Hello everyone. So, really nothing has happened since last I talked to you. I'm still in Kuta and have been hanging out here since I made my trip around Bali. Kuta is like a small Vegas. Its none stop party if you want to but still quite in certain areas if you want to relax. For me, I'm kinda broke so I haven't been hitting up the nightlife every night like some people.
My daily routine has gone something like this:
wake up around 8 a.m., get my all included breakfast for free at the lobby, drink my tea (yes folks I have started to drink tea, but only because they mix up instant coffee and it taste like chalk) but don't hate on me and say English people have rubbed off on me when I come home. Then grab my surfboard and drive to the east or west side for a morning surf. Stay in the water for a couple of hours and then make my way back to Kuta where I get lunch at this super rad restaurant next door to my place. This restaurant looks like street market food but its stationary and has tables to sit at. You go up to the lady like a buffet style. She grabs rice and you order random amounts of food that you don't know what your eating. I figured out most of the stuff like omelets, mie goreng (noodles) curry sauce, prawns, beans and sometimes chicken but they charge a lot more for that. The cost today for lunch was 11 rupiah. Which is about $1.10. Not bad people. Great deals here.
After I eat I have just been relaxing and hanging out with new friends. The rumors are true about Bali: you don't get a whole lot done here. Lots of lounging. The past few days I have started to sketch up new t-shirt designs for Youthrunner and hopefully they will be out here soon.
Oh yea, I met up with one of my friends from couchsurfing in Australia. He has been traveling pretty much the same direction I am and he arrived in Bali last wee. We got a double room so the price is cut in half to $5 a night. Which is pretty tight. Cool kid. We've just been surfing everyday.
As far as adventures go besides just surfing everyday in Kuta, this Balinese girl text messaged me last night about a couchsurfing event. She said it was a full moonlight party out in Ubud. It sounded like a good time so me and Oliver (new roommate) met up with Irene and we walked down the street to this gas station where a bunch of other couchsurfers were gathering to get rides out to Ubud. We got there and met people from around the world. It sound like an interesting event and we both wanted to back out since it was in Ubud (1.5 hr drive) but we ended up going anyways.
While we were driving we got lost many many times in Ubud. These people had no idea where we were going and neither did I. Hours later of asking people we found this random cafe in the middle of some amazing rice patty fields. The cafe was built purely out of bamboo and straw. Some of the main structure of bamboo was as thick as a large basketball! We were also surrounded by green rice terraces (but it was dark so pictures couldn't capture the moment). The cafe had over 20 couchsurfers just mingling and talking to everyone. It was very mellow. Too mellow for me and that's hard to come by. I smooozed around and got to get to know some people but was pretty much ready to go home the instant we got there. The crowd was much older than me and Oliver and it just wasn't my scene.
It got to around 12:30 and I was def ready to go. It was almost like me tugging on my dad when I was a kid to leave, but I had to do that part in my head. We finally got in with another car that was leaving but they were going to Denpasar. Whatever, we left with them anyways and would figure out how to get to Kuta from there. This is where things got interesting. 10 minutes into the drive there was a huge bike accident ahead. First instinct was to get out of the car and see what was going on. I got out, ran over to the crash site and saw some awefull things. One guy was fully knocked out, covered in blood and probably dead while the other guy was also covered in blood but was have some serious convulsions. This other guy was trying to move the bike out of the road. I went to help him. I grabbed the steering wheel but the whole piece came off. I had this piece in my hand while the bike was still laying on the ground. We both grabbed what we could and pushed it off the road.
By the way, this is all within 30 seconds. I turned around and the car that I was with turned around and started to drive away! I started to run back to the car to jump in. They were in complete panic mode and wanted to get out of there. They thought we were going to get robbed but clearly two people were seriously injured. The car was still parked and I looked back at the accident. Two guys grabbed one of the injured guys and moved him off the road so traffic could keep moving. It was so messed up. They were more concerned about getting this piece of body off the road rather than wait for the ambulance to save his life. By moving him they probably paralyzed him.
Were in the car and I'm yelling at these people on why were leaving and how we need to get help. They didn't know what to do but they thought we were in danger. Not at all. I convince them to go to the hospital to tell a doctor about what happened. We later found one and told the doctor. He was really non-shelon about the situation and said "OK, well be there soon" moving extra slow like he didn't care. This is the difference between a 3rd world country and America. You don't move the body and the ambulance would be there in minutes to save you.
This situation really opened my eyes on how injury out here may leave you in the dust. Its like people didn't care on what happened. I still don't know what to think about the situation but I may have seen a couple of dead bodies for the first time in my life, hopefully not.
Later on we got a taxi cab from Denpasar back to Kuta.
Besides that, I have still been loving life and just surfing everyday. Today, the waves got bigger and I exchanged the board that I had for a bigger wave board. The surf was good but the riptide and current was horrible. I was paddling in the same place for most of the session. Got a good workout that's for sure.
My plan is to stay in Kuta for the rest of my trip, start to work a lot more and prepare myself for Thailand and SE Asia.
-Sean
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Saturday, January 23, 2010
West Bali
My trip took me west from Lovina towards Gilimanuk. Gilimanuk is where you would jump on a ferry to go to Java. The drive here was pretty mellow. It was all along the coast so you got to see bits and pieces of the ocean. Sometimes there were large craters in the mountains near by but nothing like you would see in Oregon. I arrived in the town and went to the ferry. I was temped to jump boat but held back. I was on a mission to do the whole island. That will have to be for the next trip out here. So, I head south now towards Seminyak and Kuta. This drive took quite a while. The roads were pretty straight and didn't take that many pictures. It was really cool but I already took a bunch of pictures of rice patties so I didn't need anymore. I ended up in Kuta and found a homestay. My plan now is to surf for the rest of the trip, and I have been doing that so far. Kuta is the big city and full of tourist. Its over populated and everyone has a scooter including me. At first I thought there were too many people, but Kuta has grown on me. I now really like it. Each place to surf though is a drive. Kuta has a beach but its flat because its rainy season and the waves are all on the east side (Kuta is west). Bali is quite the place.
Until next time folks...I'm trying hard to get pictures up but Internet here is even slower than OZ.
Until next time folks...I'm trying hard to get pictures up but Internet here is even slower than OZ.
Lovina
I got to the town Singaraja. Singaraja was about 10 minutes east of Lovina. I pulled over to check out this harbor and this guy on a scooter asked me where I was going. Pretty much everyone does. I told him Lovina. He said he works at this homestay and I should check it out. Okay, so I followed him there. It was pretty rad spot. Right on the beach and full of people. I booked the room and ended up staying there for a couple of days. Ended up making friends with all the workers and showing me a good time. The second day I was there I decided to make a road trip up into the mountains and check it out. Bali is known for being a tropical island but up top was freezing raining. After an all day drive up the mountains I finally arrived and my hands were purple and hands looks like brains. I pulled off the road to get some coffee and warm up. It didn't do anything. I guess I got used to the warm weather and I just got reminded of what its like back home in the winter time. Regardless, the drive was well worth it. More rice patties and up top the mountain lied two lakes and another town in between both of them. I drove to the town and was searching for a fruit market. The book that I have says that this town is known for producing wild strawberries that only grow here. Luckily there was a huge fruit market here. I pulled off and started to bard er with fruit stands for the best deal. I played dumb and acted like I have never seen any of the fruit so I could try them. Actually about half of it I tried in Sidemen but the other half was here that I hadn't tried yet. I ended up buy a bag full of assorted fruit to take home, including the strawberries.
