It's been a busy week, hence the lack of blogging. Last Monday, we had some visitors to our little place in Bali. Chris, Phil's stepbrother and a friend, Tobi, had been travelling in Thailand and stopped by to check out Bali for a week.
It's so nice to have some new people to spend time with, especially when they are as fun and easygoing as Chris and Tobi. They came to surf, which is something I hadn't attempted yet. Actually, despite staying 300m from Legian beach and walking on it every day, I still hadn't gone in the water. Not once. We did snorkel in the sea on the Gili Islands but I hadn't been in the sea in Bali yet.
So I was keen to spend a few days on the beach. Sadly for Tobi, a nasty spill on his motorbike in Thailand left him grazed, bruised and unable to get wet. He took it in pretty good humour and the alternative of lying on a sunbed on the beach under a giant umbrella wasn't too bad. So we spent much of last week lying on the beach or on the water, bodysurfing and boogie boarding. A very relaxing way to spend a week. We did other stuff too, including a to-die-for seafood dinner one night during which we all ate delicious tuna, salmon and white marlin sashimi to the point of exhaustion, but beaching was a major theme.
And now we're in Darwin for the week, renewing our visas and slowly dying from the heat and humidity... It's probably not that much hotter than Bali, but it feels massively warmer. So far we've fed baby crocodiles and hand fed fish in the Harbour. We're staying in a hostel for a couple of nights which is a slightly uncomfortable blast from the past. The hostel itself is clean, has a pool, a spa, a huge outdoor deck and a bar. But our room is actually a double bed with a single bunk bed over the top. Mind your head! Actually, it is fine here. Just been a long time since we were last in a hostel.
Whenever I visit a new place, I always wonder whether I could live and work there. I think it's a kind of security thing - just in case i ever make a horrible mess of life in Melbourne, there are other places I could live. It actually doesn't take too much to make the list - I think I would be comfortable living in lots of places - Most of the UK (London only if I had/ was making loads of cash), Holland, Germany (once I learn to speak German), most of Europe actually, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Bali (so long as I never had to work) - to name just a few. And every Australian capital (yes, even Canberra) but Darwin I'm not sure.
It is a gorgeous setting for a city with the harbour and lots of green spaces but there is a weird menacing vibe hanging over the place. I've never lived anywhere with a significant Indigenous population, so I wasn't sure what to expect. Now that I'm here it seems such a sad situation - most indigenous people I've seen just vibrate hopelessness. There is a general look of dejection so complete that it makes me want to cry. While I have no doubt there is infinitely more to the situation than the several dozen people I've seen, what I have seen is really disheartening. Today I saw an indigenous man sitting on a bench in Coles, being told off by the Coles manager because he had taken some meat out of the fridge and damaged it. The manager told him that it now couldn't be sold, that he needed to pay for it and if he couldn't, he would have to call the cops. The man didn't move, didn't flinch, didn't answer, didn't try to make a run for it. Nothing. He just had a vacant stare that somehow managed to convey that he'd been here before, knew he'd be there again and just did not have the energy or the will to do anything about it. On our first night, another indigenous man threw a can of beer at my feet. It burst open and sprayed all of us. Without thinking, I said, "thanks, mate" (yeah, ok, sarcasm is never the answer). The guy was sort of a little angry. "You c&@&t$", he yelled after us. But he was mostly deadened, vacant, lathargic about the incident. It's so far outside my usual experience I don't know what to say about it all, except that it made me feel really sad.
Something that didn't make me feel sad was seeing a group of four hare krishnas on our last day in Bali, walking along the beach and singing. Hare Krishnas are always so happy, although these ones looked decidedly unhappy. Phil's theory was that while the rest of us take holidays in order to have fun, perhaps the hare krishnas need to take a holiday from being happy all the time. Makes some sense to me. Must have been a particularly religious week in Bali because we also saw a Buddhist monk. Or possibly fake monk - our friend Kenny warned us in KL that monks who ask for money are fake monks because real monks only ask for food. I still gave "fake monk" some money. If he was a fake monk, he'd certainly gone to a lot of effort to dress up!!
