Day 58: Bali to Darwin (March 6, 2011)

This morning I slept in after a late night, took a final bath (Possibly my last for the trip? Bathtubs have been rare so far!), chatted with a friend on Skype, packed up and went to the airport. I did a decent job of withdrawing only as much money as I needed in Bali, but I still had about $10 left after I got to the airport. So I looked for a few snacks, knowing I'd get to my Darwin hotel too late to get any dinner. I would have liked one of those cold Starbucks drinks (I know, I know, lame... except now that I know they taste like Thai iced coffee, it's less lame). But they were $7. Seven. Well screw that, I got an iced tea and ritz crackers instead, and a drink on the plane.

So now I'm munching my ritz crackers and drinking tap water while I write today's summary. Also, yay for free and safe water from the tap, and not polluting the earth with more plastic bottles while wasting money. I'll have to post tomorrow from a coffee shop or internet cafe. This hotel might have wifi, but I think they charge too much, and even if they don't, I can't access it right now. Speaking of charging too much, I'm going to have to get used to moderately crappy rooms that cost more than the nice, inexpensive rooms I've grown accustomed to. Alas!

And speaking of moderately crappy rooms... The room I'm in now isn't actually crappy. It's kind of bare bones, but it has a TV. All rooms have to share the bathrooms, but that's not a big deal for me, at least if it means I only have to pay $50/night instead of $100.

Getting to Darwin was pretty painless. The flight was on time (I've been really lucky so far!) and getting through immigration and customs was fine. Did you know Australia has a bunch of items you're not allowed to bring into the country, or have to get examined and treated first? I guess I knew a little about that, once. Mostly from that Simpsons episode where Bart illegally takes something into Australia and wreaks havoc. I have no idea if the quarantines actually work. Like, people aren't allowed to bring in meat or poultry, but what happens if they ate that before arriving, then got sick when they get off the airplane? Would that foil all of Australia's efforts to keep out pests and stuff?

Australia's immigration did differ from any other I've been through so far, though. Australia is the only country I've been to (on this trip or others) where I have been asked any question at all about my trip. If you're not used to international travel, all travelers are given these cards on the airplane that you fill out with your name, passport number, how long you'll be in the country, etc. Immigration officials usually glance at it, stamp your passport, take your photo (in some countries), then wave you through. Here, I was asked where I was staying, if I had friends here, how long I'd be here, if I had a return ticket, a few other things. I actually had two people ask me these! At no point did it feel like an interrogation or rude or anything, just surprising. I told the lady I've been to several other countries and this was the first where they asked anything at all, and what was up with that? She said it's their policy to ask random visitors, that it was nothing special about me or my passport. Frankly, given the way all the guidebooks and the State Department website talk about immigration procedures, maybe I should be surprised that no place other than Australia has asked me stuff.

Getting to the hotel was a breeze. Darwin's airport is smallish, and has a helpful information desk that put me right on the airport shuttle to downtown. Then I was the first stop. My hotel had contacted me ahead of time to let me know my key would be waiting on top of the vending machine, because the office would be closed so late at night. So I checked on top of the vending machine, and there was an envelope for "Peter" with a key in it, and two other keys without any names attached. Not sure what to do, I took keychain number 14, which had one key attached and which I hoped meant it was for a single. I found room 14, opened the door... and saw a person asleep in the bed!

Fortunately, I didn't wake her (I would have felt horrible, as it probably would have scared the crap out of her) and slowly closed and locked the door. So I checked the vending machine again, this time taking keychain 21, which had two keys. Room 21 was right there, and this time I knocked first, and of course someone answered. Fortunately, it was an extremely friendly guest who was happy to help me contact the managers with her cell phone. So they gave me a key, although I'm in a room with three beds, so someone messed something up, obviously. But it's fine, I've got a place to sleep other than the wicker couch in the lobby, and it should get straightened out tomorrow. And it gave me a story to tell. Also, the girl who helped me had some tips about what to see in Darwin and how to get around, so it was nice to be welcomed to the city, even though it was from a fellow visitor. Sadly, she's checking out tomorrow morning, so I probably won't get to repay her kindness with a cup or coffee or something.

