Aloha!
Just kidding...wrong island.
Life is crazy, isn't it? A year ago I was sitting at home, waiting for my acceptance to the University of Wollongong, with no idea what my semester in Australia had in store for me. And now, here I am, traveling around countries on the other side of the world with new friends I've met over here. For Bali, these include Philipp, who I met in New Zealand; Volker, Philipp's friend who I met in Melbourne; and Lena, Susi and Hannah, Volker's friends. They're all German. It was interesting traveling with non-Americans, since all of my other trips have been with my American friends. You learn a lot about what you don't know when people ask you about stuff you think you know, you know? Philipp and Volker would sometimes ask me what the English word for something was or how to spell certain words. Like incense, for example. They used and sold so much incense in Bali, and that's why it came up. I was asked how to spell it… and I realized I had no idea how to (I thought it had something to do with 'scent' but that of course was wrong) because I don't think I've ever written it down before.
Also, I did not know that 'touristic' was a word. However, (as google told us) touristic is a word commonly used by Europeans who speak English very well (props to my friends for speaking English so well), but native English speakers would typically use the more colloquial version: touristy.
Anyway, I learned a few other random things to, such as:
Australians, Germans, and Balinese all call tank tops singlets.
Some German. Schwitzen (My friend Hanna at home always says 'Oi I'm scvhitzing' so that was one of my favorites) aka sweating. I did a lot of sweating in Bali. It was hot. And humid.
I really appreciate getting water for free at restaurants at home.
I like the fact that all of our US bills are the same size, so you can fold a wad in half and its all the same length. I also like the fact that it is not in thousands and millions like the Indonesian rupiah. I will not miss rupiah….
But I will miss how cheap everything was.
But wait, let me back up a little:
On Wednesday (June 3), I took my first final, a practical for Planet Earth. I took the afternoon to enjoy having no homework, studying or worries. All of my friends and I went out for sushi for possibly our last dinner all together. Dave finally came out for our last uni night in Australia. Alana, Jesse and I went to the beach afterwords for the last time too. It's just not as enjoyable when the sand is freezing cold. But I'm glad we went nonetheless.
I spent Thursday sleeping, eating, packing, and hanging out with Dave and Alana (aka watching movies and going for a lovely run to the lighthouse with Alana). I am going to miss running here. I like running by the ocean- a nice view makes running much more enjoyable. And obviously I'm gonna miss my running partner.
I couldn't make myself go to bed any earlier than 11, despite the fact that I had to wake up at 2am on Friday in order to get the train at 3. The walk to the train station sketches me out at night so Dave, being the gentleman that he is, woke up to walk with me.
Friday June 5, 2015
I fell asleep on the train and almost missed the stop to transfer to the airport. Then I was all flustered because I had received texts from Virgin Australia saying that my connecting flight to Melbourne got pushed back so late that I would miss my flight to Bali. Then I got another text saying they switched my flight, but it didn't say which one. So I spent a very anxious and stressful half an hour worrying about missing my flight or missing the bag drop, but everything ended up ok. I got the second to last seat on an earlier flight to Melbourne, got my bag in two minutes before they closed check in and made it to the plane just in time. We passed right over Uluru, and the pilot pointed it out! An unexpected surprise, now I can say I've seen it! It was cool from above.
Philipp and Volker were supposed to arrive in Bali right after me, but my flight was early and theirs was late so I had to wait a while. I was fine with waiting though, because I was glad not to be alone once we got outside the airport. The taxi drivers were like flies, they swarmed and followed us around. It was pretty funny actually. We finally found a cheaper one to Ubud, where we booked a home stay (the only thing we had planned thus far). The driving was insane! There were lanes painted on the street, but no one really stays in them. There were also tons of people on motor bikes zooming around with no rules. I can't believe there's not more crashes. We passed tons and tons of places selling huge stone statues along the road and lots of little temples, it seemed like one on each block. It took about 2 hours with all the traffic to get to Jati home stay. I was a little scared when we had to walk back off the road down an alley, between some other buildings and down some stairs to get to it, but I was pleasantly surprised by the place. It was very quiet back away from the noise of the road, and there was just the sound of a gurgling fountain, and the insects in the field behind the rooms. There was a pond with fish surrounding the reception/breakfast area that you had to step across on stepping stones, while pushing aside the curtain of vines hanging over it. There were plants and flowers all over. It was a very peaceful, beautiful place. I met Lena, Hannah and Susi who were already there and then we walked around to find dinner. I got seafood and it was insanely good. It was so cheap also!! It was around 80,000 rupiah, or AU$8 (so even less US) for dinner, dessert and a drink.