We're back to Bali on Friday - it will be nice to be back, but in the meantime it's nice to be back in Australia, even though it is very different to home in Melbourne!
Wednesday, 23 November 2011
Wednesday, 16 November 2011
In the 'hood
There is a 'bar' close by the apartment, called Rendezvous, which I can hear right now despite fairly effective soundproofing. It's a place with billiard tables, thumping music, and ladies of the night on offer. It is advertised primarily by a black dog that is nightly dressed in glowing devil horns. We call him 'Devil Dog'. Its a strange occupation for a dog, but he seems pretty contented.
The area we are staying in, Legian, is wedged between Kuta and Seminyak.
Kuta is the uber-touristy part of Bali where the surfers flock, with a pretty white sandy beach and the majority of chain stores (both real and fake), the less classy nightclubs and where the Sari Club and Paddy's Bar stood before the bombs. Nowadays the Bounty is probably the skeeziest club around - it and many others are where you can buy cocktails by the half-litre.
Seminyak, on the other hand, I think of as little Port Melbourne or South Yarra. A lot of blondes, a lot of fake tans. A lot of muscly men in tight t-shirts and loud sunglasses. A place filled with trendy bars and restaurants that are THE places to be seen... That is if you could care less about being seen in the right places. Ku de Ta is one of the trendier bars that is right on the beach and has a lovely view of the sunset (of course it is the same view of the sunset you can get anywhere along the beach). It serves pricey cocktails and food and gets right into the party scene. It's a people-watching paradise! The last time I ventured in, they were having a 'white' party complete with staff dressed as giant manga-style robots roaming around.
Seminyak is also home to many of the best boutiques (clothing, jewellery, accessories), some great spas and does have some fantastic cafes and restaurants, including the unexpected such as the Vienna cafe that serves kaiserschmarrn (an awesome concoction of pancakes, applesauce and whipped cream and/ or icecream that really shouldn't be found outside of Germany or Austria).
And our area? Well, Legian is in the middle, literally and figuratively. It has it's upmarket and not-so-upmarket places. There are some spots, like Rendezvous, that are pretty unclassy. There are a few too many restaurants whose advertising is a chalkboard with the words "Bloody good tucker mate" scrawled on in caps.
This place has the most bizarre slogan I have ever seen:
"We've got what you feel like when you've had enough of what everyone else has got".
Huh?? These places seem to attract plenty of punters though.
There are also other great local restaurants and shops, hundreds of spas (no exaggeration) and a pretty relaxed vibe, which I like. Plus the less than 300m walk to the beach makes our location a big winner for me.
Last night we finally tried Poco Loco - the Mexican restaurant directly across the road - for the first time.
Our apartment is sort of hidden behind a big wall and many taxi drivers don't know where it is. So for the last five years when staying here, we give the address as "Jalan Padma Utara, di depan Poco Loco"; which means Padma Utara street, opposite Poco Loco.
For some reason EVERY SINGLE taxi driver in south Bali knows exactly where Poco Loco is. The reaction is always, "ahhh, Poco Loco" and off you go. I've probably said the name 100 times or more, but until last night it has just been a direction, a convenient landmark. Although a slightly mysterious one because there never seemed to be anyone there.
The restaurant itself is set quite far back from the road and it is a tad hard to see the tables from the street, but I always had the impression that the place was pretty empty every night... At one point, my dad had a theory that it was run by the mob (Indonesian mob, I presume???), who ran it as a cover... but it is possible that he was just messing with me.
Anyway, Phil and I decided at the start of the trip that we had to try Poco Loco - it's 10m away from our door, after all. Then for me, it somehow edged its way onto the bucket list - you know, we have to go just in case we die on our next side-trip... plus it's Murphy's law that you always discover the best restaurant on the last night of your holidays, so better to try things out now.
I was somewhat put off by poor reviews on trip advisor, one of which said:
"Worst Mexican ever. Service was so incredibly bad. Food was awful".