Bah, it's 1am and I'm wide awake, thanks to springing ahead 90 minutes. I guess I will stare at my map of Darwin until I doze off.

More snippets

Here are some more snippets I've been collecting, written helter-skelter, wherever I happen to be when I remember them.

Bangkok's airport  (Because I know my airport reviews are the best part of this blog!)
Bangkok's airport is really big and has about 1 million people, but it's well organized and there are people everywhere directing the crowds (like through security and at check-in) so there are few waits and everyone gets to where they need to go. It's also bright and airy. I had to search for some free wifi, because the "free" wifi offered by the airport costs money, but I found it near my gate, which is good because I don't leave for another three hours. I wanted to beat the rush hour traffic, so I left early for the airport. Security was the easiest yet; really fast lines, kept our shoes on, and only had to take laptop out of my bag. No pat down or extra bag check or other nonsense.

Siem Reap's airport & MIA drivers   I only got to experience the "arrivals" section of Siem Reap's airport. It's a pretty small airport, so navigating it was a breeze. And it is very accomodating for tourists. There is a taxi stand right outside, no one hassles the tourists, and everyone was very courteous. My hotel was supposed to send a driver for me, but did not (probably because I'd only booked a room the night before; my hotel's only mistake). The other drivers waiting for their visitors all got out their cell phones to call my hotel and ask for my driver. Which was very nice, as my international cell phone works, but it a real pain in the ass to use.

Not related to the airport, but related to missing drivers: By sheer coincidence, the driver who was supposed to meet me in Phnom Penh also wasn't there to meet me, and the bus company had to call him. In this case, it turned out he'd accidentally been sent to the station the day before, and waited for 2 hours before giving up. Poor guy. I only had to wait 15 minutes.

Cambodian monkeys   There are a fair number of monkeys around Angkor Wat and the other ruins. I'd seen about a billion monkeys on this trip already, so at first I didn't pay them much attention. But there were four monkeys playing along the dirt path heading towards Angkor Wat, probably hoping people would feed them. As I walked past, two of them were playing/fighting (not sure which). One of the monkeys shoved the other to the ground. When the fallen monkey sat up, he scrunched up his face like he was about to cry, made a pitiful little squawk, then he balled up his fists and rubbed his eyes. Just like a human child might. Despite almost always having my camera in hand, I can't get a shot of everything I'd like to, but I sure would have liked to capture that.

From Egypt   Speaking of things I wish I'd caught on film but did not... While taking a taxi through a traffic circle in downtown Cairo, which has absolutely crazy traffic, this guy came riding a bicycle the wrong way through the circle, weaving in between all the cars and motorcycles. He was steering with one hand and with the other, he was balancing what appeared to be a wooden door piled high with loaves of bread on top of his head. I can only imagine he was trying to commit suicide in a dramatic, unusual and tasty fashion.

Cambodian landmines   I've seen several people in Cambodia with missing limbs. Far more than I normally see within a week's time. A testament to how many people have been injured. A lot of the people who've lost limbs have learned to play musical instruments and they set up shop near some of the temples and play traditional cambodian music all day. It's quite pleasant music; I bought a CD from one of the bands as my souvenir of Cambodia.

Actually, I broke my no-more-than-one-souvenir-per-country rule in Cambodia. In addition to the CD, I was so moved by the Landmine Museum that I bought a scarf there, to help support the museum and the orphanage it sponsors. But you know what? I keep thinking back and wishing I'd gotten a shirt with the museum's logo on it, instead of the (unlogo'd) scarf. This will bother me for weeks. Silly, I know.

Little wet cloths   One courtesy I really like in most of the countries I've been to is the offering of little cool wet cloths to guests, to wipe off the worst of the dirt and sweat. The safari lodges, the airplanes, a lot of restaurants and other hotels all offer cool little cloths to arriving guests. And it is so hot everywhere, and often kind of dirty, so they feel really good. I hope it's a practice that becomes more prevalent in the U.S.

