#it's 11pm and i have finally settled down for the night phew

[dylanconrique]

finally!!! me time!!!!!

[bjadventures]

Bali!

The last 10 days of the trip I spent in Bali, Indonesia. Bali has a few very different sides to it, from the busy, hectic, touristy south part, to the remote, mountainous, mostly uninhabited north part. I spent the first 5 days up north on various oceanfront resorts. These days were filled with reading by the pool, yoga, endless tasty buffets, and few adventures (hence why I haven’t blogged in a bit). The last 5 days were spent with my friend Nick in Ubud in the middle of the island, then at a resort along the southern coast. Here are a few tidbits from the trip, going backwards in the timeline:

Nick and I had just finished our 5 days in Bali. It was a relaxing, entertaining, enjoyable time and we’re sad to leave. We’re in a taxi on the way to the airport, and all of a sudden the guy’s car goes limp. The engine makes some heaving sounds, and putters out. He tries to start it. No luck. Uhh what do we do now? He tells us, “no more petrol!” Sooo… you ran out of gas? Looks like it. He goes, “you push?” Is this guy asking us to push his taxi? Looks that way. Ok! VERY luckily, there’s a gas station no more than 40 yards ahead. So, we get out of the car to the chuckles and honks of many cars and motorbikes around us (we’re on a 3 lane road). The light turns green and we push with all our might, in somewhat shock at what’s transpiring at the moment. We get the car rolling pretty nicely, until we hit the inclined ramp of the gas station. Shit. We push and push, nothing. A very friendly motorist gets out and helps us up the ramp, and we get him to the gas pump. The taxi driver muttered a “sorry” and filled up his gas tank, and on we went!

Our last night together in Bali, Nick and I headed to the southwest coast to check out this bar we’d both heard about, called “Rock Bar.” Essentially, a resort has taken advantage of their rocky coastline, and built a bar into the rocks so guests are overlooking the ocean as the waves crash into the rocks beneath and in front of them. We got there at the tail end of the sunrise to an incredible view. The bar is immense, stretching for what seems like a mile along the coast. Further, they’ve built layers into the bar, so some are higher than others, and there’s even a large circular tower-like area to have dinner literally sitting over the water. It’s absolutely incredible, and for anyone visiting Bali, I’d highly recommend it.

Nick and I saw a poster for a “flying fish” walking around Ubud and decided immediately we had to do it. It’s essentially a large inflatable raft that you lie on and you’re pulled behind a speedboat or jet ski. Once the boat goes fast enough, the raft is hoisted into the air and you’re “flying” through the air attached to this raft, as high as 40 feet! It was as thrilling as it sounds. After we finish, the staff dropped us off in shallow water for us to wade back to shore. As we’re walking back, Nick lets out a SHARP yell, and grabs his leg. Not good. He’s been stung by something nasty, and one of the staff pulls it off the back of his ankle. Over the next 30 minutes, Nick’s pain gets worse and starts moving up his body to his upper leg and back. Not good. We need to find a clinic. We head to the nearest one (literally a block away) and he’s immediately ushered onto a hospital type bed. No questions. No forms. No insurance. Nothing. They want to inject him. He says no. They give him some pills to swallow telling us he’ll feel better “within the hour.” He’s in pain and we’re worried. Within 20 minutes of taking the pill, his pain is significantly reduced. PHEW! One passport photo later, we were out of there and sticking to the pool for the rest of the trip!

On the very southern tip of Bali, there’s a beautiful temple that’s constructed along the coastline. It’s a breathtaking view to watch the waves crash into the walls, and we enjoy a drink along the coast. As we’re walking along, we run into a Luwak coffee shop. These are common in Bali - essentially the luwaks, which are in the cat family and look like a mix between a ferret and a cat, eat the coffee bean, their stomachs have an enzyme that improves the taste of the coffee by removing some of the acidity, and then they poop out the bean. The shops then collect and disinfect the beans (so we’re told) and brew coffee with it. This coffee shop, however, is unique. They have luwaks hanging out around the grounds! There are 4 of them, and Nick is in heaven. I should explain: ever since Nick first saw a Luwak, he’s wanted one. As in one as a pet. These luwaks are hanging out on the tables and counters, and you can play with them as you please. Nick quizzes the guy on what it’s like to own a Luwak for his hopeful future with 1 or 2. This guy has 9. Yes, 9. He also has a MASSIVE bat. He says it’s a flying dog. This needs further research. Regardless, we spend over an hour with the luwaks, holding them, petting them, and learning about them. One nibbles on my ear (see pic above). I have to pry Nick away onto our next destination.

On my way from the north of Bali into Ubud, my driver hit the brakes hard. Why? Well, you see some people let their chickens run wild, and some but them in these wooden cages to keep them from escaping. One of the chickens in its wooden “cage” was attempting a great escape. By that, I mean walking inside its cage as if it’s a hamster wheel, and had now made it into the middle of the road. Don’t worry, we waited for him to finish the crossing before we resumed.