On my way back up the hill I picked a different route to take me home. But at this time I was in the middle of the clouds and couldn't see anything. On top of that it started to pour down rain. Cold and miserable I drove slow down the windy road. Warmer and warmer it got and finally I broke through the clouds to a whole new land of rice terraces! It was quite the site. I instantly forgot about being cold. I kept driving and later on pulling over to take pictures. I felt like such a tourist but was the only one up north. People come to Bali and only stay in Kuta. They never leave to explore so the part of the island is untouched. I heard there was a hot springs at the bottom of the hill so that was on the agenda of what to do next. By the time I got down there it was really hot again. At this point I was really lost and in the middle of no where. There was a lot of traffic down here and I kept looking for a place to pull off to ask someone for directions. Like a complete idiot I saw some guy and pulled over right away, not even looking where I was going. I caught a patch gravel and my bike hearled me over to my face hitting the ground. I got up fine but was bleeding on my arm and legs. The guy got up real quick and ran off to get his family for help. They all rushed over to see if I was okay. They started to put some sort of ointment on my hands where it was bleeding. But truly I was okay. I had the map in my hands trying to communicate with them but they were worried about my health. I was worried about the bike and me paying a fine. Honestly I was completely fine. It must have looked way worse that it came out but luckily I was wearing my helmet or it could have been much worse. Its not like I'm a bad driver and driving really fast, it was just this patch of gravel that caught me off guard. Anyways the guy told me that the hot springs were really hard to find and he would take me there. He got on his dirt bike and I followed him there. We arrived to this oasis and I thanked him and took off. If it wasn't for my crash I wouldn't have found this hot springs. Weird how things work.
Inside was a huge pool. The upper deck was the warmest and colder beyond each lower level. The first level had 6 or so dragon statchue's spilling out hot water into the pool. Pretty neat. I jumped in and watched little kids do flip into the pool as I just stuck my face into this fountain of hot water. It was nice, then I left. Another hot spring but this time it was in a tropical island. Never would have thought the need for a hot springs would happen. It did and now I can check it off the list.
I made it back to Lovina in my homestay safe and sound. That night the sunset was unreal. The pictures I got were great. I met this couple from Germany and we ended up hanging out all night. We went and got food at the street market. Things here are even cheaper, but come with consequence. Definitely the only white people here. We stood very tall compared to the locals. After talking for hours we ended up closing the place down. People started to look at us like we were having too much fun. Kinda like Denny's late night. So we left. I asked them if they do facebook so we could keep in contact but they call facebook, fukbook. I will never see these people again. Cheers.
Next day I left to head west to check out the rest of the island.
On my way back up the hill I picked a different route to take me home. But at this time I was in the middle of the clouds and couldn't see anything. On top of that it started to pour down rain. Cold and miserable I drove slow down the windy road. Warmer and warmer it got and finally I broke through the clouds to a whole new land of rice terraces! It was quite the site. I instantly forgot about being cold. I kept driving and later on pulling over to take pictures. I felt like such a tourist but was the only one up north. People come to Bali and only stay in Kuta. They never leave to explore so the part of the island is untouched. I heard there was a hot springs at the bottom of the hill so that was on the agenda of what to do next. By the time I got down there it was really hot again. At this point I was really lost and in the middle of no where. There was a lot of traffic down here and I kept looking for a place to pull off to ask someone for directions. Like a complete idiot I saw some guy and pulled over right away, not even looking where I was going. I caught a patch gravel and my bike hearled me over to my face hitting the ground. I got up fine but was bleeding on my arm and legs. The guy got up real quick and ran off to get his family for help. They all rushed over to see if I was okay. They started to put some sort of ointment on my hands where it was bleeding. But truly I was okay. I had the map in my hands trying to communicate with them but they were worried about my health. I was worried about the bike and me paying a fine. Honestly I was completely fine. It must have looked way worse that it came out but luckily I was wearing my helmet or it could have been much worse. Its not like I'm a bad driver and driving really fast, it was just this patch of gravel that caught me off guard. Anyways the guy told me that the hot springs were really hard to find and he would take me there. He got on his dirt bike and I followed him there. We arrived to this oasis and I thanked him and took off. If it wasn't for my crash I wouldn't have found this hot springs. Weird how things work.
Inside was a huge pool. The upper deck was the warmest and colder beyond each lower level. The first level had 6 or so dragon statchue's spilling out hot water into the pool. Pretty neat. I jumped in and watched little kids do flip into the pool as I just stuck my face into this fountain of hot water. It was nice, then I left. Another hot spring but this time it was in a tropical island. Never would have thought the need for a hot springs would happen. It did and now I can check it off the list.
I made it back to Lovina in my homestay safe and sound. That night the sunset was unreal. The pictures I got were great. I met this couple from Germany and we ended up hanging out all night. We went and got food at the street market. Things here are even cheaper, but come with consequence. Definitely the only white people here. We stood very tall compared to the locals. After talking for hours we ended up closing the place down. People started to look at us like we were having too much fun. Kinda like Denny's late night. So we left. I asked them if they do facebook so we could keep in contact but they call facebook, fukbook. I will never see these people again. Cheers.
Next day I left to head west to check out the rest of the island.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Bali: travels around the island
Okay, where to start...
Day one: I got on my scooter and headed north towards Ubud. Ubud (ooo-bud (like the dog)). The drive was supposed to be around 45 minutes north towards the center of the island. Alex gave me simple directions: take a right at the McDonald's and go straight. I somehow took a right and headed south. I'm a dumb ass. 15 minutes later I realized the signs said that I was headed towards Kuta (south). So I turned around and headed north towards the real Ubud. 1 hours later I arrived in Ubud and then right through it without even knowing it was a town. So 1/2 after I arrived in the town I actually turned around because I passed it. Wow. The thing about Bali is that the whole entire road leading to Ubud is filled with these little stores neck to neck selling stuff so you don't actually know where one town ends and the next begins. So the drive leading up to Ubud had a huge culture change. Bali is known for having a different culture in each city, and there right. Ubud had lots of wood working and craftsmanship on every corner. I mean, this is where all the product comes from. On top of that the people act slightly different. Much more relaxed and all dressed up in Balinese outerwear.
First thing I did in town was follow these signs to this monkey forest. This was a direct route that I knew for sure that I was in Ubud. So that was a relief. I finally arrived at this monkey sanchuary and walked in. Right away there were 10 or so monkeys at the entrance awaiting some bananas. So cool! I kept walking and more and more monkeys popped out to greet me and see what was going on. I mean this was a monkey forest so there had to be tons of them. You knowthe jungle book ? Yea that's what I was living in. Large Balinese stone stachue's filled with enormous trees that have thousands of vines hanging from them. You could easily swing like Tarzan here.
So, I walked around for a couple of hours hanging out with the monkeys. One time, I got real up close and personal with this baby monkey and he grabbed my hand and tried to take the camera. I got a great shot of this, but there was no chance he was going to take my G11.
I finally left this place in pursuit for a homestay to crash for the night. For some reason when I'm driving this scooter I loose all visibility for homestays. All I see are bungalows and there way more expensive to rent. I took some random alleyways to find some homestays and found nothing. Finally, I gave up and went into a bungalow hotel and asked them how much and/or if they knew of a homestay that would be cheap to stay for the night. The manager took me down the street, into a sketchy back alleyway, down a trail and into this oasis of homestays. At first I thought it was a joke but I checked out the rooms and instantly booked it. Although it was down this weird entrance I sort of liked it.
At this time, I took a shower and headed out to check out the town and get some food. Upon walking I found this open grass field where some little kids were playing soccer. Naturally, I busted out my camera and snapped some shots. So far this town has noticeably fewer white people than Sanur and Kuta. I probably saw 30 white people here.
That night I went to a Balinese dance show. I really had no idea what to expect but I entered this temple and found a Balinese band playing drums and different sets of dancers going to the beat. They would move to each thump to the melody. If they would move there arms one way, there eyes would look the opposite. It was really interested. Each set lasted about 10 minutes. So, I can check that off the list.
Next morning, I woke up to coffee and tea awaiting for me at my table right outside the steps. The owner came up to me and we chatted for a bit and then he offered to make me breakfast. He later came out with this amazing Balinese omelet and a fruit platter of fruit I have never seen before. What a quality breakfast this guy made. I ate and then pulled out my map to see where to head off next. He helped me with directions.
