Silence is golden...

Coming to you live and in color from the Indonesian island of Bali!  I've been here for a few days now and although I had very mixed feelings initially, the overwhelming sense of peace and tranquility that pervades this place has begun to take hold.

Before we delve into my Balinese adventures, let's take a journey back in time to recap my final days in the wonderful land of Oz.  I spent the majority of my time in and around Adelaide, which I really enjoyed.  The city is easily navigated by foot and they have a bad ass free bike rental program so I was able to get a really good feel for the area when all was said and done.

I've lost track of days at this point, but this one time I woke up and was feeling particularly motivated so I laced up the old sneakers and went for a little run.  Probably did about 5k (fyi, I use the metric system now because I'm really cultured and well-travelled) which was the longest I've run in quite some time.  That was a pretty boring thing for you to have to read about, but life on the road isn't all rainbows and unicorns, ya know?  After my run, I checked out of the 18-person per room hostel and transferred to another hostel a few blocks away.  It was heavenly with only 4 to a room and nice big lockers to store all your crapola.  After I got situated there I went to this unassuming little store front and took full advantage of a program that every city in the world should try to duplicate.  Say hi to an unfriendly lady at a desk, hand crabby pants your passport, fill out a little form, sign your name and you're given a bike, a helmet and a lock for the entire day free of charge.  Pretty much the best thing ever, especially considering the fantastic river trail they have that takes you from the heart of the city to the white sandy beaches 15 km (haha, now I'm just being an asshole) outside of town.  So I pedaled my little heart out and made it to the beach in about an hour or so.  Very lovely beach too, which was a nice little surprise.  Soaked up some rays, swam to a sand bar, read part of a book (to date, I have started 5 books and finished none), and had a dream of day. 

The next day I did a little wine tasting tour in the Barossa Valley, which is about an hour outside of Adelaide.  There are countless wineries in this region and we were able to hit up 4 of them.  We started at Jacob's Creek which was the the biggest and most mainstream I guess.  The lady running the show there was quite good and I finally learned what a wine with "good legs" looks like.  Basically it has something to do with the sugar content of the wine and how it sticks to the side of the glass.  So if you ever want to have a glass of vino with me (and why wouldn't you?), be prepared to have your mind blown by my vast knowledge and expertise.  After that we went to a couple of "boutique wineries" (which I'm pretty sure is just a nice name for a small winery) and then closed out the day at a place that specializes in fortified wines and ports.  There we were shown a bottle of 100 year old port that sells for $975.  The size of the bottle is equivalent to a can of Coke so they also offer a teaspoon of the stuff for $30.  Anyone who purchases either one of those is an idiot.  The 10 year old port was super sweet and a terrible addition to my belly that was already full of Riesling and Shiraz and whatnot.  So I had to kindly use the spittoon for that one.  I had a slight buzz by the end of the day, but held my shit much better than the pack of 19 and 20 year olds that were on the tour with me.  They were all passed out on the bus ride home.  What is this, amateur hour??  Kids these days, I'll tell ya what.  Anyways, I learned some stuff, drank good wine, ate a kangaroo filet (tasted like a hybrid of beef and venison), and marked the day as a success.  Here's what some of that looked like:




Sweet ride.  I had to special request that helmet for my dome piece.  It was an XL.  I have a big brain.  And some hair.



Don't mind if I do...

Jacob's Creek Vineyard.  A middle-aged Swedish lady on the tour farted right after I took this picture. 

My wine cellar at home is much more impressive than this crap.

Captive audience.  Alcohol brings the people together.

100 year old port.  If my calculations are correct, that's about $300 worth of syrupy fun.

Best store in Adelaide.  Quit bein so nebby and go get me a jumbo sammich, ya jag!

So I left Australia with a smile on my face and a hop in my step.  Although my time there was short, I was incredibly happy with the amount of things I got to see and people I got to meet.  I hope against hope that I'll be able to make it back again some day as it will always hold a very special place in my heart.  All good things must come to an end, but luckily for me, there was another good thing on the immediate horizon...

