On the Road: Indonesia Part 2

The Saga Continues

I've fallen behind in my writing. In a way I'm lacking the creative impulse needed to sit down and type in earnest. And at the same time I'm just having too much damned fun to focus on much of anything. So I'm going to take the easy approach and keep it short and sweet. Here is the second part of my trip to Indonesia.

Next stop

Heaven

After a long overland trip that included a ferry from Java, I finally arrived on the island of Bali. I'd arranged to couchsurf again, this time with a foreigner who was working and living in the town of Singaraja. The area serves as the island's northern hub, and in contrast to the south it does not have many visitors outside the tourist season.

By the time I got to the bus terminal it was afternoon. My host Raimund picked me up. As always, I did not know what to expect before arriving at his place and was utterly shocked to discover he lived above a brewery. Having previously earned a degree in Beer engineering in his country of Hungary, he had become the director of Stark Brewing Company. After I'd dumped my things in the spare bedroom he asked if I wanted to try the brew. "Sure," I replied. Raimund grabbed two empty pitchers and led me downstairs to the factory floor where large vats containing a variety of craft beers awaited us.

"You want lager?" he asked, "Or you prefer blonde?"

"How about both?"

"No problem."

Following my largely alcohol-free life in Java I was now in heaven. I could drink as much as I liked for nothing. Otherwise, I would have refrained from indulging too much due to the high tax on alcohol. A small bottle of beer, for example, cost more than a meal at a local eatery. The country's largely Muslim stance on drinking also makes setting up an alcohol enterprise difficult with Ramiund's company being only one of four domestic beer makers. So I was in a great situation and Raimund had an excellent pad to boot. It featured a large lounge and I was given my own room with an AC unit and large bed. I couldn't have asked for anything more.

On the ferry

Vats

True wisdom

More than enough

North Bali

Bali island is not so big and the northern region can be seen in a few days. From Singaraja the main attractions were to the south in the inland mountains. Probably the biggest draw was the waterfall at Gitgit village. It had a large column of water with enough of a pool beneath that visitors could swim if they wanted. I also visited some smaller falls, going to those that were easily accessible from the main road. I went from place to place on a rental scooter. The traffic was minimal and no rain fell during my time in the area, so overall, I found the experience pleasant.

Another place not too far from Singaraja was the town of Lovina. Tourists flocked there because of the nice beach, many Indonesian people included. I talked to some locals while we drank Bintang beer on a thatched platform overlooking the water. The guys told me they don't like to work and just want to relax and enjoy life. That seemed to be the general mood along the coast. The problem was people still had to earn some kind of wage, and if it wasn't through tourism, the locals farmed rice, corn, chili and coffee. There was also fishing. Several small boats lined the shore, and the fishermen took them out in the morning. Dolphins were common at that time and it was possible to hire a boat to see them. I didn't bother. I've seen dolphins all my life in Southern California.

For my final night in North Bali I decided to leave Raimund's place and get a cheap hotel room in Lovina, the reason being it was my birthday. I figured I could stay out late then walk back afterwards. Lucky for me, it also happened to be a Saturday. I first went to a cafe by the beach for the happy hour beer and it was there I met a group of travelers from Estonia. They were around my age and kept me company, joining me as I went from bar to bar. Each of them had been to Bali several times and yet they'd never visited Lovina before. Raimund came out as well and we had a great night drinking heavily and dancing to live Balinese music. Not a bad way to spend one's birthday I must say.

Local boys

Temple entrance

Dolphin monument

Secluded falls

Fishing boats

Birthday night

Local Cuisine

One of the greatest pleasures of traveling is discovering new types of food. Every country certainly has something different to offer and in Indonesia, like elsewhere in Asia, rice was the big staple. I was pleased to find they served the short grain variety. It came steamed with the sticky, clumped texture I prefer. Another major staple to the local diet was chicken. It's quite possibly my favorite meat, and in Indonesia chicken is served spicy. At restaurants they often included a side of sambal, a thick red paste made of tomato, chili and garlic. I truly appreciated the rich flavor and made sure to ask for it by name when someone failed to serve it with a meal.

Something else I noticed was the Indonesian love affair with soy. A popular food is tempe. It is made from fermented soy beans that become sticky and stuck together. The soy is fried, then salted and cut into thin bite-sized strips. As if that wasn't enough, Indonesians also eat fried tofu, again made from soybean. But when I asked my Indonesian friend if they ate it raw he gawked and said, "Why would we do that?"

"Well, they eat it that way in Japan," I told him. "It's quite good. Especially with a bit of soy sauce."

He didn't seem convinced.