Onward bound I went. Into the mist and sunlight I went. Aimlessly driving into nomads land. The goal for the day was to make multiple site seeing stops and end up in Tulamben. So my first stop was Semarapura. This town was just a pass through city so I can get to Sidemen (sid-a-min) Sidemen was up deep in the mountains and was known for amazing hiking trails all over the mountains. The drive up was a slow go. The roads turned like "S's" and reminded me of the Mazda commercials when they say "zoom zoom". Anyways I got to the top and ended up in this shot down slum village. It was all little stores and fruit stands. At first I drove through the town pretty slow to get a feel for it and then parked my bike to wonder around and talk to the city folk. Up in the woods here I stuck out like white minority or something. Well I was. Everyone was starring at me with smiles and little kids would run up to you, giggle and then run off. It was so cool. I instantly went up to this fruit stand. I still don't have any idea what I ate but the lady would just grab a fruit that I was looking at, peel it and then feed it to me. All of them were delicacies. If you know me well enough, I love fruit and anything to do with sweet and sour is a must. This fruit stand nailed it all together and I was in flavor country. This one fruit I tried looked like snake scales, brown and very hard to the touch. The lady peeled it like an orange but inside was a huge white ball. There were different layers to it but each piece you grab looked like an garlic clove. It had a rubbery feel texture and bite but very sweet tasting. I ended up buying a bag from her for 20 cents. I sat outside on the street eating every last bit if it. Then got up and left. It was definitely a slum village but the area that they lived in was amazing. Rice terraces everywhere the eye could see and jacked up mountains full of trees. Hopefully the pictures will explain some of this.
My drive was still heading west towards Tulamben. The first town that hit the ocean was called Kusumba. All black sand and more run down shops. The first thing I saw was this huge temple. I pulled over and went for a look. Go figure I entered in this place where there was a big sign saying don't come in (mainly because you have to dress up in order to come in the temple) So they yelled at me and I went around to the entrance. Go America. I paid my 10 cents and this guy fully dressed me up in there Balinese outfit. I had this yellow and black robe that was tied around my waist followed by another piece of cloth that tied it all together, plus I had this rad necklace around my neck and of course my tank top. I was styling. So I walked in and snapped who knows how many pictures. Oh yea, the temple was called Goa Lawah. Little that I new this temple was known for there bat cave! So as I was walking around I heard all of these loud noises coming from this cave. I got closer and so thousands if not millions of bats flying all around this cave. It was crazy, it smelled like cow shit mixed with diarrhea but my pictures only capture the the Kodak moment. So you guys are kinda lucky in a way. I hung on as long as I could and got the heck out of there before I passed out from holding my breath. All in all the temple was well worth the show. Outside the temple there were plenty of hecklers trying to get me to buy stuff. Especially the guys who sell sunglasses. I mean, I'm wearing my sunglasses and there asking me to buy some. I point to my face but they still don't get that I have glasses on. Wow, there persistent, I'll give them that.
Okay, so I left and I'm heading towards Tulamben once again. So far I have been following all the directions from this rad book my cousin Kathy gave to me. The author of this book really knew what he was talking about. This next drive from Kusumba to Tulamben has been by far the best scenic drive of my life. It could have been because I was by myself, on a scooter, or because the mountains and rice patties were picture perfect and I have never seen this much vibrant green ever. This drive probably took me 3 hours to do only because I kept stopping to take pictures. Each picture sorta looks the same but its kinda what you imagine about a rice terrace. There set on a mountain range but over thousands of years of landscaping the hill they have massive level walking areas to grow the rice. Just look it up on google and you'll know what I'm talking about. The roads twisted and turned as I climbed up into the mountains. It slowly turned from sunny to overcast and a mist of rain. I really can't explain how crazy cool this drive was. It was really peaceful and you can really tell how much Balinese people love there land. The landscaping done is breathtaking.
Each time that I pulled over to take some pictures were all pretty sketchy. Bali doesn't have dedicated scenic pull offs like America so you have to make your own. The roads give little to no room to pull over to each time I had to dodge cars just to take a picture. One of the stops this Italian guy pulled over at the same stop. We were both in amazement. After talking for a few seconds we realized we were both heading to the same destination. We ended up driving down to Amed. This was another bypass town. It was pretty cool though. Really small, full of bungalows and homestays with a couple of restaurants. I got some food and of course it started to rain. I had to stay there for about an hour until it stopped. Hopefully. The instant it stopped I got up and headed out. About 20 minutes later I arrived in Tulamben. Well, actually I drove right through it because I was literally 500 meters long and no sign saying your in the town. But I figured that out and started to look for a homestay and scuba diving. I ended up staying at this place called "Ocean Sun". It was only 4 bedrooms and a restaurant. Super small. The people staying there were really nice. I ended up hanging out with these two people Dave and Sally. They were both here to scuba dive, exactly what I was there for two. We ended up finding a dive master that was going to take all of us out the next day.
Next day, bright and early we walked down to get ready to scuba. The workers fitted us and we put our gear on and walked down to the beach. Typically you get on a boat but in this situation you just go from the beach. The beach was all black but more in pebble form, not sand. We got in the water and I noticed my tank had a slight hiss noise to it. Meaning it had a tiny leek. I mentioned it to the dive master but it didn't seem much concern. We descended down looking for this old Japanese shipwreck. Right away there was wildlife everywhere. Lots of vibrant fish with cool patterns laced around them. Couple minutes later this shipwreck appeared. It took us the entire time to wrap around the boat. It was 120 meters long! We all chipped in and rented a underwater camera to take some pictures. The dive master was the photographer and later on realized it was a big mistake. Every 5 seconds he was asking us to pose for the camera and wave. It was cool at first but I really wanted pictures of the fish and reef. Whatever. By the end of the swim my tank was maybe 50 psi. This is incredibly low and I still had to wait 3 minutes to get the nitrogen out of my system. The thing I noticed was in Bali (third world country) you get what you pay for, and that is all the air in your tank. Out in Australia we had to come up to the surface at 100 psi. Making the dive pretty short. This dive was over 45 minutes! Probably the longest dive I have done. The next dive we did, the dive master was going to take us into the ship. This was really cool. Some of the holes we had to fit into barely fit our body and the tank. I got to hold the captains steering wheel. My favorite thing that I saw were these schools of eels in the sand. From far away they would all pop out there bodies from the sand about 1 ft. All synchronized with the riptide. They would be stacked next to each other, row by row. Maybe 10 in the first row and so on. Naturally I went in for a look and as I got closer, the first row would disappear back into the sand, then the second. As I backed off, they would pop right back up.
So the two dives I did were fantastic. Visibility wasn't at its best but that's because its in the wet season.
Next day I got my things packed up and ready to go. We were all sitting outside the restaurant and noticed a huge dark cloud rushing our way. 5 minutes later monsoon rains came plummeting down. I mean I've never seen rain like this. It was raining sideways and flooded the whole restaurant within minutes. Everyone had to move closer inside or you would be drenched by the rain. On top of that the thunder and lighting that was shouting out put Shiloh to shame. It was the loudest crackling and pop ever. The street outside turned into a river. I mean the whole 2 lane street was a river. 1/2 later the rain stopped and cleared up. I walked outside to look around. 500 ft down the street I noticed that the whole street had a new river that plowed through it and wiped it away. All the rain from the mountains came through the town and took out the whole street. Up closer was a huge waterfall that came rushing down off the street. All the cars around it couldn't get by. It was cool for me, Dave and Sally but everyone else was a normal thing to them. Later on when the river down down a bit from being 1 or more ft deep to 6 inches cars started to attempt to get back. All sliding out like they were driving through ice. The funniest part was when the first scooter tried to get by. Luckily he made it but he was sliding out on every turn and I thought he was gonna fall off into the waterfall. He charged through it like a bat out of hell. We all cheered him on.
We sat there for an hour of so in amazement then finally left. It was a perfect time for me to leave before the rain started again. So, I said my goodbyes to my new friends and took off. My next destination was Lovina. The north side of the island and 5 or 6 hour drive. There were no more rice patties but just all small shacks and stores the whole drive. Not too fancy.
Day one: I got on my scooter and headed north towards Ubud. Ubud (ooo-bud (like the dog)). The drive was supposed to be around 45 minutes north towards the center of the island. Alex gave me simple directions: take a right at the McDonald's and go straight. I somehow took a right and headed south. I'm a dumb ass. 15 minutes later I realized the signs said that I was headed towards Kuta (south). So I turned around and headed north towards the real Ubud. 1 hours later I arrived in Ubud and then right through it without even knowing it was a town. So 1/2 after I arrived in the town I actually turned around because I passed it. Wow. The thing about Bali is that the whole entire road leading to Ubud is filled with these little stores neck to neck selling stuff so you don't actually know where one town ends and the next begins. So the drive leading up to Ubud had a huge culture change. Bali is known for having a different culture in each city, and there right. Ubud had lots of wood working and craftsmanship on every corner. I mean, this is where all the product comes from. On top of that the people act slightly different. Much more relaxed and all dressed up in Balinese outerwear.
