Taman Ayun

Courtesy of the nice folk at MBA Travel (what seems to be the largest tour company based in Kuta), we booked a 3/4-day trip around the island. The trip we opted for was their Bedugul “Green” Tour at $30 per person.

They offer two timeslots – pickup at 8am or 11:00 with the latter offering a weather-permitting sunset at the Tanah Lot temple on the west coast. This was the one we opted for. Pickup was fairly prompt and we joined two guys (an Italian and a South African) for our little jaunt.

To do this trip by yourself by bike is definitely an option, for those preferring to do it on a budget. Most of the places we went only charge 1000 to 3000 entry/donation which is next to nothing. However, having the aircon and a fun driver helped, as did the fact that it required very little effort, no road map and slightly less risk of death in a traffic accident. Slightly less.

Ulun Danu Bratan

The first stop was at the 16th century Taman Ayun temple, surrounded by an artificial moat. This was the royal family’s temple back in the day and as far as Balinese temples go is pretty impressive. The style’s different from a lot I’ve seen but I’d say the “spires” (if you can call them that) have more of a Chinese feel, while the stonework is pretty unique.

I made friends with a cat by one of the monuments, tickling its chin until it actually seemed to pass out in my arms! The sun came out while we walked around which made for some good photographs and we mad euse of the included soft drinks when we got back to the minibus.

I'll have those...

We passed through areas of rice fields on our way upwards to Pacung and Bedugul where we took lunch. Expensive lunch. The buffet was good, but it was 75,000IDR per person (plus taxes, service etc). So of course, we all crammed as much down our throats as we possibly could. The view up there is fantastic, very much reminiscent of Sapa in north Vietnam. Cascading rice paddies cut into the mountain sides, and quite a bit of low cloud.

Partway up one of the mountain roads, a man was offering photos with a huge iguana, a snake and some rather large and cold-looking fruit bats. All of us snapped the animals, but didn’t pay for any pictures with them – unless they’re in a zoo I tend to think they’re not being looked after too well.

Leah spotted a dilapidated hotel clinging to the hillside near the top. Everything was overgrown around it and it was quite a shame. A lovely big building with a fantastic view, but I guess this area just doesn’t attract tourists the way the coast does.

It's a finger, not a peanut!

Next up was the “temple on the lake” at Ulun Danu Bratan which was lovely. Certainly a pretty place to build a temple with a wonderful view across the lake the the mountains behind. We dodged children selling postcards and took a few photos in the hot sun and then I played with a little puppy for a while. I think its mother was glad for the break.

Back downhill our next stopoff was the “monkey park” at Alas Kedaton. A very small temple that you can’t really see, but a gazillion monkeys that you simply can’t ignore. They’re all running wild, similarly to Kao Takiap near Hua Hin in Thailand, and they’re not shy. Hold out a clenched hand and they’ll gently pull your fingers back to get at the food they hope is inside. Expect at least one to jump up and sit on your shoulders – perhaps even groom your hair for little morsels! And ideal stop-off if your kids have head lice. Certainly more entertaining than the evil nit nurse.

Tanah Lot

Do watch out, though, as they can get aggressive especially if you approach the particularly one ones too closely, or act aggressively towards them yourself. One decided to have a munch on my fingertip, so it’s a good job they’re vegetarian as the teeth aren’t too sharp in the smaller ones. He gnawed at me for a minute before I got a little worried he’d eventually break the skin and “encouraged” him to get down.

There was one poor old soul with a horrible looking open wound in his backside, likely as the result of a territorial fight with another monkey. Proof that they can indeed cause damage when they want. They’re small, cute and wild – they are animals after all. This eldster seemed to be taking it in his simian stride, though, just picking bits of dead flesh out and eating them. Nice. I managed to rescue Leah’s sunglasses from another four-handed thief. If you don’t need it and it’s not firmly attached to your person, leave it in the car!

As the sky began to darken we escaped from our guide/shop-owner (“I give you special price!”) and took the trip down to Tanah Lot. The temple there is built on a rocky promontory and visitors can be blessed with a sprinkling of holy water underneath. The coastal views are spectacular and there are some very deep rock pools in the volcanic surface – so watch your step especially as the sun goes down.

Unfortunately due to the prevailing weather conditions and cloud, we didn’t get much of a sunset. None of the spectacular reds I’d have expected when I was in Bali during September last year, only a gradual darkening until the lights around were switched on. A shame, but that’s how it goes – although I guarantee at least one loud-mouthed tourist will have asked for a refund in the past.

