A new visa forced me to leave Australian shores, and while NZ is a fine piece of land, I opted for the beaches, beer, scooters and narrow streets of Bali. Decent Jetstar flight included a memorably depressing movie, named something about Rachel's wedding. The plot revolved around a troubled sister who was in rehab, coming home for her perfect sister's wedding weekend. The real point of this movie was to sap every inch of emotion from depressed people, making the wedding weekend a series of uncomfortable and bittersweet moments. My teeth were getting metaphorically pulled. What one will watch to pass the time when stuck in a flying tube for six hours....
Not long after landing in Denpasar, Bali's major city, I nabbed a $5 taxi, then dropped on Poppies Lane 1, right in the heart and soul of Kuta Beach. Poppies "Lane," and its bretheren, Poppies Lane II, would probably be considered Poppies Alley in most western countries. They're wide enough to fit a scooter, or a few pedestrians, but of course here, they try to fit both, along with cars, which don't really fit at all. After doing my best Joseph and Mary impersonation and unsuccessfully securing a hotel room, the world-reknown Ayu Beach Inn opened its wicker doors for me. Complete with cushy A/C room for about $20 a night and the ambience of a typical tropical bungalow, this seemed like an appropriate place to apply for the new visa. Of course, this couldn't be an easy process, something about declined credit card and being on another visa already...will get to that later. By this time, it was about 12:30, so took a quick trip to the Circle K (only in California aaaand Bali) for a late night snack and first of many Bintangs (local beer).
Setting out on streets of Bali to explore on day one, I quickly discovered the true goal of this island: commerce. The Balinese seem much friendlier than the Vietnamese, but this is probably due to the fact they speak substantial English in the form of "hey bro, cheap prices," "you want transport?" and "you like massage?" I was going to strike up a convo about the decline of print media in western society, but just opted for a smile and shake of the head instead. What boggled me was how each shop pretty much contained the same stock: Bingtang t-shirts, sunglasses and pirated DVDs. But the owners insist that you want their trinkets and cheap shirts more than anything, even though I've just passed 20 of the same. Oh wait, your mini replica Beatles guitar is only 200,000 Rupiahs? Well, I may have to consider.... Some brave souls tried to pawn off cannabis, but I wasn't about to test the Indonesian death penalty.
Of course when you visit the equator in April, one of the first things you'll notice from sunrise on is the heat and humidity that would make South Florida blush. The usual heat measuring stick is to refer something as "Africa hot." Well, since my last trip to SE Asia, I'll refer to Indonesia as "Vietnam hot." I have to question the mental capacity of someone who wears pants or long sleeves in this weather, but the locals probably thought it was unseasonably cool. The pair of jeans I packed took up unneccesary space in my bag and the four pairs of board shorts were well worth it.
Now these days and nights seem to bleed together into one sunny beach holiday with large Bintangs, Indonesian cuisine, dodging scooters and learning new ways to decline shop vendors. But there are a few moments that stick out for sure. On night one, I decided to hit up the Hard Rock Cafe, an establishment I haven't visited since probably London 10 years back. Jakarta's version of Guns n Roses were playing that night, covering classics from Appetite for Destruction, Use Your Illusion, Lies, etc. Axl was a little tanner and paunchy than I remember, but still had that Sunset Strip scream from the old days. No Slash tophat, but I think it's better when a cover band has their own look anyway. Oh right, they even had the gall to throw out one of their own tunes, just in case an A&R rep from Capitol Records was in attendance. Through this show, it made me realize how GnR was the soundtrack to my early adolecense. Although I was a dedicated "Yo! MTV Raps" fan back in the day, the Guns were the omnipresent band of this era. Needless to say, I didn't hear any songs from Chinese Democracy.
So far, the first few days in Bali was a good Welcome to the Jungle. Nothing like a Paradise City to relax, although I would need a little Patience to get the visa. Don't Cry, there will be more Bali stories in the next installment.
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