First thing I did in town was follow these signs to this monkey forest. This was a direct route that I knew for sure that I was in Ubud. So that was a relief. I finally arrived at this monkey sanchuary and walked in. Right away there were 10 or so monkeys at the entrance awaiting some bananas. So cool! I kept walking and more and more monkeys popped out to greet me and see what was going on. I mean this was a monkey forest so there had to be tons of them. You know
So, I walked around for a couple of hours hanging out with the monkeys. One time, I got real up close and personal with this baby monkey and he grabbed my hand and tried to take the camera. I got a great shot of this, but there was no chance he was going to take my G11.
I finally left this place in pursuit for a homestay to crash for the night. For some reason when I'm driving this scooter I loose all visibility for homestays. All I see are bungalows and there way more expensive to rent. I took some random alleyways to find some homestays and found nothing. Finally, I gave up and went into a bungalow hotel and asked them how much and/or if they knew of a homestay that would be cheap to stay for the night. The manager took me down the street, into a sketchy back alleyway, down a trail and into this oasis of homestays. At first I thought it was a joke but I checked out the rooms and instantly booked it. Although it was down this weird entrance I sort of liked it.
At this time, I took a shower and headed out to check out the town and get some food. Upon walking I found this open grass field where some little kids were playing soccer. Naturally, I busted out my camera and snapped some shots. So far this town has noticeably fewer white people than Sanur and Kuta. I probably saw 30 white people here.
That night I went to a Balinese dance show. I really had no idea what to expect but I entered this temple and found a Balinese band playing drums and different sets of dancers going to the beat. They would move to each thump to the melody. If they would move there arms one way, there eyes would look the opposite. It was really interested. Each set lasted about 10 minutes. So, I can check that off the list.
Next morning, I woke up to coffee and tea awaiting for me at my table right outside the steps. The owner came up to me and we chatted for a bit and then he offered to make me breakfast. He later came out with this amazing Balinese omelet and a fruit platter of fruit I have never seen before. What a quality breakfast this guy made. I ate and then pulled out my map to see where to head off next. He helped me with directions.
Onward bound I went. Into the mist and sunlight I went. Aimlessly driving into nomads land. The goal for the day was to make multiple site seeing stops and end up in Tulamben. So my first stop was Semarapura. This town was just a pass through city so I can get to Sidemen (sid-a-min) Sidemen was up deep in the mountains and was known for amazing hiking trails all over the mountains. The drive up was a slow go. The roads turned like "S's" and reminded me of the Mazda commercials when they say "zoom zoom". Anyways I got to the top and ended up in this shot down slum village. It was all little stores and fruit stands. At first I drove through the town pretty slow to get a feel for it and then parked my bike to wonder around and talk to the city folk. Up in the woods here I stuck out like white minority or something. Well I was. Everyone was starring at me with smiles and little kids would run up to you, giggle and then run off. It was so cool. I instantly went up to this fruit stand. I still don't have any idea what I ate but the lady would just grab a fruit that I was looking at, peel it and then feed it to me. All of them were delicacies. If you know me well enough, I love fruit and anything to do with sweet and sour is a must. This fruit stand nailed it all together and I was in flavor country. This one fruit I tried looked like snake scales, brown and very hard to the touch. The lady peeled it like an orange but inside was a huge white ball. There were different layers to it but each piece you grab looked like an garlic clove. It had a rubbery feel texture and bite but very sweet tasting. I ended up buying a bag from her for 20 cents. I sat outside on the street eating every last bit if it. Then got up and left. It was definitely a slum village but the area that they lived in was amazing. Rice terraces everywhere the eye could see and jacked up mountains full of trees. Hopefully the pictures will explain some of this.
My drive was still heading west towards Tulamben. The first town that hit the ocean was called Kusumba. All black sand and more run down shops. The first thing I saw was this huge temple. I pulled over and went for a look. Go figure I entered in this place where there was a big sign saying don't come in (mainly because you have to dress up in order to come in the temple) So they yelled at me and I went around to the entrance. Go America. I paid my 10 cents and this guy fully dressed me up in there Balinese outfit. I had this yellow and black robe that was tied around my waist followed by another piece of cloth that tied it all together, plus I had this rad necklace around my neck and of course my tank top. I was styling. So I walked in and snapped who knows how many pictures. Oh yea, the temple was called Goa Lawah. Little that I new this temple was known for there bat cave! So as I was walking around I heard all of these loud noises coming from this cave. I got closer and so thousands if not millions of bats flying all around this cave. It was crazy, it smelled like cow shit mixed with diarrhea but my pictures only capture the the Kodak moment. So you guys are kinda lucky in a way. I hung on as long as I could and got the heck out of there before I passed out from holding my breath. All in all the temple was well worth the show. Outside the temple there were plenty of hecklers trying to get me to buy stuff. Especially the guys who sell sunglasses. I mean, I'm wearing my sunglasses and there asking me to buy some. I point to my face but they still don't get that I have glasses on. Wow, there persistent, I'll give them that.
Okay, so I left and I'm heading towards Tulamben once again. So far I have been following all the directions from this rad book my cousin Kathy gave to me. The author of this book really knew what he was talking about. This next drive from Kusumba to Tulamben has been by far the best scenic drive of my life. It could have been because I was by myself, on a scooter, or because the mountains and rice patties were picture perfect and I have never seen this much vibrant green ever. This drive probably took me 3 hours to do only because I kept stopping to take pictures. Each picture sorta looks the same but its kinda what you imagine about a rice terrace. There set on a mountain range but over thousands of years of landscaping the hill they have massive level walking areas to grow the rice. Just look it up on google and you'll know what I'm talking about. The roads twisted and turned as I climbed up into the mountains. It slowly turned from sunny to overcast and a mist of rain. I really can't explain how crazy cool this drive was. It was really peaceful and you can really tell how much Balinese people love there land. The landscaping done is breathtaking.
Each time that I pulled over to take some pictures were all pretty sketchy. Bali doesn't have dedicated scenic pull offs like America so you have to make your own. The roads give little to no room to pull over to each time I had to dodge cars just to take a picture. One of the stops this Italian guy pulled over at the same stop. We were both in amazement. After talking for a few seconds we realized we were both heading to the same destination. We ended up driving down to Amed. This was another bypass town. It was pretty cool though. Really small, full of bungalows and homestays with a couple of restaurants. I got some food and of course it started to rain. I had to stay there for about an hour until it stopped. Hopefully. The instant it stopped I got up and headed out. About 20 minutes later I arrived in Tulamben. Well, actually I drove right through it because I was literally 500 meters long and no sign saying your in the town. But I figured that out and started to look for a homestay and scuba diving. I ended up staying at this place called "Ocean Sun". It was only 4 bedrooms and a restaurant. Super small. The people staying there were really nice. I ended up hanging out with these two people Dave and Sally. They were both here to scuba dive, exactly what I was there for two. We ended up finding a dive master that was going to take all of us out the next day.
