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Travel Blog: Bali and LombokPublished on Feb 8, 2008 by JamesH |
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1. Chapter: Avoiding the crowds |
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There is a lot of talk about Bali being a ‘sell-out’ and ‘Westernised’ and in certain places I would agree that this would seem true. However this is a country in the heart of Indonesia and the key is to get out of the mass-tourist areas, and explore. Bali itself can be a wonderful place to visit especially if you travel away from the main tourist areas. And it is a relatively safe and easy place to travel. By this I mean: there is no malaria, it is cheap to get around, there is cheap food, clothes, markets, and there are loads of places to stay. There is also amazing surfing to be done, which can be crowded but there are so many quality breaks in Bali that you can usually find somewhere to avoid the crowds. I found Ubud to be a good place to stay and a pleasant alternative to Kuta, which can be a bit too much if you don’t enjoy walking around in a vest drinking Bintang in the streets and acting like you’re in an Australian or American nightclub. Ubud has an ‘arty’ vibe with several galleries and artists located there. I took a class in batik (an art practice where wax is used to form designs on material, the material is then dyed and patterns form where the wax resists the dye), which is something I had done before in the UK but it was really rewarding to spend a day with a Balinese teacher. There are also some good art galleries worth checking out. There are loads of great surf spots along the southern peninsula and are all worth trying out. However the most annoying behaviour I encountered in Indonesia occured here. I found there were people who were paying locals to come in the water with them and paddle for waves deep on the inside, and then the local would pull off the wave letting the surfer who payed them take off... that's just so wrong! Tags for this Travel Blog Chapter: bali tourism |
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2. Chapter: Mass tourist culture |
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In Kuta, there are a lot of relatively wealthy people coming into the area, usually for a relatively short time, and I found this causes a strange situation with many of the local people who earn a living in the tourist industry. I saw a lot of arguments build up between market sellers or street vendors and tourists. And I saw a lot of tourists treating locals, who were just trying to earn a living, like an inconvenience on their holiday. It is true the street sellers can be aggressive and you can get caught in scams if not careful. But mostly the people are wonderful and friendly and understanding their situation is the key to treating them with respect. If you feel like you are being hassled just laugh it off, this will make you appear confident and easygoing and the seller is likely just to laugh with you. I learnt that the market sellers have a system whereby they give a certain coloured bag to people they have ripped off and a different colour to others who bartered a tough bargain. So if market sellers are giving you a lot of hassle have a look what you are carrying… As with all markets, the people are just trying to sell their products to you and even though it can become annoying to be constantly offered things to buy, just be patient. I learnt that a spoken agreement is like a contract between a buyer and seller in Bali. So don’t name a price unless you are actually prepared to pay that price, as you shouldn’t back down on an offer you have made. I found Kuta, Bali to be a bustling tourist hotspot complete with high street shops, nightclubs and an adopted surf culture. This is not the place for traditional Balinese culture, but it is a part of contemporary Balinese culture and is worth experiencing. The best things I found to do in Kuta were to buy cheap CDs and DVDs, to get surf clothes at cheap prices, to get my surfboard fixed, and just to watch the strange tourist/surf culture that has swamped the place. When the heat of the city overwhelmed me I found standing in the freezer isle of the supermarket like being in heaven. Kuta is arranged around two main streets, Poppies I and Poppies II. Both of which are scattered with guesthouses, places to eat and market stalls. I stayed at the Ayu Beach Inn, which I would recommend. But there are loads of guesthouses for roughly Rp40000 (about £2.50) a night along the Poppies that are pretty much the same. Bamboo Corner is a good place to eat and they have great milkshakes, but it was a bit expensive. I found a really cheap road seller doing packets of rice and vegetables for Rp5000 so you can get good prices if you look. As someone who loves Indonesian food I found the cheap 'warungs' in Kuta fantastic. There is also a room with about ten pool tables, and I had fun hanging out there and playing the locals. Also, playing football on the beach is a good way to spend an evening. Tags for this Travel Blog Chapter: kuta bali food tourism accommodation markets |
