| QUICK UPDATE Where are they now? |
| Bali & Lombok |
| 7/15/2002 Ready to leave. We are about to leave for Singapore, and it has been an interesting month. Only visited 3 of the 3000 or so islands of this country, and the poeple were all fabulous to us. Travel to the more remote regions of the country would be a real challenge, but the sights and experiences would be unique. 7/14/2002 Six months into the trip. Thought that I would take a few minutes to talk about how we feel after six months of close contact, 4 countries, 8 flights and 2 pairs of boots (we both bought new Rossis in Perth). We still talk. No, really. At times we stay away from each other, but there are times when you just can't escape the other person on a trip like this. We both have had to say "I'm sorry" often, and are learning to not lash out, even when the other jerk deserved it. This has been like 5 years of marriage compressed into 6 months. All the fights that would never have happened at home, because of the presence of others, have all happened. We have had to change plans, adapt to the surroundings (even if they drive us crazy), and keep our cool. Apart from the weather, Bali has been the most relaxing country to travel in. Kind of funny, but both New Zealand and Australia do a poor job of managing transportation, and we paid the price several times. In a country where so many rely on public transportation, I guess it is in the government's best interest to ensure that the busses and ferries run on time. All the problems that so many thought we might run into in some of the scary countries (like Indonesia and Fiji) just haven't materialized. We still think that it is more dangerous to be home in Los Angeles than it is in any of the places we have been. We have been treated well by everyone we have met, even better than most of the other disinterested tourists we have seen, likely because we make an effort to talk to the hotel owners, their staff, taxi drivers, etc. We look forward to going to places that others seem to think would be terrible, like Laos, Cambodia, and Viet Nam. No one has had a bad thing to say about their overall experience in any of these places. Sure, there will be problems, but they rarely detract from the overall experience. We are really enjoying this. Come visit us on the road and you'll see! 7/14/2002 Back in Ubud, Bali Sorry for the gap in updates, but when living on an island where they do not take credit cards and the nearest ATM is a 6 hour round-trip ordeal, we went into cash conservation mode and this was one of the things that suffered. We'll be spending some serious time updating this site in the next week or so. The 3 weeks on Gili Air really flew by (no pun intended), and we were able to enjoy some time with good books, a couple of hammocks, and friendly locals. Arriving back on Bali yesterday, we were relieved to find that the heat and humidity that drove us off the island had decreased significantly. This makes it much easier to appreciate the natural beauty of Bali, and the surroundings that are full of the culture and life that made this island famous. We spent several hours today shopping for a wood carving for a friend in LA. After visiting several shops that had what we were looking for, we began to appreciate the difference in effort that is put into producing a cheap tourist trinket vs. that put into a well- done piece. The skill of the woodcarvers here is unbelievable. The piece we bought is a forest scene carved into a board about 3 inches thick, and 18 inches x 12 inches. The characters and their surroundings are carved into the entire depth of the piece, giving it true 3-D. How they are able to maneuver knives and chisels into the spaces that they do, I'll never understand. Definitely something you have to see to appreciate. I hope the pictures I post (eventually) do it justice. We're only going to be here for two days, then head back to Kuta, which is closer to the airport. We arrive in Singapore at 10 p.m. on the 16th. Monica's niece will arrive at noon on the 18th, and we will begin our 3- week adventure. We changed our flight back to Europe to Sept. 19th (from Dec. 10th) to accommodate a trip back to Australia before coming home. 7/3/2002 Still on Gili Air Well it has been a while since I've been on to do an update. To celebrate the 4th of July, I think that the best we'll be able to do is light a few matches, drink a beer, and have a burger of suspicious origin (it ain't ham) for dinner. Lombok has been a real delight as a travel destination. It lacks the character and culture of Bali, but the natural environment, and absence of most things commercialized is very appealing. It won't be long until this island is over-run by unchecked development and commercialism. It is developed enough so that lazy westeners have all their usual luxuries, yet still has areas which maintain the feeling of a little desert island. The people are all Muslims, and except for teasing you about drinking alcohol at first, are very nice people. They accept the visitors to their islands, yet seem to welcome you to share their world for a time, not just sell you things to make money. I get the feeling that if the tourism stopped, little would change for these people. There is no lasting problem that I can detect from the Christian/Muslim violence (which involved mostly locals confronting bar/resturant owners on the main island because they served alcohol) that scared many people away over the past few years. And if something did happen, it is not likely that it is going to be someone from Bali or Lombok who does it. It is quite refreshing after the chaos, hawkers and madness of Bali. We are going to spend very little time on Bali before we leave, it is just not to our liking. We are still staying at the Abdi Fantastik Bungalows. A family runs it, and the mom, dad, daughters, kids and friends all pitch in to cater to their guests. We've taken a liking to their cooking, primarily because it tastes wonderful, and also because we've had problems with mild food poisoning from some of the other places. The Indonesian curries are made with coconut milk and a little saffron, and include anything from fish, to chicken, to vegetables. Everything is served with rice. They use a lot of garlic in this kitchen, and one of our favorite dishes is garlic chicken. Sautee about 4 sliced cloves of garlic, chopped onion, and hot peppers