Day 57: My hotel, Ubud, Bali (March 5, 2011)

As I already mentioned, today is the Day of Silence where everyone stays inside and no one works (except at the hotels, where they are working extra because all the guests have no where else to go).  When I went to the hotel's restaurant for dinner, I wandered over to the edge of the hotel grounds.  I had to walk carefully, because other than the restaurant and the guests' porch lights, there are no lights on.  And in fact, there are no lights on anywhere outside of the hotel.  No streetlights, no houselights, nothing.  I wonder if we're on a generator here, and the whole town is turned off (I heard a rumor to that effect).

Here are few ramdom shots from around the area, that didn't have a good fit in other posts:

From around town.

At a hindu temple.

The day I couldn't stand to put on sunscreen AGAIN.

Not dangerous... or so I'm told.

She's happy to see you!

Today was the last day of the first half of my trip.  Tomorrow starts the first day of the second half.  I think some of the easiest traveling will be ahead of me -- particularly Australia and New Zealand, which everyone I know loves and where I won't have a language or cultural barriers.  But it will also be the more expensive half of my trip, and those of you who know me know this will make me tense!  I'll remind myself that I am under budget so far, so I can increase my daily spending somewhat.  But I'll still be tense!  OK, that's enough whining for one day.

Day 56: Ubud & Penestanan, Bali (March 4, 2011)

Soon after I arrived in Bali, I learned that March 5 is a balinese hindu holiday call Nyepi. It's the new year, and called the Day of Silence because no one goes outside or does any work. I don't think the locals even cook or turn on electricity. I don't think non-hindus or foreigners are required to stay inside, too, but since everything is closed, most do. And my guess is, it's rude to go out anyway. If it weren't, I would definitely go out tomorrow. You know how I like having a place all to myself! Alas, I'll be stuck at the hotel. But hotel grounds remain open, so I can use the restaurant and the pool, I just won't wander off campus.

The day before Nyepi, today, is Tawur Kesanga, and is the day the balinese burn these huge paper and bamboo demons called Ogoh-Ogoh. Well, traditionally burn them, at least (see below). If I understand it right, the Ogoh-Ogoh represent evil, so the balinese ritually burn them to both stir up and drive out the evil spirits. Then tomorrow, everyone will stay indoors and silent so that the evil spirits will think no is around, and they will drift away.

All week long as I walked through town or drove through other towns, I saw people working on the Ogoh-Ogoh statues. Earlier this week, most of them were still plain white outlines of the demons, but by today they quite elaborate. They are all painted, and many are decorated with fur or feathers. The making of the statues seems to be of interest to many people; there were usually crowds of kids, and a few adults, gathered to watch their progress. I'm under the impression that every village has at least one, and usually more than one, and the larger towns (like Ubud) might have dozens.

Under construction a few days before the holiday.

Around 5pm, Karen, Ricardo and I went to the village next door, Peenestanan, to watch its parade. We figured it would be a lot less crowded than the Ubud parade, even if it was smaller. So we got to town in time to see the initial procession of offerings being taken to the temple.

While many people went inside the temple, we stayed outside where the Ogah-Ogah statues were waiting for their part of the parade. Turns out, there were about 10 statues waiting to be carried around town then set on fire.

Waiting for 90 minutes for the parade to start wasn't much fun. Nor was the rain. And then Ricardo and Karen decided to turn in, but I decided to stay because when was I ever going to get to see this again? Finally, everyone left the temple and groups of people gathered around each statue to carry it through town. The smallest statues had maybe 15 children carrying them, but the largest had 30-40 men. There were also a couple bands of balinese percussion instruments, which are supposed to help stir up the evil spirits. They were a treat to listen to as well. A few people with large bamboo poles walked along with the statues to lift wires out of the way, and the crowd (including me) fell into step wherever there was room.

There's 40 men under this dude.

Occassionally, someone would shoot off fireworks from inside the parade crowd. Or the guys with the torches would make them flare really high. I'm sure this is the kind of event where every so often, a statue accidentally catches on fire before it's supposed to, and there's a stampede. Didn't happen tonight, though.

The parade with the statues probably took a little over an hour; it just went up one street, then back down it and stopped just past the temple. I expected at that point, all the statues would be set on fire. But alas! They were merely picked apart, with a few token body parts from each one tossed into a little fire. :( It's probably for the best though; I was watching all along the parade route for a good spot to burn stuff, and there was no where that didn't have trees, buildings or electrical wires right nearby. Even without bonfires at the end, it was a pretty cool event, and I'm glad I was accidentally here to see it.

