Penny's Bali Blog
Single female traveller alone in Bali for the first time.. learns how to bargain, how to avoid Bali Cowboys, to stay away from Arak, falling in love, and running away from scary people and mangy dogs...
Monday, May 31, 2004 ~ My First Day in Bali
I arrived in Bali, got through the Visa process fairly easily, and then promptly got ripped off by the porters. :( I was pre-warned about them, and even had small change just in case, but I handled it badly and they ended up getting 50,000 Rupiah for taking me about 5 steps! Lesson learnt. Note to self - Bring Aussie gold coins next visit!
Went outside and found the man with my name on a sign, crammed into a van with 5 other Aussies and headed off through heavy traffic to drop us at 3 different hotels. Even though the traffic isn't half as bad as I expected from all the stories, I was amazed that we didn't kill at least 30 people on the way, they get sooo bloody close to riders and other cars and don't seem to worry about people on the roads, but somehow there were no casualties. Hold your breath and close your eyes!
My first shopping experience was a guy pestering me to look at his silverware, which didn’t interest me. He then pointed to his paintings and said 1dollar, only 1dollar. Now he had my attention. Although I didn't come to Bali for paintings, and I don't know anything about art, I thought 1 dollar for these oil painting masterpieces was too good to pass up! So he took me out the back and proudly introduced each one. I chose 2 that I liked, then he gave me a price of 750,000 Rupiah! (approx AUD$115). What?? A bit more than $1 huh! I cheekily brought up ‘that fact’ and he said that he was only joking about the dollar, that "they" (as a culture) only joke about the $1, and to name a price. I said that I didn't want to offend him with a price because I was expecting it to be $1. After a few awkward moments, I ended up offering $10 each. He put it up to $25 for the both, and we had our first sale by bargaining. So now I've spent $25 on something I didn't want in the first place. Sucker Tourist. Second lesson learnt. His name is Iketut.
Tuesday, June 01, 2004 ~ My Second Day in Bali
This place is spookier alone than I imagined it would be. I feel like everyone is looking at me; I just smile and say Hi, Hey or G'day to them all. I haven't smiled this much in years. I was expecting to see Australians everywhere but I've seen only 5 westerners so far... I figure they must all be hiding at the beach? I’m not unhappy about it – just very surprised.
Tried Nasi Goreng - a special version - Fried Rice with fried egg, shrimp, and chicken satay. It's SOO yum. 
That Iketut guy who keeps turning up everywhere, convinced me to get a massage from his friend’s shop. I had a full body massage (50,000 Rupiah - apx $7.60) from a female Balinese woman. It was probably the best massage I've ever had, they have a unique way. Hmm, and a full body massage is really that... back and front! Wouldn't have wanted to have more of a complex about your body than I do!
Iketut asked me to take him to dinner. I said No. He asked to come on the cruise. I said no.
I wish I knew how to speak Balinese or Bahasa Indonesia, although a lot of them speak English, sometimes it takes 4-5 repeats to get the right meaning. Ok. Time for a walk.
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Went for a walk up Legian St for a few hours. There are a lot of people who approach you, some girls kept approaching me, following me up the street saying: "Plait Your Hair Darling", "Paint Your Nails" etc. One of them even grabbed me and refused to let go for about 5 mins while I kept walking up the road! Thankfully they aren't usually that inconsiderate, but I was still trying to figure out a way to walk past without being hassled when I met a guy named Nick. He is visiting from South Africa for 3 weeks and usually works as an Air Traffic Controller in Dubai, UAE. I am meeting up with him at Tubes tonight for a couple of drinks after I have something to eat... if I don't get lost. I'm looking forward to meeting up with him tonight - hope he's there alone, I'm not sure if he's travelling by himself or not. I love the way he speaks, and I love how he seems so comfortable here.
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 I wanted to find some genuine Indonesian food - something the locals eat. I thought my best bet would be to walk up Legian St since Tubes is somewhere nearby, and I didn't want to end up lost. Ran into a guide who suggested a new "cheap" place that he likes for Nasi Goreng. I get some half-assed directions, then buggered if I didn't run into that bloody Iketut again!! He asks where I'm going and asks if he can come, which I agree to because I'm yet to find a way to say no without them sounding like I just killed their mother. He said that he had to go and park his bike, so I told him to meet me at the restaurant. I found the restaurant with help from the first guy; it was sort of like a kitchen with a wall missing that faces the street down a narrow alley! A nice family kitchen with enough chairs for 5 of us. He ordered 2 x Nasi Gorengs (1,400 Rupiah each.. VERY VERY VERY cheap!). The smallest change I had was 20,000 R, so the guy (Jupri) paid and I will find him tomorrow and pay him back although he said not to worry about it. We were talking while waiting for dinner (which took at least 20 mins to cook) with the owner, and a local Indonesian couple. We discussed the options of me working in Bali and Jupri will put me in touch with someone he met with recently who could have some teaching work. Jupri works as a Bali Tour Guide. He’s from Java, and can speak fluent English, Javanese, and Japanese.
I said goodbye to Jupri then went to Tubes. Iketut still hadn't shown up thank goodness, but I couldn't see Nick anywhere, so I sat at the bar and ordered an orange juice - it tasted like wizzfizz? hehe.
A guy next to me struck up a conversation with me about ordering a non-alcoholic drink, and suggested I buy a Bintang. He was from Sydney and was on the last leg of his yearlong trip. He was on day 5 of staying there a month and is there for the surf. He had been to the USA, France, and now Bali. He once owned a restaurant in the USA somewhere (California?). Anyway, he seemed friendly enough but he was a self-admitted loner. I probably could've ended up talking to him longer but while he nicked off to the loo, I spotted Nick and went to sit down with him instead.
Nick cracks me up. He is definitely a people person. He got me on the Bali Ciders - they are really yum. Tastes like a flatter Apple Cider (or weak strongbow). Is 4.9% AV. I had 2 - the first was his shout, the 2nd mine. We really hit it off and will hook up again in a couple of nights at the same place. He doesn't have email or phone, so this was the only way to hook up. We are going to arrange a trip up to some place - Ulluwatu or something like that, apx 45mins away - a semi-isolated beach, but I will have to gain enough courage to ride on the back of a bike with him all the way, and also enough courage to walk around in bathers - EEKS!
I got an SMS from Iketut to say that he can't find me at the restaurant. Told him I was now at Tubes but that I wasn't staying much longer and that I would be heading back home in a sec. About 20 mins later, I felt a couple of hands on my shoulders and dreading that it was him, I looked around and found Tony instead. Tony is one of the guys who was in the same pick-up van as me at the airport, he’s from Melbourne and is a sales guy for Smiths chips. Tony and his 3 new surfer buddies joined us, and we shared a few of our Bali experiences and a few drinks. One was from France - Samuel, another from Australia, and the 3rd wasn't introduced.
50 First Dates started playing on the big screen (Troy was on first). I went to the loo – actually found one that would flush – yay! ;) - then went back to the table. I dunno, but when I got back the atmosphere had changed (too much testosterone? hehe, or my paranoia!) so I decided to stop drinking and head back to the hotel before it got too late. I was still a bit nervous about walking that distance at night alone in a foreign country.
I will meet up with Tony tomorrow night for the dinner cruise and Nick the night after as he was going on an all day/overnight surfing trip. Pity I can't surf ... or swim ... :\
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