60 days and 29 different beds...

1. July 27th, 2010: Welcome to Indonesia – Brett
   
   Ahhh, after a month of hard travel we are ready for a couple days of relaxing on the world-famous beaches of Bali. We have a lot of reading and planning to do, and a lot of writing to catch up on. Besides, this trip is supposed to be fun too, right? Maybe some snorkeling, naps on the beach, sleeping in... We both have this vision of a little bungalow on a deserted piece of sand where drinks are cheap and the water is warm.
   
   The best laid plans...
   
   1. The airport: 800 people waiting for a “Visa On Arrival” with five immigration officers working. Plus our biggest fight of the trip. Not a good start. We finally get out of there around midnight to head to our hotel on the beach.
   2. Bali: First night's hotel is kind of a dump complete with sex tourists, brownouts every two minutes, and a location that is decidedly not anywhere near the beach (but had more than it's fair share of stray dogs, both dead and alive). A quick internet search yields “Padangbai” as a “cool backpacker hangout on a crescent of white sand” about 15 miles up the coast. Sweet.
   3. Padangbai turns out to take about five hours to get to and is anything but cute. A small harbor full of tired fishing boats and a brick wall most of the way along the beach. WTF! As the sun sets on another wasted day, we order a whole pitcher of sangria made with arak (the local spirit), and drink until we feel better (not recommended – an arak buzz comes on like a freight-train). We wonder what everyone loves so much about Bali. More internet searching scores “the Gili Islands” (of Eat, Pray, Love fame) as a cute little piece of paradise just waiting for us a few islands away. It's 2.5 hours by expensive speedboat, or 6 hours by local transport. We opt for the local method and spend 9 hours getting hassled, lied to, and hearded around by various unscrupulous types whose primary job in life is to separate us from our money. We arrive on Gili Trawangan after dark – tired, irritated, with no place to stay, and really hoping for something better.
   4. Gili T: Well, we kind of have our bungalow and the beach is mostly deserted, and there are no motorized vehicles, which is nice. But we are both sick (head-cold, not intestinal), the beach is all coral (no barefoot strolls), and the prices are going to bust our budget. Time to move on to the smallest speck of white sand in the area – Gili Meno.
   5. Gili Meno, population 300 – An open air (and saltwater-only shower/tap) bungalow on a deserted beach. Finally meeting and talking to some locals (breakfast of banana crepes every morning with Denin at his little cafe that is literally in the water during high tide. Visiting the primary school in the middle of the island as a guest of Zaneur (the local teacher and horse-cart driver). Finishing our China writing. Romantic dinners of fresh fish, gado-gado, and cold beer watching the sun sink into the sea with Bali's iconic volcano, Mount Agung, in the background. Days in the sun snorkeling and napping. Wandering through the tide pools. Trading books with cool fellow travelers (Carolina from Equador). And enough time to plan a rough itinerary for our time in Indonesia. Wow – a week after ariving in Indonesia, we've finally found what we were looking for. But now it's time to move on.
   
   Indonesia has been like that for us. There are some gems here, for sure, but they are hard to find. China seemed to provide wonder around every corner, but Indo has been frustrating. We have definitely found some cool people and some beautiful places, but they seem to hide behind the poverty, the traffic, the hassling for money, and the oppressive heat. Our purpose is to see the world and meet its people. To learn what they think and how they feel about their place in the grand scheme of things. The language barrier is certainly part of the difficulty, but we have struggled to connect with people like we did in China. Maybe it is because most of the folks we interact with on a daily basis here are dirt-poor, service-industry people. We have so little common-ground and the obvious have-have not discrepancy makes it difficult to connect as equals. More on that later...
   
   In the mean-time I'm going to hit some highlights!
   
   1. Ubud, Bali. Like Boulder on steroids! New age center of the universe packed full of juice bars, yoga studios, and $5/hour massages. We loved it! Yes, it's touristy, but my god is it beautiful. We took dance classes, did yoga in this amazing, open-air studio in the middle of the rice paddies, took bike rides through the country side with Aspen, Colorado ex-pats Rally and Kathy (now living in Ubud running a textile business), shopped for beautiful art, attended traditional dance performances, and took another cooking class. Okay, now we're starting to see what people love about Bali.
   2. Scuba diving off Nusa Penida island (SE of Bali). Oh. My. God. Unbelievable. It's better than any promotional scuba diving film you've ever seen. While Jenny finished her certification, Brett got in a little over his head (ahem) with a group of dive masters who thought that Brett was a little more experienced than he really is (lost in translation is a common theme for us). A drift dive at 75 feet with massive currents and really strong up/down wellings – HOLY cow. Combined with the fact that I haven't been diving in ten years – well, I burned through my air in 40 minutes just trying to keep up. Second dive went much better but damn I have a lot to learn! The next day was awesome as we got to dive the wreck of the USS Liberty together near Tulamben off the NE coast of Bali. Floating upside down in 60 feet of water seeing Jenny silloueted above me in a swarm of fish next to the rusting hulk of this huge ship is an image that will remain one of those highlight memories in my brain. We even got to swim through the old cargo hold and Jenny chased a shark!
   3. Surfing on Kuta Beach. The original Indo surf spot served up perfect, long, smooth six-footers in deep water that you could ride all the way to the beach. Probably rode 40 waves in one morning. Un-freakin'-believable! (Randy H. - I did get served HARD by a ten-footer when I got a bit cocky... ouch. Reminded me of that morning in Newport.)
   4. Finding McDonalds soft-serve right on the beach in Bali. $0.22 will get you a perfect mound of cool, white perfection. For 8 cents more you can get it dipped in chocolate. Mmmmmm – our favorite late night snack (open 24 hours).
   5. Smiles everywhere. The Indonesian people love to smile. Kids, grandmas, soldiers. It's awesome and it makes you feel happy.
   6. Watching the sun rise over the smoking cone of Bromo volcano as it sits in a pool of swirling mist. Wow! We later climbed to the rim and peered down into the gaping cauldron as it spewed noxious, sulfurous steam. Volcanos just have a way of inspiring awe... Java is a land where volcanoes bring life (the most fertile soil on earth) and death (there are 20 something active volcanoes in this area, the latest eruption killed a thousand people in 2006).
   7. Our current homestay with Buti and Morni in the little village of Canderejo (bet you a hundred bucks you can't find it on Google Maps). Hint – it's in the middle of freakin' nowhere on the flanks of the (active) volcano Merapi (translates as “much fire”). Here we have played with the local kids as they prepare for the upcoming homing pigeon competition, we have ground tapioca root and pressed it into “crackers”, we have gone native (there is no TP and even if there was, there is no place to put it), and we have learned the joy of bathing each other with a small ladle and a stone basin of water. And tonight we will join the local village trance dance where I have been warned that I may try to chew glass (no drugs involved – the trance is brought on by chanting). Do you think my insurance will cover this?
   
   Yes, 29 different beds in 60 days can definitely take its toll. No doubt I am home-sick for family and friends and familiar food. But as I look back on the last two months it is hard to feel anything but gratitude and wonder.
   
   As the sun sets and the haunting call to prayer echoes out across the valley I want to thank you for being a part of this journey.
   
   Selemat jalan (safe journey),
   Brett and Jenny