What a day… What a day… I’ll try and sum it up in just a few sentences though… Started the day at 5:45am in Bali with just enough time to pack and get to the airport to catch our flight. Little did we Air Asia’s computer system was down (as was all of the island’s power the night before) and it wouldn’t be until two hours later our flight would be leaving. Landing in Kuala Lumpur for the fourth time in the past month and 2 hours late, we rushed past the “temperature cameras” and customs to try and catch our flight to Melbourne. Receiving notice that our gate was already closed and we couldn’t board, a quick little argument later we were again on our way in the smallest airline seats I have ever seen. Landing in Melbourne, Australia just after 11pm we again passed the “temperature cameras” (damn swine flu) and through another set of customs but this time as we left the airport a friend of JK’s hired a driver for us, tough life… After the all day travel it was time for some quick food… First stop, Hungry Jack’s for a chicken sandwich and yes we are wearing crowns…
Side Note: If Hungry Jack’s looks fimialiar to any of you, its because it’s actually Burger King but that name didn’t fly here in Oz…
OK…. So I have the last four day’s blogs written and ready to go (yes we are still alive)… But the internet is so bad here in Bali it took me 30 mins just to post this message… We are off to Oz bright and early tomorrow morning. Expect a flood of great pics and posts to show up June 2nd… Until then, good day.
Update: We were just going over the Blog Craver traffic and noticed a jump in BeyonceFan’s traffic… Guess where it was coming from… Beyonce’s actual website, as a post we made was recently was added to her official site. As I said before, the Blog Craver movement is real….
Today was a big day…. With there only being two days left in Bali we needed to get out and see more of this little island, starting with its highest point… Beginning the day 9AM, we went to the streets to hired the first person to say “transport” a driver to take us to the town of Kintamani to visit the Batur Volcano. The ride lasted a little over two hours and stop in this tourist trap of a town, but honestly the views made it all worth it.
During our trek back to Kuta we had the urge to see and touch elephants one last time before we left Asia… And Bali Elephant Safari Park just happen to be on the way home. After and hour of petting and seeing two baby elephants we again were back on the road. Ubud was the final stop for the day as we sat down for a nice “business lunch”…. What a day it was.
Side Note: I also got a new back piece this evening.
So surfing again today was pretty amazing and pretty brutal at the same time… Maybe learning in Bali wasn’t the best idea, but “when in Rome ”, right? But truthfully I had a bit of back pain from falling and being pounded on by the massive waves during this session. So I used that as my excuse to get a Balinese Massage from our hotel, as they have been offering one to us everyday. I figured 10 dollars for a nice hour long back massage sounded great… But I thought trying to order said massage at 10pm would be problematic, but “not a problem” said the hotel staff and I was told to go back to my room and wait. Five minutes later a woman shows up knocking at my door, but this was one that I hadn’t seen before at the hotel massage center… Thinking maybe she was the night masseuse I proceeded with her down the the massage beds. During that time she seemed very lost and confused as why I would want a massage there and not in my room, but she spoke no English… Once there, there were no supplies ready or even a towel to lay on, again thinking well I’ll go grab one from the front desk were I ordered the massage. Upon arriving there I was greeted with “why aren’t you getting your massage in your room?”… My response was that I thought it would be best if it were done the proper way and in the proper place. When the “masseuse” started, she again seemed like she had no idea of what was going on… Literally three minutes into the massage two other ladies walk in and start arguing for a good 5 mins and then all three of them leave. Another 5 mins goes by and one of the girls that started the argument was back and said she was there to give me my massage… She on the other hand knew what she was doing and had all the correct materials…
So this all leads me to believe one thing, my hotel ordered me a “lady of the night” (as it isn’t uncommon at all for them to do so) instead of actually ordering me a massage… Some days I just don’t understand the people over here… Although you can kind of laugh at this story (beacause it is funny) but at the same time it very sad that enough people come here (Asia in gerenal) for sex and drugs that it ruins it for the rest of us that actually just come for culture and experience….
Still extremely busy out in Bali and back in Kuta. But that is no excuse for continuing my album of the week series…
This week I’ve really gotten into the new disc from Mat Kearney….City Of Black & White is an album informed by the traveling, performing and adventuring the Oregon-born, Nashville-based singer did while supporting that breakthrough album. An open-hearted album of self-discovery, City of Black & White is a chronicle of the people he met and missed during that journey. Musically, it’s an upping of the ante, laced with hooks and rhythms that are meant to sneak up on you quietly and quickly, en route to winning your love. You gotta love a good ol’ Eugene boy making it big! Thanks to Lucas who got me hooked on this guy a couple of years ago…
Here is the first track off the album, “All I Have”.
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And finally a congrats goes out to our friend (and often “Project” blog reader) Bill who just got engaged this past week. Congratulations again.
Forget any negative thing I said about Bali up to this point because thanks to a long time friend and old roommate of mine we found a very amazing place in the heart of the island, Ubud. Located amongst rice paddies and steep ravines in the central foothills of the Gianyar regency, Ubud is one of Bali’s major arts and culture centers. After a stroll through the wild monkey forest we sat down for a man date at Cafe Wayan…. Delicious…
Of course more monkey videos to come once we have a solid internet connection…
I had no idea. None what so ever what it takes to surf, but I learned pretty fast today as it was my first time ever surfing, at high-tide in Bali nonetheless. JK was my instructor for the day and taught me all the basics, then it was time to hop in the water…. Just getting out to catch a wave is ridiculous. So much work and effort goes into getting out there. After a few tries it just wasn’t coming to me and I had to take some time on beach to get head back into it.
After a few more tries and then some much needed lunch it was time again to get back on the board. This time was completely different though. The waves this time were calmer and less frequent as before and it gave me enough time to fight my way out. By the days end I had actually stood on my board a few times, once even longer than 3 secs! All in all it was a great morning and afternoon out in the water and I’m ready for day two. Hopefully I can stand riding an entire wave out by weeks end, not a bad goal to have I think…
After a few days (mostly spent working) I’m not really feeling Bali all that much… Maybe it was due to the fact that everyone had talked it up or that every time I walk by someone they offer me everything from “transport” to “you need lady”…. This far I’m personally feeling that Bali is just a glorified Mexico with better surf… More to come, stay tuned as we are surfing tomorrow.
Side Note: Many of you know that I had another blog in the past (Lunch In Luxembourg) but I don’t think anyone knew I also had another secret blog were I would post a pic a day from my iPhone. Well now I have combined all three as you can now see the archives on the right side now go back a little over a year. If you are super bored and want to read those as well go ahead, but they are mostly just for my own memory.
Don’t be fooled by the title of this post, because I’m loving it. Although it was great spending time in the lavish Sheraton’s in KL and Singapore, its good to be back in $15 a night place. It makes me hungry to work again and even harder this time. Thus I spent almost all of this day in the local Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf working on new projects with JK… For more pics (of the outside) of our place check out JK’s blog post here.