While I was still in the north of Bali, I decided I was in need of a haircut. I walked into the “town” that was next to my resort. This town is one lane each way, has 2 ATMs in the whole town (both were broken for the first 3 days I was there), has no sidewalks, and the “gas station” is a table with water bottles filled with gasoline. Hopefully that paints a decent picture of what this looked like. I can’t imagine more than 5,000 people lived there. I saw a sign for “salon” so I walk over. A young girl tells me that her mom is out and won’t be back for a few hours. Damn. I ask if there’s anyone else to cut hair. She nods and points down the street. Great. I walk and walk. No barber. I ask someone else. I’m pointed in the same direction. Finally, I stumble upon a sign that says “barber, 30 meters” and has an arrow pointing down a small alley. Okay! I walk down to find essentially a hut that has a “Barbershop” sign over it with a picture of David Beckham. Works for me! A guy comes running from down the street and clearly, he is the barber! He tells me it will be 20,000 IDR, which translates to roughly $1.40. I think I can afford that. While I can’t communicate what I want at all, he does a pretty good job! I gave him $4 and told him to keep the change, and he nearly hugged me.

If you’ve been following the news at all, you know that earthquakes have been rocking Lombok for the last few weeks. Lombok is one island over from Bali, and the earthquakes there can be felt on the island of Bali as well. My 4th night I’m woken up at 11pm by a pretty big earthquake. It’s as if someone is shaking my bed and won’t stop. It lasts for over 30 seconds and it really has me “shaken.” I go out to the main area and nearly the entire resort is up, watching the news. I eventually go back to bed. The earth shakes again. And again. And again. I download an app that tells me when there is an earthquake around the globe. There were 13 earthquakes that night!! Over the next week in Bali, I’d feel a few more, and they’re very unsettling!! While I’m now gone, hopefully the earthquakes settle down for the residents there :/

At the resorts up north, they offer a sunrise dolphin watching tour. At 6am, I get on what looks like a canoe with long pipes that run horizontal to the “canoe” and each about 4 feet out from the center point for stability. The “boat” has a motor, and he tells me to sit in the middle. Guess I’m along for the ride! He drives the boat straight out into the ocean for over an hour. Is he going to a specific area where the dolphins are supposed to be? Are we hoping to just run into them? He makes a right and we continue parallel to the coast. The sun rises over the horizon for a gorgeous sunrise. Back on the coast, you can see the massive mountains that protect Bali’s north coast, complimented by a huge volcano! I’m told the volcano, while active, is not a threat. Right. We turn back the other way, still parallel to the coast. It’s a beautiful morning out, but I don’t see anything. Finally, he yells something and points to, what is, sure enough, a school of dolphins! We follow them for a while, and they even put on a bit of a show for us, jumping fully out of the water from time to time. I thought they only did that at Sea World! We follow the dolphins until we’re distracted… we see a bunch of fish jumping out of the water, and he tells me they’re tuna. Time to go fishing! His version of fishing is taking a fake lure and some fishing line and dragging it behind the boat. No rod, no leaders, just line and a hook. Great. He hands me the line. What in the hell am I going to do if we actually catch a tuna! There is no way my hands can pull this thing up. We troll and troll. No bites. We see more fish jump. No luck. While I did want to catch one, I’m somewhat relieved for my hands’ sake that we didn’t!

Overall, an amazing trip to Bali. There’s so much to see: the island is big and diverse, from vast white sand beaches to jungles to mountains and volcanoes. I didn’t make it to the west side at all, and imagine there’s significantly more to see. Everyone I met was extremely friendly and welcoming, and while the south is fairly challenging to navigate due to the traffic and narrow roads, I definitely recommend it as a place to visit and will surely be back!

[theiamzilch]