I was exhausted and went to bed right after. I got the single bed and the boys are sharing. It was very hot but thankfully we had a fan, and my bed was right next to a huge window with just a screen, not glass, so we got a tiny breeze (and to hear the pleasant outdoor noises all night).
Saturday June 6, 2015
Breakfast was kind of funny. Philipp, Volker and I went, and each were served a couple of pieces of fruit. We didn't know if that was all we got. Then we got one little green pancake (very nicely presented, with banana and coconut and sweet sauce) and shared it, because we thought that was all we got. We supposed they only had one pan, because the pancakes came out one by one. They were so tiny we all got another and (just for us) the extras were free! After that, we walked around to the monkey forest and temple. The monkeys were cute but freaked me out because they would jump on people. Next we walked to see rice fields. The little gurgling irrigation channels all around made me so thirsty and want to go swimming so badly because it was so hot. The rice fields were very pretty, but I can't imagine having to work in them, especially right now in the heat. As we walked around, we noticed little leaf boxes of flowers and food on the ground, often in front of entryways and on statues. (Later learned that they are daily offerings to appease and please the gods and demons). They were everywhere, I cant believe people put them all over every single day! The boys and I then got massages. It wasn't my favorite, but I guess you get what you pay for. Got a quick dinner close by the home stay and went to sleep because we were waking up in a few short hours.
Sunday June 7, 2015
Sunrise volcano hike! Up at 2am for my second night out of 3. We got picked up at 2:30 and had a bumpy hour drive to Mt. Batur. I was surprised to see so many other tourists up so early doing the hike as well. We walked up a ways and at 4:30 we weren't even halfway. Walking in the dark, not being able to see your progress, made it seem like forever. I was sweating for most of the way up, but then the top was freezing cold. I had been (poorly) advised that a tshirt was ok to wear, which was unbelievably false. We didnt stay at the sunset lookout because there were too many people, and went all the way up to the summit instead. We got there a little before 6. The cloud cover was so thick that it was still dark, but when they cleared enough to see a little brightness from the beginning of the sunrise, everyone cheered. Once the sun started really coming up, it was an amazing sunrise, well worth waking up so early. Occasionally the clouds would blow by and completely cover the sun. The view was pretty incredible once it got light enough to see around. On the way back down, we stopped to feel hot steam coming from holes in the rocks and went down in the crater. It's cool because I learned about all this volcano stuff in Planet Earth. There were monkeys here too! The first part down was a mess...the volcanic ash was ankle deep and it was basically just running/sliding our way down. We did not swim in the hot springs afterwords because it was too expensive. Instead, our driver took us to a place to taste coffee and see the animal that eats the coffee beans and poops out the most expensive coffee in the world. They're called Luwaks. Then we went to tour the Tegallalang rice terraces. They were cool, with little dirt paths going all around. After lunch, we got cheap ice cream because it was so hot. That evening, we really wanted to find somewhere to swim. There was a pool that we could see across the valley behind our home stay. We did find it eventually but couldn't use the pool because we weren't guests staying there. The next spa we came across I just asked if we could use the pool and they said yes we could see the pool. But then they looked confused when we started taking off our clothes…but we just rolled with it and jumped in and they walked away. Got dinner at Laba Laba. My absolute fave restaurant so far. I got nasi goreng which is fried rice with an egg and satay chicken, a typical meal for breakfast, lunch or dinner here. Green pancake and ice cream for dessert, so yummy. When we wanted to leave, it started pouring. We tried to wait it out, but it just kept coming. We were completely soaked but the time we got back, it was insane. And my hair had been so close to being completely dry for the first time in 2 days.
Monday June 8, 2015
Had a yummy fruit and french toast breakfast, unfortunately the last one in Ubud. As I was packing up, I dropped my soap in the toilet. I don't know why I keep dropping things in the toilet recently. The girls left for Nusa Lembongan, and Philipp, Volker and I went to Seminyak.
