The 22 hours of traveling it took to get here has been an adventure in itself, and if you would like a detailed description of the trip I suggest you visit my boyfriend Jason’s blog at www.jasonshurtz.com. However, I am going to keep this part of the story brief since I feel that most of us who have travelled long distances will know that its almost never easy and there are always surprises along the way.
Picture source : http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_YsjymBiZs24/TAN8JLIC9sI/AAAAAAAAAok/bcR0iqrmwmE/s1600/bali-map.gif by www.directorybali.com
The first of these surprises came to us after the two hour drive to LAX airport from San Diego, and as we were checking our bags (2 checked suitcases and 2 surfboard bags) we encountered just a small fee that we hadn’t quite expected. Now let me preface this by telling you that most airlines charge for surfboard bags per BAG and some not at all. This is why it surprised us when the China Airlines ticket counter rep told us that we would be charged not only per BOARD, but that the second board in each bag would cost twice as much as the first ($109 as opposed to $55). So, our final total for checking our two board bags was a whopping $328, not exactly what we had hoped to spend right away, but all in all probably worth it to bring our boards to a world-class surf destination for two months (well that, and we didn’t have much of a choice, haha).
Our trip continued to include way-too-cramped seats on airplanes for extended periods of times, sleeping pills followed by sleep interrupted with cries of babies and airplane food (we were shocked that they had fulfilled our “low calorie meal” request, not bad!), and a lot of anticipation for what exactly we were about to experience in this new, foreign country called Bali. As our final flight from Taipei was in its final decent, I looked out the window and could see the island of Bali and instantly got butterflies in my stomach. Firstly because, this was a LOT bigger than I thought it was going to look! I thought we would be able to drive around the island in a day, and now it seemed like that probably wouldn’t be the case. The plane started approaching the Denpasar airport to land and quickly turned over the ocean towards land. Our elevation got lower and lower, and I started to get nervous because it seemed like we were only at ten feet and still over the ocean! We could see the coral reefs and beautiful waves up the coast of the Bukit penninsula, yet we were still not over land. Finally we came over the runway and landed, and the feeling was something I had never experienced. Usually, you land in a foreign country knowing that you will be there for awhile and get to see all the beautiful places and relax and then go home, but this time I thought to myself “you are going to be here for TWO months, home is not in the near future, this IS home now…” It was scary and exciting at the same time. All I could hope for was that I would love it and be able to embrace this extremely different and unique culture.
After going through immigration and customs (actually very easy after the scares of “drug trafficing = DEATH!” and all of the prescription drugs and pills and basically a rite aid that I had in my bags…) we found our driver who was holding a sign with my name on it, how cool! He was a little shocked by the surfboard bags but it was all ok after we tied them to the roof and were on our way with another woman in my yoga program from Canada who had come in on the same flight. The airport is right on the coast and we are spending the first 6 weeks in Ubud, a small village/city more tucked into the mountains and about 1.5 hours from the airport. Now, it may have taken 1.5 hours to drive here, but its maybe only about 30 miles. This is because of all the insane traffic on small roads and people weaving all around on motorbikes. The roads are actually better here than you can probably find in Los Angeles, it is just insane seeing how many people can fit themselves in the width of what we would use probably as one lane. Either way, the drive was amazing. We made our way up into Ubud and saw everything from families of 4 on a motorbike to hundreds of people on the side of the road performing ceremonies (it was their day of cremation, so our driver told us). Then, we finally reached our destination of Santra Putra, an artists compound with a few guest houses and a yoga studio where the program would be held. We realized we had to walk about 200 yards to get there and probably couldnt carry all our bags at once, so some locals offered to help us for 10,000 rupiah (about 1 USD) and we were happy to accept. I could not believe it when the woman, who was probably about 45 years old, put my 44 pound suitcase ON HER HEAD and carried it the whole way without a flinch or problem. That is some serious neck strength!
Santra Putra is absolutely BEAUTIFUL. It is probably the most amazing place I have ever experienced. Now, I am the first to tell you that my past traveling experienced have been punctuated with staying in 4-5 star resorts and getting the best service and comfort available. But this is Bali, and my goal here is not exactly luxury or high expense. I am here for this yoga retreat and to really immerse myself in the culture of this place, so 5 stars is not even in my radar (even though you can find some of the best hotels in the world here). Our room is one of the newer rooms in the compound, upstairs and complete with its own kitchen, bathroom, and huge patio with a couch and outdoor table as well as our very nice, king sized, four post bed. It is amazing the architecture and detailing they have in their buildings. For instance, our bathroom has marble panelling and stone walls and the shower and floor is simply large stone blocks with small river rock between. The whole place has this amazing indoor-outdoor quality that really makes you feel like you are a part of nature. Our compound has a common area where we get breakfast served to us every morning (this also has free wi-fi), a temple, a yoga room, and a lily pond, and the whole place is surrounded by traditional balinese houses and buildings and is amongst the most beautiful rice terraces that don’t look man made at all. The owners also have a pet dog, two monkeys, and a chicken that even as I am writing this are cruising around me like they own the place. I have to admit I was a bit concerned/afraid of the bug situation, but it actually has not been nearly as bad as I thought it would be. Mosquitos are rarely seen, and usually I see moths and butterflies the most. The first night I was a bit taken aback by the huge gecko we came home to in our room (I’m talkin’ 1 foot across) and the bat (or was it a bird? I don’t know..) that flew through the room as I was brushing my teeth. But all in all, it’s pretty easy to get used to and we came prepared with lots of bug repellent and citronella coils just in case (the mosquito nets around the bed add extra comfort at night).
And now….. BALI! This is one of the most beautiful countries I have ever experienced. We went into Ubud to walk around and check out the town and it is amazing the things you see just walking down the street. Only about a mile from our place we came across beautiful temples, amazing craft stands/stores with the most detailed stone and wood carving you have ever seen, and incredible restaurants. The temples (and palaces) look like a thai influence in the architecture. While we were cruising around checking out the different restaurants (you know my first interest is always in food…) we came across the most beautiful palace with a huge lily pond filled with lotus flowers in front of it. Apparently the cafe adjacent to it (the Lotus Cafe) reserves tables right on the pond to watch the traditional dance show on the weekends. It is 160,000 rupiah to watch the show and have dinner. Wait, about $17 USD to see an AMAZING show and have dinner? I’m in! So we will definitely do that later in the trip. Oh, and did I mention the food? Its this delicious blend of thai and chinese and japanese and american and everything else you can think of and it is SO cheap. We went to a “moderately expensive” restaurant our first night and each had a huge meal and a beer and it cost us about $10 total for both of us. Later we went to an “inexpensive” restaurant for lunch and our meal was about $7 for both entrees and drinks. It will be easy to live on this budget! Its amazing looking at the landscape that surrounds us. It is filled with palms, banana plants, trees, bromeliads, orchids, etc, and it is just… natural. I was thinking to myself how in the US someone would pay a hundred thousand dollars to have their backyard resemble this landscape (and it wouldn’t even come close…). You also will see trays of flowers and little offerings of rice with incense burning all over the streets because the Balinese people make offerings to the gods about 5 times a day. Its such a beautiful idea and tradition, I want to start doing it at home!
I can’t believe how much I have seen here in less than 48 hours. I know that it will only get better and there will be many more adventures and experiences to come. I can’t wait to see what the rest of this beautiful island has in store for us, and I will be sure to let you know as soon as I can so… stay posted!