So armed with the knowledge that it possibly wasn't going to be the greatest meal, but with a will of iron to get this one crossed off the bucket list, we braved the 10 metre walk in the driving rain and thunder and sampled the Tex Mex delights of Poco Loco.
There was definitely a vibe about the place. One group of eight twenty-somethings wandered in drenched from the rain, virtually chanting "San-gria jugs, San-gria jugs". There is one staff member (a tiny woman) who walks around dressed as a gunslinger with a bottle of tequila in a gun holster offering shots.
But, it was actually really good - the veggie burrito was especially awesome.
I'm guessing from the number of people there last night and the amount of margaritas, daiquiris and sangria jugs consumed by those around us, this place doesn't need mob connections to survive.
Long live holiday excesses and long live Poco Loco.
- Posted using a little pinch of poco and a dash of loco
The area we are staying in, Legian, is wedged between Kuta and Seminyak.
Kuta is the uber-touristy part of Bali where the surfers flock, with a pretty white sandy beach and the majority of chain stores (both real and fake), the less classy nightclubs and where the Sari Club and Paddy's Bar stood before the bombs. Nowadays the Bounty is probably the skeeziest club around - it and many others are where you can buy cocktails by the half-litre.
Seminyak, on the other hand, I think of as little Port Melbourne or South Yarra. A lot of blondes, a lot of fake tans. A lot of muscly men in tight t-shirts and loud sunglasses. A place filled with trendy bars and restaurants that are THE places to be seen... That is if you could care less about being seen in the right places. Ku de Ta is one of the trendier bars that is right on the beach and has a lovely view of the sunset (of course it is the same view of the sunset you can get anywhere along the beach). It serves pricey cocktails and food and gets right into the party scene. It's a people-watching paradise! The last time I ventured in, they were having a 'white' party complete with staff dressed as giant manga-style robots roaming around.
Seminyak is also home to many of the best boutiques (clothing, jewellery, accessories), some great spas and does have some fantastic cafes and restaurants, including the unexpected such as the Vienna cafe that serves kaiserschmarrn (an awesome concoction of pancakes, applesauce and whipped cream and/ or icecream that really shouldn't be found outside of Germany or Austria).
And our area? Well, Legian is in the middle, literally and figuratively. It has it's upmarket and not-so-upmarket places. There are some spots, like Rendezvous, that are pretty unclassy. There are a few too many restaurants whose advertising is a chalkboard with the words "Bloody good tucker mate" scrawled on in caps.
This place has the most bizarre slogan I have ever seen:
"We've got what you feel like when you've had enough of what everyone else has got".
Huh?? These places seem to attract plenty of punters though.
There are also other great local restaurants and shops, hundreds of spas (no exaggeration) and a pretty relaxed vibe, which I like. Plus the less than 300m walk to the beach makes our location a big winner for me.
Last night we finally tried Poco Loco - the Mexican restaurant directly across the road - for the first time.
Our apartment is sort of hidden behind a big wall and many taxi drivers don't know where it is. So for the last five years when staying here, we give the address as "Jalan Padma Utara, di depan Poco Loco"; which means Padma Utara street, opposite Poco Loco.
For some reason EVERY SINGLE taxi driver in south Bali knows exactly where Poco Loco is. The reaction is always, "ahhh, Poco Loco" and off you go. I've probably said the name 100 times or more, but until last night it has just been a direction, a convenient landmark. Although a slightly mysterious one because there never seemed to be anyone there.
The restaurant itself is set quite far back from the road and it is a tad hard to see the tables from the street, but I always had the impression that the place was pretty empty every night... At one point, my dad had a theory that it was run by the mob (Indonesian mob, I presume???), who ran it as a cover... but it is possible that he was just messing with me.
Anyway, Phil and I decided at the start of the trip that we had to try Poco Loco - it's 10m away from our door, after all. Then for me, it somehow edged its way onto the bucket list - you know, we have to go just in case we die on our next side-trip... plus it's Murphy's law that you always discover the best restaurant on the last night of your holidays, so better to try things out now.
