Indonesia

KITE FLYERS + SPECTATORS

Flying kites is a past time the Balinese take very seriously.

I'm always excited to see (what I refer to as) "kite gangs!": rowdy (by Balinese standards that is, they're a rather quiet and refined people from what I've seen) groups of teams racing down the road in pick-up trucks and motorbikes carrying their massive kites to the beach. It seems to be a male dominated activity with a very elaborate flying system. Spectators come to check out the action too. Here's a few photos of the kite teams and their spectators, at Echo Beach: 

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AROUND THE NEIGHBORHOOD + BEST FOOD IN CANGGU

For three and a half weeks we settled into Canggu and fancied ourselves locals. We got a membership to Dojo Bali, a co-working space for fast wifi to work on a few projects (internet is of course, rather 3rd world-y here) and spent the rest of our time at the beach, exploring the neighborhood, memorizing rice paddy field shortcuts and attempting to speak Indonesian. 

These 2 chickadees look like they're about to drop the dopest rap album of 2015. 

These 2 chickadees look like they're about to drop the dopest rap album of 2015. 

Kids here go to school 6 days a week with only Sundays off. Many classes are in two shifts, morning and afternoon sessions, so throughout the day you see uniformed kids hopping on the back (or front) of their parents bikes and heading to and from scā€¦

Kids here go to school 6 days a week with only Sundays off. Many classes are in two shifts, morning and afternoon sessions, so throughout the day you see uniformed kids hopping on the back (or front) of their parents bikes and heading to and from school. 

We rented villa (about $18 total a night) at the Taman Dayu villas near Echo Beach and I thoroughly enjoyed walking into our temple-like lodging each day. I never actually used the pool (because why use a pool when the ocean is right down the road?)ā€¦

We rented villa (about $18 total a night) at the Taman Dayu villas near Echo Beach and I thoroughly enjoyed walking into our temple-like lodging each day. I never actually used the pool (because why use a pool when the ocean is right down the road?) but I appreciated the view, nonetheless. 

There's a joke in here somewhere.

There's a joke in here somewhere.

Scott at Machinery - a colorful cafe owned by a cute Indonesian-Australian couple. 

Scott at Machinery - a colorful cafe owned by a cute Indonesian-Australian couple. 

Iced cappuccino at Koi. 

Iced cappuccino at Koi. 

Crate Cafe.

Crate Cafe.

Even though I found out I can happily eat Nasi Goreng (fried rice) every night without getting sick of it, we certainly sampled the extensive (and cheap!) dining options. Here's the best food in Canggu:

BETEL NUT CAFE: For fresh giant salads and perfect smoothies.

CRATE: Best (and cheapest!) place for early morning takeaway coffees before you ride to the beach to check the surf. Also best banana bread I've ever had in my life. 

KOI: Cute cafe with smiley staff and solid iced cappuccinos.

COFFEE N OVEN: European style bakery with straight out of the oven fresh croissants and killerrrr mango jam. 

CANTEEN: Delicious lunches with a retro surf style decor. 

BOOTSTRAP: Beautifully designed cold brew coffee brand. They do a white brew made with coconut nectar which needs to be exported to the USA ASAP. 

Big Betelnut Salad (4 different salads in 1) at Betelnut Cafe. 

Big Betelnut Salad (4 different salads in 1) at Betelnut Cafe. 

Sunset at Old Man's beach.

Sunset at Old Man's beach.

The entrance to Dojo, the only office I've ever worked in where you leave your shoes at the door. 

The entrance to Dojo, the only office I've ever worked in where you leave your shoes at the door. 

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Note the peace sign. 

Note the peace sign. 

My Indonesian hasn't gotten much further than simple greetings and exclamations ("bagus!" = "great!") ... which is about the same as my Spanish, Italian and Latin even after 2 solid years of studying each of those. Indonesian has been a super interesting language to learn about though. Since it evolved to enable negotiation in marketplaces (within the various islands of Indonesia that all had their own language) the unified "Indonesian" language is a simple one:

-there's no plurals, you just double the noun. "anak" = child, "anak anak" = children

-there are no tenses, so they stick time words into sentences to indicate past, present or future: i.e. "I pay you yesterday", "I pay you tomorrow" 

-words can be very vague, "besok" which means "tomorrow" can mean the day after today or sometime in the near future. Walking down the street here, when you get hassled for a "taksi" ride and politely decline, there's an immediate follow-up of "maybe tomorrow?!" which made a lot more sense after I learned this quirk. 