If I don't post tomorrow, it's because I'm doing a whole lot of nothing (possibly because there is no electricity). So if there's no post, I'll write again the day after.

Day 55: Ubud, Bali (March 3, 2011)

A super lazy day, I'm almost embarrassed by how little I did.  Especially considering that most of my days here have been pretty lazy.  Well, I did spend about 4 hours out with some fellow travelers, having lunch at this cool little place in the middle of some rice paddies.  Among other things, we talked about whether we liked Bali.  I think all of us agreed it hasn't lived up to our expectations.  Ricardo visited Bali about 34 years ago, and to him it is vastly different from what it used to be.  He thinks the inflow of tourism dollars has really changed the area for the worse, and that people aren't as kind or spiritual as they used to be.  That makes me sad to think a once-cool place is changing for the worse, and homogenizing in the process.  And I'm contributing to it just by being here and spending my own tourist dollars.

I failed to get a group photo with all of my dining compansions, so instead I'll post these scarecrows that we passed on the way to the restaurant.

Finally, a reader asked me about my semi-outdoor bathroom.  I can't capture it all in one shot, but here is the "outside" wall.  If the camera could scroll up, you'd see the room is open to the sky above these rocks and plants.  The walls to the sides and behind the camera are real walls, with a ceiling.  When it rains, I have to make sure my stuff is away from the green side of the room.  The frogs sneak in through a small hole in the wall.

Day 54: Ubud, Bali (March 2, 2011)

A day of not doing very much can go by really quickly.  Since I woke up early yesterday, I slept in a bit today, then spent the morning looking for hotels in Darwin, Australia and beginning my search for a couple of tours in that country, especially to Ayers Rock.  I knew I was going to have sticker shock once I got to Australia, but it seems even more expensive than I was expecting.  This might just be because I'm looking for tours, and my ordinary days there will be more reasonable.  At the end of trip, I'll post what my expenses turned out to be, and how much they deviated from my expected expenses.

I spent a few hours window shopping.  I haggled at the local market for an I Heart Bali washcloth.  The girl wanted 7 dollars, I offered 60 cents, and wound up getting it for $2.  Yay me.  I also purchased a new bikini, which -- if you're lucky! -- I'll model in a future Hi Noon photo.  (Probably somewhere in the South Pacific).  The one I brought with me is 10 years old, and is a little stretched out, so it's being replaced.  Sadly, I got the bikini at an Actual Store, not the market, so I couldn't haggle the price down.  Boo!

Typical back alley in Ubud.

Example of door carvings and modern architecture.

After lunch at a cafe, I went back to the spa in the rice paddies, this time for a combo massage and body scrub.  The body scrub needs a little explanation, I think...  Even though I've been taking at least one shower a day, and really scrubbing because I've been covered in dirt for 7 weeks straight, it wasn't until I got to Bangkok that I'd gotten a washcloth.  Everyplace else was soap and towels only.  And let me tell you, after that first shower in Bangkok, that washcloth was dirty.  I couldn't believe how much dirt was still stuck to me, despite how often I soaped off.  (I guess that's why parents yell at the kids to use the washcloth.)  So when I saw body scrubs on the list of services at the rice paddy spa, I figured I'd try one, if for no other reason than to scrape any remaining dirt off me.  And, it's like $7.

Open to the air, allowing breezes to come in.

For those of you who like to read about my massages, you'll find this one interesting.  I'll start by saying it is the most naked I've ever been during a massage.  It's standard in the U.S. to be nude under a sheet, but all the naughty bits stay covered up.  Well, they sort of did here too, until the girl doing the scrub part of the services started in on me.  So for much of my time, I had one girl working massaging one part of my body and the other scrubbing another part.  In the end, nothing stayed covered.  Although I suppose I'd have been just as uncovered I'd only gotten a scrub.  The massage itself was pretty similar to the deep tissue massages I get in the U.S. -- long slow strokes, pulling on the muscles (which is why you have to be nude or close to it).  But it also included a couple of new areas -- specifically, my entire belly (kneaded gently) and my chest muscles below my shoulders, all around and between my breasts.  Even the massage therapist I used to date didn't tamper with those parts when he gave me freebies.

