Our Journey #4 – TravelFreaks go to Indo

After an incredible 11 months in Australia, the TravelFreaks spent their last 3 weeks exploring more of the wonders of Australia.

But as they say, ‘All good things must come to an end.’ Our visas were up and we had decided on moving to a little British isle named Jersey, just off the coast of France. This meant that Ange could be closer to his family for the first time in years and that the TravelFreaks were off on another adventure! We figured that in staying with Australian tradition just a little bit longer, why not stop off in Bali on our way to Europe!

We landed at Bali Ngurah Rai International Airport (also known as Denpasar International Airport) and it being Nicole’s first visit to a developing country and Ange’s first in a few years, we were a little overwhelmed by the crowd that tends to greet you on the other side of arrivals at any airport in any developing country the world over.. Throngs of taxi drivers are waiting there to help you find your hotel if you’ve booked one and they’re always ready with suggestions if you haven’t!! We hopped in a taxi and immediately found ourselves in a traffic jam on our way to a hotel in the suburbs. Anyone who’s ever been to Bali knows that the roads there are insane! No lines in most places and no rules of the road except ‘All bets are off!!’

After ages driving around the suburbs looking for a hotel that may or may not exist (thank you hostelworld or thank you lying taxi driver lol) either way we gave up and headed for the beach in Kuta. Our taxi driver was kind enough to take us to another hotel (almost 3 times what we were paying for our original booking, but for the first night in a beautiful new country it was actually wonderful to live outside our means for a night. For about $80 USD we had a beautiful canopy bed with intricate wood carvings all over the inside and the entranceway to the rooms and a giant soaker tub in the bathroom. There was a lagoon-style pool with a waterfall and a lovely little restaurant. We were only a few minutes walking from the beach so we took advantage of that right away. We headed down for a fresh king coconut and a cocktail at one of the beachfront bars while we enjoyed the sunset. It was a lovely beginning to what was sure to be a fantastic 10 days in Indonesia, happy 2nd anniversary to us!!!!

The next day we headed for Ubud, a cultural hub in the uplands of Bali. Ubud is famous for many reasons including the wide array of traditional dance performances, artisanal crafts, the incredible Hindu temples nestled amongst the lush local countryside of rice paddies and rainforest. Travelers looking for intricate and original hand carvings and other works of art flock here for pieces to bring home or just enjoy browsing. Many spiritual types head here to enjoy yoga and meditiation centers or for tours of the nearby Green School.

We had booked a room for ourselves just on the outskirts of town through hostelworld. When we got there we were informed that it was actually a hospitality school and that many of the workers there were Balinese young adults who were aspiring to work in some form of the service industry. It was an incredible place! There were carvings everywhere and little pools to cool off in the warm afternoons. There was a small spa with massage students practicing their techniques and a couple restaurants serving Balinese specialties. All this surrounded by beautiful rice paddy fields.

Through our hotel we were introduced to a driver named Karja. He took us around for a whole day exploring the local areas. First we went to an organic coffee plantation in the nearby rainforest. We got to see the whole process of roasting the beans on the fire and grinding them with a large pestle and mortar. Then we got to sit and sample all the coffees with our guide and the awesome Karja. We even got to sample some of the local strong liquor, Arak. Similar to vodka bordering on moonshine if that makes any sense!

Our next stop was at the Monkey Temple where our guide showed us around the grounds. There are hordes or monkeys, some with babies just days old. The guide explained to us that the male in charge, the gatekeeper monkey, demands a food gift in order for people to enter. As soon as you walk in they start to climb on you looking for the snacks that the tourists inevitably bring for them. It was amazing how unafraid they all were of us. Even the ones that didn’t approach the humans were allowing us to get pretty close to observe them. Seeing monkeys up close like that and so interactively was really amazing!!! They’re pretty cagey little critters though, so we had to beware of anything valuable we had on us. They can open zippers and they’re expert pick-pockets!!! We understood after a while why the guides bring a stick with them.. it’s hard to move anywhere when you have little monkeys clinging to your feet! It’s equally hard to get tired of the cuteness when they climb up to sit on your shoulder and wait for their treat though!

We also saw giant bast... UGH, creepy!!!

Next it was on to Tanah Lot Temple for the sunset! Although this is a huge tourist attraction and there were tonsss of people both viewing and selling their souvenirs there, we couldn’t help but appreciate the stunning views in every direction. The temple is only reachable at low tide, but non-Balinese people are not permitted to enter. However, the dramatic energy of the waves crashing against the rocks with the temple as a backdrop is just amazing!