Hearing Indonesians speak English made me think they weren't translating well (like the way I massacred the Italian language in Naples, asking "please I have pizza?") but many of their direct translations might actually be spot on to how they speak Indonesian. Makes me think Indonesian might be the language I could excel at, without having to bother with those pesky plurals and tenses. 

CANGGU

Over a year ago, I watched a video about Dustin Humphrey on one of my favorite websites and made a mental note that, were I ever to find myself in Bali, I would check out Deus Ex Machina Canggu as anywhere named "The Temple of Enthusiasm" is probably worth a visit. 

So after Uluwatu, we packed up our scooter and headed off Canggu knowing only what we saw in the video. And that it was on the coast.

We liked it so much that we stayed for three and half weeks. 

Canggu's fruit shops began a morning tradition of giant bowls of fresh fruit, muesli and yogurt.

Canggu's fruit shops began a morning tradition of giant bowls of fresh fruit, muesli and yogurt.

One of my favorite food finds in Bali has been the Snake Fruit. Once you pick off the scaly brown outside, the meat of the fruit (the flesh of the fruit? the fruit? what do you call the inside of a fruit?) is shaped like a cashew crossed with a garlā€¦

One of my favorite food finds in Bali has been the Snake Fruit. Once you pick off the scaly brown outside, the meat of the fruit (the flesh of the fruit? the fruit? what do you call the inside of a fruit?) is shaped like a cashew crossed with a garlic clove but tastes like an apple. It's delicious. 

We stayed at the beautiful Rio's Guest House the first few days and took advantage of the shared open air kitchen outside. 

We stayed at the beautiful Rio's Guest House the first few days and took advantage of the shared open air kitchen outside. 

Purple gated entrance which has ruined me because now I want all of my future homes to have purple gated entrances. 

Purple gated entrance which has ruined me because now I want all of my future homes to have purple gated entrances. 

Canggu has the best of of both (Bali) worlds with black sand beaches and sprawling green rice paddies. It has a growing creative ex-pat population, so street art pops up around every corner as well as great shops and restaurants. Along with the Indonesian street food and warungs, there's many Australian/European style cafes which means very, very good coffee. Traditional "Bali coffee" is instant coffee sludge so good espresso is (for me) a very exciting find.  

A very serious 8 year old shop keeper. You should've seen him chop up my coconut with a machete. Seriously. 

A very serious 8 year old shop keeper. You should've seen him chop up my coconut with a machete. Seriously. 

Although we weren't in the market for custom motorbikes or surfboards, we of course checked out Deus ex Machina. The Temple of Enthusiasm was a bit fancier than I expected but it was a cool kind of community meeting place for travelers, resident ex-pats and Indonesians alike. With the shop, restaurant, movie nights, art gallery and barber shop it had something for everyone. 

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We returned there every Wednesday night for Movie Night where they projected films outside and everyone lays around on bean bag chairs, enjoying the free popcorn. My favorite was Cool Hand Luke. I looked forward to Wednesday every week because apparently even if you put me in an exotic, tropical environment I still secretly just want to go to the movies. 

PURA LUHUR ULUWATU

Bali has over 20,000 temples and Pura Luhur Uluwatu was my first. There, we learned that it is one of the six holiest places in Bali and that Scott looks surprisingly good in a sarong. 

Mandatory temple garb. Gotta cover up those gams. 

Mandatory temple garb. Gotta cover up those gams. 

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The belt was also mandatory temple wear. Not a quirky accessory.

The belt was also mandatory temple wear. Not a quirky accessory.

Not a great photo... but look at that baby monkey!

Not a great photo... but look at that baby monkey!

Built in the 11th century, the sea temple is on a giant cliff that overlooks the Indian Ocean. It's dedicated to the supreme Hindu God Acintya (their main, #1 God), but in his manifestation as Rudra, a storm God who is known as the "the mightiest of the mighty" which is now what I would like written on my grave stone. 

FUN FACT: After the Indonesian War of Independence, the country adopted a political philosophy that allowed for freedom of religion but the religions had to be monotheistic (one God only). Hinduism is a religion with a whole lotta Gods, so from what I understand, to comply with regulation, Balinese Hindus emphasize the monotheistic worship of Acintya, but he takes on various manifestations of their OG Gods (goddess of rice, god of mountains, etc). Balinese Hinduism in general is a bit of smorgasbord of Indian religions and animist (the belief that plants, animals and objects possess a spiritual essence) customs that go way way back.