Seminyak was way different from Ubud. We were in a real hotel on a highway. Could've been Florida. It was nice to have AC and a pool but it was lacking the cultural aspect we got in Ubud. Checked in then went to Seminyak beach. It was somewhat disappointing because it was not white sand or blue water like I was expecting, and there was a bunch of trash and stray dogs. However, it was a beach, and it was a beautiful day. We got lunch and noticed that the prices were much higher here. We rented two boards to share between the three of us and went surfing! It was a little painful after a while without a proper rash guard, but fun! Had our daily ice cream on the way back to the hotel. good to know that ice cream was still cheap! $1 for ice cream I get for $4 in Australia! On our walk to dinner, there was a random cow right next to the sidewalk. Volker sat on it, lol.
Tuesday June 9, 2015
Breakfast was weird. Spicy noodle/soup/dinner foods, plus fruit and bread. We missed our cute breakfasts in Ubud. But hey this was all you can eat, so can't complain. Walked around trying to find motor bikes to rent. It was so sketchy they don't check your license or anything. Which apparently they should have because 2 seconds after getting on mine, I accelerated a tiny little bit to try to turn, but it accelerated a lot faster than I expected and I ran into the line of parked motor bikes across the street. Whoops. That hurt a bit and was super embarrassing. However, I soon realized that it was better to have ended my career in front of the rental shop instead of as a pancake in the middle of traffic somewhere. So I rode with Philipp instead of driving my own, and as we were zooming through traffic I realized that I really would not have liked driving in this craziness anyway. We sped by cars inches away. Pavement is so much less forgiving than water…I think I'll stick to driving jet skis. There were basically no rules on the road except the occasional traffic lights. Driving in the wrong direction or in the middle of two lanes were both perfectly fine. Even when there were two lanes painted on the ground, there were basically 3 or 4 made up lanes in use, including the sidewalk for motor bikes. Cars stay towards one side or the other for motor bikes, and if you feel like it you could just honk and zoom on the other side of the road for a bit. At an intersection, if you want to make a right (they also drive on the opposite side, so this means crossing one lane), and the left side is clear, people just rode on the left side for a bit until the right cleared up instead of waiting for both lanes to clear. We also saw a guy pooping on the side of the road. We took a few wrong turns because there were no signs. Stopped at a random place along the road for lunch. It was pretty good, nice presentation as always. Went to Padang Padang beach first. At first we were confused as to where the beach was. There were lots of surfers out on the waves though, it was cool. A set of tall, skinny stairs led down to this little gorge area where they all went into the water. Stayed there for a bit then went to Uluwatu temple. Cool views of the ocean, right on the cliff. By the time we got to Kuta beach, it was getting dark. Went for a quick swim. I've never seen so many people on the beach fully clothed. And swimming in their clothes. Today while driving around, I realized that the lights go red yellow green. That's so smart, so you have a warning that you're going to go. Went to a burger place for dinner. It's so much more expensive here, we were spoiled by Ubud. Volker and I got fried snickers for dessert. Yum.
Wednesday June 10, 2015
On to Nusa Dua. We couldn't check in to our Inn yet so changed and went to the beach. This beach was also not what we were expecting. Went to the side that looked better but got kicked out twice because it was just for the resorts. I think Nusa Dua is only a place to come if youre staying at a resort. But then again, it seemed like all the resorts were empty. A couple of Balinese school girls came up to us at one point and wanted to take a picture with Volker. They were absolutely giddy when he said yes, it was so funny. Went in the water and played frisbee for a bit. I got a little freaked out when a guy yelled "sharks!" and the boys were still in the water. They were harmless reef sharks though. I got a bit of a random splotchy sunburn today so I looked like I had a weird disease with that plus this giant cluster of bug bites on my left leg, and scrapes and bruises from the bike incident. We had some really good food and used the pool at one of the resorts. Went to the resort shopping area for dinner. We chose our restaurant because the hostess was this cute little Balinese lady who got us extra garlic bread. She would walk by occasionally and say funny things. She told me I'm very happy, I'm always smiling (hah Katie I'm the happy one). Walked around and got our daily ice-cream.