I boarded the plane from Adelaide to Denpasar, Bali early Wednesday morning with anxious anticipation for my first foray into Asia.  Nothing happened during the flight except I was in the row right in front of the exit row so my seat didn't recline and that was a bummer.  The other man in my aisle was pissed.  He also changed his outfit three times during the course of the 5-hour flight, so he may or may not have been a crazy person.  After we touched down, I went straight to the nearest ATM so I could get some cash to purchase my Indonesian visa.  So I put my card in, enter my pin and wait for some fun new currency to be dispensed.  But instead of a wad of cash, I just got an error message and a giant pit in my stomach.  I tried about 5 more times before it became clear that I'd have to explore other options.  This situation was my first introduction into the friendliness of the Balinese people.  A nice young man recognized my plight and instructed me to leave my passport with some guy at a desk and go to a row of other ATMs on the other side.  So that plan worked and that guy was my new hero.  The currency here is called rupiah and it comes in really big denominations so the easiest way I remember is that 100,000 rupiah is equal to about $11.50.  So I took out a cool million, got my visa, cleared customs, met a driver from my hotel and we were on our merry way to the Echoland Bed & Breakfast.  The ride there was an eye opening experience as motorbikes and cars weaved around each other in a chaotic rhythm that I couldn't quite grasp.  There were people jockeying for position at every turn and although I thought we were going to see at least a dozen accidents, everyone managed to avoid catastrophe.  Definitely not in Kansas anymore, Toto.  The area around the airport is pretty ugly, with strip malls and nondescript storefronts and things of that nature.  But once we got out of that area, we were met with some lush hillside greenery and more of what you envision when you think of Bali.  After about a half an hour in the car, my driver turned down a narrow little road that was lined with construction sites on either sides.  It kind of looked like a small bomb had gone off as piles of rubble were strewn about and skinny cows lazily grazed between them.  My heart sank a tiny bit when I looked up and saw that my accommodation for the first 4 days of my trip was located right next door to this scene.  I didn't see any pictures of this on their website.  Weird.  Fortunately my spirits were lifted as soon as I got to the reception desk and was warmly greeted by a short squat little man who, over the course of the next 4 days, would prove to be the nicest person in history. 

So I checked in and went to my room, which consisted of two sturdy 3-level bunk beds, a lovely outdoor bathroom (with an outdoor shower, one of my favorite things in the world), and two chicks hanging out in their beds (the bottom bunks, of course...bastards).  I introduced myself and was beyond surprised when both of them responded with American accents!  Keegan, a 26 year old  from Michigan who was in the midst of a 6 month around the world tour and Christine, a 35 year old Manhattanite who was just wrapping up a 3 month Asian adventure.  They looked incredibly bored and were most definitely suffering from cabin fever.  I learned that they had both been there for 4 days already and were going insane because there was next to nothing to do in the little hamlet of Echo Beach.  

I got myself settled and decided to do some exploring and see if they were right or not.  Turns out they were.  I walked about a quarter mile down the road and saw a tiny stretch of black sand beach and a few restaurants and that was about the extent of it.  I also noticed massive cranes and big construction areas and realized that this was to be the next tourist trap of Bali.  Good for local business, I suppose, but sad in the sense that it will never look as it once did.  Anyways, I grabbed some lunch and sampled the local pilsner (it's called Bintang...pretty much the only beer that's readily available which is fine because it's pretty decent).  After that I hung by the pool and chatted with my new roomies about their travels.  They were going on a tour the next day and they invited me along so I took up the offer with no hesitation.  We were picked up the next morning by a nice fat little man named Paris.  I'm willing to bet that's not his real name, but I digress.  He took us all over the place and we got to visit a coffee farm, have lunch at a volcano, meet some locals at a rice paddy, and take in some traditional Balinese dancing.  Not a bad little day. 

The pool of Echoland Bed and Breakfast.  If you have to be confined to your hotel for an extended period of time, you could do much worse.

Coffee and tea tasting.  The specialty coffee in Bali is called Kopi Luwak which is produced in a very interesting way that you can read about here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kopi_Luwak .  Oddly enough, we only learned of this process after the tasting was over.  Nice and shitty.  Ha!

There are countless little fruit stands like this set up along the streets, which I'm a big fan of.  Had my first taste of something called snakefruit.  Not too shabby, although I've been told that they make you super constipated.  So I think I'll steer clear of those moving forward.

I swear to God, if I have another lunch with a breathtaking panoramic view of a volcano...

Rice paddies are pretty awesome.

Cutest man ever.  What he lacked in teeth, he made up with in personality.

Might have to print this one out and hang it on my wall when I get back.

Thumbs up to adorable old Balinese ladies!  Fun fact: this lady's boob was hanging out of the bottom of her shirt a few seconds before this was taken.