And finally back to Kuta where we changed some ferry bookings, swapped some books, organised accommodation (elsewhere in Bali due to Kuta being crammed) and enjoyed a wonderful dinner in TJ’s Mexican restaurant on Poppies I. Definitely recommended, and not in the least pricey if you compare it to something similar back home.

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Quick trip round Bali

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Up at Tulamben we met a honeymooning couple – Putu is taking the hubbie through his Open Water while the wife is already an Instructor with quite a few dives under her belt. To split groups, I was to take her and the two Dutch chaps (father and son) while Putu again concenrated on the student diver.

However, the younger Dutch guy had a slight cold and was bunged up. He opted to give the first dive a try, but had to resurface after barely getting to 3m. He could equalise, but said the pressure behind his eyes was like a knife. A wise decision not to push it. Unfortunately, when I surfaced to make sure he was OK and send him back to the restaurant, I lost contact with the others.

I decided after waiting for five minutes not to chase after them as by that point I’d be pretty much diving solo until I found them. Before checking on the son, I’d made sure the other two had buddied up and they already have a couple of hundred dives between them. They also hooked up with Putu and our student so their dive went well. I’m just peeved at missing out on another chance at the Liberty wreck as it’s a very good dive.

After lunch, I led them around the Drop Off which went well. Plenty of life down there although visibility isn’t what it was back in September last year. Still, there is a lot to lookout for and we saw, amongst other things, plenty of pipe fish, a huge lion fish and an eel trying to hide in the rocks.

As I said, I was late back to meet David so we’ll try and sort something for later in the week. Right now I’m hoping to find a seat at a cheap restaurant for dinner before grabbing a shower then heading up to the airport to meet Leah on her flight in from Perth.

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Delayed diving

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Instead I’m loafing in the 24-hour Minimart deli on the beachfront with it’s free wi-fi. Of course, I do this on a day when I have next to no email backlog! Bernhard was still asleep when I left the room (at 11:30) although he didn’t get in until 3:00 or something this morning. The annoying thing with the cancellation is that the early morning start for the dive is the reason I didn’t go out last night myself!

Still, I’m out for a quick beer this evening with @dconlisk from Twitter. However I can’t overdo it as – again – I must be up early to head for Tulamben in the morning, then try to make the room look presentable for Leah arriving late tomorrow night.

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A lazy day in Bali

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Singing in the street

I’d had a long and tiring day on the 18th with the bus ride. I needed a good night’s sleep, but courtesy of three of the most selfish dorm-”mates” I’ve ever had the displeasure of encountering I didn’t get it.

A Dutch couple were in the opposite bunk and woke at 6:30am, chattering away as if there was nobody else in the room. Then the guy underneath me decided to pack all his luggage shortly after, throwing stuff around on the bed making it shake and rustling plastic bags for fun.

I gave up and just got out of bed for the free breakfast (a couple of rolls and a cup of tea – I guess I missed the deep-fried banana. After chatting to another couple I’d actually seen briefly in the hostel in Dili I did a quick email check at the bar then headed back to the hostel to pay up, grab my kit and head to the airport nice and early.

Only I couldn’t as the ****ing Dutch ****ers had locked the dorm door with the only key and gone out with it. It took the staff quarter of an hour to break into the room and remove the door from the frame so I could grab my rucksack. Fortunately I had time to spare and made it to the airport well before check-in and therefore with no worries about paying for my ticket and getting on the flight.

Our first "hotel"

Ah. But I had reckoned without Merpati Airlines and their completely screwed up booking system which hadn’t actually booked me a ticket at all. See the related post for the full horror story.

I did make it onto the (scruffy, dilapidated) plane and on to Bali where I hooked up with Bernhard and Han (from Austria and Pakistan respectively). We haggled a taxi down to 25000 to get us to Poppies I and began our search for accommodation.

Almost five hours later, we gave up. Han headed for another part of the island. Bernhard and I left our luggage with the nice people at the bungalows I stayed at last year, then went out for the night. When the last club shut at 4am, we grabbed one last McD‘s and slept in a shop front around the corner.

The weather in Bali

Our original plan had been to crash on the beach, but I’m glad we didn’t as it chucked it down in the early hours. Still, we managed 2-3 hours’ kip before the staff had to open up (they’d actually told us earlier we could sleep there which was nice of them).

We had a nice breakfast in the Treetop Cafe on Poppies I, and started hunting again. The second place we tried – opposite where our luggage was – had a room for 66000 for two. Not as nice as last year’s abode, but it will suffice for a couple of nights.

So now it’s the 20th. Today’s been easy and will continue to be so! Email’s up to date, lunch about to be had and I’ve been up to Pro Dive to see the crew. I’m off up to Tulamben to do the wreck dive with a group of Open Water students and Putu tomorrow. Aces!

