Day 152: Kuta, Bali

This morning was yet another early wake up call, heading out at 5am to catch my flight at 7:30. The traffic is so bad, even this early, that I had to leave this early to catch a domestic flight at an airport 25 minutes way. 

When I arrived in Bali, I saw this restaurant and started cracking up!

Good ole knock-offs!

I was pretty excited to come back to Bali, since last time I didn't have much time to relax. Also, since I have a better sense of what things cost on the island, I was ready to start bargaining. As I was leaving the airport, I asked various employees how much it costs to get a taxi to Kuta, I got a ballpark idea and then pick my price below that. Once I exited, all these guys approached me. As soon as they saw me, I'm sure they were thinking fresh meat! "Where you go?" "Kuta," I said, "ok come with me," he replied. "Haha, no no, how much?" "Ok for you 160,000 ($16)." "How about 100?," I answered. With a shake of his head, I walked over to the taxi cab stand and asked how much they would charge, still set on getting a ride for 100,000. They wanted 150; I knew that this was too much. The original guy came up to me and said he would take me; I asked him, "100, right?" "Ok, I'll take you for 120." Walking away, I told him all I needed to do was leave the airport and I'd get the price I wanted. He chased me down and accepted my offer. It's a small personal victory every time I beat a bargainer at bargaining!

I headed into Kuta with no clue of where to stay. I read some more about Indonesia on the plane and was thinking of buying another plane ticket to somewhere else once I landed in Bali. I couldn't really find anywhere that I could visit within a week, so I decided to take it slow and relax for the next couple days. I could be in Kuta for the next couple days, or just the night; only time will tell. I popped into a bar, grabbed a Bintang, and searched the web for a decent hostel in my area so I don't spend the time wearing down my flip flops and my patience traversing this scorching town dealing with all the locals who are trying to give me "a good deal." 

I found a perfect spot and headed out. I passed by a relatively nice hotel and the guard asked me if I needed a ride. I showed him the location and he said ok. "Wow, wait, how much?" "What it says in the email, 60." When I book a hostel, they usually send me an email with directions from the airport or bus station with the price that it should cost to get there. "No, no. The airport is almost an hour away, this place is a 15 minute drive." He was trying to convince me it was much further, however, I already looked it up on Google Maps. "Thanks anyway, I don't mind walking." As I turned around, he said, "ok, ok, wait here." It is amazing how much you can get ripped off in this side of the world. If I had had this knowledge in the Middle East and Northern Africa, I could have probably been living like a king for next to nothing.

Once I got checked into my hostel, I quickly changed clothes and dove in the pool!

The area that I'm in is tourist overload. I is similar in comparison to Phuket; however, imagine all of Phuket's trashiness mashed into just two beaches, so I decided to relax by our secluded pool. I wasn't at the pool but for a couple minutes and a friend of a friend, Mira who is from Bali, contacted me and wanted me to join her and her cousin for some drinsk that afternoon. I headed out and got a ride from a local on his moped, again bargaining for a good deal. The guy was cruising through the traffic with such ease, surprisingly, I was able to just relax while he took this hectic traffic head on. During our drive, this tourist came roaring by in a load motorcycle, cutting off locals and driving into oncoming traffic like a madman. When he drove by us, my guy got up close and started yelling, "F*** you!" At first, I was taken back by his comment to the tourist, and then he said, "some tourists just have no respect for our way of life." Then it dawned on me; would you like to live in a slice of paradise and then have it over run with some rude tourists who think the world revolves around them?

Once I met up with Mira and her cousin, we drove over to a day club called Potato Head, grabbed a spot on the lawn and a round of drinks. Right now there is a surfing competition going on close by, Oakley Pro Bali, and many of the pro surfers were at Potato Head to relax before their competition tomorrow. It was cool to be sitting next to these guys. Their some of the most famous surfers in the world, yet they are able to live their lives down like normal people and not be barraided like a typical famous athlete. Could you imagine getting paid to ride waves all day, following the surf around the world all year, while staying in remote exotic locations? Their office is a beutiful beach that most people dream of visiting at some point in their life. Not to mention they had a flock of gorgeous women at their side! Life must be good.

Us three relaxed, got to know each other, and soaked in the amazing atmosphere. We eventually headed out and Mira dropped me off at my hostel. Later that night, I ducked into a local restaurant and grabbed some spicy noodles.

Exhausted from a week long of sleep depravation, I passed out before 10.