Going Out The Door...: Beautiful Bali

Bali is far. 15 hours from Edmonton to Vancouver; 13 hours from Vancouver to Shanghai. 6 hour layover, and then an 8 hour plane ride to Bali. The small airport was hot and stuffy. Our tired bodies slumped through the visa line as we eyed signs posted in thick, bold writing,warning of the death penalty for drug smuggling. We arrived at 6:45 am, and our host Ed (who owns a villa and offers cheap homestays), from Spain, arranged for Neyoman his local driver to pick us up. The minute we met him we felt at home.

Bali is majestic place. The city of Denpasar was loud. Filled with motorcycles, winding roads and billboards. Sort of like mexico. But the minute we were outside of the city it was another world. Small baskets, called "Canag sari" filled with rice, flowers, and incense are found everywhere. In the middle of the street, on beaches, on sidewalks. The Balinese offer these to their gods three times a day. It is a way to give thanks, to show you are not living in fear and you trust in the gods provisions. The air smells sweet everywhere, and when you see the incense rise you can't help but feel a spiritual presence. We feel at peace here.

So far, we have broken many rules we have set for ourselves. No scootering, no monkey temples, no scary ocean swims. Where we are staying in Kuta, we are on top of a large hill. The roads are narrow and winding. It's dangerous to walk because there are no shoulders. Our host Ed insisted we rent a scooter from him (5$ a day), because where we are there are no taxis. Ed wasn't about to drive us everywhere. We sort of felt like chicks who were kicked out of the nest. We decided to go for it, and we drove to the market. Scootering here is exhilerating. You drive on the left side of the road and there are crazy drivers everywhere. On our first venture out we were passed by a car and another scooter at the same time, all while a van was oncoming. As I said the roads are too narrow to even walk, so it was a bit scary. We made it, and by the time we got there I realized I hadn't stopped smiling the entire time. We have been scootering everywhere since.

Yesterday we drove half an hour (by scooter) to an ocean temple called Uluwatu. It is a giant Hindu temple set on an ocean cliff. The view was amazing. It cost 30 cents to enter, which was the price of a sarong rental. We expected a spiritual experience, but for us tourists we were too worried about the crazy monkeys. When we entered the locals were offering themselves as "Monkey protectors" and they flashed us their slingshots and said it would cost ten dollars. They also offered us a bag of monkey food, which we obviously declined since we didn't want to attract them. We braved it and went alone. We found a heard of dutch tourists with large sticks and stayed close by. They laughed at us, calling Steve "Canadian Jesus" and said we could follow. After a minute, one of the older gentleman began to scream like a woman. We looked up, and a monkey had jumped on his head and stole his hat. The monkey then climbed up the roof of a building with his hat. A local "monkey defender" came to the rescue and climbed the roof. He tossed the monkey a bag of food, and he dropped the hat. That's what the food was for! An exchange for stolen goods! Those clever devils! The dutchies soon decided they had had enough, and left. We braved on and explored, but not without a big stick of our own. We came out rabie free, thankfully.

On our way back we stopped at Uluwatu beach, and incredible little cave mouth that you have to climb down a bunch of stone steps to get to. The sand is sheltered by rocks, and you can swim out to the sunshine and enjoy the crystal clear waters. I was afraid, but I braved it, and I am glad I did. The view of the ocean was amazing.

There are so many stories to tell, but already Steve is teasing me about my "Essay". I have broken lots of my "rules" and I can already tell I am growing! I have eaten traditional Indonesian food and loved it, tried crab soup, squid, and red snapper, and we have made many friends. We even met up with some Canadian friends from Edmonton, Rylan and Jen, who gave us tips and bought us dinner. Today is our last day here in Kuta, and then we travel to the centre of Bali to a traditional town called Ubud, to do some market exploring, rice patty walks, and volcano bike tours.

We will keep you posted!