Bali--An Island of Juxtaposition

So, I'm not even sure where to start...

I'm in Bali and it's a whole other world here. My entire perception of space and time has been completely warped. It's as if the life I lived before doesn't even exist any more. This place is more beautiful than you could ever imagine.

I'm in an internet cafe right now typing this, so my uploading of pictures and general writing prowess probably isn't exactly up to par. There may be a delay on the photos but they'll be up soon...

After a grueling 24 hour flight/layover process from Seattle to LA, to Tokyo, to Singapore, I finally landed it Bali rather vacant and bewildered. This did not help when as soon as I walked out of the airport and along with a wave of humidity and blazing heat, there were taxi-drivers vying for my attention. Despite having researched how much they tend to jip unsuspecting tourists and having memorized the correct amount I should pay, I STILL was able to be swindled into paying twice as much. Oh well, so it goes.

As the taxi driver started on the road, I couldn't believe my eyes. I was HERE. Bali in all its 3rd world paradise glory. Piles of refuge lay strewn about the street and drifted quietly through muggy creeks. Ragged, snarl-tooth dogs wandered the streets looking for a free meal or to terrorize some tourists, barefooted children walked alongside their parents who towed heavy loads of wood or other materials...

Then there was the driving. Despite what you may think, in my opinion, the driving here almost seems safer than that in the states. Drivers are paradoxically polite, intelligent and aggressive. At first glance, the roads here seem chaotic and dangerous. Motorcyclists and cars weave around each other using their horns as a sort of shockingly polite language. The point is, everybody has a speed that they want to go. If the person in front of them is not going their desired speed, then drifting into the opposite lane to pass that individual(s) is entirely acceptable.

Basic rule is: Just don't get killed.

Police serve merely as decorations and to tax white people who are riding motorcycles...

I should've felt panicked as my taxi driver swerved and weaved and honked yet, I felt oddly at ease. After all, he was a MUCH better driver that I or most people I know in the states will ever be. So are most people on the road. You HAVE to be. Your survival depends on it. However, he could tell I was a bit on edge so he took off his seat belt to show me his confidence in driving. How strangely arrogant and kind! Lots of juxtapositions going on here

After about 40 minutes of driving by shop after shop after shop...literally, the array of run-down roadside sellers did not ever end, I finally arrived at Uhbud. I asked my driver to drop me off at an information center so I could get my bearings and figure out hot to get to my couch surfing house. The taxi driver didn't seem to have a clue where to go...Thankfully when I got to the little rickety information booth, the Balinese men were SUPER nice. One of them actually was able to take me in his car to my destination. Only asking 10,000 rupia (1 dollar) for the drive. When he dropped me off, he gave me the biggest smile and said "thanks for giving me a job!" This has been very common in my time here. People are lovely, full of smiles and always ready to help or assist. While most street vendors are there to do their job and convince you to buy their goods, they are all incredibly generous and wonderful, wonderful people. More on that soon...

When I finally arrived at my destination, I made my way up some ancient stone stairway, through a passageway between temples and to the little nook where the Kaleidoscope house resides. I came into a beautiful open courtyard with a gurgling fountain, stepping stones and stone stairs various shoes strewn upon them leading to the open-air house. I took my shoes off and entered the bright, beautiful, colorful, house. Every wall had been painted with some mural or quote about life and love.

This was paradise.

I finally met Petra and Pat--the owners. Petra is a beautiful Finn/Estonian with colorful tattoos all down her arms and back who left home when she was 15, traveled to Indonesia with just a backpack and never looked back. She and her dread-locked native Balinese husband/artist Pat, have created this haven for travelers to stay and connect with one another for 6-12 dollars a night. It's a beautiful thing.

I barely had time to get settled when someone from the courtyard yelled up to me to ask if I wanted to join them for a traditional Balinese lunch. So I ran down to the courtyard to join them and quickly made friends with an excellent fellow named Dillion who is, from of all places, Boulder Colorado.

The house is a few miles away from Uhbud central so everybody in the house, with the exception of a few, rent motorbikes. So there I was, hopping on the back of Dillon's motorbike and racing down the streets Uhbud.

We had a fabulous lunch--portions equal to those in the US. Price? $1.50. Completely amazing...

Dillion and another new friend Rebecca and I spent the rest of the day, perusing the marketplace and eating gelato.

As you can imagine, that night, I crashed around 6:00pm. I woke up in the middle of the night to the sounds of the jungle and wild dogs barking, so I wrote a bit. A few hours later, the dogs stopped and the roosters started--and I mean a full on symphony orchestra of roosters. I'm pretty sure every family on Bali has at least one rooster and once one starts (at around 4:30 in the morning) all of them go at it....new things to get used to.


I'll have to catch you up on my second day in Bali and post pictures since I'm running out of time with my internet but, let me tell you--I have a lot to say about my second/third days here. A few highlights -- taking a motorbike trip to and around an (active) volcano, flat tires on a hillside, opera singing to monkeys, and comical massages. Stay tuned, folks. The best is yet to come!