More than once while walking along the beach, Gundula and I have been asked “how are you tomorrow?” It cracks me up. I just say I won’t know until I get there!
We arrived in Anturan in the north of Bali on Wednesday afternoon after a terrifying ride through the mountains of central Bali during a torrential downpour. That evening, we went to Warung Rasta on the beach (picture) for dinner. I had the most massive tuna steak ever – it was at least four times the size of a typical tuna fillet served back home and it cost less than $6, including rice and vegetables with coconut. Amazing! The ride to, and certainly from, dinner was an experience! A Balinese guy named Jack whom we met at the beach offered to drive us to the restaurant on the back of his motorbike. On the way, Gundula and I took turns riding to the restaurant (no helmet, wearing flip-flops!). On the way home, Jack was tired and so the three of us climbed on the motorbike (I’m not tiny and Gundula is over 5’10”!!). Gundula and I could not stop laughing…that is until we all spotted a police car, Jack cut a hard left onto the side of the road and told us to jump off quick. We did and luckily the cop just kept on going. I’ve broken my first law in Indonesia.
Thursday was a beach day…finally finished my journal from my time in China, read and worked on my tan. The most exciting thing that happened was watching a guy climb a palm tree to cut down coconuts right in front of me. Not too much happens in Anturan…a wonderful, local place to get away from it all! After yet another amazing sunset, we sat on the beach with local guys who played guitar and some other tourists. We all gave it our best shot singing the choruses and mumbling the verses of some classics…a great way to spend an evening by the beach in the middle of nowhere!
On Friday, I bribed my first government official. Gundula and I have both decided to extend our visas for another month (only 30 days are granted upon entry), so we went to the local immigration office to see what we needed to do and when. After hearing the laborious and complicated process, I decided to ask if there was an easier way. Turns out, there was…as everything seems to go in Indonesia, if you’re willing to pay, you can get whatever you want. I got another month added to my visa for $15 more than the visa extension actually cost. This is awesome because I wasn’t supposed to be able to submit the paperwork for another 10 business days, was supposed to find a Balinese sponsor, was supposed to have a flight booked to get out of the country and was supposed to have to wait 4 days to have my passport returned. I walked in at 10 AM and by 3 PM I had my visa extension. The best part is that the cashier in the immigration office was the one who “took care of it” for me and all of the immigration officials in the office knew what was going on. I love countries where bribery actually works!
Between 10 and 3, Gundula and I explored the northern coast of Bali on motorbike. We trekked into the jungle (much easier than the jungle temple trek!) to find the Sing Sing waterfall. It was beautiful! I’ve always wanted to go skinny dipping in a waterfall like they do in the movies, so I did. Sorry, no pictures were taken so none can be shared. ;)
I got a massage on the sand with the waves crashing about 25’ away from me Friday afternoon. It was one of the most relaxing places to get a massage ever! However, it did smell a bit like chicken poop since they run all over the northern beaches. I must get those nose plugs!
Tonight was very emotional for me. In addition to the chickens and dogs running on the beach, there are also pigs (in cages, thank goodness!). At 8 PM, one of the pigs went into labor and gave birth to 7 piglets. We were told by the locals that one of them had gotten injured when the Mom stepped on it right after birth causing its insides to come out. Gundula and I were heartbroken looking at the helpless little pig trying to breathe. So, we marched down to a neighboring hotel where we heard two nurses from Holland were staying to see if they could help. At 10:30 PM, the piglet was examined by the nurses. It turns out that its’ heart, stomach and intestines grew outside of its stomach. The Mom wouldn’t let the deformed pig eat, so then we went in search of milk to feed it. No such luck in north Bali as they only have condensed milk. It was decided in the end to let nature run its course. I am so glad I did not grow up on a farm.
To summarize this post: I broke two laws. I went skinny dipping in a public waterfall (very likely also illegal). I tried to rescue a deformed pig. I think it all balances out in the end.
We arrived in Anturan in the north of Bali on Wednesday afternoon after a terrifying ride through the mountains of central Bali during a torrential downpour. That evening, we went to Warung Rasta on the beach (picture) for dinner. I had the most massive tuna steak ever – it was at least four times the size of a typical tuna fillet served back home and it cost less than $6, including rice and vegetables with coconut. Amazing! The ride to, and certainly from, dinner was an experience! A Balinese guy named Jack whom we met at the beach offered to drive us to the restaurant on the back of his motorbike. On the way, Gundula and I took turns riding to the restaurant (no helmet, wearing flip-flops!). On the way home, Jack was tired and so the three of us climbed on the motorbike (I’m not tiny and Gundula is over 5’10”!!). Gundula and I could not stop laughing…that is until we all spotted a police car, Jack cut a hard left onto the side of the road and told us to jump off quick. We did and luckily the cop just kept on going. I’ve broken my first law in Indonesia.
Thursday was a beach day…finally finished my journal from my time in China, read and worked on my tan. The most exciting thing that happened was watching a guy climb a palm tree to cut down coconuts right in front of me. Not too much happens in Anturan…a wonderful, local place to get away from it all! After yet another amazing sunset, we sat on the beach with local guys who played guitar and some other tourists. We all gave it our best shot singing the choruses and mumbling the verses of some classics…a great way to spend an evening by the beach in the middle of nowhere!
On Friday, I bribed my first government official. Gundula and I have both decided to extend our visas for another month (only 30 days are granted upon entry), so we went to the local immigration office to see what we needed to do and when. After hearing the laborious and complicated process, I decided to ask if there was an easier way. Turns out, there was…as everything seems to go in Indonesia, if you’re willing to pay, you can get whatever you want. I got another month added to my visa for $15 more than the visa extension actually cost. This is awesome because I wasn’t supposed to be able to submit the paperwork for another 10 business days, was supposed to find a Balinese sponsor, was supposed to have a flight booked to get out of the country and was supposed to have to wait 4 days to have my passport returned. I walked in at 10 AM and by 3 PM I had my visa extension. The best part is that the cashier in the immigration office was the one who “took care of it” for me and all of the immigration officials in the office knew what was going on. I love countries where bribery actually works!
Between 10 and 3, Gundula and I explored the northern coast of Bali on motorbike. We trekked into the jungle (much easier than the jungle temple trek!) to find the Sing Sing waterfall. It was beautiful! I’ve always wanted to go skinny dipping in a waterfall like they do in the movies, so I did. Sorry, no pictures were taken so none can be shared. ;)
I got a massage on the sand with the waves crashing about 25’ away from me Friday afternoon. It was one of the most relaxing places to get a massage ever! However, it did smell a bit like chicken poop since they run all over the northern beaches. I must get those nose plugs!
Tonight was very emotional for me. In addition to the chickens and dogs running on the beach, there are also pigs (in cages, thank goodness!). At 8 PM, one of the pigs went into labor and gave birth to 7 piglets. We were told by the locals that one of them had gotten injured when the Mom stepped on it right after birth causing its insides to come out. Gundula and I were heartbroken looking at the helpless little pig trying to breathe. So, we marched down to a neighboring hotel where we heard two nurses from Holland were staying to see if they could help. At 10:30 PM, the piglet was examined by the nurses. It turns out that its’ heart, stomach and intestines grew outside of its stomach. The Mom wouldn’t let the deformed pig eat, so then we went in search of milk to feed it. No such luck in north Bali as they only have condensed milk. It was decided in the end to let nature run its course. I am so glad I did not grow up on a farm.
To summarize this post: I broke two laws. I went skinny dipping in a public waterfall (very likely also illegal). I tried to rescue a deformed pig. I think it all balances out in the end.
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