Before going to Bali, I heard lots of conflicting things
from friends who had been there. Some said it was a kind of tropical paradise,
the jewel of Indonesia. Others said it was a tourist trap, filled with party
beaches and scammers. Well, during our five days there, Sharman and I felt it
was closer to the former. I wanted to stay much longer and could’ve
easily filled a few weeks with different explorations. Alas, we tried to make the
most of our short five days there. This was, at almost 25 years old, my first time in
the southern hemisphere. I can’t wait to return! But to where? Australia? New Zealand? Hmmm...
Our hotel was in Ubud, towards the center of the island. We
stayed there, as it seemed to be an interesting, artsy place,
and not filled with drunk beach bums. About five hours after we arrived, I went
out to a sports bar called the Melting Pot, about a 15-minute taxi ride away from the hotel.
The reason I went was (drumroll please) to watch Super Bowl XLXIII between the Seattle Seahawks
and the Denver Broncos. As this was a major priority, I’d contacted the owner a
week before to make sure that I could watch the game there at 7:30 am.
The Seahawks won; it was glorious. I even met a few Seahawks
fans in the place, though I spent most of the time sitting on my own, eating
pancakes, shaking my head in wonder at the lopsided victory.
Due to lack of sleep and Seahawks euphoria, I was fairly dazed on the first day,
though Sharman and I did get to go to a Fire Dance performance. The performance
consisted of 100 men chanting and singing, while elaborately costumed actors
performed/danced a famous Balinese legend around a spire of fire. Then at the
end, another performer danced on hot ash, kicking the embers about while riding
a straw horse. It was unlike anything I’d ever seen, or probably ever will see.
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| Ubud jungle houses |
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| Temple in Ubud |
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| Fire Dance |
The next day, we went out and around Bali with Nyoman, a taxi
driver/tour guide who I’d met after the Super Bowl. He seemed to share my
desire to avoid throngs of tourists so we asked him to take us to some places
he recommended. After driving through some magnificent rice fields, we stopped
at Tulamen, where I was able to go scuba diving through an old shipwreck. I
hadn’t originally planned on diving on this trip, but then again, I hadn’t
realized that there was a shipwreck I could explore. Though I had a bit of
issues with the goggles leaking while underwater, it was quite cool to see.
After that, we stopped by the staggeringly beautiful Water Palace. We ended
that day at a beach called White Sand Beach, where we had dinner and a swim. Or should I say, I had a swim while Sharman got a massage. And best of all, we just about had the entire beach to ourselves.
We enjoyed that day so much that we asked Nyoman to take us
out again the next day. After stopping by another interesting Hindu lakeside temple called Ulun Danu, we headed to a nearby waterfall called Munduk. Though I didn’t expect
much, this was a major highlight for me. Very seldom have I so strongly felt
the power of nature as I did here, with literally tons of water splashing down
just a couple yards from me.
After that we ate lunch with a glorious view of Mount
Watukaru and the Jatiluwih rice terraces. Walking through the green rice fields
reminded me a lot of my trip to Yuanyang, China
ten months ago, just with more
English speakers around. Last we headed out to Uluwatu to see the cliffside
temple. Unfortunately, though we were there for the sunset, it was too foggy to
really see much. Oh well—can’t always get it perfect.
The fourth day, we slept in a bit and spent the day entirely
in Ubud. As Ubud is the art capital of the island, we went to the main art museum
there, which was outstanding. Not just because of the collection, but because
of the lush, jungle setting. After a delicious Mexican lunch (sorry I’m so
predictable) and a massage, we headed to another evening show, this time a
dance involving a number of mythical creatures and elaborate costumes. The
reason I booked tickets, however, was because of the gamelan troupe
accompanying it all. What a mysterious, interesting instrument.
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| ARMA museum |
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| Ancient Muppet |
For the final day, we took part in a Balinese cooking
course. Much like our similar course in Thailand, this was a fun way to learn
about the culture, while meeting friendly fellow tourists and enjoying
delicious food. Before leaving, I purchased one souvenir, a painting of some
fields near the volcano Mount Agung. I’m not really an art collector but I
couldn’t pass up this chance, particularly as the shopkeeper was so friendly
and came from a family of artists. This painting was apparently painted by the shopkeeper's uncle.
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| Cooking course |
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| Painting of Mount Agung |
I’ve now been to Southeast Asia six times and Bali may
possibly be my favorite place there yet. The culture, the natural beauty, the
atmosphere, it all just added up to a good vibe. Now, I need to buckle down
and survive the next nine weeks of student teaching, exams, projects, planning
and more until I head down to Malaysia in April.