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Back to Bali

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I woke at 3:30am and grabbed all my things to wait for my pre-arranged lift. And waited.

Then gave up and woke one of the other staff who said he’d take me to the airport himself. The other guy never showed. I guess he managed to get more sleep than me.

Fortunately, the airport is only fifteen minutes away on a clear road so my motorbike ride was short and swift. I waited through the usual queues of people complaining about being charged for their overweight baggage and ascended to the departure area.

Then walked back down the stairs to find an ATM as I hadn’t known there was a 150,000 Rupiah international departure tax. So a walk outside, and then a walk back in necessitating a second scan of all my hand luggage. Not as bad as Roz, a woman I got talking to who had to remover her belt and everything as well.

A note to Bali Airport authorities: either publicise the departure tax outside, put an ATM inside, or consider adding the fee to the ticket price to save all this messing about in the first place.

Nothing was open when we walked through into the departure area until a small café realised there was money to be made. I had a pot noodle which cost about a quid. Then tried to pay with Visa and was told that there was a minimum purchase of three times that. It would have been nice if their “We accept:” notice behind the counter had mentioned this.

I ended up paying for Roz’s food as well, and she gave me IDR50k. Annoying as I was hoping to leave with no indigenous currency. Ah well, I may be back sometime and it’s only three quid.

Fortunately, the flight left on time and I slept pretty deeply the whole way to Kuala Lumpur. I made about the shortest visit to a country of all time. Immigration was very quick, I grabbed my rucksack from baggage reclaim and waved goodbye to Roz. She works in KL now – good luck to her in her new job.

Straight out, turn left and into check-in for my connecting flight. The timing was perfect, with the desk opening only a minute before I walked up to it.

KL airport is fully wi-fi’d so I sat down and started uploading nonsense for you lot. All going to plan.

Until they announced that due to a “technical difficulty”, my flight was delayed from 11:30 to 13:40. So far. Updates as and when, but currently I’m enjoying a numb bottom on typical airport seating and realising that I’m getting hungry now. And I don’t want to give up my seat as it’s the only one in the entire area with an electrical socket by it.

Fortunately, TRSC (the people who did my laser surgery and who I have an appointment with this afternoon) have been typically wonderful and skewed all their appointments around my changed arrival time.

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Argh, what a morning

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Packing, as ever, seemed to take an age. This is the longest I’ve been in one place for many months and I’d actually unpacked almost everything. OK, it’s only one rucksack and a day bag but it’s a palaver. Once I’d finished I realised that I had nothing else to do. So I sat and read for a bit. Then walked to the internet cafe where I sat for over an hour.

Next I walked up to ProDive, but they were closed. I waited half an hour but nobody came to open up. So I walked back to the hotel. Then went online again for two hours. Then sat and read.

Putu turned up to sort out the Divemaster paperwork which killed a few minutes and 7:00 almost came around when Valerie re-appeared from the beach. Annoyingly, she was in a really chatty mood. Not a bad thing in itself as she’s great company, but I had to be elsewhere. A shame she’d not come back earlier!

So finally on to my appointment with Wayan Batu at the tattoo studio around the corner. I’d dropped my design off the day before so he could get the transfer image prepared. If I’m correct, both the artist and the guy who runs the shop are called Wayan (younger and elder). Wayan Jr shaved my chest hair and rubbed me down with antiseptic and the like as Wayan Sr readied the equipment.

Sketching the design onto my chest in biro took around thirty minutes and already I was liking it. He then sorted out the paraphernalia, showing me the needles in their sealed blister packs to prove they weren’t re-using anything. Their autoclave is pretty impressive, too. Having worked at a vet’s and with a mate who’s a dentist I’ve seen a few of these and the one here is shiny and sparkly. While Sr was working, Jr was cleaning everything down. It’s a very clean and well-kept shop.

The major difference to a UK place was the lack of form-filling. No need to sign a sheet of paper saying you’re not going to sue him if you die or decide you don’t like the permanent picture you have scrawled across your forehead.

Sat in a fairly intimate position, have on Wayan Sr’s lap, I braced myself and let the fun part begin.

It hurt. It was awful. I could barely stand it.

But then the music on the stereo changed and I got some classic Guns ‘n’ Roses instead of Black Album Metallica. The pain subsided.

As for the tattoo, it varied depending on what was going on. As ever, outlines hurt more than the shading. As I was getting a few letters done, this meant short bursts of “owie” followed by a break as Wayan readied himself for the next section.

Overall, it took around 45 minutes or so for him to finish it all up and I’m well pleased with the result. Obviously, the accompanying picture is the finished product. I’ve just got the usual week or so while it scabs up and heals.

