Today I went hunting. Picture hunting. After a late night, I couldn't get in the water or perform simple math. Instead I started my day with a large plate of rice and beans, coffee, and gathered the essentials for a motorbike tour to Uluwatu. Armed with my Canon, I drove south along the Sunset Road to Bukit, the "bucket" hanging off of the south end of the island of Bali. Once past Kuta and the airport, I took Raya Uluwatu and entered into a narrow, two-lane road crammed with motorbikes and traffic, lined by dozens of small shops selling mobile phone service, petrol, puffy shrimp chips, and tons of ma and pa Warangs. I cruised up into the limestone cliffs with only 20 minutes of being lost before I found the appropriate signs to the Uluwatu temple.
Scoopie!
Festival
store Raya Uluwatu
tree
limestone cliffs
trash
I'd come prepared, in long, Thai pants, a yellow sarong tied at my waist, an orange sarong around my shoulders. I was one of the only non-local visitors without a rented temple-appropriate garb, with an especially lucky guess on the yellow - everyone had a gold sash. It was swarmed with folks, and I took liberal amounts of photos of the naughty monkeys that steal flip-flops and sunglasses, the steep limestone cliffs that meet the sea, and the crowds permeating the whole area. I took my shots, hiked the entire grounds, and headed back to my Scoopie to find some beaches.
Hindu car
car decor
monkey
uluwatu
uluwatu
tall cliff
gate
guardian
naughty monkey
statues
A quick left after the temple led me along the coastline and I stopped at Uluwatu beach, the local's entrance as I was later to find out. Older women guarded the parking area and fired curious questions at me, what was my name, where am I from, how long am I in Bali, where do I live, holiday. The usual round. I climbed a steep set of stairs descending to the beach, finding a village-ette carved into the sides of the cliffs. The sidewalks were narrow with stairs that reminded me of the hills of Puerto Vallarta. I found the path to the beach, waited as surfers climbed up with thier boards and perfect swimmer bodies, and then it was my turn to reach the beach paradise that is Uluwatu.
coral
stairs to the beach
throwing out the trash
cliff village
surf shop
sp!
scary stairs
appealling
beach
beach
Surfers caught gorgeous 9 foot waves, stopping just short of being crashed onto the long stretch of reef at low tide. In the eddies and pools lounged groups of folks. I waded out until the water covered the bottoms of my bikini, snapping shot after shot of amazing rides. Behind me on the top of the cliff, other surfers shouted their appreciation for the ride the guy in the water just took. Local women lazed on towels and checked their phones, while others just floated around, a steady but small stream of surfers going out and coming in the whole time as the sun set.
cliff village
surf
pools
looking through
missing something?
phones
craggy
gorgeous
surf
cliff village
stunning
cliff village
cliff village
My ride home was fast, dark, and fun. I arrived in time to bring beers over to Candice's and eat a light dinner and discuss our various happenings with Candice and Aaron. All in all, a pretty good day.
The night before was late, and I went to see a live band with a pretty impressive set of local musicians covering American hair-rock bands. The lead singer, Bang (yes, that's his name), works with Aaron in the mountain villages, but instead of the conservation efforts Aaron volunteers for, Bang teaches the economically depressed citizens music. We all chatted about a variety of topics before heading out to hear some electronic music that was woefully uninteresting. I left early and took a back road home. On my ride, two men on a motorbike came up beside me and grabbed in what I can only describe as a very non-friendly, sexual manner. I shouted at them and pulled in front, only to have them make one more pass and grab at me. The turn off for my house came up and they pulled in front of me, blocking my exit. I don't know why, but they moved aside and I went ahead towards the house. Then I realized they were following. I skipped the house and pulled out into the main road, driving to the nearest well-lit 24 hour mini mart. I parked, let the shakes begin, and when I was sure no one was behind me, I went home and cried it out.
It's difficult to tell this story for a couple of reasons. The expats I've talked to have never had any kind of incident like this - I really don't think that this kind of behavior typifies what I've experienced of the locals. If anything, the people of Bali have gone out of their way to be helpful and welcoming. The other reason it's difficult, is that this kind of incident is a very fear-associated kind of event. I woke to relive it in my mind and within a few minutes I had it well blown out of proportion. "What if" scenarios crowded my mind and got my heart pumping. Don't misunderstand, I was scared. I was also very grateful I didn't lose control of my bike and any number of possible ways that could have gone down. But the reality of it was that I was driving, got squeezed a bit, had my path temporarily blocked, and was followed for about a half a kilometer. I dealt myself far worse damage navigating stairs on my own.
Remembering the many times I've listened to Byron Katie work with people who have similar thoughts as I was having, I paused in my dramatic retelling and tried to look hard at the reality of the situation. I will now go home late at night using only major streets, make a report, and I will be just fine. In fact, my day was pretty darn great today, the smiles came easily, the joy bubbling up as I looked at all of the life and beauty around me.
I think I have forgotten something very vital lately. This is a playground, this life, and I forgot to have fun. Playing in the water with a surfboard is fun! Trying to bribe a monkey to give back a sandal is fun. I could run away with the stories of boredom, of not accomplishing enough, of being a terrible beginner surfer, of being impinged upon, or I can look at the moment in its total reality, however it presents itself.
A day passes....
Sick. Both ends. Spent the day glued to horizontal surfaces, munching activated carbon, drinking lots of fluids, and eventually even eating a bit. I'm exhausted and hoping for better conditions tomorrow.