We have been ensconced at the Bali Marriott Hotel in Nusa Dua in the south of
Bali fot a few days of ridiculously long, hot showers, air conditioning and high
speed internet.. We arrived at Bali Marina on September 18th and have been
living the high life. The marina itself is a bit dilapidated and the water is
dirty but it is safe and secure and a good place to leave the boat for a few
days while we do our tour of Bali. Not only that, they have all manner of boat
cleaning services that were extremely inexpensive so instead of cleaning the
boat ourselves we got someone else to do it for a welcome change.
We rented a minivan with David and Marian from Kilkea II for $25 a day and have
put it to good use. Driving is a bit hairy here as traffic regulations are
merely suggestions rather than rule of law. Especially the thousands of scooters
and small motor bikes that swarm around like bees and will occupy every square
foot of road surface if you let them.
On our first day out, we had our first Bali shakedown. We were driving along a
busy street and passed a police checkpoint where they were stopping vehicles
randomly. A police officer came to the window and asked for my drivers license.
I gave him my license from the great state of Idaho and he became very irate and
demanded to see my international drivers license. When I told him I didn't have
one he took my Idaho license away and walked 50 metres down the road where
no-one was watching. It took a little while to figure out what was going on but
all he wanted was a small backhander and the problem would go away. I slipped
him 50,000 rupiah about $5 and he all smiles and gave me my license back.
On we went and spent a pleasant day visiting Ubud. The main street was full of
tourist shops and the ubiquitous temples, at least one on every corner, in
various stages of disrepair. Once off the main drag, within a block or two were
many tiny shops and restaurants and family owned hotels overlooking the rice
paddy fields that were quite spectacular.Much more like the Bali we expected.
On the following day we went to the huge Hindu temple on the cliffs of Uluwatu
and watched a traditional Kecak dance and play while the sun set over the Java
Sea to the west. The play was pretty incomprehensible and the seats were very
hard on my boney bottom but quite interesting.There were no musical instruments
and a the music was made by 70 dudes who make all sorts of clacking sounds and
sang single notes instead of instruments. The costumes and masks were also
pretty amazing.
We spent the next day on the beach and the admiral had some pampering in the
spa. The three Days at the Marriott passed very quickly and we went back to the
marina to find a nice, clean boat with the stainless steel polished with a
toothbrush and the topsides all buffed out for the first time since New Zealand.
We took a drive to Lovina Beach on the north side of the island, through the
rain forest and lakes and 12,000 foot extinct volcano in the center of the
island. The return journey took us along the east of Bali on the coastal road
and back to the marina.
Provisioning at the Carrefour supermarket on the next day and we were ready to
leave after a little delay for fueling and waiting for our passports to be
returned after a visa extension.
We left Bali Marina on the 27th of September for Java on a beautiful clear day.
We motored up the same coast we drove along a few days before only in the
opposite direction keeping 100 metres off the beach to avoid the very strong
south setting currents between the island of Bali and Lombok.
We still have lots of photos to post. If the there is an internet connection in
Kumai, our next stop, it will happen then.
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