I was somewhat put off by poor reviews on trip advisor, one of which said:
"Worst Mexican ever. Service was so incredibly bad. Food was awful".
So armed with the knowledge that it possibly wasn't going to be the greatest meal, but with a will of iron to get this one crossed off the bucket list, we braved the 10 metre walk in the driving rain and thunder and sampled the Tex Mex delights of Poco Loco.
There was definitely a vibe about the place. One group of eight twenty-somethings wandered in drenched from the rain, virtually chanting "San-gria jugs, San-gria jugs". There is one staff member (a tiny woman) who walks around dressed as a gunslinger with a bottle of tequila in a gun holster offering shots.
But, it was actually really good - the veggie burrito was especially awesome.
I'm guessing from the number of people there last night and the amount of margaritas, daiquiris and sangria jugs consumed by those around us, this place doesn't need mob connections to survive.
Long live holiday excesses and long live Poco Loco.
- Posted using a little pinch of poco and a dash of loco
Thursday, 10 November 2011
Bali tips and tricks
I have been a little under-inspired on the ol' blog writing front for the last week or so. It's not so easy to come up with fresh interesting things to say when on most days you, my dear readers, have achieved more over your lunch-break than I do all day.
A couple of weeks ago, The Age published an article by a lifestyle and travel writer called Carolyn Webb about Bali - called 'Bali, why bother?' that simultaneously made me really irritated, but also oddly unmotivated to respond.
It was so unbelievably one-dimensional that I assumed it was penned as a shock piece designed to attract as many comments from the pro and anti-Bali camps as possible (given how many rebuttal articles it spawned in the very same paper I think I hit the mark on that one). It also scored one for Tourism Australia who must just rub their hands with glee when they read this crap.
If you haven't read the article, you can still read it here.
http://www.smh.com.au/travel/travel-news/bali-why-bother-20111024-1mfiz.html
I wouldn't bother, unless you're interested in startling insights like Ms Webb complaining that she was:
"harassed with the words, "Miiisss, miiisss, transport, taxi, where you going ... miiiisss?" I thought my name had been changed to Miiisss."
Did you tell them your name Carolyn?? I'm pretty sure if you'd said, my name is Carolyn, they would have called you that instead. When it comes to names, Balinese people in the tourism game have astounding memories for potential customers. Given her attitude in the article, she should count herself lucky they didn't called her "sour-face cow".
ANYWAY... What an intro. The point of my post is that while I couldn't be bothered writing about her article, it did make me think that I was a tad more qualified to give travel advice about Bali than Ms Webb, alleged-journo, who went once and whinged about it.
So I've put together a top tips list for traveling in Bali. It's a few things (some more tongue in cheek than others) that I've picked up on my various trips over here that make a real difference to how much I enjoy the place.
Here we go:
1. Learn a couple of Indonesian phrases.
And I mean a couple - you don't need to be able to say much at all in Indonesian to make your stay more pleasant.
My top phrases would be "Terima Kasih" which means thank-you, followed by "Tidak mau", which literally means "don't want".
It's nice to be able to say thank you nicely and people appreciate the effort. Tidak mau is a much more selfish phrase because it stops touts from hassling you almost immediately in about 98% of cases**. Especially if said with a big smile.
I also like "saya sudah" which means "I already". Use it with the guy trying to sell you sunglasses on the beach when you're already wearing the exact same knockoff pair. It usually prompts a reaction of 'fair enough' and instantly, no more hassling.
Happily, all the important words are the same in both languages - beer, margarita, daiquiri, cosmo, pina colada, long island ice tea etc. etc.
2. Don't haggle.
This might be a radical one for those who associate Bali (or South East Asia more generally) with bargaining.
I'll be upfront - I'm not a fan of bargaining. In fact I dread it when I need to buy something from a market stall with no fixed price. It's such a painful ritual of going back and forth on price only to end up more or less at the price I would have happily paid in the first place, but couldn't offer because it throws out the bargaining-dynamic.