Next day, bright and early we walked down to get ready to scuba. The workers fitted us and we put our gear on and walked down to the beach. Typically you get on a boat but in this situation you just go from the beach. The beach was all black but more in pebble form, not sand. We got in the water and I noticed my tank had a slight hiss noise to it. Meaning it had a tiny leek. I mentioned it to the dive master but it didn't seem much concern. We descended down looking for this old Japanese shipwreck. Right away there was wildlife everywhere. Lots of vibrant fish with cool patterns laced around them. Couple minutes later this shipwreck appeared. It took us the entire time to wrap around the boat. It was 120 meters long! We all chipped in and rented a underwater camera to take some pictures. The dive master was the photographer and later on realized it was a big mistake. Every 5 seconds he was asking us to pose for the camera and wave. It was cool at first but I really wanted pictures of the fish and reef. Whatever. By the end of the swim my tank was maybe 50 psi. This is incredibly low and I still had to wait 3 minutes to get the nitrogen out of my system. The thing I noticed was in Bali (third world country) you get what you pay for, and that is all the air in your tank. Out in Australia we had to come up to the surface at 100 psi. Making the dive pretty short. This dive was over 45 minutes! Probably the longest dive I have done. The next dive we did, the dive master was going to take us into the ship. This was really cool. Some of the holes we had to fit into barely fit our body and the tank. I got to hold the captains steering wheel. My favorite thing that I saw were these schools of eels in the sand. From far away they would all pop out there bodies from the sand about 1 ft. All synchronized with the riptide. They would be stacked next to each other, row by row. Maybe 10 in the first row and so on. Naturally I went in for a look and as I got closer, the first row would disappear back into the sand, then the second. As I backed off, they would pop right back up.
So the two dives I did were fantastic. Visibility wasn't at its best but that's because its in the wet season.
Next day I got my things packed up and ready to go. We were all sitting outside the restaurant and noticed a huge dark cloud rushing our way. 5 minutes later monsoon rains came plummeting down. I mean I've never seen rain like this. It was raining sideways and flooded the whole restaurant within minutes. Everyone had to move closer inside or you would be drenched by the rain. On top of that the thunder and lighting that was shouting out put Shiloh to shame. It was the loudest crackling and pop ever. The street outside turned into a river. I mean the whole 2 lane street was a river. 1/2 later the rain stopped and cleared up. I walked outside to look around. 500 ft down the street I noticed that the whole street had a new river that plowed through it and wiped it away. All the rain from the mountains came through the town and took out the whole street. Up closer was a huge waterfall that came rushing down off the street. All the cars around it couldn't get by. It was cool for me, Dave and Sally but everyone else was a normal thing to them. Later on when the river down down a bit from being 1 or more ft deep to 6 inches cars started to attempt to get back. All sliding out like they were driving through ice. The funniest part was when the first scooter tried to get by. Luckily he made it but he was sliding out on every turn and I thought he was gonna fall off into the waterfall. He charged through it like a bat out of hell. We all cheered him on.
We sat there for an hour of so in amazement then finally left. It was a perfect time for me to leave before the rain started again. So, I said my goodbyes to my new friends and took off. My next destination was Lovina. The north side of the island and 5 or 6 hour drive. There were no more rice patties but just all small shacks and stores the whole drive. Not too fancy.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Bali! First 2 days
Well after waiting in the airport literally all day in Melbourne and Sydney I finally made it to Bali. In take-off we were in the middle of a lightning storm and I saw a lightning bolt right in front of the airplane when we were air born. Probably the closest I have ever been to that. Check that off the list. 5 1/2 hours later I arrived in Bali. 2 hours late and its midnight. Hopefully my friend Alex from couchsurfing is still there waiting for me at the airport.
Going through customs was so easy. I bought a visa on arrival (30 day stay) and walked through. On the other hand I went to grab my bags and three guys in uniform grabbed my stuff and told me to follow them. I thought they were customs. I followed, we went through security and they took me straight to the currency exchange and asked me to pay them. I was like"what" These guys just hustled me right under my breath. Its bullonie I tell you. So I had to pay them, got a little pissed off in my head and left. Right outside I recognized Alex from his couchsurfing profile. I yelled "ALEX, my man whats up?" Instantly we were friends. Such a rad dude. He grew up in Bali and was a local. So he spoke there language and had this place figured out. He got a taxi for us and well headed towards Sanur when he lives. Its about 30 minutes north from the airport. We got to his home stay, which consisted of one bedroom and a bathroom surrounded by 5 other villas and a Balinese family, followed by a huge private temple in the backyard. Instant culture shock. This was what I was looking for. He showed me to the beach and we got some food and then went to bed. It was already super late and he had to work in the morning.
Next day, he got up and drove to work (teaches English) and I decided to explore the area. Day and night time were like yin and yang. Complete opposite. People were everywhere and I was a minority. I walked and taxi's honked at me for rides. I got heckled by every single shop I passed, no joke. Worse than Mexico. I finally just started to say "I'll come back tomorrow" and they left me alone. Sometimes they would walk and talk with me for a whole block. They would try and reel me in by saying my skin is so dark already, you look like a Balinese. I laugh and keep walking. I still haven't heard " me love you long time". But its too soon or maybe that's more in SE Asia.
So far each building and house has there own private sanctuary and temple. Each consist of hand carved statues and incredible architecture. There mostly straw houses and everything is fine in craftsmanship. They really don't care much about there houses but what surrounds the house. At a certain time of day they make these flower offerings and burn in sense. Some of them have chocolate in the bag. Really interesting. I've never seen anything like this before...So I kept walking and ended up at the beach. Lots of hotels, food and Balinese people offering massages. It gets kinda annoying getting heckled but you just gotta laugh it off. I ended up finding this breakfast joint and ordered something I didn't know what it was. They had things in English like "American breakfast" but I chose something random. They came out with this bowl of rice, curry, chicken and 4 boiled eggs on top. Really weird but I dove in (mom you would have been proud) and ate the dish. I can't say I loved it. It was really neutral tasting and nothing special but I did order a watermelon juice so that saved the meal. The meal and drink cost $2! Right in front of me were waves that were breaking pretty good. I was really surprised because in Sanur there not known for waves and is typically flat. But today it was barrelling and good. I just watched that day b/c I was supposed to meet Alex later. So for the rest of the day I just walked around and saw things I have never dreamed of.
I met Alex later and we met up with some friends for dinner. I ordered this huge platter of noodles and mango juice. Delicious. This was also $2. I could live here for so long and not pay anything. After that we went to a cell phone shop and got myself a Sim card so I can call people. He later on made some phone calls to get me a scooter in the morning for the rest of the month and the next day help me find some accommodation. The scooter cost me $50 and housing for a month will be around $120. So everything is a great deal. Right now I'm in the same teaching building that he works in. I'm gonna have a interview with the boss about work and get some details. I might stay here longer than one month but well see.
My plan is to get accommodation and then drive around the island and site see. This will take about a week. From there come back and surf for the rest of the time and maybe get this job. If I don't get it no problem because I'm planning on working in Vietnam and the pay up north is way better but Bali has waves. That's why people stay here over Vietnam. Oh well I have nothing to complain about, I'm in paradise and loving every single piece of it. Its gonna be all business for the next day or two and then fun for the rest. Come visit me who ever reads this blog (if any) I'll post pictures soon. I have tons from Australia that I need to put online and some from Bali. I miss all of you. Had a dream of the family and Clyde last night...
-Sean
Going through customs was so easy. I bought a visa on arrival (30 day stay) and walked through. On the other hand I went to grab my bags and three guys in uniform grabbed my stuff and told me to follow them. I thought they were customs. I followed, we went through security and they took me straight to the currency exchange and asked me to pay them. I was like"what" These guys just hustled me right under my breath. Its bullonie I tell you. So I had to pay them, got a little pissed off in my head and left. Right outside I recognized Alex from his couchsurfing profile. I yelled "ALEX, my man whats up?" Instantly we were friends. Such a rad dude. He grew up in Bali and was a local. So he spoke there language and had this place figured out. He got a taxi for us and well headed towards Sanur when he lives. Its about 30 minutes north from the airport. We got to his home stay, which consisted of one bedroom and a bathroom surrounded by 5 other villas and a Balinese family, followed by a huge private temple in the backyard. Instant culture shock. This was what I was looking for. He showed me to the beach and we got some food and then went to bed. It was already super late and he had to work in the morning.
Next day, he got up and drove to work (teaches English) and I decided to explore the area. Day and night time were like yin and yang. Complete opposite. People were everywhere and I was a minority. I walked and taxi's honked at me for rides. I got heckled by every single shop I passed, no joke. Worse than Mexico. I finally just started to say "I'll come back tomorrow" and they left me alone. Sometimes they would walk and talk with me for a whole block. They would try and reel me in by saying my skin is so dark already, you look like a Balinese. I laugh and keep walking. I still haven't heard " me love you long time". But its too soon or maybe that's more in SE Asia.