THAILAND

Thailand. 990km from singapore. 990km of painstaking-but-worth-it journey. I started off v bad as i was working on the day of the departure. Came home to a v tired and battling conversation with ayah over permission-seeking processes. Squared it off with him openly and he finally agreed to allow me to go. With this permission, i only get to rest barely 2 hours as i was literally just too tired to sleep it off, also a little excited to go. Oh yes forgot the another battlefield with him. Same old. Over finances. He didnt have enough to spare. But didnt forward to ask proper if he cld use mine first. That costed 1.5hrs worth of rest for me. But nvm. That settled, we declared ourselves ready for the trip. Met him ard 2.30am and we officially moved off at 3am from the carpark. Reached the nearest petrol station at the beginning of the highway and altrady there i thought i could not make it as i was already very lethargic. I could not take it, i demand a short rest at machap. We were barely talking. It was rainy, i was wet, we were moodless. We continued the journey and stopped exactly at seremban to have our meal. The sunrise accompanied us to KL. Thinking we were halfway, little did we know we had another 600km thereabouts to go. Thats equivalrnt to 2 more KL trips ahead. At seremban we ate bfast and rested abit before making a decision to either bunk in for a while or continue. Looking at my face, he decided to stay in for a bit at subang jaya. We got a decent room at RM50 and moved off again ard 12pm. Thats already in total count 6 hours of sweat, rain. We were quite perked up after the rest but however the exit out to E1 took almost 1.5hrs from INSIDE KL! Omg like hamsters we weaved through this tiny small trunk/pathways around, came out to putrajaya probably want to see najib out again to make a big u-turn. Urgh. It was stupid coz we realised that we just went below KL! Dammit. But we finally met E1 exit and phew...thats when the another 600km odd trip continues. We stopped at sungei buloh bridge r&r to have a short quick lunch. He wanted the hainan chicken rice hoping it will be similar to the disappearing one in KL. Yup. Disappointed. We kept askign each other how long more coz its just never ending! By then, we discussed that we r already nearing. The signboard keeps leading us to alor setar. We pressed on. Had a v rainy condition, we seeked shelter at the next pertrol station where the rest of the riders bunked there too. Thats almost a good 1hr spent there just to ensure the next journey is well spent. Next, we went through this beautiful boulders of mountaineous, cave-like structures. We had to stop and snap picture. Definitely. We continued, with me screaming of coz (due to back and butt pain). We stopped at this pit stop where it was somewhrre in kedah already. We checked, discussed and was almost giving up due to the passing rain. We consulted a friend, we were 180km away only. 180km!!! Its either we bunk for a short while and continue or we go straight. This was already sunset, 7pm. Thats already a total of about 12hours of journey. Yup. Crazy shit. Notified that the border closes at 6pm, we decided to carry on and make a pit stop at jitra. That last 150km odd was the one last final hurdle man. It rained/basically poured like no ones business at jitra. This time i gave up and i screamed so loud i almost wanted to get down the bike and just get drenched there. He was being helpful. He consoled my schizophrenic self and calmed me down saying a bit more to go. Just a bit more. Reached the motel. I literally screamed and shouted and yes cried as if telling him this shit was a BIG Mistake! Barely could open my helmet coz my ear was hurting like shit! The stupid speakers were all the way positioned wrongly hurting the ears so abd i could barely find the next breathe to sustain the pain. I literally sat at the wooden stool and gave up. He kindly helped me opened my shoes, jacket, kissed me its okay and hugged me proud i made it almost there. Almost there. The motel was just what we needed. Spanking clean, organised, so cosy and just feels like home. We rested very well, very well and managed to well-up our energy anticipating to finally see what we talked about for months, days, preparing to finally meet what was virtually in youtube and touch the border. We woke up and ate what i thought was the best playe of maggie goreng (maybe coz i was hungry) and ate roti canai and finally moved off to towards the border at ard 7.30am. We stopped for a short while to meet a ncie lady who hilariously described the way to border with all her might..."terrrrrrrruuuuusss" she said. We knew we had a good start. We were already so near the border, so near. Stopped at changlun to buy our insurance. At RM30 only. Waited for a good 30mins. And we left for what we anticipate for...and reached the BORDER OF THAILAND at ard 10am. Met a few fellow riders as well. The passport immigration took almost 1hr. We paid the guy $60 total to have our passports chopped via express queue. And finally my goodness gracious me, we managed to CROSS the border! Ahhh the feeling was euphoric. Almost teary. Anticipating what is hatyai, how does it look like, we followed the sign there. Reached there. Like whhuttt? Just a small and a few shops? Errr sure...we u-turned back to sadao and had out lunch there. We stayed for almost good 2hours to rest. The syrup was sooo awesome we ordered 4 glasses. The heat was unbearable. We made a u-turn back to msia. Just in the nick of time before the jam back to msia gets worse. It was a close shave. Ah. The journey back was a smooth one. Until.... At ard 5pm..the tyre gave way and it just gave up at 185.1km away from the border. Waited for the plus truck for almost 1hr. Almost gave up, helpless, we wanted to do it on our own. Help came. We heaved a sigh of relief. Within 15mins tyre is good. RM50 was the repayment for the man's kindness. We proceeded back and rested at Tapah. That too i was so cranky only He can handle me. It was already 8pm that time. We are almost 100km to KL. Yeah right. He calmed me down with food. It was the famous rojak and mee rebus pak tam. He was kind enough to console me and tell me its okay abit more. Look forward to tapak. So we booked a room, the next cheapest and avail room holiday inn it was. We were so forward looking. It was non-stop for us all the way back KL. When i saw sungei buloh, when i saw Kuala Lumpur at the sign whoah it was awesome. One awesome view that night was this orange- lited boulder that accompanied us to KL. It was huge and jsut that feeling of going through it was thrilling. Once we reached the hotel, we were super tired but victorious at the same time. We reached at 11pm. To be cont...