Bali !

Bali played host to our first South East Asian trip abroad and what a trip it was. Managed diligently by David Burden a long standing family friend who has lived in Bali for 6 years there could have been no better tour guide.  With limited knowledge of Bali (never in my life had I thought I would be actually going) I really had no idea of what to expect save from Google images of sandy beaches and turquoise coloured oceans.

Walking out of the airport after a flight that didn't even last a whole movie we were met by David and his 35kg backpack of photograph equipment. Not to state the obvious but, yes you guessed it David is a photographer and having seen some of his recent work, a bloody good one at that. We ended up catching a taxi as David's jeep was having repair work done, David scooted ahead on his motorbike as we were introduced to the interesting and highly dangerous world of Indonesian traffic. There's me thinking Spanish drivers take their lives in their own hands but the Balinese take risky driving to a new level ! The bikes weave in and out and seemingly give no regard to any other vehicle in their path. According to David the rule of the road is you only have to worry about things in front of you, cue crazy driving.

The road surface is not fantastic and due to the amount of people living and owning shops right next to most A roads the government are reluctant to extend them. That coupled with no public transport infrastructure, buses, chickens, kids and trucks ducking in and out, more mopeds than people, you can begin to paint the chaotic picture of the Balinese traffic. At one point a moped drove directly at our taxi and it was the taxi that was forced to move, a game of chicken only the Balinese I think would dare to play. Anyway people seem to manage and we avoided any collisions and arrived at David's pad.

Not to say I was jealous but I was. David has a two bedroom villa (landlords words not David's) and pays for a whole year 2000GBP ! I pay that in Singapore for a 2 bedroom flat a month. Anyway I am not one to gloat.

We took stock of our surroundings and tried to work out the last time we had seen each other. After not really being able to pin an exact date down (we kind of agreed on at least 5 years ago) we headed out to one of David's favorite seaside barbecue restaurants and surf spots. Food was great and Christina and I took advantage of a few cheap priced beers, a rare treat we cannot indulge in in Singapore.

During dinner I noticed a number of stray dogs moping around. Stray dogs are clearly yet another problem the Balinese government has not addressed and at times its distressing to see very sick dogs. My first encounter of one was walking down the side street to David's house. My initial reaction was one of fear as this was clearly not a house hold pet. The dogs I have been accustomed to are those that jump up in your lap and try and lick your face off, this was certainly not going to do any of that. I therefore followed David's lead and as he breezed past it without a care in the world I tried to seemingly follow suit.

The next day we got up early. The plan for the day was a seafront breakfast at Ku De Ta, surfing, followed by dinner at one of David's favourite eateries Naughty Nuri's in Ubud about an hour away from David's. The breakfast was fantastic, every meal seems to include some sort of fruit option, and the sea views were amazing. So to the surfing, I was very excited about attempting to surf again. My first time was at Nalu Watersports in Castelldefels near Barcelona where I spent the afternoon falling off. My personal best of standing up was no more than 1 second. This time therefore I was determined. What made things easier was the longer board we rented, more like a large ironing board that I found much easier to stand up on. Even on my first attempt I managed to stand up for more than 5 seconds and from that point I gained the confidence to continue improving. By the end I can safely say (with photographic evidence to back me up) I can more or less surf a basic wave. Christina also managed to stand up and David obviously is a seasoned pro however prefers body boarding. After literally non stop attempts that lasted about 2 hours we retired to the sunbeds.

Prior to hitting the waves we had been approached by a number of masseuses and we had palmed them off more interested in the turquoise ocean in front. After 2 hours surfing, a massage however seemed the perfect medication for our bashed up bodies. Our massage was great, it lasted an hour and cost approximately £2, however what more interested me was both masseuses were called Made. They even had hats on labeling one Made 1 and the other Made 4! David explained that in Bali the firstborn is called Wokalayan (Wayan or Yan, for short) second is Made, third is Nyoman or Komang (Man or Mang for short), and fourth is Ketut (often elided to Tut). A further piece of information I learnt later is that the vowels are pronounced similarly as in Spanish or Italian. Anyway I had some fun saying Made and see who would react first.