Thursday June 11, 2015
We randomly decided last night to go snorkeling this morning. So we got picked up and driven to the beach where we got on a boat for a 10 minute ride out. Wow, this was so different from anywhere we've been. I guess this is where all the tourist water sports happen. There were tons of boats going every which way, with tubing, flying tubes, parasailing, jet skiing and wake boarding. Just like driving on the road, this seems extremely unsafe. Snorkeling was cool for a while, and there were some fishes, but not much to see. I kept feeling little stings but I thought it was from being cold and having goosebumps in the salt water or something but nope we got out and the tour guide said yea there are jellyfish. Like great thanks for the wetsuits. Didn't really feel like going back in after that. They drove us to Geger beach after. We finally found our white sand, blue water beach. Still no waves though. I got a paddle board because I couldn't sit and bake in the sun anymore. It probably wasn't worth $10 but it was fun to paddle out and explore. The boys kept reminding me that it was my last day in Bali:( and they still have a week left. It was a pretty nice last day though. We went back to the same place for dinner but the lady from last night wasn't there. I packed up, we played cards for a bit and then I left, and definitely got ripped off by my taxi driver. My flight was at 1 am. I was so deliriously tired I barely remember getting on the plane. I passed out before the safety talk.
Friday June 12, 2015
Slept all the way back on the train. Aw, its my second to last train trip:(
Walking back to campus east, I felt like I haven't been here in so long. But I literally only left one week ago.
All in all, that was a really cool trip. It was fun to go into it having no plans and no idea what we would do. The one thing I wish I had more time to do was go to the Gili Islands which are supposed to be cool. The rest of the peeps I was with are all there now.
I spent the weekend procrastinating and studying. It was awful, I'd really love to be done studying.
Monday June 15
My planet earth final this morning was easy.
The way they test is so intense, they are so strict and have a million people from all different classes in the gym and all these official test booklets and answer sheets. It felt like taking the SATs again.
My next two finals are next Monday and Tuesday, so I am going to go to Sydney tomorrow for a few days one last time to see some of my New Zealand homies.
Thanks for reading!
Just kidding...wrong island.
Life is crazy, isn't it? A year ago I was sitting at home, waiting for my acceptance to the University of Wollongong, with no idea what my semester in Australia had in store for me. And now, here I am, traveling around countries on the other side of the world with new friends I've met over here. For Bali, these include Philipp, who I met in New Zealand; Volker, Philipp's friend who I met in Melbourne; and Lena, Susi and Hannah, Volker's friends. They're all German. It was interesting traveling with non-Americans, since all of my other trips have been with my American friends. You learn a lot about what you don't know when people ask you about stuff you think you know, you know? Philipp and Volker would sometimes ask me what the English word for something was or how to spell certain words. Like incense, for example. They used and sold so much incense in Bali, and that's why it came up. I was asked how to spell it… and I realized I had no idea how to (I thought it had something to do with 'scent' but that of course was wrong) because I don't think I've ever written it down before.
Also, I did not know that 'touristic' was a word. However, (as google told us) touristic is a word commonly used by Europeans who speak English very well (props to my friends for speaking English so well), but native English speakers would typically use the more colloquial version: touristy.
Anyway, I learned a few other random things to, such as:
Australians, Germans, and Balinese all call tank tops singlets.
Some German. Schwitzen (My friend Hanna at home always says 'Oi I'm scvhitzing' so that was one of my favorites) aka sweating. I did a lot of sweating in Bali. It was hot. And humid.
I really appreciate getting water for free at restaurants at home.
I like the fact that all of our US bills are the same size, so you can fold a wad in half and its all the same length. I also like the fact that it is not in thousands and millions like the Indonesian rupiah. I will not miss rupiah….
But I will miss how cheap everything was.
But wait, let me back up a little:
On Wednesday (June 3), I took my first final, a practical for Planet Earth. I took the afternoon to enjoy having no homework, studying or worries. All of my friends and I went out for sushi for possibly our last dinner all together. Dave finally came out for our last uni night in Australia. Alana, Jesse and I went to the beach afterwords for the last time too. It's just not as enjoyable when the sand is freezing cold. But I'm glad we went nonetheless.