I'm not saying don't bargain. Lots of people (both buyers and sellers) enjoy it, even thrive on it and many people make their living from it. But there's a difference between bargaining to find a price that both parties are comfortable with and haggling for every last dollar.
Try to remember that the last time you went to the movies at home. Recall how you paid $17 a ticket to watch yet another Jason Statham action debacle and probably also shelled out a minimum of $10 on a small popcorn and coke deal. Now, ask yourself whether haggling over $2 or $5 or even, gasp, $8 is worth your precious holiday time and energy?
Before you ask, no, I don't like getting ripped off either. But I think, if you are really "successful" in the haggling stages of bargaining, you are potentially leaving someone with almost no profit. Is it really so important to get that bangle AS CHEAP as possible? Does it really feel that good to feel like you've paid the smallest amount anyone has ever paid for a sarong?? Or would it actually be fine to pay a tiny bit more and maybe not completely screw down the seller?
3. Buy a Bintang singlet and wear it with pride.
Make sure it's a knock off and if you're a guy aged over 20, don't feel intimidated by the softer colours - purple and aqua are totally masculine.
If for some reason, you can't rock a Bintang singlet (GOMP refuses - won't even do it for my idle amusement) then the only alternative is to buy them as souvenirs for all your friends. You can even get creative with it and get a Bintang singlet for your dog...
Think I'm kidding?? Check out Bisli, the pet of friends Gab and Ilan. Here he is modeling last years' Bintang singlet:
4. Try some Indonesian food.
Yeah, you can get great (and cheeeeep) Italian, Japanese, French, Chinese, Belgium, Indian and Malay food here, but you can also get all that at home. Try finding Indonesian food in Melbourne - it does exist, but only in very few places and it's sooo much more expensive there that it'll make you cry! I mean it - the last time we ate Indonesian food in South Melbourne, it took GOMP days to get over the price. He still talks about it with a crushed expression every now and then!
Plus tempe (fermented soybean cake - no, don't make a face) is awesomely delicious and very nutritious.
It should go without saying, but here tis; never, ever eat the Dutch food. Even the Dutch won't touch it.
5. Don't commission a sticker
There's been this thing over here where it's really cheap to get custom stickers made up. Tourists get revolting things printed on stickers to take home and the sellers stick them up as advertisements.
They're usually super original and witty, and say things like "Trev is gay". Sometimes they up the ante and read "Gay Trevor is gay". Yup, I see what you did there and it's still not clever.
Lately though, they've been getting really disgusting. I don't want to know that you, or one of your friends has sexual relations with intellectually disabled, amputee midgets. It's gross people, gross!!
Don't make it a drinking game to come up with the most offensive lines. Don't dare your friend to make one for a workmate back home. Please, just don't.
6. Don't be afraid to hide at the spa
If the heat, the touts, the noise, the traffic and the chaos become too much, turn your head 45 degrees and you will undoubtably spot a spa. Head straight for it and don't look back.
If there's a place on earth where people are more in tune with massage, I want to see it for myself. With rare exceptions, even the cheapest, most run down looking place will still leave you floating after an hour of Balinese massage. And the good places are really really good. And so delightfully affordable. I think I might go out and get one now!
---------------
Before I do, a huge Happy Birthday to Jacqui who is celebrating her birthday here in Bali and whom I am just about to meet for lunch.
- Posted using
**One guy trying to sell me tshirts on the street with a quick wit yelled: "Tidak mau means I love you - do you love me??" when I used it on him... Hysterical. So it's not foolproof, but at least the response is entertaining!
A couple of weeks ago, The Age published an article by a lifestyle and travel writer called Carolyn Webb about Bali - called 'Bali, why bother?' that simultaneously made me really irritated, but also oddly unmotivated to respond.
