We made it to BALI!! We took a ferry and bus from the harbor in Java into Bali... but our initial experience in Bali was not a positive one. Our bus was supposed to drop us off at Denpasar, but we got semi-scammed and ended up 18km short of Denpasar, in Mengwi. Buses have stopped going to Denpasar for a while now, but tourists are still told otherwise. so.. NOTE TO TRAVELERS IN INDONESIA - be careful when you take a bus headed for "Denpasar" - you probably won't end up there! In our case, we continued to Ubud by taxi since it was close enough to Mengwi and, having been up since 1am, just needed to rest...
Local food in Ubud.. yum
Our stay in Ubud... beautiful place called Villa Sonia. It cost us 200,000 RPH/night ($20) for the room
We didn't make it to the beach so we settled for a pool.... just for the day
Its so much cheaper to share when you travel...
Outside of our villa, Ubud felt awfully touristic. I felt like I was back in the States. We couldn't wait anymore to hit the beach so we left Ubud after one night..
After receiving rave reviews from Canadians in Ubud, we decided to go to the Geria Giri Shanti Bungalows in Ahmed Bali, near Tulamben.This area is known for great snorkeling and diving. We just had to see for ourselves...
First, snorkeling!
And freediving!
And finally, some SCUBA DIVING!!! What an amazing underwater scene. 4 dives in 2 days - I was happy. We were able to visit the USS Liberty shipwreck, a former US Army transport ship that was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine in 1942. It had been beached until 1963, when a volcano eruption moved the ship [Wikipedia]
Gearing up!
After diving, we ate at some lovely warungs (restaurants). We recommend Warung Pantai and Warunk Enak in Ahmed!
Beautiful family moment
I love this place
After we got our fill of diving, we had some fun on land. Clement and I had the privilege of attending a local wedding party - a wedding here takes course over many days. This was Day #3. It was like a bachelor's party! The females do not have anything like this - but they do get to serve the men as they drink, smoke, eat and dance. ALL DAY AND ALL NIGHT LONG. Could I keep up?
We drank Arak, a STRONG, distilled alcoholic drink made from the fermented sap of coconut flowers. Hmm it tasted so good, I drank it like water! After a few swigs, I was feeling like a local myself - I danced and hugged the men (but did not fraternize with the fiance!). It's always the local life that I look for and fall in love with, so I felt very lucky. In true local fashion, we sat on the floor, ate with our hands, smiled, laughed, DRANK, used squat toilets... and danced..
It wasn't water..
Little did I know at that time that I had overdone it...Arak takes a while to kick in. A few hours later, I was trying to make it through the worst night of my life :( Arak burns on the way up, and your heart and throat scream FIRE. It is strong enough to make you vomit blood.. But this, too, was also local tradition!!
Sharing my last smile of the night! I was getting dressed with a Sarung for the 2nd party (out of 3) that night. I slept through the 2nd and never made it to the 3rd, but the show went on!
At 3am there was even a slaughtering of a pig
The next day...
I survived!!
Ketut is an awesome Divemaster, and helped sing some of my hangover away :D Still, it would take 2 days before my throat and heart would heal..
Until then, and after 4 nights in Ahmed, Clement and I traded in our fins for flip flops and continued on our way... See you again soon, Bali!
