Saturday, May 2, 2009
Most of my time in Bali was spent unplanned, and I guess that's the luxury of having 10 days of carefree vacation all to myself... But re-reading the previous line I just wrote, I don't know how true it is... I wake up early most days and was on the internet checking my emails by 8am everyday without fail... But I usually tell people that I was never really on a vacation, I work everyday, for half an hour or 1 hour, then I'm free for the rest of the day. Heh.
The tourist crowd peaked up towards the weekend, so Poppies Lane 2 became quite a dangerous place to walk on with the flooding of westerners bikers from hell, which I suspect only a handful of them actually have valid motorbike license.
Anyway, on the way to the beach I followed a group Balinese priests going along the street, from pura to pura going their devotion and prayers. The Balinese Hinduism is also called the religion of the water (or something like that) because of the importance of Holy Water in their worship.
On the beach again... the mobile vendors carrying goods on their heads. People would always be talking to you along the beach and I've never had a 3 seconds of silence to myself. I mean the whole time, I would always be declining some offers - massage, manicure, ice creams, towels, bangles, tattoos, beers, hand puppets, cigarettes, lighters, sodas, bakso, sarongs... even friggin' bows and arrows and blowpipes!! And I really mean the friggin' whole time I would be saying no to something, and I really felt a cloud of negative energy forming around me from being so negative myself. At first it was a nice-friendly-no-harm-meant kind of decline, but towards the end I inevitably ended up with a shoo-fly-don't-bother-me-why-can't-you-leave-me-alone-for-friggin'-3-seconds type of rejection.
Umbrellas and beach chairs are also a trade commodity on the beach, and walking along the shore you'll be offered incessantly. The trick is to go early and book a spot for the whole day. We got ours for Rp80.000 for the whole day, but Malte and Muro also got their surfboards from the same chap.
Sunny day on a weekend, perfect for lazing around on the beach... but being me, my height of heat tolerance was maxed by 11am, so I went off to do my city-boy's vacation (in an air conditioned place, preferably)... so I walked along Kuta beach, Southwards to Centro. The distance between our shade and Centro is almost like from First Beach, Tg Aru to KKIA airstrip.
When in Rome, do as the Romans do, Ronald McDonald doing the surf.
HardRock Cafe, Kuta, Bali.
Baywatch.
Local kids playing on the beach.
I was spotting this little mischievous squirrel coming to and fro the altar of offerings, sneaking out peanuts, biscuits and maybe candies...
Gotcha!
Another Hindu worshiper.
Boats...
In the making...
Rafts?
The uglier side of Kuta beach....
Centro Shopping Mall
The local version of our ABC is called es teler. Instead of shaved ice, they use crushed ice and has stuffs like avocado and cream of corn in it. I might not have tasted the best, but comparing what I had, I think Malaysian ABC wins.
One thing we don't get in Malaysian KFC - perkedel or potato cakes. Yummy.
All of a sudden I wanted to get myself a haircut, and maybe some linear trimmings on the side, just to kick in the feel of vacation, and the liberty of doing this without concerning about dress ethics and how a Government Officer should present himself. Around the shopping mall, haircuts in saloons cost Rp40.000 to Rp100.000, so advised by a security guard, I went away from the shopping mall into the hidden village to find a haircut as cheap as Rp6.000, no kidding!
The exploration brought me to a Catholic Church - St Francis Xavier Church. It was Saturday evening and I can see people starting to gather in for sunset mass. I was in my bermudas, Bintang singlet and all sweaty. God would understand if I skipped church that time.
Jesus had a kite stuck to his armpit, while StFran looked like he was exorcising the Lord!! HHmmm... blasphemous!
The village road... In search of a cheap barber...
I learn new things everyday... and one for the day - haircut in Indonesian is called PANGKAS RAMBUT. In Malaysian language, we use the word pangkas to mean prune, like pruning a tree branch. Haha.
I finally got my haircut, not the neatest I've had, but for an agreed price of Rp6.000 could I ask for more? But I paid Rp10.000 because he helped me do 2 lines on my right temple right down behind the ear.
Back to the shopping mall, rushing back to the beach bench to watch the sunset.
Love silhouettes.
Macam wajib bah buat begini kalau di pantai, kan?
The Thai tourist who asked us to help them take pictures.
They were a tad late for the sunset, think they missed it.