It was so unbelievably one-dimensional that I assumed it was penned as a shock piece designed to attract as many comments from the pro and anti-Bali camps as possible (given how many rebuttal articles it spawned in the very same paper I think I hit the mark on that one). It also scored one for Tourism Australia who must just rub their hands with glee when they read this crap.
If you haven't read the article, you can still read it here.
http://www.smh.com.au/travel/travel-news/bali-why-bother-20111024-1mfiz.html
I wouldn't bother, unless you're interested in startling insights like Ms Webb complaining that she was:
"harassed with the words, "Miiisss, miiisss, transport, taxi, where you going ... miiiisss?" I thought my name had been changed to Miiisss."
Did you tell them your name Carolyn?? I'm pretty sure if you'd said, my name is Carolyn, they would have called you that instead. When it comes to names, Balinese people in the tourism game have astounding memories for potential customers. Given her attitude in the article, she should count herself lucky they didn't called her "sour-face cow".
ANYWAY... What an intro. The point of my post is that while I couldn't be bothered writing about her article, it did make me think that I was a tad more qualified to give travel advice about Bali than Ms Webb, alleged-journo, who went once and whinged about it.
So I've put together a top tips list for traveling in Bali. It's a few things (some more tongue in cheek than others) that I've picked up on my various trips over here that make a real difference to how much I enjoy the place.
Here we go:
1. Learn a couple of Indonesian phrases.
And I mean a couple - you don't need to be able to say much at all in Indonesian to make your stay more pleasant.
My top phrases would be "Terima Kasih" which means thank-you, followed by "Tidak mau", which literally means "don't want".
It's nice to be able to say thank you nicely and people appreciate the effort. Tidak mau is a much more selfish phrase because it stops touts from hassling you almost immediately in about 98% of cases**. Especially if said with a big smile.
I also like "saya sudah" which means "I already". Use it with the guy trying to sell you sunglasses on the beach when you're already wearing the exact same knockoff pair. It usually prompts a reaction of 'fair enough' and instantly, no more hassling.
Happily, all the important words are the same in both languages - beer, margarita, daiquiri, cosmo, pina colada, long island ice tea etc. etc.
2. Don't haggle.
This might be a radical one for those who associate Bali (or South East Asia more generally) with bargaining.
I'll be upfront - I'm not a fan of bargaining. In fact I dread it when I need to buy something from a market stall with no fixed price. It's such a painful ritual of going back and forth on price only to end up more or less at the price I would have happily paid in the first place, but couldn't offer because it throws out the bargaining-dynamic.
I'm not saying don't bargain. Lots of people (both buyers and sellers) enjoy it, even thrive on it and many people make their living from it. But there's a difference between bargaining to find a price that both parties are comfortable with and haggling for every last dollar.
Try to remember that the last time you went to the movies at home. Recall how you paid $17 a ticket to watch yet another Jason Statham action debacle and probably also shelled out a minimum of $10 on a small popcorn and coke deal. Now, ask yourself whether haggling over $2 or $5 or even, gasp, $8 is worth your precious holiday time and energy?
Before you ask, no, I don't like getting ripped off either. But I think, if you are really "successful" in the haggling stages of bargaining, you are potentially leaving someone with almost no profit. Is it really so important to get that bangle AS CHEAP as possible? Does it really feel that good to feel like you've paid the smallest amount anyone has ever paid for a sarong?? Or would it actually be fine to pay a tiny bit more and maybe not completely screw down the seller?
3. Buy a Bintang singlet and wear it with pride.
Make sure it's a knock off and if you're a guy aged over 20, don't feel intimidated by the softer colours - purple and aqua are totally masculine.
If for some reason, you can't rock a Bintang singlet (GOMP refuses - won't even do it for my idle amusement) then the only alternative is to buy them as souvenirs for all your friends. You can even get creative with it and get a Bintang singlet for your dog...