This makes for many rituals, colorful surroundings and the near-constant smell of incense, everywhere you go. 

SHOTS FROM THE BACK OF THE SCOOTER

Renting a scooter is hands down, the best way to see Bali. We've taken ours on highways, dirt roads, city streets and up mountains. It's bananas maneuvering it in busy areas, as other bikers weave every which way like swarms of bees through traffic, including up onto sidewalks. Luckily, Scott had his motorbike license back in New Zealand so he has the quick instincts needed to drive it so I can just direct him via Google Maps and hold on for dear life. I've also been taking photos as we cruise around, so below are a few I took from the back of the bike if you'd like to see...

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Side of the road chicken satay. 

Side of the road chicken satay. 

Side of the road sticker stand. 

Side of the road sticker stand. 

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FACTS + COLORS OF BALI

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1. When Indonesia's founding fathers declared independence from Dutch colonists in 1945, the official declaration stated: "We, the people of Indonesia, hereby declare the independence of Indonesia. Matters relating to transfer of power etc. will be executed carefully as soon as possible." That was it. That was the entire thing. (For comparison, the USA's was a bit more long winded.) 

2. I'm currently reading the book "Indonesia etc.: Exploring the Improbable Nation" that explains how Indonesia's been working on that "etc" part ever since. Just roving around Bali, it's obvious that Indonesia is still figuring things out. It's an incredibly diverse country with all of the islands, ethnic groups and languages but those different groups are actually living at different points in human history, all at the same time. Some parts of the country (urbanites in big city Java) are hyper modern. Other folks in mountainous rural areas, exists in much the same way their ancestors did. As the author, Elizabeth Pisoni explains, "Often, the more-or-less ancient and relatively modern co-exist in the same space; farmers get to their rice-field on a motorbike, villagers film a ritual sacrifice on their mobile phones". 

3. Given that ancient and modern Indonesia co-exist, the government has the daunting task of sorting out which Indonesia they should make laws for. For example, on the island of Sumba (a world away from Bali), traditionally people used machetes to slaughter animals, slice open coconuts and sharpen pencils. But occasionally, they would use those machetes to commit terrible human massacres. In an attempt to reduce the latter from happening, machetes were banned from use in town or at traditional ceremonies. Most of the people of Sumba found other tools to do the job of the household machetes (like pencil sharpeners). This makes sense, because, as Pisoni explains "modern life erodes even the legitimate uses that still make machetes indispensable in rural Sumba". The parallel between this and America's issues with gun control is pretty obvious. Sure, guns were a major part of the national culture in the US when we hunted wild animals and fought tribes. But now, we go to Stop and Shop and argue in courts of law (or on Twitter). In many ways, the Americans who assert their Second Amendment rights are equivalent to the people in Sumba who cling to their freedom to use a machete. For context, these are the same people who, when arranging marriages, kill a dog chosen by the brides family, and then have a priest from each side "read the dog's heart to see if the pair are well suited."

4. In Bali, people only name their children (male or female) one of 4 names: Wayan (first born), Made (second born), Nyoman (third born) and Ketut (fourth born). If there's a 5th, they just start over again with Wayan.  Before we knew this fun fact, we asked a mechanic if he "knew a guy named Wayan" when we were trying to find the fellow who rented us our motorbike. We got laughed at. 

RUPIAH + YOGA

In Bali, $10 US dollars is equal to about 136,000 Indonesian Rupiah. Therefore every time I go to the ATM I'm a multi-millionaire. 

How you fill up your Scooter at side of the road gas stops, for 73 US cents per liter. Also, someone around here is drinking a lot of Absolut Vodka. 

How you fill up your Scooter at side of the road gas stops, for 73 US cents per liter. Also, someone around here is drinking a lot of Absolut Vodka. 

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We decided to come to Bali because: 

a) the surf is good

b) the weather is even better

c) it's suuuper cheap

d) there's decent wifi

e) the above factors make for a pretty nice lifestyle.

Bali actually has some of the most expensive resorts in the world so you can certainly go wild on the other extreme, but I'm doing it cheap-skate style. We have our own villa or bungalow for about $14 USD (so $7 each) a night, meals usually run about $2.50 each ($5 if we're feeling fancy), and our scooter is $2 USD a day with a $1.50 gas fill-up every few days. I often read travel blogs and think "how the hell do they afford this?", so I figure a transparent breakdown of actual costs might be of interest -- especially if Bali is on your list of places to visit. My most expensive splurge has been yoga which at $7 USD a class (100,000 Rupiah) is pretty pricey for these parts but still half the price of what it would be at home.

