Rating
:  (
4.9 ) ( 83 votes )
More Bali...
Nusa Lembongan, Indonesia
Sep 10, 2003 20:35
Pros:
amazing place, nice people,
impressive variety of fish
Cons:
none
We left the easy life of Padangbai for the set of 'Point Break'...not
really, but Nusa Lembongan, one of a collection of three islands
off the southern coast of Bali, is definitely a surfer hangout.
We took a chartered "traditional" boat -- basically, a
canoe with outriggers on either side for stabilization -- for the
90 minute ride. It was a wet trip, primarily because I misinterpreted
what the boat driver indicated the little umbrella was for, and
held it awkwardly over my head for the first 40 minutes, thinking
he had suggested to protect my delicate skin from the sun, before
realizing I was supposed to hold it in front of me, like a shield
against the sea spray. I am sure the boat driver thought I was retarded;
he gave me a look when we landed that said, "Are you stupid?
Does it look like it's raining?" Well, I wiped that look off
his face pretty quickly when I hit my head on the mast, lost my
balance, and then fell off the boat, nearly squashing him flat;
it might have been fatal, but I missed him by a few inches. That
will teach him to question MY intelligence. Or at least teach him
to stand a good 10 feet away when I hurl myself out of a boat. Ah,
a new fate: death by clumsy American...
Anyway, we spent a nice four days on the island. It is a little
pricier than the mainland, especially food, but there are lots of
double rooms for 40,000-50,000 Rupiah (translation: $5-6 US) that
are right on the beach. *Side note to Marisa: I know that doesn't
sound like a lot of money, but we are NOT living in the gutter.
Really.* We walked across the island to a suspension bridge connecting
to the third island in the chain and then to a few of the beaches
on the south-west side of the island (please read my husband's travelog
for more detail; his member name is "philthy") before
heading back. Phil did some surfing (you can rent longboards and
boogie boards at the beach called Playgrounds; just walk along the
coast until you get to the next beach), and is talking about being
able to surf in Michigan. I am invisioning an ugly scene at our
local YMCA wave pool...
The best part of Nusa Lembongan was when we were wandering the village
streets after a delicious dinner of nasi goreng (fried rice....mmmmmmmm)
and followed the sound of music (no, not the Julie Andrews' flick)
to an open-air temple where a group of Balinese musicians were practicing
for the huge temple dedication ceremony happening tonight (full
moon night). They let us listen in, in fact they wouldn't let us
sit outside the temple, we were encouraged to sit on the edge of
the stage. It was incredible; they play these amazingly detailed
songs with no sheet music. We actually ran into one of the musicians
while we were eating at the best non-tourist restaurants (serves
great fried noodle soup, 6000 R, go up the alley past Johnny's Losmen
and turn right at the road; can't miss it's long red tables out
in front), and we got to learn some of the history of the instruments
and how the songs are learned. He told us that they were practicing
four songs for the ceremony; four songs that would last for 2 hours.
We also got some insight into the true patriarchal nature of Balinese
culture; somewhat uncomfortable as he basically said that a man
who only has daughters is cursed, and he better have a brother to
take responsibility for his body or he won't get cremated. Hey Dad,
either give up your plan to move to Bali, or you and Mom better
start thinking about having a "late in life" baby...
We also got some good information from Mark, the (young) ex-pat
who is half-owner of the Scooby Doo Bar (no, that good info didn't
include why the bar is named the Scooby Doo Bar, but there are several
disturbing murals of Scooby's....um...'darker' side...). He has
lived in Bali for the past year, and is a wealth of information
about everything from the moon's affect on the tides, to the insider
tips on cock fighting. If you see him after October 10th, tell him
that we hope he won... |