I spent Thursday sleeping, eating, packing, and hanging out with Dave and Alana (aka watching movies and going for a lovely run to the lighthouse with Alana). I am going to miss running here. I like running by the ocean- a nice view makes running much more enjoyable. And obviously I'm gonna miss my running partner.
I couldn't make myself go to bed any earlier than 11, despite the fact that I had to wake up at 2am on Friday in order to get the train at 3. The walk to the train station sketches me out at night so Dave, being the gentleman that he is, woke up to walk with me.
Friday June 5, 2015
I fell asleep on the train and almost missed the stop to transfer to the airport. Then I was all flustered because I had received texts from Virgin Australia saying that my connecting flight to Melbourne got pushed back so late that I would miss my flight to Bali. Then I got another text saying they switched my flight, but it didn't say which one. So I spent a very anxious and stressful half an hour worrying about missing my flight or missing the bag drop, but everything ended up ok. I got the second to last seat on an earlier flight to Melbourne, got my bag in two minutes before they closed check in and made it to the plane just in time. We passed right over Uluru, and the pilot pointed it out! An unexpected surprise, now I can say I've seen it! It was cool from above.
Philipp and Volker were supposed to arrive in Bali right after me, but my flight was early and theirs was late so I had to wait a while. I was fine with waiting though, because I was glad not to be alone once we got outside the airport. The taxi drivers were like flies, they swarmed and followed us around. It was pretty funny actually. We finally found a cheaper one to Ubud, where we booked a home stay (the only thing we had planned thus far). The driving was insane! There were lanes painted on the street, but no one really stays in them. There were also tons of people on motor bikes zooming around with no rules. I can't believe there's not more crashes. We passed tons and tons of places selling huge stone statues along the road and lots of little temples, it seemed like one on each block. It took about 2 hours with all the traffic to get to Jati home stay. I was a little scared when we had to walk back off the road down an alley, between some other buildings and down some stairs to get to it, but I was pleasantly surprised by the place. It was very quiet back away from the noise of the road, and there was just the sound of a gurgling fountain, and the insects in the field behind the rooms. There was a pond with fish surrounding the reception/breakfast area that you had to step across on stepping stones, while pushing aside the curtain of vines hanging over it. There were plants and flowers all over. It was a very peaceful, beautiful place. I met Lena, Hannah and Susi who were already there and then we walked around to find dinner. I got seafood and it was insanely good. It was so cheap also!! It was around 80,000 rupiah, or AU$8 (so even less US) for dinner, dessert and a drink.
I was exhausted and went to bed right after. I got the single bed and the boys are sharing. It was very hot but thankfully we had a fan, and my bed was right next to a huge window with just a screen, not glass, so we got a tiny breeze (and to hear the pleasant outdoor noises all night).
Saturday June 6, 2015
Breakfast was kind of funny. Philipp, Volker and I went, and each were served a couple of pieces of fruit. We didn't know if that was all we got. Then we got one little green pancake (very nicely presented, with banana and coconut and sweet sauce) and shared it, because we thought that was all we got. We supposed they only had one pan, because the pancakes came out one by one. They were so tiny we all got another and (just for us) the extras were free! After that, we walked around to the monkey forest and temple. The monkeys were cute but freaked me out because they would jump on people. Next we walked to see rice fields. The little gurgling irrigation channels all around made me so thirsty and want to go swimming so badly because it was so hot. The rice fields were very pretty, but I can't imagine having to work in them, especially right now in the heat. As we walked around, we noticed little leaf boxes of flowers and food on the ground, often in front of entryways and on statues. (Later learned that they are daily offerings to appease and please the gods and demons). They were everywhere, I cant believe people put them all over every single day! The boys and I then got massages. It wasn't my favorite, but I guess you get what you pay for. Got a quick dinner close by the home stay and went to sleep because we were waking up in a few short hours.