We drove back, showered and then headed out towards Ubud and its rice fields against what continually seemed a sea of contraflow traffic. The landscape starts to change when nearing Ubud, it is greener and more hilly but you still see the side street shops selling the same touristy stuff and the odd temple here and there. I had sensory overload at one point because I was continually trying to keep up with all the shop signs (apparently no permit is required to put one up), the ladies ability to balance what seemed to be the Eiffel tower on top of their heads and admiring the dexterity of the moped drivers carrying all sorts of paraphernalia from A to B. Drivers seem to be able to carry children, shopping, surfboards, hoot the horn every now again to warn the driver in front they are there and maintain a semi straight line. I would have crashed after 5 minutes I reckon. 

Ubud is a popular tourist resort as the paddy fields rest in beautiful surroundings and there is a more traditional country Balinese feel to it. David had organised a hotel for us, not the one he normally stayed at but one recommended to him by a friend. Before checking in David took us on a circuit tour of Ubud and we cruised around the lush green scenery stopping off every now and again for photos. Everyone we encountered was very friendly and you are normally greeted with a smile and a hello. We started down the street to our hotel and slowly realized as we went further down the street was actually being built. The hotel we were staying at was literally right at the end of this so cue bumpy driving, thankfully David's jeep is pretty sturdy. We finally arrived and were greeted by one of the most smiley men I have ever met. The welcome we got from all the staff was amazing, at times a little over the top but better that than the opposite. There was small pool, the bed was very comfortable and the toilets and showers immaculate. Come to mention, a strange comment but every toilet I visited was immaculate, something you don't expect in a arguably poor country. We had a few Bintang beers had shower and a swim and started out for a quick walk around the local market. In the market I bought a few things for the flat, the essentials of course, a wind chime, Balinese table mats and some Bintang beer koozies. Thankfully David was there otherwise I would have probably paid double to what I did. The rules of bartering are laugh at the first price, suggest half of the second price and come to an agreement somewhere in the middle. I felt like I was spending a fortune as the exchange rate leaves you thinking you are paying hundreds of pounds but in fact for all the items I bought it probably came to less than a tenner ! After the market we had a number of Mojitos at one of David's favorite bars and that set light to the start of a great evening. We then headed to Naughty Nuri's, owned by a New Yorker and ordered the house special of ribs and margarita's. Now these Margaritas were potent to say the least. I have had my fare share of strong drinks in Spain but this topped the lot. After varying degrees of completion of the second Margarita we decided to head home only to stumble on a random bar with live music that had suddenly sprung up close by our hotel. We decided to have one for the road and met a mixed group of people from all over the world. Funnily enough a group of girls from Barcelona were in the bar, small world ! During a conversation with an Aussy from Melbourne I noticed David had suddenly shot up and was headed towards the band. They lent him a guitar and before you knew it David was giving a rendition of Queens of the Stone Age. David then, somehow (assume it was the Margarita's) persuaded me to sing Wonderwall with him and for just one second I not only had a glimpse of what it maybe like to be Liam Gallagher but also thought, in my drunken state, I could sing. I was wrong and looking up to my audience I realized they clearly weren't enjoying it as much as I was ! Anyway I think both our fathers would have been proud, it reminded me of seeing them doing a similar act at Carol and Rodger's air guitaring to ZZ top one New Year's Eve !

The following morning we woke up understandably a bit jaded talking about our gig the previous evening ! After a hangover cure breakfast of coffee, fruit and eggs we started our journey to Nusa Lembongan.

To sum up if Singapore were represented in a class of students it would be the well behaved child that excelled in task based math. Bali on the other hand would be the cigarette smoking, laid back arty kid with tattoos and punk hair! The Balinese create without doubt some of the most amazing furniture, statues, sculptures and building designs I have ever seen. Combine that with the most amazing backdrops (ignore the rubbish) and vibrant colours you are left with a typical street view of Bali. Don't forget the chaos though around it !