A week in Bali

Answer: an hour and a half, 98 dollars return. Question: what is our flight time and air fare to Bali? Definitely one of the major pros to living within cab distance of the Jakarta airport is where we can go at the drop of a hat.

As the loyal readers of this blog know (all 3 of you, hi mom!), Amy is still living in the land of toques and double doubles, and locked in until the end of the school year. However, March is March Break season, and just enough of a break in the action for Amy to come get a taste of her new home and life in Indonesia. While Bogor is certainly an interesting place (and of special interest to her for obvious reasons), Amy’s real sights were set on the mythical island of Bali.

So the story starts with week-1, and Amy’s midnight arrival in JKT (the coolio way of typing out Jakarta), and my meeting her at the hot and sweaty international arrivals gate. A quick cab ride back to Bogor and Amy was sniffing out her new home-to-be like a puppy fresh from the puppy farm. I was admittedly nervous, given that we are more or less locked into the house for at least a year. If it didn’t pass the Amy test, I really didn’t have a back up. But thankfully, after a good sniff around, it was Amy-Approved, and we were sitting pretty on the front porch enjoying that warm moist night air you only get in the tropics.

The week in Bogor was a great chance for Amy to slam head first into Indo. Bogor is a no-nonsense, no bulai, kind of place, where average Indonesians are going through the motions of daily life. After a whirlwind week of walking every inch of Bogor, and impressing Amy with my command of the 10 or so words of Indonesian I know, week-2 found us in yet another cab heading back to JKT to catch our flight to Bali.  All of a sudden it hit us. Wow, we’re going to Bali…cool!

True to legend and hype, Bali did not disappoint. Our Bali mission started in the town of Ubud, the “cultural center” of Bali, and of course – for you chick-flick fans – the setting for a third of the book/movie Eat, Pray, Love (google it if you have no idea what I’m talking about, which I didn’t, which of course is no surprise to Amy or anyone elseJ).

As our first taste of Bali, Ubud was a quintessential travel experience – part Banff, part Katmandu, part Cuzco, part wherever else you have ever been. It was also a complete culture shock for me. I had entirely accustomed myself to being pretty much the only bulai in a working town of millions of Indonesians. In 180-degree contrast, Ubud is bulai central complete with the finest cappuccino bars, seafood restaurants, spas, yoga retreats, and designer clothing stores money can buy. Looking for that rose-petal massage after your latte and hot yoga? Ubud is for you.

But there is a whole other side. Behind the commercial skin of Ubud is a very cool and very deep core of culture, temples (everywhere!), and Balinese style and grace. The Balinese are known for their love of beauty, which is obvious everywhere you turn. Pools (every accom has a pool) are especially well done, and feel like Roman baths that were put on this earth just for you to enjoy. Speaking of pools, our accom, a 6-room palatial “bungalow” (everything seems to be a called a bungalow in Ubud), could possibly have been the single best 25-dollar a night room we have ever had. It really was put on this earth just for us.

After a few days of soaking in the vibe, hiking through rice paddies, visiting temples, watching monkeys mating, going to Balinese dance shows, and shopping for “I love Bali” tank tops, we were onto phase-2 of the Bali mission: Nusa Lembongan. Nusa (“island”) Lembongan is an island off the southeast coast of Bali, which is considered a mellow version of the big party-beach scene that Bali is known for. Since our usual bedtime is earlier than that of most 10-year-olds we know, that suited us perfectly.

NL (Nusa Lembongan, not Newfoundland and Labrador) is a fun place. It’s got that smallish tropical island feel to it, so that you can rent a motorbike (5 bucks a day! I know, how can that be? But it is) and pretty much scope out every inch of it, yet big enough that there is always something you need to hit next. Upon arrival, Amy, camp councillor and CAP (Chief Activity Planner), put me on notice. We were going to tick off just about everything this place had to offer.

So ya, we rented the motorbike for the week, and went through the list: tour of the island, check, swimming, check, snorkeling, check, surf lessons, check, kayaking through the mangroves, check, paddle boarding, check, sunset dinners with feet in the sand, check, night swims in the ocean, check, walks on the beach, check, wine in the beach lounger, check….I’m sure I’m forgetting a few things. Being a guy, my favourite part was just having a motorbike for a week! Man, there is nothing like the feeling of zipping around a tropical island at night with nothing on but a pair of shorts and flip flops. You know, that moist warm tropical night air thing. Just feels like freedom. No license, no insurance, no helmets, no problem J

An added bonus, is the fact that NL, and the rest of Bali, has the cultural distinction of being an island of Hindu practitioners within the Indonesian sea of Islam. What that means is that 4:15 am comes and goes without nary a blink, i.e., no call to prayer. Nice break. Nice to wake up with the sun and the birds, rather than a 10-year-old’s amplified rendition of the Quran.  

not us obviously

There was one downside though. Upon arrival, CAP Amy wanted to check out the beach, so we went for a wee stroll right around high noon. Literally only a half hour of exposed skin. That was enough to turn my milky-white chest and abdomen (remember, Bogor is Kuta hujan, city of rain) to about the deep hue of a 100-dollar Nova Scotia lobster. WHOA, did that throw my thermostat off. Took me 4 days, and a 500 ml bottle of body lotion to recover. Rookie mistake, won’t happen again.