together, pour over the top of a grilled chicken breast, and you have a great meal. We've noticed that the mosquitos stay a bit farther away than before. :) We have a little hut with two twin beds, a dresser, a fan, and a bathroom with only cold running water. This is of little concern because I think the coldest it has gotten since we've arrived is 78 degrees, with the usual high around 85-6 or so. The humidity is low, much lower than on Bali (around 60% at most). I feel cold when it gets below 80! Must be adapting. All meals are served under little palm frond covered tables out on the beach. I just finished up my SCUBA class, so now I can swim with the fishes for as long as one tank of air lasts, not just one breath. The dive center is only 100 yards away from our hut, and the class was completed in 4 days, including 4 boat dives. See www.DiveIndo.com for pictures of what I saw. And yes, it is that beautiful. Sharks, tuna, fish, coral.... Well I've got to get back to some serious tanning! More soon! Tony 6/23/2002 Gili Air Island, Lombok, Indonesia I think that we've found our favorite place of the trip so far (except, of course for the time with the Montesanos and the Grandes in Melbourne!), and this is on a tiny island off the north-west coast of the island of Lombok (find Bali, then look to the right on the map). The name of this group is the Gili islands, and we are on the smallest, Gili Air. The entire island is about 1/2 mile in diameter, and it takes all of 1 1/2 hours to walk all the way around it. It sits about 2 miles off the coast, and has great views of the volcanos on both Lombok and Bali, as well as the neighboring islands, which are only about 400 yards from this one. A reef surrounds the island, and the water is crystal clear. You'll have to wait until we get to Singapore for pictures though, no scanner on the island. There are no cars here, only bicycles and horse-drawn carts. Our bungalow sits up on stilts, and is about 100 feet from the ocean. There is always a dry, warm breeze blowing here, and never gets too hot or too cold. We love it! Monica has discovered her favorite place too, lying in our new hammock on the veranda, reading books and sipping coffee/ice cream milkshakes. I've been in the thing once since we set it up, she's monopolizing it! In the middle of this hunk of paradise where there is only one type of beer for sale, and no ATMs, is a bar with sattelite TV, and they take credit cards. This is where half of those interested in the World Cup gather to cheer and drink beer! The Blue Marlin Dive Center has been hosting a lively bunch to watch all the football action. Monica says that she can tell how many goals were scored just by counting the number of times the crowd erupts into cheers or jeers, which she can hear from the hammock, about 200 yards away. All she needs is to know is who won. We eat breakfast (banana pancake and side of tropical fruits) and dinner at our hotel, Fantastik Bungalows, under a palm frond-shaded table right at the water's edge. The fruit delivery woman comes by in the pony drawn cart, and we order our fruit from her. If she dosen't have it, she'll get it. We discovered a unique local fruit called salak, which is about the size of a tangerine. It's covered in what looks like brown snake skin, and tastes almost like pineapple. It is much drier and easier to eat, sort of like an easy-to-peel apple. I really want to see about getting some seeds home. Yummy stuff. 6/18/2002 Kuta Beach, Bali, Indonesia Well, we made it to Bali, and we're less than impressed. Maybe the place will grow on us - figuratively, if not literally. No Bali Belly as of yet, but we've been careful to avoid the water. Not to say that we haven't had any of the local water, because we've been eating in the street stalls and markets with much success! Last night we had Nasi Goreng (this is the Indonesian version of the Super Egg Burger from Fat Burger for those in the know - or, fried rice with an egg on top) and a great chicken soup - all of which are cooked in the local water, I'm sure. We spent the first two nights in the capital city of Denpasar, not exactly a tourist attraction, and a bad call on my part (Tony speaking). Without A/C, the first two days were pretty tough. On our third day here, a local who lives near the hotel we were in took us on a tour around the area and up to the artist's city of Ubud. Along the way we were involved in a traffic accident! We heard a huge crash, and thought that a car had hit us. When we looked back, though, all we saw was a guy with a helmet standing behind the van. Our driver jumped out and walked back to the man and helped him pick up a slightly mangled scooter, which surpringly still ran. I thought for a second that the cops would show up any minute and say that since we chartered the van, we were ultimately responsible for the damage to both vehicles. This didn't happen, but what a way to start the trip! We visited Ubud and strolled the markets for a few hours, then headed out to the "original" monkey forest, where Rhesus monkeys will pick your pockets and crawl right up your back to sit on your shoulder. Lovely! At the end of the day, our driver, Augusto, took us out to the very touristy town on Kuta Beach. This is where the 4 and 5 star resorts that cater to Australian and European tourists are. I must admit though, that this area feels more like Tijuana than a tropical resort (except for the humidity, of course). The streets and vendors are something right off of Calle Revolucion. At leat we have a hotel with a friendly owner and a room with A/C. Taking a tip from our English friend whom we met in Denpasar, we are off to visit the ajoining island of Lombok, specifically the small Gili group of islands off the north-west coast. There we'll spend as long as we please before deciding how to spend the rest of our time here in Indonesia. For those of you who are interested, here's a sample of things we bought and prices: 1.5 litre bottle of water - 3,500 Rupiah (around 30 cents) pair of pants (Monica) - 40,000 Rupiah (about $4) 700 ml (approx 24 oz) bottle of beer - 10,000 Rupiah (about $1) Big plate of Nasi Goreng - 6,500 Rupiah (about 65 cents) Marginal room with own bath & a/c - 90,000 Rupiah (about $9.50) It's rather expensive to make phone calls from here, though (approximately US$1.50/min), so Moms, you're going to have to wait until we get to Singapore! |