Be careful what you wish for...
Trip Start
Apr 13, 2011
1
8
19
Trip End
Jul 11, 2011
Kuta, Bali, Indonesia
Friday, May 6, 2011
not last night but the night before (whenever that was, im on bali time!) i went out late, around 11pm to get something eat. on the way out, i promptly fell down the stairs and sprained my ankle. i sat on the step for a minute, feeling sorry for myself. not only because of my sprained ankle, but because my tastebuds were saying mcdonalds but my wallet was saying rice. after a small pity party (attendance: me) i headed off, and was lured to a small cart at the side of the road by one of the most delicious smells in bali - satay (sate). i parked my bike on the patch of gravel he had established himself on and ordered sate ayam (chicken satay). the cooking of sate is small pieces of meat in sticks which is then cooked over open coals and fanned (see picture). i sat on one of the flimsy knee high plastic stools on the gravel, and he presented me with my satays and some bizarre vegetable (i have no idea what it was) and i must say it was delicious. i finished my meal at the side of the road, and paid him the princely sum of 10,000rp ($1.10).
that day i had spent the majority of the afternoon at the tattoo shop, talking with all the guys there and had the most AMAZING fruit thing. bear with me through my explanation here. it was ice in a plastic cup, with fruit such as banana, papaya, honeydew melon, pineapple, watermelon and avocado cut up, with a sweet tasting juice stuff, similiar to banana milk (but it wasn't). pretty damn delightful on a hot day! the guys have been helping me with my indonesian which is good also. the manager and my tatooist are going to come around for dinner in a couple weeks - steak and salad it is!
yesterday i went to the beach - it finally wasn't full of rips and i could actually swim - and met up with a german girl, verena, off of couchsurfing.org. she has lived in indonesia before and been to sumatra and java as well as east timor. we had a coffee at a cafe on the beach, and have decided we will go to the gili islands together, as well as jimbaran bay (where the tables are set on the sand at the beach). it's good to finally have a female friend - there is only so many male tattooists you can be friends with before you want to complain about hormones, ingrown hairs and men.
today i met up with lauren (dorsa, laura's friend for those that don't know). i am so excited she is here! it's great to see a friendly face, mainly one that you are familiar with and isn't trying to sell you something! we are going out clubbing on sunday night and are going surfing on sunday with verena.
one thing i'm still getting used to over here (hence the picture) is tobacco advertisements are EVERYWHERE - on tv, on billboards, on cars, and heaps of events are 'brought to you by' cigarette companies. and i'll be honest - some of the tv ads are SO cool! you're watching it and thinking omg this is such a cool ad i wonder what it's for and BANG cigarettes. watching a cigarette ad on tv, without realising it's a cigarette ad, is a bit like catching a 747 to adelaide. exciting, but then such a let down. so i took a photo of a marlboro light ad which i think is actually really beautiful.
i had the biggest bartering experience of my life today - the short version is i have got five singlets, four pairs of gypsy/alladin style yoga shorts (tailor made) and two jumpsuits (also tailor made) for $116. it was painful, hot, and i had a mini tantrum in the shop, but it was the best i could get them down to. what do you guys think?
i am booked in for a yoga retreat may 14-19 or 20th in padangbai, a beautiful coastal town. i will be in a room with cold water only and NO AIR CON. lets see how that goes...verena and i are riding our motorbikes up together and stopping at the coastal villages on the way, though she isn't staying for the full week.
anyway, im exhausted and have a slight headache so thats all for now...hope all is alive and well and WYWH!!!! xxxx
Comments
Ooh pantsuits? Good job bartering my friend!
Is that really your room Gill? It looks really tidy!! Seriously it look nice. Looking forward to photos of the bargain clothes.
Love your room..sounds like you had some fun shopping there..I would say that was a bargain..when we get to see pics of the shopping...
Sounds like you are really having a great time.. envious of you.. miss ya heaps... hopefully we can catch up when your back..
Lisa xx