I mean, how hard can it be?

On Sunday, we hit up Padang Padang Beach and Uluwatu Beach and let me tell you, both were absolutely gorgeous! The beaches were surrounded by sea stacks and the water was a beautiful blue color. Because the waves at both beaches were decent, there were lots of surfers out trying to catch the perfect wave. At Uluwatu Beach, there’s a bar called Edge and it is literally at the edge of a cliff. Absolutely perfect for sipping a bintang (or tehbotol) and watching the surfers down below. Afterwards, we hit up Uluwatu Temple to catch the Kecak Dance, a Balinese culture show. It was filled with beautiful costumes and imagery. There was even a fire dancing segment! Definitely a tourist trap but I’m glad I got to experience it.

Oh yeah, did I mention that I’m now certified to open water dive? 😀

So, in the last few days, our #1 priority has been finding a more permanment residence – an apartment or a koskosan (basically a room in house, dorm style). Not gunna lie, a couple of the places we went to are pretty sketchy and ghetto – think whalley ring road meets east hastings meets asians. There are a few promising leads though so hopefully something pans out soon! Can’t afford to stay in a hotel very much longer.

We did manage to head south to the Bukit Peninsula for a beach day. We hit up Geger Pantai and Dreamland. The two were night and day. The beach at Geger was very clean and the water was a beautiful crystal blue color and very calm. It wasn’t very busy at all so it was pretty quiet. It’s the type of beach that is perfect for tanning and sipping a pina colada. The beach at Dreamland however was the exact opposite. It was absolutely crowded with people yelling and screaming and shrieking. It was absolutely filthy too – both the sand and the water were full of garbage and who knows what else. The waves were huge and there were quite a few surfers trying to hang ten. It’s the type of place that is perfect for being obnoxious, filthy and shotgunning a bud. Don’t get me wrong, I had loads of fun at both places but I felt that I had to scrub myself raw with rubbing alcohol after Dreamland.

Something that I’ve noticed is that spas and salons are a huge industry in Bali – every few metres there’s a spa or a salon with people outside asking if you want a “masage”. While there are spas that are very comparable to any North American ones, the majority are dingy, old places with a bed and a few chairs. Ros and I must have walked past at least 30 places before settling on one that was brightly lit and spacious. We’ve been back a couple times now – did I mention that you could get a 1 hour body massage (Balinese style) for the equivalent of $5? Ya, you’d be going a lot too!

Ros and I also signed up to get our PADI certificates. Our first day consisted of theory and practicing in a pool. Our second day consisted of 2 open water dives. I always thought that diving and snorkeling is pretty similiar in terms of breathing habitats but it’s not! For whatever reason, I need to concentrate harder during diving to remember to breathe in and out through my mouth. I must say that diving is amazing! What a cool experience to live like a fish for a while.

Pics to come…

What an amazing day today was! We headed over to Ubud to eat some babi guling (finally!) – and yes, all the hype is well deserved. The meat was so tender and juicy – definitely leaves you wanting more!

Afterwards, we walked down to Monkey Forest which is literally a forest full of monkeys. These little rascals are not shy – in fact, they’ll jump on you and paw through your stuff. If you put your hands in your pockets, they think you’ve got something yummy in there and they will go searching for it. Ros was wearing her sunglasses on her head and monkey after monkey jumped on her head trying to get them off! One even started grooming her 😀

Next we headed to a village that sounds like Lalalalalong to check out their famed rice paddies. They were absolutely gorgeous! The most vivid greens you’ve ever seen. I could spend a lifetime here just gazing at the paddies!

Not sure what the agenda is for tomorrow – after all, time does not exist in Bali… and I love it like that.

**I wrote this yesterday but was unable to post it until today…

Selamat datang indeed! Last night was quite the introduction to Bali. We met up with Rollan and Allen at the airport and headed to Hotel Ramayana in Kuta. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect in terms of our rooms since they’re relatively cheap compared to North American standards but was pleasantly surprised – our hotel is gorgeous!! Beautiful landscaping, sculptures, flowers, infinity pools, fountains, laterns etc. After a quick change, we headed to club row on Legian to do some club hopping. We must have hit 8 or 9 places but I lost track after M Bar Go, Sky Garden, Paddy’s, Engine Room, Déjà vu, Double Six… having a drink at each place will do that to you I guess. I can’t believe the prices here. You can easily live like a king for pennies! For example, the 4 of us spent around 650 000rp ($~65CAD) last night. To hit up the same number of clubs and have the same number of drinks in Vancouver would have cost us a fortune! Food here is also really cheap. Last night we ordered rice and chili chicken out of the back of a guy’s bike for $1.50 (for all 4 of us). Today, I had a huge rice, chicken, tofu, vegetable, beef lunch for $2.35. Don’t worry though -there’s no danger of gaining excessive weight as you sweat out litres and litres every day (yuck)

Today we took it pretty easy. We wanted to go to Ubud for babi guling (roasted suckling pig) but we got lost on the way. So instead, we drove around Denpasar, Kuta and Legian to do some sightseeing with the comforts of AC (very important). Afterwards, we ditched the car and walked from our hotel to Discovery Mall. There, I discovered the delights of Roti Boy (a sweet bun filled with butter). For dinner, we splurged and headed to Ku De Ta, a gorgeous(!) open air restaurant. Twice a year, huge parties are held here and I could definitely see why. A huge lounge, beautiful artwork, huge patio, DJ set up, and a private beach all make for a wicked party. However, dinner doesn’t come cheap here. The 4 of us spent just under 2 000 000rp for dinner and drinks… when you consider that an average laborer’s monthly salary here is 1 200 000rp, we definitely treated ourselves!

Sorry for the pictureless post – internet has been a little hard to come by here but I’ll upload pictures soon!