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Our first night in Bali was one to remember for all the wrong reasons. We had arrived quite late at night but got a taxi to a hotel we'd seen online. Upon arriving, the price we were quoted for a 1 night stay had been doubled from their website price - or so we thought.
We walked away from the hotel in annoyance at their 100% price increase and it was only after a good 10minutes of walking that we realised we had our figures wrong and there was only a small addition. Tired, hungry and disgruntled, we decided to check in at the next available place. This was another hotel but one which was mainly used by locals. We knew it wasn't going to be too appealing as the landlord made it clear that tourists didn't stay there and we were more than welcome not to take the room upon seeing it. Now if it hadn't been 11pm and if there was something else nearby we would have walked away but we just wanted somewhere to rest our heads. It wasn't pretty. Picture an old dilapidated chest of drawers falling apart, sheets with stains on, and a toilet complete with some resident cockroaches. Welcome to luxurious Bali! Our plan was to ignore our surroundings, close our eyes and just make it through the 10 hours till morning! We did, and took away something positive. We have vowed that this room will be the worst we will stay in for the rest of the trip, the only way is up!
After successfully making it through until morning we were up early waiting for the text from Phil (Andy's cousin) to say he had landed, meaning we could get out of the room! Luckily he wasn't delayed so we were swiftly into a cab and on our way to meet him for our mini reunion. When we got to our rendezvous point we were taken aback. We found a smartly dressed, successful, intelligent, good looking man waiting there, and stood just behind him was Phil (Haha!). We said a quick hello before heading off down Poppies Gang to find ourselves somewhere to stay. With Phil being in a 'holiday' mindset and us being in a 'not too expensive, we're travelling' mindset we had to try and find somewhere that suited us both. Unfortunately most places that were half decent were out of our price range, but in the end we found somewhere we could just about stretch to, justifying it as a one off. The room was really big with a TV, shower, balcony and another first for us, a bath! The hotel also had a nice pool which was pretty exciting.
We were all hungry so we headed out for lunch which Phil kindly paid for. We spent a couple of hours eating, relaxing and having a good catch up on the years gone by which was really nice. After that we headed back to jump in the pool and Phil was going to go for an apparently trademark nap. That was until Andy produced a small ball that bounces on water. It seems Phil has just as much of a dog like mentality as Andy does when it comes to ball games as the nap was called off. Over the next 3 days there were a good few hours spent just bouncing this ball backwards and forwards. It was like being in Grandmas garden all over again!
The majority of our time in Kuta was spent similarly to the first day. It isn't a very cultural place (in fact it's the opposite, it's Australia's version of Benidorm) so our days were spent relaxing by the pool, going for walks around the town and little else. The one thing worth mentioning that we saw was the memorial to those who died in the Bali bombings several years ago. It was in the middle of the shops and bars so we assume it stands where the bombs actually went off. It was a subtle, pretty memorial that listed the names and nationalities of those who died. A sombre area surrounded by the hustle and bustle of shoppers and surfers, strange but respectful.
We were joined by Phil's friend Sonia on the second day which was also exciting for us as it meant we had gained not 1 but 2 extra people to talk to over dinner! Phil and Sonia were planning on heading over to the Gili islands whereas we wanted to see a little more of Bali. Due to time constraints and cost, going to the Gilis wouldn't have been worth our while. We came to a compromise and headed slightly inland so that we could see some more of the island and Phil and Sonia could get from there to their port.
We headed to Ubud, billed as a Bali town that still kept it's Balinese roots and heritage. It was also said to have the best food on the island. It was a short 1 hour bus ride to the town with the bus taking a nice route along the way. Once we'd arrived we all needed a place to stay but we returned to our dilemma of holiday vs budget. After treating ourselves in Kuta we really couldn't pay too much in Ubud so we encouraged Phil to find somewhere nice to stay and we would find somewhere within our budget nearby. Phil checked himself into a really nice room with Balinese decor and the essential - a swimming pool. Fortunately for us we had spotted a sign across the road of a shop that had the same name as some accommodation we were keeping an eye out for after seeing it in an old Lonely Planet. There was no mention of any rooms so we asked inside and were almost jumped on in excitement. It seems they had stopped advertising the fact they had available rooms as there was too much competition so when we asked they literally threw their hands in the air with joy! We took a look at the rooms and were really pleased to find a clean comfortable place (with a bath!) and a large balcony/garden area that linked our room and the one next door (our neighbours were a couple we had met in Java previously who we bumped into on the road outside whilst all 4 of us were looking for a place to stay!) and all of this at a price we could afford. A very good find and it also meant that all we had to do was cross the road to Phil's place and cheekily use the pool, the best of both worlds!
As Phil was 'all templed out' and Sonia was actually on holiday, understandably they were more than content with lazing around the pool in the sunshine every day. Although we joined them on a couple of occasions this meant our itineraries were slightly different. We would usually head off for the day and then meet up in the evening for dinner. To be honest our main memories of seeing Phil will be the dinners we had together, which without fail would turn into a deep discussion about one subject or another! It was quite funny wondering what would be on the agenda each evening when we sat down.
There isn't much to say regarding places we went as it was a case of us just walking for a couple of hours and stumbling upon things, rather than going in search of something. The following are the things worth mentioning that we saw...
