• Next
• Previous

Latest Entry

In Bali

Friday April 14, 2006

Posted In: Indonesia | Comments: 10 | Written By: Kai Conragan

A fisherman at Kuta Beach

The trip got off to a shaky start when we landed in Honolulu. First, China Airlines tried to charge us $300 for the surfboards ($96 per board + tax). After negotiating down to a still outrageous $192, the floor supervisor then informed us that Julie would not be allowed to bring her bag with her on carry-on as it exceeded the maximum weight of 7 kilos. I found this amusing because the whole time she was scolding Julie, I was standing next to her with a bag that certainly weighed more than Julie’s. Amusement aside, it was disappointing to say the least as we were going to be traveling for over 2 days, including a 12 hour layover in Tapei, and Julie wanted to have with her some bare necessities like her toothbrush and a change of underwear. (** It should be noted as well that Julie specifically bought the bag as it fell under all carry-on luggage requirements.).

A view on the way to Bali

With the Honolulu debacle behind us, we had a relatively easy 8 hour flight to Tokyo. After a 2 hour layover we were off for Taipei, which turned out to be a pleasant surprise. As mentioned, we had a 12 hour layover, all of which we had anticipated spending in the airport. After we had gotten through customs, the two of us were wandering around the airport trying to find a quiet area where we could push two couches together and try and catch a few hours of sleep. We must have looked particularly lost because a woman approached us and said, “Are you Ms. Julie Brookman and Mr. Kai Conragan?”. Looking at each other a bit confused, we said yes. Well, it turns out that China Airlines had neglected to tell us in Honolulu that they would be putting us up for the night during our layover in Taipei. This poor woman had been searching the airport for us after she couldn’t find us at the gate. Well, a bed and a hot shower sounded much better than an uncomfortable couch, so we eagerly follower her. She took us on a shuttle about 20 minutes away from the airport to the Miramar Lin Kou Golf Country Club, which is also owned by China Airlines. Apparently this is a fairly upscale golf course as there were pictures signed by golf stars such as Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus.

This beats the floor in the airport

After a restful night’s sleep, we got up, had a complimentary continental breakfast, and took the 6:30am shuttle back to the airport. It’s unfortunate we couldn’t spend a bit more time checking out Tawaiian, but the layover turned out much better than it could have been.

The final leg of our trip from Taipei to Denpasar went pretty quick. Our plane had the seats with the LCD monitor in the back of the headrest and allowed you to choose your own movie. I watched Syriana and the final movie in the Matrix series, and before I knew it we were landing in Denpasar.

Going through customs took over an hour as there were a staggering amount of people trying to get through. Julie and I were a bit nervous because technically you are supposed to show your return flight out of the country to the Custom’s Agent, and since we purchased a one-way flight we didn’t have one. Our nervousness was unwarranted though as when we got to the counter the Agent barely gave us a second glance and quickly stamped our passports with a 30-day visa.

Once we stepped outside of the airport we were greeted by two things: Heat you could cut with a knife and an onslaught of people trying to sell you taxi services, tourist packages, and accommodations. Since Julie and I didn’t have any accommodations to speak of, we simply let the first person to reach us take us to the hotel he was representing. After a bit of bargaining we settled on a nice little room at the Hotel Pendawa for $25 per day including breakfast. The hotel, which is owned by 5 Balinese brothers, is in the middle of Kuta beach. It has beautiful grounds, including ornate stone carvings, a great pool, and a very friendly staff. The rate is a bit expensive by Bali standards, but after 2 days of traveling we were happy to just get a comfortable room.

The following is told by Julie for reasons that should soon become apparent…

Kuta

After getting settled we went for a walk through the shopping district of Kuta, where you can get everything from Starbucks coffee to custom hand made clothing. Kuta caters to Westerners and as you walk down the street everyone asks if you need “transport” or shopping or whatever they happen to be selling. It gets a bit old but everyone’s got to make a living. We found a quiet place to have dinner and sat down. Kai ordered Nasi Goreng (fried rice) and I ordered Chicken Curry. After dinner we talked with our waiter, who’s name was “Frankie”, had a few beers, and then headed back for bed as we were both exhausted.

Unfortunately, at about 3am Kai woke up and started puking, and continued to do so until 2pm the next day. I tried every thing I could think of to help him but finally I headed out to find a pharmacy. I wandered with no success until one of the “transport” men pointed me to a doctor. I walked down a tiny alley to an equally tiny medical clinic. The doctor on hand wanted me to bring Kai in but I knew that it would be impossible to carry him and he was so weak and dehydrated he could barely make it to the bathroom and he definitely would not make the walk in the blazing sun. After some persuasion he agreed to give me some anti-vomiting medicine, and I hurried back to give it to Kai. Another travel tip: Carry anti-vomiting medicine. When you need it you wont be able to make it to a pharmacy.

We’re happy to report everything is fine now. After the food poisoning and 2 days of traveling we are just going to take it easy for the next day or so. Once we get our feet under us we’ll be heading to the Bukit Peninsula for the word-famous surf. From there, we intend to go to Ubud to get a taste of the more cultural side of Bali.

Comments

Comments are turned off for this article.