totally tubular and radical, dude! err, sorta

i am currently in bali, indonesia. i’ve been here for about 4 nights and 5 days, and quite honestly, the first few days (well, nights really) have been absolutely crappy. i mean, AWFUL. yesterday night, i could not stop hating, i mean really HATING, kuta beach, the beach that i’ve been on until today (this afternoon, i have transported myself to ubud, a nice quiet country town a few hours to the north).

what was the problem, you ask? well, kuta beach is extremely, OUTRAGEOUSLY touristy, and is entirely full of couples, holiday-makers and schoolies. schoolies are the slimey aussie kids and 20-somethings who’ve only just finished high school and are just bumming around with a little cash to burn, surfing and clubbing around the area. the afternoons have been fine as the first two full days i learned how to surf for the first time ever, and yesterday, some people i knew and i took some scooters around to the other beaches on the island (this place called dreamland beach was just absolutely glorious – three shades of clear blue and massive killer waves). so, mainly it’s been the evenings and partly the company that haven’t been so great. the people i know are these guys (and some girls who are all right) who i met in ko phi phi and phagnan, thailand and who cause a lot of drama and are kinda crazy. anyway, this plus the club scene, which i absolutely hate hate hate were sources of extreme exasperation and agitation.

a few other things: i was quite paranoid about the security and the police here as this is indonesia and extreme intoxication is not a good state to be in in a country like this (although everyone was pretty much hammered every night and this is bali). and once again, i’m again totally annoyed of the locals street hawkers and the taxi drivers’ touts. there was literally no street, store, or corner i could go on without being hassled or harassed in some way.

this is how a ‘conversation’ normally went on kuta beach (and even in ubud) with the locals and me:

‘konichiwa, nihon mo? japanese? taxi? transport? where are you going?’

‘no thanks’

‘yes, transport? where do you need to go?’

‘no. you don’t need to know where i’m going.’

alternatively, it starts like this:

‘(whistles/cat calls) konichiwa. japanese?’

shake my head

‘chinese’

shake my head

‘where are you from?’

don’t answer

‘korean’

‘none of your business.’

every 2 minutes dude! it drives me insane. they ALWAYS all speak to me in japanese. hell, they know way more of it than i speak french now! granted, there are heaps of japanese tourists (probably the most of any asians here, and here in ubud, they’re absolutely everywhere and are apparently the largest group of expats). in thailand and bali, i cannot get away with someone not initially thinking i’m japanese, although a few times, i’ve gotten chinese/taiwanese/singaporean/even malay for being so dark now.

okay. now the surfing. trying to surf was loads of fun. but learning was insanity. not because it was hard and not because i was frustrated, but because of the freaking local surf instructor. he did not really speak english that well, he did not really teach me much of anything other than one basic form, and he could not stop hitting on me – actually to the point of harassing me. 1. he continuous said i looked japanese about 1000 fucking times, after EVERY single surf. 2. he continuously opined that i looked like the other japanese girls he taught how to surf the previous day. 3. he wouldn’t stop talking about how beautiful i was and how i looked like a japanese artist (?!), and 4. he just made me absolutely sick. digusto. awful awful awful.

so basically, the best part of kuta beach was going to the other pristine beaches nearby, flying at about 70 miles an hour on the small hilly windy roads hoping not to get killed in a motorbike crash riding behind this crazy dutch guy named sunny. yeah.

anyway, basically, bali is probably really nice for couples and vacationers, but not for the average backpacker. it’s really a mistake that i’m here. but it’s my own fault. i was supposed to go to melaka, malaysia and singapore, and/or fly to oz or back to bangkok, but decided oz was too expensive and vast to do in a couple of weeks. and again, as i LOVE to think in hindsight, i should’ve gone with my gut instinct and gone back up to chiang mai and pai in northern thailand as i longed for. but ‘course, i didn’t go with my instincts and didn’t really do my homework in advance. also, i was supposed to meet a friend here, but basically, flying all the way to another country that’s not so close is kind of a bad idea to do when plans are made so far in advance and not set in stone. basically, i kinda got ditched but again, i mostly blame myself.

in fact, the day before i left KL for bali, i met an irish guy who was just there, and he sort of forewarned me about what it would be like. i almost, just ALMOST changed my plans and wanted to cancel my ticket and fly back up to bangkok, but i didn’t take the right risk. it’s also low season here, which could be why it sucked too. bali is a big place, and i’m only going to basically 2 places, when most people spend about 2 weeks here with a week in the gili islands alone, which is the ko phagnan of indo but is really quiet right now.

that’s enough complaining. if there are a few lessons i learned from traveling, it’s: DEFINITELY go with your gut instincts even if it means having to take some small risks (like changing plane tickets at the last minute); always get advice from multiple sources and never just one person as you go along; compare notes with others; go where there are hostels or more likely to be a backpacker scene; get the latest lonely planet guide (’cause they really know what they’re talking about – and mine’s 2 years too old); if you meet someone really cool and your gut instinct is that person is really legit; don’t be shy about traveling with them (which i was a few times to do); it’s never a bad thing to go back to a place you’ve already been and liked; don’t trust too many people (which i did a few times too many); and finally, never travel too fast. that i think could be the biggest mistake a traveler makes (even the lonely planet and rough guide say so, which i initially didn’t take seriously!).

hmm, i don’t know if i’ll ever be able to go on a proper vacation or holiday again. i just love the rough lifestyle of backpacking way too much!

anyway, ubud isn’t so bad. it’s picturesque and sort of reminds me of chiang mai. i’m also really digging reading “eat pray love” while i’m here as well, as a third of the book is set in this town. i’ll be able to do plenty of shopping here. indonesia’s quite cheap. the other saving grace is that it’s cheaper to fly out of here to honolulu than bangkok, and i have a stopover in osaka, japan for 12 hours! maybe i’ll try to see some of japan! i don’t know, we’ll see! that would be SAWEEEET though.