With the tattoo covered with some cling film I walked up to Gong Corner II to meet Fabio for dinner. Kind of gross, but as I was eating blood started to leak out of the edges of the cling film. Nice. Still, afterwards I disposed of the plastic and the tattoo’s looking good. As is my chest. Perhaps I should shave it more often.

After thanking the staff at GC, we headed up to Double-D’s to watch the football. Annoyingly they only have one satellite and about 15 TVs. The match being shows is determined by which one starts first, we we got to see the end of West Ham v Bolton, which meant we missed the first 20 minutes or so of Man City v Liverpool – and thus the first goal.

It also meant missing the first half of the Newcastle v Everton game – and three goals. Never mind, at least I saw the fourth and we got a point. Before our game I’d been falling asleep. Astoundingly this feeling ceased as I watched us play. Recently we’ve been having the opposite effect.

So here I sit in a cybercafe, killing time until my transport to the airport in about two hours. Actually, I best be off as I have a small amount of repacking to do.

Next post will likely be from Kuala Lumpur Airport (budget terminal) if I can get my wi-fi working.

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Wrapping things up

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First up, I finished the book I was reading and went to the nearby bookshop to swap it and another I’d finished for one more to tide me over. The book shops round here, in case I didn’t mention, are great. A little pricier than I’d have expected but jam packed with stuff I really want to read. The trade-in prices are quite fair, too.

I treated myself to an McD’s for lunch, then got one of the lads at the hotel to take me to Carrefour so I could try and get a replacement camera. There was only one dealership selling Olympus’s (Olympi?) and it seems that the new version of the camera I have that just broke won’t work in the underwater housing I have. It’s just too big and the buttons are in the wrong place. Great. Maybe I’ll have better luck elsewhere, but in Bali I’m limited to here or a trip to Denpasar.

My next mission was to find a decent, well-recommended and cheap tattooist. I won’t say what I’m getting, but after a haggle over price at one nearby I’ve got an appointment for tomorrow evening. Photos after the event! The guy’s catalogues of past work are impressive, but the clincher was an Aussie family who were leafing through the books. Dad had two arms-ful of work from this shop, all several years old and as clear and colourful as the day they were done. The price wasn’t as cheap as I’d imagined, but still less than back home.

Tonight’s plan is to meet my Brazilian friend, Fabio, for dinner, then to watch the football at one of the nearby pubs. I believe we’ll be watching Arsenal (hopefully) embarass the mackem filth. Tomorrow I may be watching Evertone embarass us, so perhaps I shouldn’t shout too much.

Oh, and beer will be involved. You betchya. I’ve not had a real tankful for over two weeks. I just need to make sure I’m sober by 7pm tomorrow night when some nice man starts jabbing an ink-filled needle into me.

*update*

After the fact/beer… We were joined for dinner by Fabio’s Chilean room-mate and a Canadian girl from my place called Valerie. Fabio and I went on to watch the football as planned, and what a turgid affair it was. Come on Arsenal – how can you only manage a point against the great unwashed? Good grief.

To lighten my mood, as Fabio left when the game finished I was accosted by a couple of very tall Irish gentlemen. They recognised me from China Beach around 2 1/2 months ago! I’d played volleyball with them on my little afternoon trip from Hoi An.

They were on their last night in Bali before heading Oz-wards, so I tagged onto their group which also included a lass from Newcastle and two German girls. We made our way to DD’s which was showing the Man U game, then on to another couple of bars and then the Bounty club. I made it back to my room around 6am armed with a large bottle of strawberry milk.

Don’t ask. I just like strawberry milk.

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Of all the bars in all the world…

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For the first and last dives, I was buddied with Peter who’s still progressing on from his Open Water. Both dives were modertately tricky – the swell at Manta Point and the fast current for the Lembongan Point drift dive. He did OK, but definitely needs some more dives to get to grips with buoyancy and using his legs instead of his arms! Encouragingly, his air use has improved in just the last two days.

Lunch, for a change, was veg fried rice and some sate chicken. I split mine with the fish as we were “parked” in shallow water. Watching the swim up for the tidbits helped while away the final surface stop.

There was a downside to the day, though. My camera casing flooded at Manta Point and the camera seems to have died. Another one for the insurance. They’ll love me. Annoying as I wasn’t below the depth at which the camera itself isn’t rated as being waterproof. I don’t think it’s still under warranty, though.

The main thing, though, is that otherwise everything went well. I got the 60 dives I need and – bar some form-filling on Sunday with Putu – I’m all passed!

