Back from Bali

Bali is not exactly what I expected it to be. For some reason I had the glossy, luxurious paradise image that is typically associated with the place, but I was reminded that it's still an island in Southeast Asia. To me that means the water and scenery of Hawaii plus the motorcycles, dirty streets, desperate street vendors, and stray dogs of Taiwan. Even so, charming place with unbeatable character and culture.

Also, geographical clarification: Bali is an island which is part of Indonesia. Only one small part of it is typical to tourist visitation and even there it is barely industralized, though it's apparent that any development centers around tourism needs. Interesting, and I was surprised/upset at how ignorant I am about the real layout of the world. We're staying in Seminyak, the typically classier, more quiet but still touristey district.

Yesterday we flew in, lunched, and went street shopping through Kuta, the more raucous portion of Bali. Bought some things, sharpened my rusty bargaining skillz, and rested on the beach until the sun/hunger set. The beach itself was dirtier and the water less clear than what I had gotted used to on Oahu, but I was also in the Waikiki equivalent where there are always tons of people, so who knows about the rest of the island. The surf looked pretty good though.

A beach entrance.

Our room.

Internet shed, outdoorsy lounge area.

Me and Evelyn at Warung Made for lunch. Touristey place with
ok food but really cute Indo decor.

Fruit seller on the street. It's impressive how much shit people can
carry on their heads. I was so nervous taking my slice of papaya,
scared I'd make the whole thing topple while trying to seek out the
biggest slice :)

Bali beach + sunset.

A few minutes later, sun closer to horizon.

Corner of a sarong I bought.

Wooden, carved penises are apparently a favorite for Balinese
souvenir salespeople to make and stock. These were the biggest, most
bedazzled ones we saw. They some in all colors, sizes, and
functions-- keychains, bottle openers, statues!

These wooden ones are much more common. Quite the selection.

Latenight outing to Ku de Ta, a loungey restaurant place.

I got a hot chocolate :) Melting chocolate with hot milk
poured over it. So good and fresh and creamy.

Today we slept in, had breakfast at the hotel, and went to explore Pura Tanah Lot, a distinct 'floating' temple. Then trekked all the way south to Ulu Watu to see a traditional Balinese Kecak dance. Really cool stuff.

View of hotel from breakfast table.

Drank a young coconut. Scraping the meat. Yes, I had a metal
spoon in my backpack :) Victory loves preparation.

With Evelyn, in front of temple!

At low tide there's a rocky pathway to get to the temple, but only
actual worshippers are allowed in.

Can't resist watching waves break against rock.

View back to a traditional-looking building on the land.

Floating temple!

Do I fit the bill? The place was called Naughty Nuri's. BBQ.

 THERE WERE MONKEYS RUNNING AROUND IN THE FOREST IN ULU WATU!

SO CUTE! Look at the little one hugging its mommy! One of them ended
up getting in a tree behind those people and jumping on one. She
screamed. It was hilarious... for me. Another one stole a woman's
glasses off her face.

Ok fine, this is pretty picturesque Bali. Monkeys on a ledge, yet
another sacred building in a logistically confusing location, sunset
through the clouds.

The dance featured no instruments, only a 70-man chorus. After the
procession in, they made a sortof circle, and all of the minimal
action took place in the little space between them and the fire,
where an offering was made for some spiritual purpose.

Really interesting costumes, makeup, plot, and everything. The dance
motions are very small-scale and involve a lot of delicate, detailed
hand and finger movements, paired with entirely apathetic facial
expressions.

The final act featured a white monkey being burned to death, but he
was magical so he defeated the circle of fire. Cool story.

With one of the dancers. She basically held that
expression through the entire performance.

With the white monkey, in case you can't tell.

Tomorrow (now today, by the time I post this), is Ubud day! Mountainey region, more temples and monkeys. Doing cultural things that can only be found here-- I'll beach elsewhere. Then back to Jakarta for a day, and off to Shanghai for 2 weeks! That will mark the halfway point of my international trip. Weird/exciting!

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Ok, so I failed at posting this morning and am now sitting in the Denpasar (Bali) airport waiting for my delayed flight back to Jakarta. Lots of waiting around reminds me how much I thrive on efficiency. We did make it to Ubud and though we didn't get to do everything I would have liked, the things we did do were awesome. A bit more shopping at yet another street marketplace, lunch, then the monkey sanctuary!

Look how adorable! They were pretty assertive when bananas were
around and wouldn't hesitate to climb on people to get food.

Little one learning to climb :) Technically these are all Balinese
macaques, and about 300 of them live in this forest.

Baby holding onto mommy's stomach!

This one stole a whole bunch of bananas and sat in a tree savoring
each and every one. People got mad that he stole. I think he
deserved it. Clever monkey.

Blurry but there's a monkey on my shoulder trying to get the
banana in my hand.

Blurring the lines of racism.

I might have rabies. Note new black necklace
to add to my collection!

Boarding time at last. Jakarta tomorrow, then off to Shanghai to see Ponyo and Dan!

Also, it dawned on me that today is June 18. AMCAS applications (for med school, to matriculate in fall 2012) opened June 1. I am so happy with my decision to not apply this year, which I only recently accepted as a great detour rather than a setback.