So far each building and house has there own private sanctuary and temple. Each consist of hand carved statues and incredible architecture. There mostly straw houses and everything is fine in craftsmanship. They really don't care much about there houses but what surrounds the house. At a certain time of day they make these flower offerings and burn in sense. Some of them have chocolate in the bag. Really interesting. I've never seen anything like this before...So I kept walking and ended up at the beach. Lots of hotels, food and Balinese people offering massages. It gets kinda annoying getting heckled but you just gotta laugh it off. I ended up finding this breakfast joint and ordered something I didn't know what it was. They had things in English like "American breakfast" but I chose something random. They came out with this bowl of rice, curry, chicken and 4 boiled eggs on top. Really weird but I dove in (mom you would have been proud) and ate the dish. I can't say I loved it. It was really neutral tasting and nothing special but I did order a watermelon juice so that saved the meal. The meal and drink cost $2! Right in front of me were waves that were breaking pretty good. I was really surprised because in Sanur there not known for waves and is typically flat. But today it was barrelling and good. I just watched that day b/c I was supposed to meet Alex later. So for the rest of the day I just walked around and saw things I have never dreamed of.
I met Alex later and we met up with some friends for dinner. I ordered this huge platter of noodles and mango juice. Delicious. This was also $2. I could live here for so long and not pay anything. After that we went to a cell phone shop and got myself a Sim card so I can call people. He later on made some phone calls to get me a scooter in the morning for the rest of the month and the next day help me find some accommodation. The scooter cost me $50 and housing for a month will be around $120. So everything is a great deal. Right now I'm in the same teaching building that he works in. I'm gonna have a interview with the boss about work and get some details. I might stay here longer than one month but well see.
My plan is to get accommodation and then drive around the island and site see. This will take about a week. From there come back and surf for the rest of the time and maybe get this job. If I don't get it no problem because I'm planning on working in Vietnam and the pay up north is way better but Bali has waves. That's why people stay here over Vietnam. Oh well I have nothing to complain about, I'm in paradise and loving every single piece of it. Its gonna be all business for the next day or two and then fun for the rest. Come visit me who ever reads this blog (if any) I'll post pictures soon. I have tons from Australia that I need to put online and some from Bali. I miss all of you. Had a dream of the family and Clyde last night...
-Sean
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Melourne
What a way to end my stay in Australia and be in Melbourne. This is by far my favorite city. The rumors were true and it does remind me of Portland, Oregon. The art and music scene sores high and the people are great. Melbourne lies on a river bank that feeds into the ocean. Pretty much like Portland.
Anyways, the first day I arrived on the train my friend Clare (from Ireland) met me and we jumped back on the train inland to her house. This house has the whole vintage feel to it. Oldschool flower wallpaper on one side and white and pink lined paper on the opposite side. The apartment is huge. She had 4 roommates, me and Shelly. So there was a lot of people staying here for the next week.
The next day I headed into town to explore. The city was known for graffiti. It's legal. You can walk down the street and find some random alleyway and there will be world famous graffiti from artist that I know. So cool. I probably took 400 pictures there. I'll update on facebook soon. I hung out there pretty much all day. Went to dome museums and just walked the City. Melbourne is really cool.
Day after that we went down to the park and had a big BBQ with all of her Irish friends. Well she only hangs out with Irish. Its super hard to understand anything they say, and if they have a drink or two its worthless trying to figure out what they were talking about. I just nod my head and say yea.
So far the night life wasn't too popular with all of us. They do have a huge nightlife but they all work and each day I probably walk 10 km. So I'm exhausted. Her roommate, Jack had these cards that showed 52 different places to check out in Melbourne. All art related. So each day I tried to find these places. I ended up finding around 10 of them and ran out of time. Tomorrow I head to Bali. I'm super excited and can't wait. Sorry for the short and late post, hopefully the pictures will explain more of what Melbourne is about.
-Sean
Anyways, the first day I arrived on the train my friend Clare (from Ireland) met me and we jumped back on the train inland to her house. This house has the whole vintage feel to it. Oldschool flower wallpaper on one side and white and pink lined paper on the opposite side. The apartment is huge. She had 4 roommates, me and Shelly. So there was a lot of people staying here for the next week.
The next day I headed into town to explore. The city was known for graffiti. It's legal. You can walk down the street and find some random alleyway and there will be world famous graffiti from artist that I know. So cool. I probably took 400 pictures there. I'll update on facebook soon. I hung out there pretty much all day. Went to dome museums and just walked the City. Melbourne is really cool.
Day after that we went down to the park and had a big BBQ with all of her Irish friends. Well she only hangs out with Irish. Its super hard to understand anything they say, and if they have a drink or two its worthless trying to figure out what they were talking about. I just nod my head and say yea.
So far the night life wasn't too popular with all of us. They do have a huge nightlife but they all work and each day I probably walk 10 km. So I'm exhausted. Her roommate, Jack had these cards that showed 52 different places to check out in Melbourne. All art related. So each day I tried to find these places. I ended up finding around 10 of them and ran out of time. Tomorrow I head to Bali. I'm super excited and can't wait. Sorry for the short and late post, hopefully the pictures will explain more of what Melbourne is about.
-Sean
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Sutherland. ie. Caringba (suburb) to Wollongong and Kiama
Okay, this will be a short blog entry but I have time to write some. Today, me and Holly took a day trip to Wollongong and Kiama. Roughly a 2 + hour trip but took us all day because we stopped at different site scening events. The first stop we made was at Bald Hill CarPark. This was a well known area for fixed wing gliders. This spot was where Lawrence Hargrave observed birds and made the first fixed wing glider that worked. He later sent his info to the Wright Bros which later helped in making the first aeroplane. We watched people jump off this huge cliff and fly for hours, it was pretty fun but wished I was doing it. My mom would have done this in a heartbeat. This cliff overlooked incredible scenery and the SeaCliff Bridge. This bridge curves around the rock cliffs and on top of the ocean. Pretty cool site to see. After that we headed south towards Holly's University that she graduated (sorry but I forget what the college was called). We walked around there, checked out the campus and then walked next door to the botanical gardens of Wollongong. The park consisted of some amazing trees, flowers and ponds. The pond was filled with eels and ducks. Weird combination but kinda cool. The other trees were mainly gum and eucalyptus trees and another rad tree I still have no idea what it is but I got pictures of it. It looked like two palm trees that morphed into one another but still left that crease imprint of what it would look like if they were stuck to each other (if that makes since).
After that we got back into the car and drove towards Kiama (K-eye-ama). This town was filled with great food and shops and of course a lighthouse. I've yet to really mention it yet but each town I have gone to has a famous lighthouse that everyone stands around and takes pictures. I mean one lighthouse really looks all the same. Especially today, it was cloudy and super flat light, but that didn't stop butt loads of Asians to take family photos next to it. We walked around for a bit and then got some lunch at this cafe. Oh yea, every restaurant is a cafe. Even if they sell fish and chips or pizza, its a cafe. This one was a fantastic pita joint that sold the old school coke a cola drinks in the glass bottle. The weird part about Australia is that you don't have to tip for anything, ever. So in this case you tend to notice the poor or lack of service. You get your drinks and food and the service is over. Typically, if you finish your drink the waitress is there to top off your drink immediately, but not in OZ. I wouldn't if I wasn't getting tips.
We ate and then left the cozy town to Kiama. Great town. Got back home (Holly's house) and ate dinner with the family. Talked about American ways, like drivers licenses, snow, traveling, people, culture, etc. you name it. It was a long and tasteful dinner. Holly's family has been over the top kind. Each house I go to, I feel restricted on what to do in the house. But each family treats me like family. They wonder why I'm not raiding the kitchen or lounging on the couch. This family was like that. I've warmed up to them tonight and have done those things at mild tone in my standards. I mean, I could easily eat the whole kitchen tonight.
Tomorrow I'll leave back to Sydney. Really I'm "in Sydney" but its the suburbs. I'm gonna go meet up with Claire for the last time until she comes to the states or I go visit in England. One night in Sydney and then off to Melbourne. I'm pretty excited for Melbourne. Everyone compares it to Portland, Oregon. There's a huge art and music scene out here, not to mention its on a river with tons of bridges. I'll be the judge of this town.