Sunday June 7, 2015
Sunrise volcano hike! Up at 2am for my second night out of 3. We got picked up at 2:30 and had a bumpy hour drive to Mt. Batur. I was surprised to see so many other tourists up so early doing the hike as well. We walked up a ways and at 4:30 we weren't even halfway. Walking in the dark, not being able to see your progress, made it seem like forever. I was sweating for most of the way up, but then the top was freezing cold. I had been (poorly) advised that a tshirt was ok to wear, which was unbelievably false. We didnt stay at the sunset lookout because there were too many people, and went all the way up to the summit instead. We got there a little before 6. The cloud cover was so thick that it was still dark, but when they cleared enough to see a little brightness from the beginning of the sunrise, everyone cheered. Once the sun started really coming up, it was an amazing sunrise, well worth waking up so early. Occasionally the clouds would blow by and completely cover the sun. The view was pretty incredible once it got light enough to see around. On the way back down, we stopped to feel hot steam coming from holes in the rocks and went down in the crater. It's cool because I learned about all this volcano stuff in Planet Earth. There were monkeys here too! The first part down was a mess...the volcanic ash was ankle deep and it was basically just running/sliding our way down. We did not swim in the hot springs afterwords because it was too expensive. Instead, our driver took us to a place to taste coffee and see the animal that eats the coffee beans and poops out the most expensive coffee in the world. They're called Luwaks. Then we went to tour the Tegallalang rice terraces. They were cool, with little dirt paths going all around. After lunch, we got cheap ice cream because it was so hot. That evening, we really wanted to find somewhere to swim. There was a pool that we could see across the valley behind our home stay. We did find it eventually but couldn't use the pool because we weren't guests staying there. The next spa we came across I just asked if we could use the pool and they said yes we could see the pool. But then they looked confused when we started taking off our clothes…but we just rolled with it and jumped in and they walked away. Got dinner at Laba Laba. My absolute fave restaurant so far. I got nasi goreng which is fried rice with an egg and satay chicken, a typical meal for breakfast, lunch or dinner here. Green pancake and ice cream for dessert, so yummy. When we wanted to leave, it started pouring. We tried to wait it out, but it just kept coming. We were completely soaked but the time we got back, it was insane. And my hair had been so close to being completely dry for the first time in 2 days.
Monday June 8, 2015
Had a yummy fruit and french toast breakfast, unfortunately the last one in Ubud. As I was packing up, I dropped my soap in the toilet. I don't know why I keep dropping things in the toilet recently. The girls left for Nusa Lembongan, and Philipp, Volker and I went to Seminyak.
Seminyak was way different from Ubud. We were in a real hotel on a highway. Could've been Florida. It was nice to have AC and a pool but it was lacking the cultural aspect we got in Ubud. Checked in then went to Seminyak beach. It was somewhat disappointing because it was not white sand or blue water like I was expecting, and there was a bunch of trash and stray dogs. However, it was a beach, and it was a beautiful day. We got lunch and noticed that the prices were much higher here. We rented two boards to share between the three of us and went surfing! It was a little painful after a while without a proper rash guard, but fun! Had our daily ice cream on the way back to the hotel. good to know that ice cream was still cheap! $1 for ice cream I get for $4 in Australia! On our walk to dinner, there was a random cow right next to the sidewalk. Volker sat on it, lol.
Tuesday June 9, 2015
Breakfast was weird. Spicy noodle/soup/dinner foods, plus fruit and bread. We missed our cute breakfasts in Ubud. But hey this was all you can eat, so can't complain. Walked around trying to find motor bikes to rent. It was so sketchy they don't check your license or anything. Which apparently they should have because 2 seconds after getting on mine, I accelerated a tiny little bit to try to turn, but it accelerated a lot faster than I expected and I ran into the line of parked motor bikes across the street. Whoops. That hurt a bit and was super embarrassing. However, I soon realized that it was better to have ended my career in front of the rental shop instead of as a pancake in the middle of traffic somewhere. So I rode with Philipp instead of driving my own, and as we were zooming through traffic I realized that I really would not have liked driving in this craziness anyway. We sped by cars inches away. Pavement is so much less forgiving than water…I think I'll stick to driving jet skis. There were basically no rules on the road except the occasional traffic lights. Driving in the wrong direction or in the middle of two lanes were both perfectly fine. Even when there were two lanes painted on the ground, there were basically 3 or 4 made up lanes in use, including the sidewalk for motor bikes. Cars stay towards one side or the other for motor bikes, and if you feel like it you could just honk and zoom on the other side of the road for a bit. At an intersection, if you want to make a right (they also drive on the opposite side, so this means crossing one lane), and the left side is clear, people just rode on the left side for a bit until the right cleared up instead of waiting for both lanes to clear. We also saw a guy pooping on the side of the road. We took a few wrong turns because there were no signs. Stopped at a random place along the road for lunch. It was pretty good, nice presentation as always. Went to Padang Padang beach first. At first we were confused as to where the beach was. There were lots of surfers out on the waves though, it was cool. A set of tall, skinny stairs led down to this little gorge area where they all went into the water. Stayed there for a bit then went to Uluwatu temple. Cool views of the ocean, right on the cliff. By the time we got to Kuta beach, it was getting dark. Went for a quick swim. I've never seen so many people on the beach fully clothed. And swimming in their clothes. Today while driving around, I realized that the lights go red yellow green. That's so smart, so you have a warning that you're going to go. Went to a burger place for dinner. It's so much more expensive here, we were spoiled by Ubud. Volker and I got fried snickers for dessert. Yum.
