Just a short summary of our week in Bali. Well, Indonesia has a very special mentality of dealing with tourists, and it is not one I like. They always try to rip you off, overcharge, make up prices however they feel and are very aggressive trying to sell you things. And the sentence I probably heard the most was "Yes, transport?" or a variation of that: "Yes, taxi?". It seemed like everybody loitering around and owning a moped or car decided to offer you a ride as soon as he spotted you. Sometimes Holger was really pissed off not being able to walk a few steps without answering in a polite way 'no thanks.' But by the end of our stay we could handle it quite well and ended up rather taking it with humour and joking with them.But Bali was, off course, more than just annoying tourist traps. It is really a beautiful island with great weather and landscapes. Its culture is displayed everywhere. Even in the most crowded of tourist shop alleys in Kuta you could see the offerings (sesajen) displaying their religious roots. There are family temples and statues everywhere along the streets. People that do not profit from you are very friendly. The temples are very pretty and located in scenic spots like the Uluwatu Temple, a stunning clifftop temple with a great sunset view and Tanah Lot, placed on a little island which you can only reach during low tide. Most of the time we stayed in Kuta and taking trips to the different places. Kuta is the most heavily developed place and its gangs are so narrow! Most of the times the alleys close to the beach are oneway streets stuffed with shops, tourists and mopeds and sometimes insane car drivers trying to move their vehicle through a much too tiny street. But the most funny thing, we could frequently watch, was how a narrow one way street turns into a two way street by all these mopeds ignoring the the sign and transforming a pavement - with pedestrians still on it - into the missing lane :)
After many frustrating tries to book an online flight to Jakarta, we ended up booking a flight through an agency. And while waiting for Holger, who went to a different office once across town by moped to pay with credit card (you should have seen his more than happy and joyous face about that little moped ride!)I got into a nice talk with the travel agent and ended up booking 2 individual one-day tours for a very good price. After a full 2 day cultural program, lots of picture-posing but thievish monkeys and a final lunch with an amazing view over the volcano Mt.Batur and Lake Batur, we were lucky to get dropped of in Ubud - a cute art and craft town in central Bali. Ubud has a very lively and cramped 2 story market and nice cafes to chill and to enjoy the flair. While looking for budget accomodation we ended up in a very cheap and familiar tiny place with just 2 huts (and some unidentified roommates under the roof) right next to the family temple and breakfast served right on our front porch by a very charming owner.
Back in Kuta, the surfer place and center of party culture, we could not miss taking a beginner surfing lesson. That was really cool and one of the highlights in Bali. It is so much fun! Had our visa not been limited to 7 days and had we not booked flights, we would just have stayed there and surfed for the next weeks :) After some nights in Kuta, we even found our favorite restaurant and I became a beef lover with my favorite dish being the Daging Rendang - sliced beef in peanut sauce and rice.
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