So, thanks to everyone at ProDive Bali. I’ll forget some names, but: Erna, Kadek, Putu, Peter, Robert… and everyone else. I’ve had a great time. And also to all the paying customers – without you I’d have had nobody to experiment/practice on!

I’m looking forward to the next couple of days off. Finally I can wash my trunks and get a lie in. Oh, and have a beer!

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Divemaster day 16… all over bar the paperwork

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It’s a similar site to Tulamben, with a rocky beach and two dive points. The first one we enjoyed was the drop off. I guided the two more experienced divers while Kadek looked after the guy with only a small amount of experience.

As with the dive that followed, we were ferried out to our entry point by a wooden boat. Our BCDs were stocked up at one end and we had to don them in the water.

There’s a lot to see on this dive, and the way the wildlife is separated is interesting. Rather than one long flowing ecosystem (visibly, at least) there are many small clusters with fish fighting territorially between them. I did spot an eel, but it shied away back into its hole as I tried to take a picture. I drifted off and looked behind me in time to see it zap out of it’s eel-hole and grab some prey.

After an hour’s beach time, we were taken out by our boatman and took the plunge into a nice, relaxing drift dive at a lower depth. Again, a lot to see including a cute yellow squid that zipped off before I could get a photo.

As lunch was served, the divers decided that two dives was enough. They were a little too tired for a third one which leaves me with just tomorrow to make the 60 dives I need for my Divemaster.

The traffic on the way back was a nightmare with it being Ramadan. It’s usually bad, but the queues as some junctions were unreal this evening.

So hopefully one day to go…

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Divemaster day 15

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Actually, I was fine with it. A larger group is usually more fun and it also meant I’d not be away from “home” for the night. OK, the fact that seven of the eight Americans were very attractive women may have had a slight bearing on my feelings, too. Also, I’ve not supervised a “Discover” class before and it sounded like a new challenge.

I have to say it ended up being one of the best days I’ve spent here so far. The group were great – chatty, friendly, full of questions and keen to learn. Harold, the only guy in the group, was a great person to talk to for the boat trip over. Coming from Iowa and living in Khazakstan, he’s obviously got some stories of his own. The girls all (as far as I could gather) live in China, doing various things.

The purpose of the day was to give these people – barring one with an aging Open Water certificate – their first ever experience of SCUBA diving. This is why we needed three diving staff as well as a boat handler. Anyone who’s learned to dive must remember their first time.

There really is a lot to deal with all at once. Controlling the BCD; breathing underwater; equalising ear and mask pressure; all those hand signals; and the biggest problem – maintaining buoyancy. It takes a good few dives to work out how much weight you need, how to dive level and so forth. First attempts usually end up with beginners doing good impressions of a cork in boiling water – up, down, up, down. Oh, a cork with waggly arms. And randomly kicking legs.

Some people get the knack sooner than others, and the task at hand was to guide those who’ve not quite grasped it. The best way to learn is to be under there, and this is also a discovery course – not a lesson. The group were here to experience the diving, not to learn the skills as such. So we kept tight-knit groups, and those who could just about manage the buoyancy thing swam nearby while those with trouble were escorted with a secure hand on the BCD.

I ended up escorting one of the girls who was struggling a bit. I remember all the same things from when I was doing my Open Water. Relying too much on the BCD for changing my buoyancy rather than using my breathing. By halfway through the second dive, I think she got it. It’s quite a challenge maintaining your own buoyancy while controlling someone else’s using just their BCD and a bit of pushing, pulling and so on.

As the dive progressed, she became more level and her positioning improved. She stopped using her arms to swim and used her legs less as she learned to go with the current. Towards the end of the dive, I was swimming near and around her and only rarely nudging her in the right direction. As with so many things, the best way to learn is to do.

I’m really glad to say that the whole group left with big smiles. Harold even said he reckons it’s possibly the most amazing thing he’s ever done – and at 48 with five children I’m sure he’s seen some pretty amazing things!

The waters were clear, the swells stayed down and the sun was hidden by cloud just enough to help stave off sunburn.

A great day, marred only by my smacking my head on the rear van door as I was packing the equipment away. These things are built for Indonesian height requirements and I have the bleeding head to prove it. Ow. Still, no stitches required and I don’t feel concussed…

As I walked back to my hotel, I dodged the usual cries of “transport?”, “sunglasses? Cheap shirt?” and “massage”? I was almost curious at one point as I was offered “sexy massage? Banana massage?” I really, don’t think I want to know what a banana massage is, but I’m keeping that term for use at a later date.

Tomorrow I have yet another early start to join the group I was due to be with today up at Amed. Putu reckons this is his favourite dive site so I’m really looking forward to it.

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Divemaster day 14

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