Wednesday June 10, 2015
On to Nusa Dua. We couldn't check in to our Inn yet so changed and went to the beach. This beach was also not what we were expecting. Went to the side that looked better but got kicked out twice because it was just for the resorts. I think Nusa Dua is only a place to come if youre staying at a resort. But then again, it seemed like all the resorts were empty. A couple of Balinese school girls came up to us at one point and wanted to take a picture with Volker. They were absolutely giddy when he said yes, it was so funny. Went in the water and played frisbee for a bit. I got a little freaked out when a guy yelled "sharks!" and the boys were still in the water. They were harmless reef sharks though. I got a bit of a random splotchy sunburn today so I looked like I had a weird disease with that plus this giant cluster of bug bites on my left leg, and scrapes and bruises from the bike incident. We had some really good food and used the pool at one of the resorts. Went to the resort shopping area for dinner. We chose our restaurant because the hostess was this cute little Balinese lady who got us extra garlic bread. She would walk by occasionally and say funny things. She told me I'm very happy, I'm always smiling (hah Katie I'm the happy one). Walked around and got our daily ice-cream.
Thursday June 11, 2015
We randomly decided last night to go snorkeling this morning. So we got picked up and driven to the beach where we got on a boat for a 10 minute ride out. Wow, this was so different from anywhere we've been. I guess this is where all the tourist water sports happen. There were tons of boats going every which way, with tubing, flying tubes, parasailing, jet skiing and wake boarding. Just like driving on the road, this seems extremely unsafe. Snorkeling was cool for a while, and there were some fishes, but not much to see. I kept feeling little stings but I thought it was from being cold and having goosebumps in the salt water or something but nope we got out and the tour guide said yea there are jellyfish. Like great thanks for the wetsuits. Didn't really feel like going back in after that. They drove us to Geger beach after. We finally found our white sand, blue water beach. Still no waves though. I got a paddle board because I couldn't sit and bake in the sun anymore. It probably wasn't worth $10 but it was fun to paddle out and explore. The boys kept reminding me that it was my last day in Bali:( and they still have a week left. It was a pretty nice last day though. We went back to the same place for dinner but the lady from last night wasn't there. I packed up, we played cards for a bit and then I left, and definitely got ripped off by my taxi driver. My flight was at 1 am. I was so deliriously tired I barely remember getting on the plane. I passed out before the safety talk.
Friday June 12, 2015
Slept all the way back on the train. Aw, its my second to last train trip:(
Walking back to campus east, I felt like I haven't been here in so long. But I literally only left one week ago.
All in all, that was a really cool trip. It was fun to go into it having no plans and no idea what we would do. The one thing I wish I had more time to do was go to the Gili Islands which are supposed to be cool. The rest of the peeps I was with are all there now.
I spent the weekend procrastinating and studying. It was awful, I'd really love to be done studying.
Monday June 15
My planet earth final this morning was easy.
The way they test is so intense, they are so strict and have a million people from all different classes in the gym and all these official test booklets and answer sheets. It felt like taking the SATs again.
My next two finals are next Monday and Tuesday, so I am going to go to Sydney tomorrow for a few days one last time to see some of my New Zealand homies.
Thanks for reading!