This morning, I went to the front desk to extend my room in the dorm for one more night, they were full. I usually just book my rooms one night at a time in case something random comes up and I want/need to leave, I have never run into this situation before. A guy from Italy was now in the same boat as I, no place to sleep in the dorm; luckily, they had a twin room available that was the same price as two beds in the dorm, so the Italian and I decided to grab the room. Luciano (hard to say that name without wanting to us a strong Italian accent) had been staying in the hostel for quite some time and made some good friends while in Kuta; one of which, Andre from Chile, was still around. Andre was flying back home to San Diego that night, so he wanted to spend his last day, touring the town, with us.
We decided to rent mopeds and see a few of the sights around the area. One of the problems that tourists run into is getting arrested for not having an International Driver's License or not knowing the laws of the road, resulting in a high bribe that must be paid to the arresting officer. Since neither of us have an International License, we pulled over to ask a cop if we could get a temporary one. Instead of getting a temporary one, I asked if we could pay him to write up a report that said we had had our wallet, ID, cellphones, and driver's license stolen from us. With a suitable bribe and a promise for a beer when he returned, he was off to get the official report. Its amazing what a little bit of money can do in third world countries.
So, I didn't really realize how terrible traffic was in Bali until I drove in it. This place is a mad house! The main problem is that the majority of (where I have been) Indonesia is just one or two laned roads; not nearly enough for the amount of traffic. Mopeds flood the streets and are constantly having to drive into oncoming traffic when possible to move through traffic easier. There aren't many street lights that I have seen, you just inch out gradually and whenever there is an opening, you and about 30 people behind you, shoot the gap, changing the flow of traffic. Constantly weaving through traffic in an attempt to find the fastest way through was very nerve wrecking. I don't know what I would do if I had to deal with this traffic on a daily basis; Indonesia definitely has the worst I have ever seen, personally, in the world.
Andre and Luciano had their sights set on some temple, however, there is a temple on every corner in Bali, so when we pulled up to a local and asked them do you know where the temple is most of them just laughed. We had the name of it and where it was on the map and locals still couldn't give us directions to it.
We decided to rent mopeds and see a few of the sights around the area. One of the problems that tourists run into is getting arrested for not having an International Driver's License or not knowing the laws of the road, resulting in a high bribe that must be paid to the arresting officer. Since neither of us have an International License, we pulled over to ask a cop if we could get a temporary one. Instead of getting a temporary one, I asked if we could pay him to write up a report that said we had had our wallet, ID, cellphones, and driver's license stolen from us. With a suitable bribe and a promise for a beer when he returned, he was off to get the official report. Its amazing what a little bit of money can do in third world countries.
So, I didn't really realize how terrible traffic was in Bali until I drove in it. This place is a mad house! The main problem is that the majority of (where I have been) Indonesia is just one or two laned roads; not nearly enough for the amount of traffic. Mopeds flood the streets and are constantly having to drive into oncoming traffic when possible to move through traffic easier. There aren't many street lights that I have seen, you just inch out gradually and whenever there is an opening, you and about 30 people behind you, shoot the gap, changing the flow of traffic. Constantly weaving through traffic in an attempt to find the fastest way through was very nerve wrecking. I don't know what I would do if I had to deal with this traffic on a daily basis; Indonesia definitely has the worst I have ever seen, personally, in the world.
Andre and Luciano had their sights set on some temple, however, there is a temple on every corner in Bali, so when we pulled up to a local and asked them do you know where the temple is most of them just laughed. We had the name of it and where it was on the map and locals still couldn't give us directions to it.
We were constantly going one way then going back the way we came, then back in the original direction only to find nothing. We were eventually pointed to some small temple on the beach; definitely not the large temple we were searching for.
(This guy was trying to sell us girl's brackets. "Boss I got something for you... You want something boss?" We bought a necklace in an attempt to get a good picture of his teeth. I kept asking for a big smile and he would cover his mouth and start laughing. A little shy.)
As time went by, we passed by some big looking temple and I suggested we pull over. If we can't find the one we are looking for, we might as well see something, right? This wasn't the temple either, but it was still nice to see.
After we walked through the temple, we headed over to the beach and watched the waves roll in.
That night, we waved Andre goodbye, and hung around the hostel before heading out. I met a guy who just got to the hostel, who is from Charlotte and went to the University of South Carolina, graduating in 2007. What are the odds? Later, Luciano and I headed out to see why everyone calls Bali a crazy party town. Just like the night before, tonight was rather lame. There is a massive club close by, Sky Garden, which is the place to go.
For $5 its all you can drink from 6-7 and all you can eat from 5-7; from 9-10 its all you can drink for free. We made it just in time for the all you can drink for free. The bar was filled with overly drunk dudes in tank tops, jerseys and flat bill hats, fist pumping the night away. I would say the guy to girl ratio was about 9:1. Enough to keep us their for the free drinks and then leave.
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