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3. Chapter: Surfing the southern peninsula |
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The surf in Kuta is really crowded when its working but the beach is so long that you can walk along it to find less crowded peaks. From Kuta you can rent a scooter (with surfboard racks if needed) or rent a car or take a bemo and explore the beaches on the southern peninsula. It takes about twenty minutes to drive to Dreamland Beach and Uluwatu is another ten minutes from there. If you rent a scooter I would advise you top check the tires before you rent it, if they look old then I would look for another bike, as tires bursting can be dangerous. I had it happen and thankfully it was the back one that went and I didn’t lose control. However it cost a fair bit to get the tire replaced. You are meant to where a helmet and have an International Driving Permit also, which I got pulled over for a couple of times. I found the police can be persuaded to turn a blind eye for the right price… I stayed with some friends at Balangan instead of Dreamland, as Dreamland was pretty busy. We rented two rooms in a beach hut on Balangan for 20000 per night and woke up each morning on the beachfront with a left-hander peeling off over the reef. Dreamland was just next-door, which is a beach break with a nice left and shorter right when working; it is usually crowded in the peak season and I would recommend Balangan at these times. Uluwatu is a beautiful place to surf being as cliffs surround it, and your route to the surf is down the cliff side and out through a cave into the water. I went in on a really big day and just got in a total mess. There was a monster current sweeping round the cliffs and as I paddled out a couple of sets came through and I got pushed round away from the break towards the rocks. I decided to turn back and caught the white water in, which left me attempting to clamber onto the rocks around the base of the cliffs. My board took a bit of a bashing but thankfully I wasn’t hurt. I think, when Ulu’s is big you really need to time your paddle out well, and you are gone need to put in a few crucial duck-dives. I surfed it when it was working but about head-high and then the paddle out was no problem, it was just really crowded in the line-up. There is a restaurant at the top of the Cliff where you can sit and have great views of the break. Tags for this Travel Blog Chapter: surf bali uluwatu bigwaves accommodation crowds |
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4. Chapter: Uluwatu Temple, beware of the monkeys... |
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There is a temple at Uluwatu that is worth checking out. It is positioned on top of dramatic a cliff and the views and sunsets are stunning. It cost about Rp3000 to get in and you must where a sarong (which you can borrow at the entrance). A word to the wise, beware of the monkeys that live there. This is a bit of a joke, but at the same time I’m being serious as I nearly engaged one in a fight over a set of pencils… I was doing a quick pencil drawing of my friend who was sat on some steps and had a pencil case with some stationary I had bought over from England on the ground next to me. One of the monkeys came over and took my pencil case and ran behind a railing of metal bars. I was pretty angry, as I knew it would be hard to replace my equipment out there. So I went over to the bars and to see if I could reach my pencils, which the monkey was now proceeding to take out of the pencil case one by one, and chew. However this was wily creature and it backed off as I approached the bars. I spotted a gate in the fence and slowly went over to it. The monkey watched me all the way, chewing nonchalantly on my 4B pencil. I got to the gate and pulled it open. I had seen a program recently on TV about monkeys and knew that, as a sign of aggression, certain species open their mouths widely at each other. I thought, seeing as I was much bigger than the monkey I would be able to scare it off if I showed it I was angry… I know this might sound really weird in retrospect, but at the time I couldn’t think of a better way to get my pencils so thought I would give it a try. So I opened my mouth wide at the monkey, who, to my horror snarled at me and leapt towards me. Out of pure instinct I stepped backwards and shut the gate between us, which the monkey jumped straight into and fell to the floor. There was the briefest moment when our eyes met through the bars in the gate, my eyes were wide with alarm, the monkey looked slightly confused; and then it ran off leaving me to fetch my pencils.