We found a school/day centre that was run by volunteers for mentally disabled children and teenagers that also ran a small restaurant to supplement their income. We had lunch here and got talking to one of the volunteers who told us more about the centre and then showed us around. When in Bali you would be hard pushed to find someone mentally ill, especially a child. This is because they are hidden away by their families from the rest of the world. There are two reasons for this. One is a lack of understanding, the second is fear of judgement from their peers and it all boils down to their beliefs. Within their religions it is still widely believed that if you bear a handicapped child, it meant you had been a bad person in a previous life. Parents who are brave enough to seek help will even be told by their doctors that the condition is something that will improve with time and/or good behaviour. Of course we know that isn't the case at all but they just aren't aware. So, the centre provides several things. Obviously it's a place for the children to go (to get out of the house), have fun, learn and interact with other children. It is also just as beneficial to the parents as they receive moral support and are able to see there are other families like theirs, and attempts are made to inform them that their child will not change and needs support from them, without undermining their beliefs (a difficult task!). There was a teenage group finishing up a session while we were there that reaffirmed how important the place is. Watching them interact, they were laughing and hugging and truly cared for one another so to think there are others like them locked away to quite simply rot is heartbreaking. (If you want to see it for yourself there may be some pics/info on their website - www.sagi-tari-us.org).
There was a cremation taking place one afternoon, something that is seemingly a tourist attraction! (Whilst walking we came across it, please do not think we went looking for a funeral intentionally!) We came across what looked like two large paper mache/wood sculptures, one of a bull or cow (a respected animal here) and another which was about 10ft tall in a rectangular shape and decorated in bright and golden colours. After asking around we discovered what was going on. It appears that the deceased lies in the larger object (which was on the street for around 3 hours, maybe for people to pay their respects?) which is then carried through the streets to the crematorium where everything would then be burnt. We didn't witness any of this as it didn't seem right invading someone else's most private of moments.
We spent several hours playing with 3 dogs at the local animal charity. We had spotted BAWA (Bali Animal Welfare Association) whilst walking past with our bags the day we arrived and as you and we know, if there's something to do with animals around you will find us there, so we made sure to pop in and find out what they were up to! The company is non-profit and was set up by a Californian vet who had moved to Bali several years beforehand. She had set up BAWA and was (unfortunately) still largely funding it via her own pocket. Its aim is to vaccinate, feed and neuter the street dogs and cats, as well as providing free veterinary care to all the locals. Their main initiative was prevention of rabies, with a target of giving preventative jabs to 70% of the whole of Bali's (not just the local area's) strays. We had spotted several dogs with a red ribbon around their necks and had wondered what it meant. These were the dogs that had already had their rabies jabs so it was to let locals know they were safe. Many locals will kill dogs and cats for whatever reason so they also have a program of going into schools to educate the next generation on animal welfare and how to care for pets and prevent breeding (neutering is free for crying out loud! Very frustrating that puppies, kittens and females of any age are killed as there are 'too many' strays yet they wouldn't be there in the first place if the owners would simply take them to get the snip! Sorry, rant over). Anyhow it was really nice as we got to have a coffee and chat with the guys there about differences/similarities with animal charities and rehoming centres in the UK, and we got to play with their 3 resident dogs. One was older and completely blind (you wouldn't know it, she knew her way around and was the leader of the pack!) who had been found on the streets, and another was a puppy a couple of months old who was about to head off for a life of luxury as a 'resort dog'. It helped relieve our craving for seeing our own pets so there was something in it for us too! A very nice few hours.
(We'd like to point out that we didn't go looking for these places, and we aren't suddenly saints who will be donating all their money to charities worldwide. These are local associations that we just wanted to find out a little more about, and in all honesty it's a refreshing change to see what's happening locally around the world for the positive rather than having the often depressing world news rammed down our throats by every media outlet possible. In a selfish way, we feel we have benefitted by seeing these places.)
Essentially that sums up our time in Ubud, not a lot done but we were able to see a new town and of course got to see Phil for a little while longer. I should add at this point that Auntie Sheila, you were right. There are a lot of similarities between the two cousins. It was a bit strange sometimes the things we both liked that others didn't, with shared thoughts and views on a wide range of subjects. Phil, thank you for taking the time to meet us, it was a pleasure spending some time with you. We will see you again soon.
After our manly 'we can't hug in public but what the hell let's do it anyway' goodbye, we got back on the bus for our return journey to Kuta where we would then catch our 7am flight to Singapore. After traipsing around Kuta in the heat and unsuccessfully attempting to find a place to stay for the night that was within our budget we had a revelation. As we would have to be up at 4am it seemed silly paying for a room for just a few hours sleep. So the following was our well executed, corporation sponsored plan!
At 1.30pm we went to McDonalds (2hours - air conditioned) where we bought a drink and read a book. We then went to Starbucks (4hours - air conditioned with free wifi) where we bought 1 coffee and 1 tea. Then it was on to Pizza Hut (1hour 30mins - air conditioned) where we had dinner, and finally to another coffee shop (1hour - air conditioned) which transformed the time from 1.30pm to 10pm. We then hailed a taxi, went to the airport (7hours - air conditioned) where we spent the night lying on a marbled floor attempting to catch some shut eye in the freezing cold. We were kept awake thanks to what had been our saviour throughout the day (bloomin' air conditioning!)!
2hours sleep for Nikki, 1hour sleep for Andy and several uncomfortable hours awake later, we were winging our way back over the equator to Singapore having successfully roughed it for the night. Woohoo!
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