The setting of Morning Light Yoga in Uluwatu has been my favorite and it is insanely wonderful. The class is in this tree house/bungalow type of thing with jungle on one side and the ocean on the other...

Yoga bungalow at Morning Light. 

Yoga bungalow at Morning Light. 

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THIS is the view from class at Morning Light Yoga. (!!!)

THIS is the view from class at Morning Light Yoga. (!!!)

...you actually hear the sound of waves crashing (not a soundscape recording) while you lay there in shavasana. It's such a ridiculous yoga cliche that I want to roll my eyes at it... but my inner hippie is just like "yessssss eat pray yoga OMMMM to everythinggg". Yoga at The Temple Lodge in Bingin Beach is also in this beautiful rock/flower filled temple-like space that's lovely and I've heard there's even cheaper classes held right on Balangan Beach. Ubud is apparently a mecca for yoga in Bali, but I'd say Uluwatu is giving it a serious run for it's rupiah. 

ULUWATU, BALI

Uluwatu is like where you go on vacation, if you live in heaven year-round. It's all turquoise blue water, blood orange sunsets over majestic cliffs, fresh fruit juices and monkeys. Lots of mischievous (and brilliant) monkeys that steal your sunglasses to try and barter them back for bananas. 

Monkeys at Padang Padang beach. 

Monkeys at Padang Padang beach. 

This was after they jumped off the rock, egging each other on one by one, like a bunch of little dare devils. 

This was after they jumped off the rock, egging each other on one by one, like a bunch of little dare devils. 

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Surfers over Uluwatu cliff. 

Surfers over Uluwatu cliff. 

Scott under the cove at Suluban Beach. 

Scott under the cove at Suluban Beach. 

Uluwatu Road

Uluwatu ("ulu" meaning "lands end" and "watu" meaning "rock") is on the tip of Bukit Peninsula, trailed by 5 beautiful beaches: Balangan, the aptly named Dreamland, Bingin, Padang Padang and Suluban. The entire peninsula is sunny and mellow, everyone gets around via scooter and the main road (and it's many twisty turn offs) are sprinkled with fresh juice cafes, budget bungalow and villa homestays and epic views of the Indian Ocean. We first experienced the magic of Warung's (serve yourself Indonesian restaurants where you can get a massive plate of food for about $2 USD) here which have become a dinner staple. 

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Local banana shop. Bananas are delicious in their natural state, but especially so when they're caramelized and fried, as I've learned here.

Local banana shop. Bananas are delicious in their natural state, but especially so when they're caramelized and fried, as I've learned here.

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Looking up at Single Fin. 

Looking up at Single Fin

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Suluban sunset
Sunset at Bingin Beach. 

Sunset at Bingin Beach. 

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Every morning in Uluwatu we'd wake up and I'd get bribed to roll out of bed with the promise of an iced (!) cappuccino and we'd cruise around on the scooter to look for the best surf spot. The rest of the day would be a mix of reading on the beach, surfing, yoga and stealing wifi to work in a local cafe. My favorite days ended with watching the sunset from either Suluban or Bingin beach with a fresh mango juice.

It truly does not get any better than Uluwatu. 

Ā 

KUTA, BALI - INDONESIA

It's always slightly alarming when your connecting flight to Singapore lands in South Korea. But after 36 hours and a surprise pit stop at the Seoul airport, I finally landed in Indonesia. 

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A QUICK INTRODUCTION: Indonesia consists of a string of 13,466 islands that hug the waist of Earth, covering the distance from Anchorage, Alaska to Washington DC. I've chosen to spend my time here on a little island in the middle, called Bali. The country itself contains 360 ethnic groups that speak over 719 languages and there are 240 million people here, in total.

We had booked 2 nights in bustling Kuta, which is right outside the Denpasar airport, mostly to recover from the flight. Arriving there, you can really feel that Indonesia is the fourth most populous country in the world. It's super busy and very crowded. But about half the people around are Australian and German tourists. 

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I had been to Kuta before on a "WOOOOH Spring Break!" type of trip, when I studied in Perth, Australia when I was 20. Kuta is essentially a Cancun for Australians. Back then I had a blast and came back with a plethora of cheap patterned sundresses and bootleg DVD's, but I wasn't looking to recreate that this time around. To be honest, Kuta is kiiind of a tourist hellhole. It's loud and dirty,  the beaches are filthy and you get pestered everywhere you go ("Taxi! Taxi?! Massage? Massage?! You want sunglass? I sell cheap!") which isn't an accurate first impression of the actually lovely and charming Balinese people.