Think I'm kidding?? Check out Bisli, the pet of friends Gab and Ilan. Here he is modeling last years' Bintang singlet:
4. Try some Indonesian food.
Yeah, you can get great (and cheeeeep) Italian, Japanese, French, Chinese, Belgium, Indian and Malay food here, but you can also get all that at home. Try finding Indonesian food in Melbourne - it does exist, but only in very few places and it's sooo much more expensive there that it'll make you cry! I mean it - the last time we ate Indonesian food in South Melbourne, it took GOMP days to get over the price. He still talks about it with a crushed expression every now and then!
Plus tempe (fermented soybean cake - no, don't make a face) is awesomely delicious and very nutritious.
It should go without saying, but here tis; never, ever eat the Dutch food. Even the Dutch won't touch it.
5. Don't commission a sticker
There's been this thing over here where it's really cheap to get custom stickers made up. Tourists get revolting things printed on stickers to take home and the sellers stick them up as advertisements.
They're usually super original and witty, and say things like "Trev is gay". Sometimes they up the ante and read "Gay Trevor is gay". Yup, I see what you did there and it's still not clever.
Lately though, they've been getting really disgusting. I don't want to know that you, or one of your friends has sexual relations with intellectually disabled, amputee midgets. It's gross people, gross!!
Don't make it a drinking game to come up with the most offensive lines. Don't dare your friend to make one for a workmate back home. Please, just don't.
6. Don't be afraid to hide at the spa
If the heat, the touts, the noise, the traffic and the chaos become too much, turn your head 45 degrees and you will undoubtably spot a spa. Head straight for it and don't look back.
If there's a place on earth where people are more in tune with massage, I want to see it for myself. With rare exceptions, even the cheapest, most run down looking place will still leave you floating after an hour of Balinese massage. And the good places are really really good. And so delightfully affordable. I think I might go out and get one now!
---------------
Before I do, a huge Happy Birthday to Jacqui who is celebrating her birthday here in Bali and whom I am just about to meet for lunch.
- Posted using
**One guy trying to sell me tshirts on the street with a quick wit yelled: "Tidak mau means I love you - do you love me??" when I used it on him... Hysterical. So it's not foolproof, but at least the response is entertaining!
Sunday, 6 November 2011
Warning: This post is about the environment...
I confess... I'm not what one would call an environmentalist.
I'm not actively anti-environment or anything. And when I think about it, lots of things I do routinely are environmentally-friendly - at home, I don't use the car very much, take short showers, rarely buy bottled water and try to turn lights off.
But I'm not switching every appliance off at the wall, eschewing meat and insisting on using only clean solar energy. And I still occasionally drive the car five minutes to the supermarket...
Here in Bali, it's much the same. We're not driving (ok, a few taxis here and there), or hiring motorbikes and make a point of refusing plastic bags...
The bottled water takes a bit more effort though and mostly because the island is so poorly set up for it. According to the signs posted all over Bali, there are 30 million water bottles used every month in Bali. That's EVERY MONTH!! It's enough to make even the most buried environmental conscience shudder a little.
Part of the reason so many bottles are used is because you can't drink tap water here, so the vast, vast majority of cafes serve water in sealed plastic bottles as a way of assuring their paranoid customers that the bottle has not be refilled by the cafe out of the tap. Having spent a bit of time here now, I cannot imagine any cafe cheating it's customers out of clean water, but unfortunately the sealed plastic bottles seems to be the status quo now.
(just as an aside, to those journalists - aka agents of the Australian tourism board - who write articles bashing Bali's allegedly dirty beaches, I actually think it's pretty impressive how clean the place is considering the amount of rubbish generated by tourism)
To avoid filling the streets with used plastic bottles, Phil and I each brought our own water bottles over here. We have a water cooler in our apartment with a 20 litre water bottle which gets refilled. It's incredibly cheap (about $2.20 per 20L bottle) and easy to fill up the bottle in the morning and take it out with us during the day.
Quite a few stores have also realized that the number of plastic bottles is a problem and now sell metal drink bottles next to a big sign reminding us of the 30 million bottles a month statistic. One small problem... there's virtually nowhere to fill them up!! Yup, not one of the stores which sells the water bottles also sells refills. While it's fine for us to bring out your water bottle filled in the morning, if you need more water, it's straight back to the plastic bottles. And most tourists wouldn't even have access to a water supply like we do.