I'm out
After that we got back into the car and drove towards Kiama (K-eye-ama). This town was filled with great food and shops and of course a lighthouse. I've yet to really mention it yet but each town I have gone to has a famous lighthouse that everyone stands around and takes pictures. I mean one lighthouse really looks all the same. Especially today, it was cloudy and super flat light, but that didn't stop butt loads of Asians to take family photos next to it. We walked around for a bit and then got some lunch at this cafe. Oh yea, every restaurant is a cafe. Even if they sell fish and chips or pizza, its a cafe. This one was a fantastic pita joint that sold the old school coke a cola drinks in the glass bottle. The weird part about Australia is that you don't have to tip for anything, ever. So in this case you tend to notice the poor or lack of service. You get your drinks and food and the service is over. Typically, if you finish your drink the waitress is there to top off your drink immediately, but not in OZ. I wouldn't if I wasn't getting tips.
We ate and then left the cozy town to Kiama. Great town. Got back home (Holly's house) and ate dinner with the family. Talked about American ways, like drivers licenses, snow, traveling, people, culture, etc. you name it. It was a long and tasteful dinner. Holly's family has been over the top kind. Each house I go to, I feel restricted on what to do in the house. But each family treats me like family. They wonder why I'm not raiding the kitchen or lounging on the couch. This family was like that. I've warmed up to them tonight and have done those things at mild tone in my standards. I mean, I could easily eat the whole kitchen tonight.
Tomorrow I'll leave back to Sydney. Really I'm "in Sydney" but its the suburbs. I'm gonna go meet up with Claire for the last time until she comes to the states or I go visit in England. One night in Sydney and then off to Melbourne. I'm pretty excited for Melbourne. Everyone compares it to Portland, Oregon. There's a huge art and music scene out here, not to mention its on a river with tons of bridges. I'll be the judge of this town.
I'm out
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Byron Bay to Port Macquarie down to Sydney
My original idea was to hitchhike from Byron Bay to Port Macquarie. There's tons of people who hitchhike so that's not even hard to find. Luckily Pascal and Raf (guys I have been camping with) live in Sydney so they said they would drop me off in Port Mac. Problem solved. Raf installs air conditioning so we were traveling in his work van. Of course, I sat in the middle and it was very uncomfortable, but I couldn't complain because it was a free ride with some cool guys. The drive typically takes 4 hours to drive down but since its holiday season and everyone who drove up north was heading back south, traffic was hectic. The roads that they call freeways out here are far from it. There just 1-2 lane highways. Sort of like driving to the Oregon beach. Sometimes the roads are 2 lanes but most of the time there 1. So the 4 hour drive ended up taking over 7 hours! Long and slow. Its all good though, I got to site see a little bit longer and burn those images into my brain. Pascal and Raf couldn't really believe how I have been living. Crashing peoples houses and living in random places all over Australia. They have never done such a thing. So when we arrived in Port Macquarie and they dropped me off they were super hesitant about leaving me in the streets. There like, "what are you gonna do, where you staying." Me being all laid back I said, "I donno, I'll figure it out, don't worry about me, I'm a big boy." In all reality I really had no idea what I was going to do, but that's how I role son. Anyways, I said thanks and we exchanged info and they headed off home. Thanks guys. From there, I walked aimlessly around town looking for some Internet. I stumbled across a Internet cafe and started to couchsurf and look up some accommodation. I found this guy on couchsurfing, called him up and 5 minutes later he picked me up. Too easy. He took me to this pub 100 meters from where he picked me up and we chit chatted about things, and then asked me how long I was going to stay for. As we were sitting there, he got a phone call from his friend. He suggested we go to this concert about 1/2 south and a party bus was going to pick everyone up in 30 minutes. He asked me if I wanted to go, I said yes and we got up and ran to his house to get ready. 10 minutes later, I changed my shirt, had a deodorant shower and we headed off. Easily making it on time, this party bus was packed. Every seat was taken. Now it was prime time to mingle and meet new friends. Port Macquarie isn't well known for backpackers to make a stop in town. They usually bypass it. In this case I was the only backpacker for miles and the only foreigner that didn't speak Australian. You make friends real easy. As we got there, the line was massive. Finally, we got to the security guards and showed them my ID. Since they have never left this tiny town in there whole life, these bouncers thought my license was fraud. Only because they have never heard of Oregon. I laughed, and grabbed my ID and went in. Saw some cool bands play. One in particular was "The Boxer Rebellion." They were a band from London or something and said they had the #1 downloaded song on iTunes. I beg to differ but still haven't looked it up on the Internet. The Silent Comedy puts these guys to shame. After the concert was over the party bus immediately leaves. Kind of a bummer because I just started to make some new local friends and the girls were real hot (they were my new friends). So, I took a deep breath, pondered leaving with the bus but ended up getting on that damn party bus. Nights over.
Next day Adem and I just relaxed and watched some movies, went down to the beach and kept things mellow. He cooked me up meal after meal and opened his house to me like I was family. Such a rad dude, you have no idea. Oh yea, to describe Adem: he's a 39 year old guy who is a booking agent for bands. The whole town knows him. He has concert posters all over his house and has a two year old daughter, and loves couchsurfers.
My last day in town, Adem lent me one of his bikes and I decided to ride up the beach for as long as I could. This town has over 20 beaches, easily. I rode up and down hills looking for the best beach to stop at. Finally, I found this little oasis beach with a couple people on it. Took the bike down there and went in for a swim. As I got out this tiny dog came up to me to play, so I played back. His owner came out of no where and we started to talk. I forget his name but he looked like the typical grandpa that had lots of wisdom. I told him my life story and he told me his. Then it moved onto politics which I hate but the best part was he told me the things he hated the most. All of which related to America. He hates guns, 4x4's and religion. I told him to never go to Texas or he'll die. After that I started to just daydream as he talked his heart out and then told him goodbye and I left.
After I felt refreshed from the dip in the ocean I had to huff and puff up and down these hills to make it back to Adem's house. I finally got back and he asked me what we should do for dinner and if I wanted to go see Avatar! My answer was Yes. I've been trying to see this movie for so long. The hype did not disappoint me. Avatar was so good. I can't even describe how good it is, I now want to buy the movie just for inspirational purpose.
6:00 a.m. the next day I had to jump on my last bus ride to Sydney. This girl Holly from couchsurfing said she would host me for a couple of days when I arrive. 7 hours later I got off the bus and Holly was waiting for me. Super nice Christan girl who had a smile on her face the whole time I have been with her. Even if something wasn't even remotely funny she was smiling. Kinda reminded me of a Mormon family from south park. Whatever, she's cool. She took me out to lunch and we hoped on the train 1 hour south to Sutherland where her and the family lives. We went down to the beach, hung out and then went home around dinner time. I met the family and they treated me like family. Opened there house to me and fed me a nice warm meal and watched Pirates of the Caribbean. I'm still here right now (first night) and will probably stay here tomorrow night. They even gave me my own room to sleep in. Wow, that hasn't really happened yet. The dad made up some huge itinerary of things we might do tomorrow. What a guy, typed everything up, color coated things and everything. I'll let you know how things work out in the next few days.
-Sean
Next day Adem and I just relaxed and watched some movies, went down to the beach and kept things mellow. He cooked me up meal after meal and opened his house to me like I was family. Such a rad dude, you have no idea. Oh yea, to describe Adem: he's a 39 year old guy who is a booking agent for bands. The whole town knows him. He has concert posters all over his house and has a two year old daughter, and loves couchsurfers.
My last day in town, Adem lent me one of his bikes and I decided to ride up the beach for as long as I could. This town has over 20 beaches, easily. I rode up and down hills looking for the best beach to stop at. Finally, I found this little oasis beach with a couple people on it. Took the bike down there and went in for a swim. As I got out this tiny dog came up to me to play, so I played back. His owner came out of no where and we started to talk. I forget his name but he looked like the typical grandpa that had lots of wisdom. I told him my life story and he told me his. Then it moved onto politics which I hate but the best part was he told me the things he hated the most. All of which related to America. He hates guns, 4x4's and religion. I told him to never go to Texas or he'll die. After that I started to just daydream as he talked his heart out and then told him goodbye and I left.