To cap off our time in Ubud, Karja was kind enough to take us for an afternoon at the Green School (the only thing that we had really planned before our visit to Bali). It’s an international school with alternative teaching methods and a focus on holistic eco-sustainability ( www.greenschool.org ). Their director of communications was running twice-daily tours of the facilities and classrooms. It was absolutely amazing to see what they’re doing there between growing their own food, raising their own livestock, teaching traditional Balinese fighting, music and dancing, and all kinds of extracurriculars. Their methods in the classrooms are super interactive and student-centered, and they’re completely immersed in the surrounding Balinese rainforest. They use as few barriers as possible between the indoors and outdoors. They use compost toilets and they were in the process of building a turbine which would borrow water from the river to power the school. The turbine was large enough to let aquatic life pass through without harm and it even purifies the river a bit! Between harnessing river power and solar power they were well on their way to being completely off the grid. They accept volunteers and they also have tons of projects that the parents can participate in!

Finally we ended our day with a visit to see traditional Balinese fire dancing. Such an incredible display of Balinese culture! We loved every second of the performance.. Although when he starting sitting in the fire we started to feel a little sorry for him!

We had made arrangements with Karja, our driver from Ubud, to head for the coast the next day. We wanted to take a water taxi from Bali to a little cluster of islands off the coast of Lombok, Indonesia. We gave him the money for the tickets and agreed on a meeting place for the morning. He was going to meet us with the tickets and send us on our way. After Karja drove away that night we started doing the math and figuring out how much we had just handed over to him without receiving the tickets yet and we started to worry about how easy it would be for him to just drive away with that money and not come back. So we stressed and worried for the night but kept a brave face, feeling that we’d had a good bond with Karja and hoping that he was as honorable as he seemed. In the morning we were at the meeting point with time to spare and there was no sign of Karja. We waited and waited and really started to fear the worst! Just when we were starting to feel really silly, he pulled up with a van full of other people headed for the coast and all was right in the world again!! We felt so silly to have doubted him and so relieved to have found a reliable person to call a friend in a foreign land!

So with not a care or a worry in the world, we boarded the boat with the Gili Islands waiting for us across the cobalt seas! There are three islands there for exploring; Gili Air and Gili Meno are both gaining popularity with a slightly older crowd looking to enjoy the beach life and avoid the party scene.

Gili Trawagan is where the people go for a beach-party-balance (if they can find it!! Lol). There are no police on the island and no motorized vehicles, just bicycles, horse and carriage, or you can walk the entire perimeter in a couple hours. One side is all resorts, well-spaced with privacy; the other side is more budget accommodation (still beautiful, often cabanas of your own for $30 a night or less). That side is also full of bars and restaurants claiming to have the best mushroom shakes on the island and you can smell the pot before you even get off the boat. It’s the one place in Indo where there seems to be a ‘carte blanche’.

We took it pretty easy there just enjoying the views from every side of the island, riding our bicycles to town for food and drinks when we wanted to and exploring the coral reefs with snorkel and mask every chance we got. You can rent the gear there for about $2 a day so it’s a super cheap way to soak off a hangover, enjoy the sun and get an idea of what you’ll be having for dinner at the local fish market that night!

The sand is partly volcanic there so it is marbled with black making beautiful patterns that shimmer in the sunlight. There is a coral reef all around the island as well which gives the water around the Glli islands a marbled appearance as well. In some areas the sea is a deep cobalt blue and turquoise in others with every shade in between appearing somewhere or other! The coral reefs was different from the Aussie one but as spectacular and unique in is own beauty, We needed a 3 hour boat ride in the Great Barrier Reef but at the Gili it was few seconds from the shore... after 3 days of snorkeling around the island we finally found the sea turtles, first time swimming with them in the wild what an amazing feeling. With the hills of Lombok off in the distance and the colorful fishing boats bobbing around, it really is a sight to behold!

Each evening we would head for the communal tables of the local market where the mamas would show up with pots and pans from their kitchens at home full of piping hot traditional eats and the fishermen we could see standing in the shallows all afternoon would show up with carts full of ice and their catches of the day all laid out for people to order. They’d place your pick inside a metal grate and pop it straight on the fire. We could find all kinds of whole fish, prawns, crabs, you name it! A seafood-lover’s dream and all so fresh!

Next it was on to the bars on the island to enjoy some local beers or a local favorite.. shots of arak with ginseng packets to chase it with. When you pour the ginseng powder into your mouth and add the arak it fizzes up like it’s going to foam right out of your mouth but it definitely helps take the edge off the brutally strong arak!!

We loved the slow pace of life and the relaxation with the sand and sea so much that we postponed our return to Bali until the morning of our flight out.. In hindsight, it was a huge risk, but we just had to take it!! We could feel the second we stepped on the island, the stress of the mainland and the crowds melting away and we wanted that to last as long as possible! With heavy hearts we finally boarded the boat back to the mainland, and reality was quickly starting to settle in:
The adventure was coming to an end.. at least here in the Orient.

Happily though we had a big move to the little island of Jersey still to come AND the first meeting of the parents in our relationship!....

Stay tuned because from Bali we’re flying straight to Paris for a long weekend with Ange’s sister, brother-in-law, mother, father, and brother!!! We’ll be eating and sight-seeing our way through the city of LOVE!!!