Day 29 - Bali : Lazy Monday...

It’s back to life in Bondalem. Roosters calling, pigs oinking, cats purring, dogs barking, neighbours talking and kids playing – oh and the attack of mosquitos. I definitely knew I was back. It was another sleepless night – a very broken sleep. It’s the bed, the awful heat, and the surroundings - its Bondalem. I just can’t get comfortable when it comes to sleeping. I do, on the other hand love everything else about Bondalem – cosy village with lovely people, cheap and tasty food and the Bali Mandala. I woke up blogging with my naughty noodles (the best mi goreng) being fed into my famished tummy. Naughty but nice. The girls and I spent the morning lazying around. We didn’t get up to much at all. We weren’t bothered to even tan at Bali Mandala. This says a lot about the weekend away – the car rides really drains our energies and the heat ain’t helping either. We sat and laughed in the courtyard, blogged and pretty much chilled all day till it was time for school.

Due to the heat, I didn’t feel like having a proper lunch. Instead, I got the fruit salad. *mouth waters*. It was good as always. I was content and I got my fair intake of fruit for the day.

At school today, Komung Eddie decided to do a games day and utilize the games we bought from Ubud. The students were split into two groups – boys and girls. Both games were in Indonesian and relates to looking after the environment, aiming on educating the students with regards to recycling, prevent pollution and proper disposal of waste. The girls started off with a few rounds of snakes and ladders – I sat with them and explained the rules and aim of the game. I couldn’t read the messages on the game board and had to ask the students to read it out and translate it to me. The girls had a great time playing the game. In order to incorporate some English teaching, they had to count in English each time they moved their tokens and I frequently asked them how to spell the numbers and the words ‘snakes’ and ladders’. After a few rounds, the boys and girls switched games. The second game was a longer game and was more difficult for me to understand why they had to move forward or backwards when they landed in a box that had text. The only thing I learnt was how to read ‘move forward’ and ‘move backwards’ in Indonesian. The students were really into the game and each time they landed in a box that instructed them to do something, they would all read it out aloud in Indonesian.

 

When the second group of students arrived for the next class, they had already known to form groups of girls and boys and were waiting patiently on either side of the classroom. The games were really entertaining for the students and they had a great time playing and learning about the environment at the same time. 

Arriving home, we found Potok in his trunks only giving München a bath. It was very awkward but funny at the same time. München takes a bath everyday because it is just too hot during the day – best of all, he loves a bath.

I had a very little dinner tonight – Tipat. The peanut sauce is so good with the rice cakes and vegetables.

I finally started reading ‘Hotel Keroban’ – the notorious Indonesian jail in Kuta. People from the public are allowed to visit the jail to have a little tour around. You pay a very small ‘entrance fee’ – something like 20,000 rupiahs ($2.12). Did you know? An African male got busted with drugs stuffed in a DEAD BABY whilst attempting to enter Bali? It is so disturbing to learn that people are so desperate that they can go to that extent to smuggle drugs. Reading the first few chapters was very interesting but I know the stories in the book will just get worse. There are some dangerous and ruthless murderers who share a cell with party goers (foreigners) that got busted with one or two ecstasy pills at a party. You can already imagine how corrupt and twisted the justice system is in Indonesia. There is not a system to segregate hardened criminals according to the level and severity of the crime committed. I really do feel sorry for some of the criminals being crammed up in tiny cells with some notorious convicts. I’m already hooked on the book. Like always, I had München chilling with me in the courtyard while I read the interesting novel. 

Good night world.

XOXO

Day 28 - Bali : Bye Ubud & Kuta...

I slept like sleeping beauty - 12 hours. Unbelievable – no alarm clock, no animals, no neighbours – nothing – pure peace. Now I can say it was the best sleep I’ve had in past weeks that I’ve been travelling. I woke up feeling rather famished. Sofie took me to a restaurant called Betelnut Café owned by Australians. It was a very nice little mexican café where you are allowed to also bring your dogs to join you. I ordered a watermelon shake and a beef sapi (burger) – it was so good. It tasted like an Australian burger – it felt like home. It was nice to have a good burger. I’ve been super lucky in Kuta, everything I’ve eaten has been extremely tasty. After lunch, the restaurant called a taxi for me to get back to Ubud. Sofie gave me 200,000 rupiahs ($21) to pay for the taxi - as I had used all my cash the night before. Sofie is the sweetest girl. I am so glad to have met her.

I jumped into the taxi and we negotiated a set price for the drive back to Ubud – 170,000 rupiahs. The car had air conditioning so I loved it. It was such a smooth one hour drive back and I even directed the way to Eka’s Homestay once we reached Ubud. I’m starting to recognise Ubud roads pretty well, which is very cool – I think. When I arrived at the homestay, I had to wait for Sandra, Christina and Julia to get back from shopping. For the first time, Bali started raining. It was pouring down heavy rain and the homestay courtyard was flooding. The girls came back drenched.

Before leaving Ubud, we stopped by the Bintang supermarket. I bought more cigarettes, noodles, tissues and a torch. It was really cheap. I paid 150,000 rupiahs ($15.95). During the 3 hour car ride, we talked about what we did on Saturday and slowly dozed off one by one. It was a nice smooth drive, but going uphill on the windy road is never fun but we survived the long drive.

Before leaving Ubud, we stopped by the Bintang supermarket. I bought more cigarettes, noodles, tissues and a torch. It was really cheap. I paid 150,000 rupiahs ($15.95). During the 3 hour car ride, we talked about what we did on Saturday and slowly dozed off one by one. It was a nice smooth drive, but going uphill on the windy road is never fun but we survived the long drive. It was yet another great weekend. However, I am looking forward to another week of a Balinese lifestyle ahead of me. 