I ate dinner at the hotel.  The food here is really good and really cheap, so I usually eat lunch elsewhere, and dinner here.  Apparently, the chef used to work on some cruise ship and is top notch.  Just for kicks, I tried his spaghetti carbonara, which is one of my favorite dishes (although not at all indonesian).  It was good, but I am proud to say that mine is better!  That's probably the only dish I make that I can actually brag about, though.

I'll end the post with a photo of one of the frogs (or are they toads?) that like to hang out in my semi-outdoor bathroom.  Toads and frogs are my second-favorite animal(s), after rabbits, so I'm delighted to have a few living with me.

Day 53: Around Bali (March 1, 2011)

I saw a lot today on a driving tour around the northeast part of the island, but I don't feel like most of it sunk in, like I slept-walked through my day.  Not sure why...  I left Ubud at 8:30 with my new friends, Ruth, Paulette and Chuck, all of whom currently live in Sonoma County, and our driver Nyoman.  They are really nice and made the day a lot more interesting than it might otherwise have been.

Our first stop was to see a performance of a classic Balinese dance in the town of Batabulan, the Barong & Kris Dance, which is about a battle between good and evil (this appears to be a common theme in the hinduism practiced here in Bali).  This was probably my favorite part of the day, as dance is my hobby and I've been planning to see a show.  Two things stood out about the style of dance in this show:  There is a lot more emphasis on subtle hand, arm, head and even eye movement than in western dance, which tends to put a lot more emphasis on the legs.  And there was a lot more pantomime and puppeteering going on, as several dancers were in animal or characature costumes.  I only sort of understood the plot of the dance, but so what, I liked it anyway.

The Tiger

The bad guy (bad gal?)

Two servants of the bad guy.

We continued on and stopped at a famous hindu temple here, in... I forget the name of the town.  It's architecture is a lot of the Ubud Palace, so even though I still don't know what all of the buildings and statues are for, I'm beginning to recognize balinese architecture and art.  Hmm, maybe today didn't sink in because I can't put anything I see into context.  But that was true at a number of other places I've seen, and I didn't have the same problem.  Maybe I'm just droopy today.

We continued north where we stopped for lunch overlooking Mount Batur and Lake Batur, both formed long ago by a volcano.  The drive up took us past shop after shop of art and furniture and handicrafts.  And they weren't where tourists go so we wondered why there were so many.  Then someone, maybe Chuck, suggested that's where merchants from other countries visit, and order goods in bulk to sell overseas.  It made sense.  The guys at the Art Market in Ghana told me people do the same thing there.

A fun stop was at a coffee plantation and spice garden.  It was similar to the spice gardens in Sri Lanka (makes sense, they have similar climates) but they grow coffee here too.  I tried one new coffee I really like, ginseng coffee, which I hope I can find in the States.  And we all shared a cup of luwak coffee, which I've never heard of before.  Luwak coffee comes from local animals -- civits -- eating the coffee berries.  They can't digest the coffee beans, but the chemical composition of the beans change as they pass through the disgestive system.  Then the civits poop the beans out, and people collect them, wash them, and roast them.  Yum, huh?  Well apparently this produces the most expensive coffee in the world.  I can't guarantee it's the most expensive, but at $40 for about 4 ounces, it must be a contender.  Frankly, it tasted like ordinary espresso to me.  And with ordinary espresso, one doesn't have to deliberately ignore some of the places the beans have seen.

Our final stop was in Tampaksiring, home to the Gunung Kawi Temple, which was built in the 11th Century and is comprised of 10 shrines cut into the rock cliffs.  To get there, we had a climb down of about 300 steps.  Then back up, obviously.

Then it was back to our hotels, where I ate well and inexpensively.  I was exhausted by 7pm but stayed up to write this.  Now that I'm done, I'll probably catch my second wind and will be up until 1am.  But I'm sleeping in tomorrow, so that's fine.