Tags for this Travel Blog Chapter: temple uluwatu bali monkeys views |
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5. Chapter: Surfing Lombok |
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Lombok is definitely worth a visit. The main city of Mataram is slightly more dangerous to be in than places in Bali, but I didn’t have any problems. I stayed in another Kuta, which is in the south of Lombok and found it to be peaceful and friendly. There are several guesthouses to stay in and there is a market in the town on certain days, which sells delicious fruits and huge mounds of cheap tobacco. There are also cockfights, which you can watch or avoid depending on your views. A friend and me ended up buying a cockerel from a local farmer with the intention of training him for a fight. However we never got round to actually fighting him and instead sold him back to the same farmer after a couple of weeks (much to the farmers amusement). I soon made friends with a couple of local surfers, one of whom called himself Occy… hmmm… They took me to some great spots around Kuta that I won’t name as they are slightly less known than Bali spots and shouldn’t be advertised. They are all located out of Kuts though so I found a scooter was a must have here. This was easily sorted though and soon I was bombing along dirt tracks to surf pumping reef breaks and mellow beaches. This was like paradise! The only slight issue I encountered was at one reef where locals had decided to charge for parking. After a few days surfing this reef, my friend and me got tired of paying to park and decided to park on the road and walk to the break to avoid the fee. When we returned to our scooters the locals still wanted money from us and we ended up arguing with them, which was a really stupid thing to do over Rp20. The leader of the local men ended up brandishing a huge machete at us, but we still didn’t back down, in some bizarre act to hold up a principle I couldn’t even explain to you now. We ended up driving off without paying much to the anger of the locals. The next day our local friends in Kuta said they had heard of the incident and that we shouldn’t go back to surf that reef. Tags for this Travel Blog Chapter: lombok surfing thingstodo accommodation |
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6. Chapter: Gili Trawangan - Party Island |
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Gili Trawangan is known as the party Island and me and three friends decided to see it for ourselves. When going over to the Islands from Lombok we had a slight issue arise out of the fact that there are no cash machines on the island. This wouldn’t actually have been a big problem as it is simple to get the ferry back to Lombok and get some cash. However the guys at the ferry station wanted to make it seem like there was an urgent need for us to get money out before we got on the ferry. One of my friends almost gave her bankcard to one of these guys, who was adamant he would drive to the town and get some cash out for her. Luckily she realised this was a stupid idea and we just lent her money when she ran out. I found the whole of the journey over to the Gili’s to be hectic. The ferry over has the usual hassle of people trying to load or unload your bags for you and then asking you for money afterwards, so hold onto your own stuff if you don’t want to pay extra. The island itself had none of this hassle. With some friends I rented a room in a homestay located off the main street, which was really nice and clean. We found the island to be fun and relaxing, but in an empty sort of way. It was like an exotic version of home. You could watch American movies in bars and go to raves. Two of my friends did a diving course, which they found worthwhile. You can surf on a reef at one end of the island or on the beach at the other, depending on the conditions. While I was there the surf was fickle but the local kids in the water were friendly and I ended up playing football with them on the beach on many occasions. In all I would say this is a good place to come and relax and meet other travellers and party, but it might not be what you are after if you want serious travelling. Tags for this Travel Blog Chapter: gilitrawangan thegiliislands indonesia part surf accommodation |
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we didnt find any problems nor troubles from our ferry agent; although yes we did have to pay before they take us to the island; as far as i remember we didnt get any hassles from nobody once we got to the ferry agent; however, from the parking lot to the ferry area, it was crappy, too many people trying to sell this rattan or bamboo hats with ridiculous prices and since it was our first time; we thought the ferry would be an open ferry without roof whatsoever thus we thought it would be too hot so we got the hats and regretted it later on haha
great writing! |
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7. Chapter: Surf Boat Trip: Bali, Lombok, Nusa Lembongan |
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A friend and me took a boat trip from Kuta, Bali. The company is called Captain Coconut’s and they were a good team. We left early in the morning from Kuta harbour. The other passengers sharing the boat with us turned out to be a really good group; there were two Spanish guys, four Australians, four French, and one Swiss guy. The boat took us first to Nusa Lembongan, and we explored Shipwrecks, Lacerations, Razors and Playgrounds. Do not be fooled by the name, Playgrounds was a heavy wave breaking over shallow reef and at low tide I could see bare coral under the sucking waves! A point to note is that, at times like this when there were a range of breaks to surf, there was enough to go around, but on other days, the problem with being on a boat is, you are travelling with a crowd already. Also, other boat trips tend to follow the same route, so the surf can get seriously crowded. We surfed Super Sucks, Scar Reef, Yo Yo’s, and also Desert Point, which was an epic day. A huge swell had been forecast for the day we went to Desert Point and we were not disappointed. Huge waves, literally three times head high were peeling across the reef. I went in the water but didn’t dare surf; these waves were too much for me! I spent most of my time paddling away from the break as a rip was pulling us towards the breaking waves. A couple of guys off the boat who had helmets surfed and had a great time. If I do another boat trip I will definitely buy a helmet, I think it can really give you that extra bit of confidence that can really improve the surfing you do. My favourite day was at Scar Reef which we had breaking perfectly, and at head high, not too big. |
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i so AGREED! Kuta in Lombok is so different to Kuta in Bali; great and clean!