With Malte.
Most of my time in Bali was spent unplanned, and I guess that's the luxury of having 10 days of carefree vacation all to myself... But re-reading the previous line I just wrote, I don't know how true it is... I wake up early most days and was on the internet checking my emails by 8am everyday without fail... But I usually tell people that I was never really on a vacation, I work everyday, for half an hour or 1 hour, then I'm free for the rest of the day. Heh.
The tourist crowd peaked up towards the weekend, so Poppies Lane 2 became quite a dangerous place to walk on with the flooding of westerners bikers from hell, which I suspect only a handful of them actually have valid motorbike license.
Anyway, on the way to the beach I followed a group Balinese priests going along the street, from pura to pura going their devotion and prayers. The Balinese Hinduism is also called the religion of the water (or something like that) because of the importance of Holy Water in their worship.
On the beach again... the mobile vendors carrying goods on their heads. People would always be talking to you along the beach and I've never had a 3 seconds of silence to myself. I mean the whole time, I would always be declining some offers - massage, manicure, ice creams, towels, bangles, tattoos, beers, hand puppets, cigarettes, lighters, sodas, bakso, sarongs... even friggin' bows and arrows and blowpipes!! And I really mean the friggin' whole time I would be saying no to something, and I really felt a cloud of negative energy forming around me from being so negative myself. At first it was a nice-friendly-no-harm-meant kind of decline, but towards the end I inevitably ended up with a shoo-fly-don't-bother-me-why-can't-you-leave-me-alone-for-friggin'-3-seconds type of rejection.
Umbrellas and beach chairs are also a trade commodity on the beach, and walking along the shore you'll be offered incessantly. The trick is to go early and book a spot for the whole day. We got ours for Rp80.000 for the whole day, but Malte and Muro also got their surfboards from the same chap.
Sunny day on a weekend, perfect for lazing around on the beach... but being me, my height of heat tolerance was maxed by 11am, so I went off to do my city-boy's vacation (in an air conditioned place, preferably)... so I walked along Kuta beach, Southwards to Centro. The distance between our shade and Centro is almost like from First Beach, Tg Aru to KKIA airstrip.
When in Rome, do as the Romans do, Ronald McDonald doing the surf.
HardRock Cafe, Kuta, Bali.
Baywatch.
Local kids playing on the beach.
I was spotting this little mischievous squirrel coming to and fro the altar of offerings, sneaking out peanuts, biscuits and maybe candies...
Gotcha!
Another Hindu worshiper.
Boats...
In the making...
Rafts?
The uglier side of Kuta beach....
Centro Shopping Mall
The local version of our ABC is called es teler. Instead of shaved ice, they use crushed ice and has stuffs like avocado and cream of corn in it. I might not have tasted the best, but comparing what I had, I think Malaysian ABC wins.
One thing we don't get in Malaysian KFC - perkedel or potato cakes. Yummy.
All of a sudden I wanted to get myself a haircut, and maybe some linear trimmings on the side, just to kick in the feel of vacation, and the liberty of doing this without concerning about dress ethics and how a Government Officer should present himself. Around the shopping mall, haircuts in saloons cost Rp40.000 to Rp100.000, so advised by a security guard, I went away from the shopping mall into the hidden village to find a haircut as cheap as Rp6.000, no kidding!The exploration brought me to a Catholic Church - St Francis Xavier Church. It was Saturday evening and I can see people starting to gather in for sunset mass. I was in my bermudas, Bintang singlet and all sweaty. God would understand if I skipped church that time.
Jesus had a kite stuck to his armpit, while StFran looked like he was exorcising the Lord!! HHmmm... blasphemous!
The village road... In search of a cheap barber...
I learn new things everyday... and one for the day - haircut in Indonesian is called PANGKAS RAMBUT. In Malaysian language, we use the word pangkas to mean prune, like pruning a tree branch. Haha.
I finally got my haircut, not the neatest I've had, but for an agreed price of Rp6.000 could I ask for more? But I paid Rp10.000 because he helped me do 2 lines on my right temple right down behind the ear.Back to the shopping mall, rushing back to the beach bench to watch the sunset.
Love silhouettes.
Macam wajib bah buat begini kalau di pantai, kan?
The Thai tourist who asked us to help them take pictures.
They were a tad late for the sunset, think they missed it.
With Malte.
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