After I felt refreshed from the dip in the ocean I had to huff and puff up and down these hills to make it back to Adem's house. I finally got back and he asked me what we should do for dinner and if I wanted to go see Avatar! My answer was Yes. I've been trying to see this movie for so long. The hype did not disappoint me. Avatar was so good. I can't even describe how good it is, I now want to buy the movie just for inspirational purpose.
6:00 a.m. the next day I had to jump on my last bus ride to Sydney. This girl Holly from couchsurfing said she would host me for a couple of days when I arrive. 7 hours later I got off the bus and Holly was waiting for me. Super nice Christan girl who had a smile on her face the whole time I have been with her. Even if something wasn't even remotely funny she was smiling. Kinda reminded me of a Mormon family from south park. Whatever, she's cool. She took me out to lunch and we hoped on the train 1 hour south to Sutherland where her and the family lives. We went down to the beach, hung out and then went home around dinner time. I met the family and they treated me like family. Opened there house to me and fed me a nice warm meal and watched Pirates of the Caribbean. I'm still here right now (first night) and will probably stay here tomorrow night. They even gave me my own room to sleep in. Wow, that hasn't really happened yet. The dad made up some huge itinerary of things we might do tomorrow. What a guy, typed everything up, color coated things and everything. I'll let you know how things work out in the next few days.
-Sean
Monday, January 4, 2010
New Years!!!!!2010 wahoo
Last I left off was me getting dropped off back in Byron Bay. This is true, what I left out was me not knowing where to stay. Right when I got into town I checked back into my hostel b/c I could not find anyone to stay with (couchsurfing, friends that I met in Byron bay). So I booked one night at the hostel. Realistically I could only stay there for one night because everything was booked until new years. On arrival into my same room, I met 6 kids from Melbourne who where staying in the same room. All pretty cool. We hung out all day and decided to go out that night for drinks. Little that I knew that these kids were freaking crazy. We drank, they drank more. I showed them a couple drinking games...they drank more. Before we even left one of the kids was crawling on the ground like a newborn baby. Come on now. As the night progressed we finally left, all in flip flops and casual gear. The first bar was decent but we all wanted something better. Outside the bar there were these bike taxi's. We jumped in, and headed to the next place. We get there and they say we need shoes...back on the taxi. Get back to the hostel, grab our shoes and head out (more like 30 minutes later) One of the kids decided to run next to the taxi the whole entire bike ride, which was from one side of town to the other. What a champ. We all get there and pretty much everyone gets lost in translation at the bar. Oh well, this is how it has been my whole trip. I hung out there for a bit and headed out. Walking down the street I met two kids from Sydney. They were also on holiday just like everyone else. As we were talking, sleeping arrangement popped into my head (tomorrow I have no where to sleep/stay) I ask them what there plans were. They said they were camping 10 minutes outside of town. I told them my situation and they offered me to sleep at there campsite. So lucky. This was all a bit of drunken talk so most likely this wasn't actually gonna happen.
I get back to the hostel and these Melbourne kids are all over the place. Yelling and screaming and having a hoot. It was pretty funny, I laughed quite a bit until my stomach couldn't take it any longer and then went to bed
Next day I wake and the two Swedish girls that were in our room looked real angry. I ask "whats wrong?" there like, "you didn't wake up last night when we were yelling at everyone in the room?". Supposedly the kid that was in our room couldn't hold is alcohol and puked from the top bunk all the way to the middle floor, which was all over the two Swedish girls clothes! I guess they tried to wake this kid up to clean it but he never woke up, his friends refused to clean it, so the girls complained and got all of them kicked out the next day...I was out of there too.
That day we were all out in the streets trying to figure out a game plan. They went to every hostel in town and nothing was available. The forecast was moon soon rains. Luckily I remembered these kids phone number and rang them up. 6 hours later they picked me up!
So these two kids from Sydney were named Pascal and Raf. I called Raf Ralf the whole entire trip unknowingly until I finally figured it out. Sorry. But these guys straight took me into there campsite and fed me and put a shelter over me. Such rad kids.
The campsite was 50 acres big and was filled with campers all traveling to Byron Bay for new years. I guess this was the place to be, and I somehow hit the jackpot and was right in the middle of it. Over the next 5 days I stayed with these kids we met some great people and some horrible people. In particular the group of kids that were right next to us. They had about 30 friends and all wanted to fight pretty much the whole trip. They rented this huge truck and DJ equipment. The problem was they were a bunch of punk kids. They destroyed probably 10-15 tents surrounding the area, including ours. Stole bikes from around town and were a bunch of pricks. Oh well.
New years eve was something special though. Everyone in the campsite got together and had a huge party. For this occasion I brought out my shark hat. Big mistake. First off everyone loved this hat and wanted to wear it. Like a dumb ass this super hot Aussie girl asked to wear my hat for 5 minutes. After huge debate I caved in...2 seconds later my hat was gone. She put it on, then gave it to someone else just like that. For the next 2 hours I was kinda pissed off. 50 acres of land and one hat. No chance I'm gonna find it. I moved on and forgot about it. Party on, its 2010 right? So the rest of the story was pretty much like any other new years eve, you count down the time and yell and scream. High fives for everyone.
About 4 or 5 in the morning I'm hanging out with the opposite neighbors. Cool ones. We were just hanging out, talking about the night when this kid walks by us. He's wearing my hat! WTF. I got up, went up to him, told him my situation and grabbed the hat back. No way! I finally found my hat. I got up and went into my hat, locked it up and went to bed. What a night. There's more stories but can't write about them. Ask me later
I get back to the hostel and these Melbourne kids are all over the place. Yelling and screaming and having a hoot. It was pretty funny, I laughed quite a bit until my stomach couldn't take it any longer and then went to bed
Next day I wake and the two Swedish girls that were in our room looked real angry. I ask "whats wrong?" there like, "you didn't wake up last night when we were yelling at everyone in the room?". Supposedly the kid that was in our room couldn't hold is alcohol and puked from the top bunk all the way to the middle floor, which was all over the two Swedish girls clothes! I guess they tried to wake this kid up to clean it but he never woke up, his friends refused to clean it, so the girls complained and got all of them kicked out the next day...I was out of there too.
That day we were all out in the streets trying to figure out a game plan. They went to every hostel in town and nothing was available. The forecast was moon soon rains. Luckily I remembered these kids phone number and rang them up. 6 hours later they picked me up!
So these two kids from Sydney were named Pascal and Raf. I called Raf Ralf the whole entire trip unknowingly until I finally figured it out. Sorry. But these guys straight took me into there campsite and fed me and put a shelter over me. Such rad kids.
The campsite was 50 acres big and was filled with campers all traveling to Byron Bay for new years. I guess this was the place to be, and I somehow hit the jackpot and was right in the middle of it. Over the next 5 days I stayed with these kids we met some great people and some horrible people. In particular the group of kids that were right next to us. They had about 30 friends and all wanted to fight pretty much the whole trip. They rented this huge truck and DJ equipment. The problem was they were a bunch of punk kids. They destroyed probably 10-15 tents surrounding the area, including ours. Stole bikes from around town and were a bunch of pricks. Oh well.
New years eve was something special though. Everyone in the campsite got together and had a huge party. For this occasion I brought out my shark hat. Big mistake. First off everyone loved this hat and wanted to wear it. Like a dumb ass this super hot Aussie girl asked to wear my hat for 5 minutes. After huge debate I caved in...2 seconds later my hat was gone. She put it on, then gave it to someone else just like that. For the next 2 hours I was kinda pissed off. 50 acres of land and one hat. No chance I'm gonna find it. I moved on and forgot about it. Party on, its 2010 right? So the rest of the story was pretty much like any other new years eve, you count down the time and yell and scream. High fives for everyone.
About 4 or 5 in the morning I'm hanging out with the opposite neighbors. Cool ones. We were just hanging out, talking about the night when this kid walks by us. He's wearing my hat! WTF. I got up, went up to him, told him my situation and grabbed the hat back. No way! I finally found my hat. I got up and went into my hat, locked it up and went to bed. What a night. There's more stories but can't write about them. Ask me later
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