So after our day of fun, it was time to prepare for Nyepi, the Balinese new year/day of silence.  I was unaware of this traditional Hindu holiday until a nice Australian man told me all about it on my flight over.  Here's a nice succinct summary of what Nyepi entails: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nyepi.   The girls that I was sharing a room with (the 2 Americans and 3 additional Norwegians) were kind of bummed about the fact that we were going to be confined to our hotel from Friday night to Sunday morning, but I was actually looking forward to being able to experience such an important day.  On the days and weeks leading up to Nyepi, local townspeople all over Bali construct these gigantic and quite impressive "puppets" that are designed to be scary and intimidating in nature.  These represent the evil spirits that exist.  On the night before Nyepi begins, these creations are paraded through the streets and then ceremoniously burned.  After that takes place, everyone retires to their homes and the island literally shuts down.  The only people who are allowed outside on the streets are special patrolmen who go around and make sure that everyone is inside and that no lights are being used.  Slightly different way to celebrate the new year.  For tourists, Nyepi must be spent within the confines of their hotel.  So my day was spent lounging by the pool, reading, writing, getting to know my roommates, drinking a few beers, and reflecting on the current state of affairs.  It's wild to get firsthand experience of something that you had no idea even existed a few days prior.  Although I started to get a tad bit antsy when the sunset and the hotel was completely pitch black, I was absolutely privileged to be able to witness such an important day.  It's obviously never going to happen, but how nice would it be if everyone in the world would take a day to disconnect from the distractions of everyday life and do a little bit of self-reflection?  Didn't get any great shots of the puppets because I didn't want to intrude on the tradition, but here are a couple pictures I was able to capture from the car:

Demonic puppet creature

Nothing scarier than an oversized baby in a plaid g-string

Oh also, the front desk guy at the hotel a.k.a. the nicest man in the world proved his title during Nyepi.  He made sure everyone was fed and that we knew the proper procedures and he even set up an empty room as a DVD movie theater.  If there is one thing that I will remember about Bali, it will most definitely be the extreme friendliness and hospitality of the people. 

After 5 days in Echo Beach, I was ready to move on and experience a different part of Bali so I made my way to Ubud, an artist's community in central Bali that was apparently the setting for the Bali portion of "Eat, Pray, Love."  I've never read the book or seen the movie, but I could understand how someone would be inspired by a place like this.  Beautiful handmade crafts everywhere and you can escape the hustle and bustle of the main streets very easily.  Turn down a side street and you are met with quiet rice paddies, lazy breezes and peaceful vibes.  Good contrast and one that I've enjoyed thus far.  I can only imagine what this place must have been like before it was popularized by Hollywood.  One thing that bums me out a little bit when I travel is seeing how things are commodified and commercialized to cater towards tourists.  I know its the way of the world and tourism improves the quality of life for the locals, but it also changes the landscape of a place in a an irreversible way.  If a guidebook mentions an area as a "hidden gem" it immediately ceases to be one.  Ok, apologies for getting so incredibly deep on you there but I've had quite a lot of time to think about things lately. 

Alright well I'm done boring you now.  Should you be interested in checking back in with me at any point, here's what I've got on the horizon: 
- One more day in Ubud to enjoy an hour long Balinese massage for $6 (true story), haggle for a dress or two at the local markets (think i might have packed a bit too much cotton clothing for this portion of the trip...its steamy over here), and enjoy an ice cold Bintang or two.
- Final two days in Bali will be spent in Sanur, which is a beach side community where a friend of a friend has agreed to put me up for 2 nights and give me an insider's perspective on the area.  Woohoo!
- Depart on Friday, March 11th for Singapore.  Based on the conversations I've had with other travelers, you only need a couple days in Singapore so that's exactly how long I'll be there.  Better get all my gum chewing in before then.
- Depart Singapore on Monday, March 14th for the bustling metropolis of Hanoi, Vietnam.  Plan after that is to take two weeks to make my way south through Vietnam to Ho Chi Minh City.  From there I'll take a bus to Siem Reap, Cambodia to spend a few days touring the city and the surrounding temples of Angor Wat.  After that, I'll take another bus over to Bangkok where I'll spend a hot minute before departing for Istanbul and the European leg of this wild ride (tentatively scheduled for an April 5th departure). 

Whew, I'm tired just typing that itinerary!  Hopefully I don't overdose on relaxation here in Bali, otherwise I think I'll be in for a rather unpleasant surprise once I hit the chaotic streets of Hanoi. 

Before I sign off, I just wanted to say a sincere thank you to everyone for the positive feedback that I've gotten so far.  I greatly enjoy recapping my adventures and I hope my ramblings are at least somewhat as entertaining to read about as they are to live.  Cheers!