Good night world.

XOXO

Day 27 - Bali : Party Saturday...

Good morning. We met at Sandra's room at 8:30am. Check out the detailing stonework of her room and the the door. I am so amazed by how detailed it is and beautiful it makes the place look in a very traditional way. Bali is known for their arts and crafts, especially here in Ubud. 

We went to Bali Buddha for breakfast. Bali Buddha serves healthy meals that caters to everyone. Their menu offers salads, soups, pasta, burgers, Indonesian dishes, sandwiches and desserts, as much as possible using chemical-free produce, meats and freshly baked goods. They serve vegan, raw food and vegetarian dishes as well. So for breakfast, I ordered the jelly belly drink (aloe vera, apple, turmeric and honey) and a decent breakfast - Eggs and gluten free bread. I felt so healthy eating all of this and the meal and drink were both try satisfying. Half way during breakfast, Isabella walked in and sat with us. It was nice to bump into her again as it will also be the last time I'll be seeing her as she is going back home in a few days (this lucky girl has been travelling for 8months). 

We went and paid for our meals downstairs where they sell a wide range of local and imported organic foods, as well as natural household, skincare and alternate products such as pasta sauces, jams, breads, cakes and soaps. I said goodbye to Isabella one last time as we parted from Bali Buddha.

After breakfast, we browsed the streets nearby. I’ve noticed so many homestays that all look the same as shown in my photo. They all look like temples and it just amazes me that they all look this way. The girls wanted to do some shopping and I just tagged along to check out the local shops. We shopped for an hour before I said goodbye to the girls including Sandra and Jonah who will stay in Ubud whilst I stay in Kuta for the night. I had organized with Eka’s Homestay the shuttle bus to take me to Kuta.

I hopped onto the bus and met some really cool people. We had a great talk about travels and our jobs during the 1-hour bus ride. The driver was also very nice and spoke really good English. I met a girl from Holland, a German couple and two guys from Hong Kong. We told each other about what we were doing in Bali, how long we are in Bali for and where our next stops were. The Europeans were all heading to the airport ending their trip in Bali. I was the last to get dropped off and I needed a lift to meet up with Sofie, so I rang her and put the driver on the phone to try and explain directions. I got dropped off outside an art gallery and waited for Sofie to pick me up. I waited in the hot weather for about 15 minutes for Sofie, as the driver dropped me off at the wrong spot. I was so happy to see Sofie when she pulled up in her white fancy scooter. I hopped on the back of her bike and it was about a 15 minute drive back to her place. It was so nice to be back at their villa. We chilled out for a bit before getting ready and heading out for dinner.

We have both agreed on having Indian cuisine tonight. I was just happy to have anything other than nasi goreng or mi goreng. Sofie recommended that we go to Queens Tandoors located in Seminyak (20 minutes from as she has never been and has heard great reviews about it. By this time, we were starving and had very hungry eyes. We ordered samosas as entrée and were given complimentary dips and bread to enjoy.

For our mains, we shared the butter chicken, paneer masala, a yoghurt dip, rice and some cheese naan bread. To quench our thirst, we ordered a fruit shake each. The food was divine and I was really enjoying Sofie’s company. I even mentioned to Sofie that this was by far the best meal I’ve had since arriving in Bali. I was content. As we finished dinner, we spoilt ourselves to a margarita each to help kick start the night ahead of us.

Before leaving home, Sofie was not feeling really well. She felt a cold creeping up and drank about 5 big mugs of tea prior. Despite of feeling unwell, she was still willing to take me out. Such a sweetie. Before hitting the club, Sofie stopped by a convenient store to have a hot chocolate, I found it to be the cutest thing. On our way to Skygarden, I walked past a sign that were magic mushroom shakes – this was hilarious. With the Bali having one of the worst punishment systems relating to drugs, I still don’t understand how and why magic mushrooms are legal in Bali.

It was agreed that we would meet the rest of the crew at Skygarden. When we arrived, it was only Patrik who turned up. Everyone else had bailed out. I was also introduced to one of Sofie’s South American friend (I had forgotten his name). He told me he was a surfing teacher in Bali and asked whether I wanted to learn – I told him that I do not live down this way in Bali so I declined his offer. One of the things on my bucket list was to learn how to surf, but being based in Bondalem - surfing was not possible. So during 9 – 10pm Skygarden offers free drinks to everyone – I thought this was so cool – you will never get anything like this in Sydney. Sofie had brought the packet of cards, so we started playing Bali taxi driver it the club. I was not having the best of luck this time round – the Patrik luck was rubbing onto me. Cheers.

Our second stop was Alleycats. I’ve been told that they sell really cheap drinks and that people go there purely for predrinks before hitting the clubs. Wow, it was such a great and exciting feel walking into this place. They played very light music and the bar was just overly crowed with very thirsty foreigners. Nice ambience. The whole place smelt only of alcohol. I couldn’t believe how cheap the drinks were. Tequila shots were 25,000 rupiahs – we had many of those yummy shots. I was introduced to Sofie and Patrik’s fellow classmates – all the girls were from Finland. All the girls were really friendly, cool and outgoing people. We chilled out at Alleycats for many rounds of tequila shots and the Bali taxi driver game. I personally think this is an awesome drinking game ever invented. It’s a really fun way to get drunk.

Next stop was Greenbox. The tiny bar was literally a green box. People go there for cheap drinks and just hang out at front. That’s exactly what we did.

When the alcohol finally kicked into our systems, we headed to Eikon for some real partying. It was a great night partying with my Finnish friends – we danced on the podium and had countless shots of tequila. Cheers.

Good night world.

XOXO