Anyhow, when it comes to food, I've never been able to decide whether my favorite meat is chicken or pork.  Both are so damned delicious and filling and easy to find. But in Java I was forced to go without the latter because of Islam and its prohibition of pigs. Well, after arriving in Hindi dominant Bali, this was no longer an issue. I soon went to a restaurant that specialized in pork. I was beside myself with an eagerness to consume large quantities of the greasy, tender meat but to my disappointment the food was mostly fried and lacking in chunkiness. Later on I tried pork in other places and still never found what I was looking for. Moreover, it was quite pricey compared to other types of meat. I wrote off the whole novelty of pork in Indonesia as a sham. Believe me, there are much better places to have it.

Pork

Noodles, tempe, greens and chicken

Chicken and sambal

Farming

After Singaraja I moved further east to the small seaside town of Tulamben. For the third time in Indonesia, I stayed with a couchsurfing host, a woman named Kiki who had come from Java to manage a farm. The place was located away from the main road in a completely rural area--basically on the hillside of Bali's largest volcano, Mt. Agung. If I had been surprised before by Raimund's home, I was now shocked to arrive at such an isolated spot. Still, with a rental scooter it would not be a problem getting around. And since she was helping me out I made myself useful whenever possible. I started by teaching English to the local children who came to study with Kiki.

I wasn't the only visitor either. A 19 year old Swiss girl was helping out as well. We pulled weeds, cleaned the facilities and then dug a large hole for compost. And our days consisted of more than only hard labor. Down the road was a beach and we went swimming and even had a few drinks at night. And on one occasion I dived the USAT Liberty, a ship sunk by the Japanese during WWII. It was my first wreck dive and it did not disappoint. I made sure to rent an underwater camera to take photos of the large ship, most of which is now covered in corals. And as always I enjoyed moving through the water, because the freedom of movement that scuba affords is something closer to flight than swimming. You can go in any direction and the buoyancy creates a sense of weightlessness.

Kiki and the kids

Farm rooms

Big coral

Through the wreck

Another interesting thing that happened while I was in Tulamben was my acquaintance with Mr. Mungku. It started when I decided to take a walk through the village to photograph the local scene. The day was sunny and the trees and vegetation a lush green. The villagers thought me a curious sight and when they realized I could speak some Indonesian, they took an even greater interest in me. But I didn't talk much for I was determined to keep going. Then without warning storm clouds rolled in and dumped hard rain across the land. I had no umbrella and feared my camera would become wet and damaged, so I ducked into the nearest house. Two children were there without their parents because they were still at work. We made small talk and watched some TV until the rain soon caused a brown out. Then the one girl suggested we go next door to her place. And there sat her father, Mr. Mungku. He took an immediately liking to me, and talked and talked, pushing my Indonesian ability to its limit.

Later that night Mr. Mungku and I went out drinking. Tulamben was very quiet and the only places open were the resort bars. We shared several large bottles of Bintang beer and to my surprise Mr. Mungku got drunk quite fast. He sat across from me with his red face and tied back long hair, all smiles and questions. Kiki came later and we danced to live music while Mr. Mungku waited. On the way back I was worried he might crash his motorcycle, me riding on the back without a helmet. And it didn't help that it was raining with volcanic sand covering the asphalt in some places. But Mr. Mungku knew the way well enough and saw me home safely.

Local vendor

Volcanic landscape

Mr Mungku and me

Religion

Indonesia has the most Muslims of any country, meaning more than Pakistan or India or Iran. But different religions are mixed in as well. Bali for one is predominately Hindu. The change was felt immediately when I came in from Java. The women were not wearing the hijab to cover their hair, and where once there were mosques in every town, hindu temples with ornate gates had now taken their place. Beyond that the attitudes of the people had shifted. They carried themselves with a larger degree of openness.

The truth be told, I am not a fan of Islam. As is the case with many other religions, I see it as a dogmatic set of rules imposed on a population, all stemming from the personal beliefs of a select few who lived long ago. With Islam the founder was the prophet Muhammed. He claimed to have written down the word of God as told unto him by the angel Gabriel. But why God would not want for people to eat pork, well that never made any sense to me. And I don't understand what God had against dogs, and why he doesn't want the faithful to keep them as pets. My point is that I believe Muhammed created the Koran as a means to validate his own ideas, and because he succeeded in spreading those ideas during his lifetime, and other great men chose to later champion the Koran, Islam is now all over the world.

As for South East Asia, its influence began when Arab tradesmen propagated Islam throughout Malaysia in the 12th century. Later when when the Dutch arrived in the region they did little to discourage the Muslim locals from worshipping in their own way. This was a dramatic difference between how they and the English practiced colonialism and their competitors, the Spanish and Portuguese, did. In East Timor the Portuguese were able to keep control of their half the island, fighting off the Dutch time and time again. For this reason the colonists exerted their religious doctrine for hundreds of years, and to this day East Timor is the one of the few places in the archipelago which is predominately Catholic. So you don't have mosques and wont hear their loudspeakers call for prayer at 4AM there. No joke. While in Java I nearly jumped from my bed the first time the loudspeakers woke me in this manner.

