I discovered an old notebook from one of my early trips to
Bali in 2004. It caused me to be excited
about the upcoming journey in 2013 with the community in Palm Desert, CA to
Bali again. The customs experience is
much improved now; nevertheless, it was interesting to visit the memory of our
early trip.
"The Bali Hyatt is beautiful. Our guide, Ketut (John) picked us up at the
airport where the customs experience was interesting. It took us over one hour to get through and
all the while waiting bold signs reminded travelers ominously that the penalty
for drug or arms trafficking is death.
Once through, travelers are preyed upon by airport porters who assume an
official posture encouraging passengers to think they are being singled out by
officers on official business. What they
are trying to do is carry the luggage and get a tip. At the hotel we decompressed by walking on
the clean and serene beach and then through the town of Sanur. We ate at
Ketut's recommended restaurant where I suggested Chris have the traditional
Nasi Goreng, fried rice, fried egg, satay, sometimes fried chicken. Chris would later call this Nasty Goreng,
because I ordered it all the time, and not because
it isn't tasty. One evening we tried a local alcohol called Arak which to me tastes a bit like paraffin and gasoline. It warmed us up though for the walk back to the hotel and braced us for the tropical storm we encountered. We stood under an awning of a store and watched street vendors rapidly take shelter. Since it seemed like the storm would last longer than the typical few minutes we had become used to we stepped into a "Bali-wood", a happy bar where the musician sang American standards. Later we would discover that American standards are well loved and sung just about everywhere tourists gather. We don't, however, encounter many tourists from the US, mostly Japanese, Russian and Australian travelers.
it isn't tasty. One evening we tried a local alcohol called Arak which to me tastes a bit like paraffin and gasoline. It warmed us up though for the walk back to the hotel and braced us for the tropical storm we encountered. We stood under an awning of a store and watched street vendors rapidly take shelter. Since it seemed like the storm would last longer than the typical few minutes we had become used to we stepped into a "Bali-wood", a happy bar where the musician sang American standards. Later we would discover that American standards are well loved and sung just about everywhere tourists gather. We don't, however, encounter many tourists from the US, mostly Japanese, Russian and Australian travelers.
"On Wednesday morning we were picked up from the hotel
and transferred to the harbor for our catamaran cruise to Lembongan Island. On the trip we struck up a friendly
conversation with Agung, another Agung, one of the limited numbers of names for
children in Bali. He was impressed that
we knew about the upcoming and significant festival next Tuesday. Ketut had told us all about it, and Agung
added his explanation that every Hindu home would soon be displaying crescent
shaped pennants called banjars. Agung
invited us to his home to celebrate the festival with traditional eating of
pork and other festivities, but our schedule didn't allow it. When we got to the pontoon we decided to go
on an introductory scuba dive. The
briefing was brief, but excellent, and I became increasingly more comfortable
with the idea of breathing underwater, at least I thought I was becoming less
anxious about it. That is, until the
water closed over my head and utter fear, close to panic, wrapped itself around
my thinking and I wanted nothing more than to get out of the water. Given that I had only been under the water
for 3 seconds, the instructor thought it premature for me to give up and calmly
pushed me back in the water. Not
kidding. He just smiled at me and pushed my head underwater.
I am glad for his encouragement because what followed was 45
minutes of bliss like nothing I had experienced before. I breather underwater and saw an amazing world. Typical, he told me later, of people who are hesitant to go in, I was hesitant to get out when our time was up.
"Afterwards I reflected on how important it is for me
that the instructor encouraged me. He
put courage into me by his own confidence and also by his trust that I would
manage, and also by his holding my hand for the first ten minutes in the
water."
To read more articles about Bali
Alternative Way To Celebrate New Year Balinese Style
Remembering Bali Through Pictures
What You'll Find In A Balinese Garden
Spaghetti Balinese and Kay-Sidellas
The Sounds of Morning In Bali
To read more articles about Bali
Alternative Way To Celebrate New Year Balinese Style
Remembering Bali Through Pictures
What You'll Find In A Balinese Garden
Spaghetti Balinese and Kay-Sidellas
The Sounds of Morning In Bali
No comments:
Post a Comment