Spring Break 2011: Bali Edition

Mason and Stefanie arrived at the Marina after dark during a downpour.  They had their huge backpacks and had just paid more than double the standard fare for a cab from the airport.  We decided not to tour Mir since it was very wet and dark, so we headed out to the famous Kuta Beach.  Our driver kindly took us to his friend’s hotel located at the end of numerous twisting alleys off of the main road across from the beach.  Free of our bags, the three of us went in search of a Balinese meal.  Per the advice of Prita, I introduced Mason and Stefanie to Gado-Gado and Nasi Goreng; boiled vegetables and tofu with peanut sauce served cold and Indonesian fried rice.  The dishes were an instant hit…delicious food!  Kuta Beach is full of brand name shops and is known by the locals as a place to find drunken Aussies fighting outside of bars and clubs.  We walked around the streets in the rain for a bit dodging umbrella sellers and hurdling offerings placed in front of each shop.  The general feel of Kuta is very similar to the small shopping districts in Hawaii, surf shop after surf shop, billabong followed by quicksilver followed by yet another billabong.  The night didn’t provide any of us with much sleep, Mason and Stef struggled in the very small beds, and I kept waking up shivering and dizzy.  My first night in 2 months with air conditioning and back on dry land after a rough sail from Jakarta…the entire night I felt like I was rocking.  Our first day together, we spent the morning on Kuta beach; luckily we arrived after the daily beach clean up.  I later learned that every morning the locals clean a layer of trash off of the beach to ensure that the tourists keep coming back.  The water was dark and full of floating trash, but against better judgment, the three of us went body surfing.  There was very poor visibility in the water and we kept getting plastic bags and noodle packs stuck on our legs and chests.  We were able to catch a few good waves and watched as beginning surfers kept wiping out.  At noon we headed over to Sanur, which is less commercialized, and in my opinion a much better scene.  The shops were smaller and more local, the streets were dirty, the beach was clean, and the water was crystal clear.  We found a nice home stay and headed out for the beach.  At the edge of the beach, we got dragged into the Sanur Beach Market where everyone was very friendly and offering a good price since it was a slow day.  I was looking at artwork and wood carvings, Stef was looking through sarongs, and Mason was getting a free sample massage.  We finally made it to the beach and enjoyed the crystal clear waters.  We found many fish and crabs and starfish, enjoyed the beautiful scenery of the neighboring islands, and got a beach massage (which was quite poor for $5 each!).  We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening walking around looking at shops, wandering down local streets, and searching for a market.  We had a great meal consisting of various Indonesian dishes, except for the potato fritter that I specially ordered which turned out to be French fries.  We found a reggae bar and enjoyed mangosteens (quite possibly the best fruit on the planet) and a taste of arak, the local home brewed alcohol (nothing like vodka despite what the locals say).  We quickly discovered that the Reggae was a tribute to Bob Marley, and although they played a few songs more than once, they had great energy and provided a nice environment for the three of us to catch up.  After closing, we made our way to the next live music bar, enjoyed 2 for 1 fruity cocktails, several games of pool, the company of guys from Holland on holiday, and a rather humorous band; they sat in a row on benches and couldn’t really get the English words quite right.

It was a great evening, awesome to catch up with Mason and Stefanie and to hear about their experiences, but in the morning I was off early…had to catch my ship bound for Menjangan.  We said our goodbyes and planned to hopefully meet again in the north.