Friendly neighborhood mosque

Bit more fancy

Hindi prayer

Beachside temple

Southbound

During my first 6 weeks in Indonesia I had avoided playing the tourist. I was hanging out mostly with locals, learning their language, and not hitting up many bars or fancy restaurants. Then I realized I was sick of the quiet evenings. I wanted something different, and my eyes turned to to Ubud, the spiritual center of the island. Back in 2009 Julia Roberts went there to shoot scenes for the film version of Eat Pray Love, and the town has since become a mecca of sorts for disillusioned Western women looking for something more in life. Yoga studios, cooking schools and Hindi spiritual centers welcome these tourists and others with arms wide open and friendly smiles. At the same time Ubud features scenic rice terrace valleys, a pleasant atmosphere, and a large selection of hotels, restaurants and bars.

The problem I had in Ubud was that I arrived alone and did not really meet any other tourists to hang out with. One reason was my reluctance to stay at a hostel, having instead opted for a cheaper home stay where I was the only guest. Moreover, most the tourists I saw on the street were traveling couples or Chinese people, two types which almost always keep to themselves. So I ended up going around on my own to check out the local sights. There were two impressive places--a large Hindi temple called Tampak Siring with a sacred spring that attracted the devout. Wearing their colorful saris, they lined up and bathed and shivered. The second temple worth mentioning was the Elephant Caves, carved out of a hillside and made to look like the head of the beloved animal. I went by a motorbike I'd rented, took my pictures and decided I'd had enough of Ubud.

Next up was a trip even further south to Kuta, the real party scene where young tourists gathered throughout the year to laze on the beach, dance, get drunk and do God knows what else. For better or worse, I was about to find out.

Sacred spring

People bathing

Ubud Street

Elephant cave entrance

Men at work

End of the Line

Traveling around Indonesia, I'd already heard plenty of bad things about Kuta--that it was where the worst of tourists went with locals flocking around to leech off their money and ignorance. For those uninterested in such indulgence, a quick bus ride to another town solves the problem, and on the way over, I figured if it was that bad I too could do the same to kill the last of my time Indonesia.Then I stepped off the shuttle bus and found the town to be a welcome change. Yes, it was touristy, but the local people were not nearly as hostile as I was lead to believe, nor were the foreign tourists drunken idiots. Rather the town was a grid of narrow shopping streets that extended to the shore of a pleasant, albeit dirty beach.

My first priority was to find a room for the night. I went with the first place I walked into. The hotel had affordable rooms, a pool, and a lively atmosphere. I threw my things on the bed, then changed into a pair of trunks and lounged by the pool. And it was there that I finally found the travel buddies I was looking for. By the end of the day we had formed a solid group: myself, a girl from Sweden, another from Canada, and two friends from Holland. They'd all just come from elsewhere, arriving in Bali by plane, whereas I was on my way out. But I still had some days left ahead of me and we would spend them together, beginning with a night out in Kuta. We went to a place called Sky Garden which had a very good buffet, followed by two hours of free drinks in their club section. Then, once full and liquored up, we found a quiet spot on the beach to play drinking games. I recall sitting in the sand and giving the group a one over, happy that I was finally with some likeminded travelers who were also in want of fun and excitement.

I should note that in our subsequent nights out the seedy side of Kuta did become evident. One thing was how men on the street constantly offered drugs. For some reason Viagra was the name that came up most. Several women also wanted to give me a massage that did not always seem like the legitimate rub your back kind. But you could go to almost any touristy part of South East Asia and encounter these unsavory characters waiting in dark doorways or popping out from the next alleyway. So what troubled me most was the theft. Of those tourists I met, in a four day span three had their phones stolen and another three caught the would-be thief in the act. On one such occasion my Dutch friend saw a young street punk take the phone from his friend's pocket. When he confronted him, the punk denied it, but he had it hidden under his foot, and my friends were able to get it back.

After the first hotel we moved from one to another, always staying at a place with a pool. As a result we lounged poolside and did not get out aside from at night for food and drinks. Along the way we met others including a Norwegian guy and another Dutch girl. Since they had not been long in Bali they decided to go to Ubud after a few days. I was against the idea because I'd already been there and I am not one to retread my footsteps. But I was happy with the group and followed them anyway, and it was there in Ubud in front of our hotel that we eventually said goodbye. I was sad to part ways. But such is the life of a traveler. People often come and go, and it's best not to get too attached.

Kuta boys

Obligatory pool

Travel gang

Monkey business

Spectacular sunset

In Conclusion

My time in Indonesia was an incredible experience for a number of reasons--the people, the food, the temples and the natural beauty to name a few. And because I spent two months visiting I felt I had the chance to really get more out of the country than the typical tourist. This was precisely what I had set out to do beforehand and the reason was why I had waited so long to see the place.

In any event, upon leaving Indonesia my travels were far from over. I boarded a flight for my next destination in the Philippines. And it is that adventure I will go into in my following blog post.

Love to travel