My first recommendation for someone visiting Bali is to get out of Kuta ASAP. It is however, good for surfing, food and amazingly cheap massages to work out the lingering effects of an extremely long flight. So, we did all of that for 48 hours while staying at the very nice Manggar Indonesia Hotel (for about $20 USD a night) in a quiet part of town. 

These boats will take hardcore surfers (like Scott) out past the reef for the big waves while their girlfriends get the most spirited 60 minute massage of their life by a tiny Balinese woman for the equivalent of $4.50 USD. In Bali, I'm thismuchclosā€¦

These boats will take hardcore surfers (like Scott) out past the reef for the big waves while their girlfriends get the most spirited 60 minute massage of their life by a tiny Balinese woman for the equivalent of $4.50 USD. In Bali, I'm thismuchcloser to my "if i had a disgusting amount of money" goal of having an in-house masseuse. It's superb. 

Ok so the beach doesn't actually look filthy. BUT IT IS. I swear to you. 

Ok so the beach doesn't actually look filthy. BUT IT IS. I swear to you. 

I got this Mie Goreng at a beach shack (like actual shack, not just a fun attempt at quirky decor) and I was raving about it until I saw that it was actually just made from a 2 minute noodle pack (to be fair, they did have a limited kitchen in ā€¦

I got this Mie Goreng at a beach shack (like actual shack, not just a fun attempt at quirky decor) and I was raving about it until I saw that it was actually just made from a 2 minute noodle pack (to be fair, they did have a limited kitchen in said shack) and then began to question why the 2 minute noodle dishes I often made during college were garbage compared to this one that again, was made in shack.  

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Little corner store where you can stock up on one of my favorite parts of traveling: weird foreign candy. 

Little corner store where you can stock up on one of my favorite parts of traveling: weird foreign candy. 

The hotel came with breakfast and I got an Indonesian dish that's basically like savory oatmeal made out of rice and chicken. I was into it. 

The hotel came with breakfast and I got an Indonesian dish that's basically like savory oatmeal made out of rice and chicken. I was into it. 

Here is Scott with freshly cut coconut water that cost approximately 10 cents (!). Makes you question all those times you bought $8 coconut waters after a hot yoga class because you thought you really needed those electrolytes.

Here is Scott with freshly cut coconut water that cost approximately 10 cents (!). Makes you question all those times you bought $8 coconut waters after a hot yoga class because you thought you really needed those electrolytes.

Super cute neighbors. 

Super cute neighbors. 

These little colorful baskets, called "Canang sari" are everywhere you step in Bali. They're daily offerings made by Balinese Hindus to their numero uno supereme God, Acintya. The direction which the flowers are placed symbolize various Hindu gā€¦

These little colorful baskets, called "Canang sari" are everywhere you step in Bali. They're daily offerings made by Balinese Hindus to their numero uno supereme God, Acintya. The direction which the flowers are placed symbolize various Hindu gods and the idea is that the time and effort it takes to prepare each basket is a self-sacrifice, in gratitude for the peace there is in the world. You'll often find cookies on top too, because who doesn't want a cookie? Hindu God does. 

Going through these photos, I'm noticing that Kuta doesn't actually look so bad. Perhaps it's because puppies and pretty flowers make even the worst of spots photogenic. I maintain that when arriving in Bali, one should exit Kuta and get to the glorious parts of the island as soon as they can. That said, it's certainly not that hard to get a cheap massage (or a Bintang) and enjoy yourself, while you're there. 

A QUICK UPDATE - FROM INDONESIA

I'm in Bali! And it's awesome. It's awesome to the point where I now regret using the word "awesome" to describe things like muffins or getting out of work early, because this island I'm on is actually so awe-inspiring and excellent that I don't have the vocabulary to describe it. 

Scott and I rented this scooter for 5 weeks and the speedometer doesn't work but at $2 USD a day, who can complain. 

Scott and I rented this scooter for 5 weeks and the speedometer doesn't work but at $2 USD a day, who can complain. 

Bali is extremely photogenic, so expect many updates. Until then, August was a particularly good month with a California road trip and a few wonderful weeks at home before flying here... so stay tuned for some American posts too. Soon!