It would be so easy for a store to have a 20L bottle and sell refills for $1 or so. A couple of places in Ubud do it, but so far I haven't found one place here in the south that does.
Even the gym I have joined here doesn't provide water, but rather sells plastic bottles, despite also selling the metal water bottles at reception. I just outright refuse to buy water in plastic bottles at the gym, so often get to the bottom of my water bottle and just fall into an increasingly uncomfortable state of dehydration... geez, and I wondered where all those headaches were coming from!
I have been thinking that it might be nice to do something useful over here and I've been trying to think of a way to get more stores/cafes to sell water in a sustainable way. I could drop some flyers at the venues which sell the metal water bottles suggesting they invest in a water cooler and charge customers a small amount for refills, but flyers just seem so lame... Anyone got a better idea??? I just know you guys are more creative then me!!
Wow, what a rant! I did warn you that this post was about the environment, but its ended up even more altruistic than I'd intended!!
Don't worry though, if you come for a visit to Bali, you can shower as long as you like - especially now that rainy season has hit. This is the cafe I'm writing in as the midday deluge hits:
The whole courtyard ended up filling lime a giant bath. I love it - it feels so cleansing.
Finally, I had to share with you.... cheese TimTams.
I haven't been brave enough to try them, but I'm pretty sure they're filled with cheddar rather than something sweet like marscapone...eeewwww...
On the upside, I think they're halal... Phew, right??
- Posted using the drops from a thousand rain clouds
I'm not actively anti-environment or anything. And when I think about it, lots of things I do routinely are environmentally-friendly - at home, I don't use the car very much, take short showers, rarely buy bottled water and try to turn lights off.
But I'm not switching every appliance off at the wall, eschewing meat and insisting on using only clean solar energy. And I still occasionally drive the car five minutes to the supermarket...
Here in Bali, it's much the same. We're not driving (ok, a few taxis here and there), or hiring motorbikes and make a point of refusing plastic bags...
The bottled water takes a bit more effort though and mostly because the island is so poorly set up for it. According to the signs posted all over Bali, there are 30 million water bottles used every month in Bali. That's EVERY MONTH!! It's enough to make even the most buried environmental conscience shudder a little.
Part of the reason so many bottles are used is because you can't drink tap water here, so the vast, vast majority of cafes serve water in sealed plastic bottles as a way of assuring their paranoid customers that the bottle has not be refilled by the cafe out of the tap. Having spent a bit of time here now, I cannot imagine any cafe cheating it's customers out of clean water, but unfortunately the sealed plastic bottles seems to be the status quo now.
(just as an aside, to those journalists - aka agents of the Australian tourism board - who write articles bashing Bali's allegedly dirty beaches, I actually think it's pretty impressive how clean the place is considering the amount of rubbish generated by tourism)
To avoid filling the streets with used plastic bottles, Phil and I each brought our own water bottles over here. We have a water cooler in our apartment with a 20 litre water bottle which gets refilled. It's incredibly cheap (about $2.20 per 20L bottle) and easy to fill up the bottle in the morning and take it out with us during the day.
Quite a few stores have also realized that the number of plastic bottles is a problem and now sell metal drink bottles next to a big sign reminding us of the 30 million bottles a month statistic. One small problem... there's virtually nowhere to fill them up!! Yup, not one of the stores which sells the water bottles also sells refills. While it's fine for us to bring out your water bottle filled in the morning, if you need more water, it's straight back to the plastic bottles. And most tourists wouldn't even have access to a water supply like we do.
It would be so easy for a store to have a 20L bottle and sell refills for $1 or so. A couple of places in Ubud do it, but so far I haven't found one place here in the south that does.
Even the gym I have joined here doesn't provide water, but rather sells plastic bottles, despite also selling the metal water bottles at reception. I just outright refuse to buy water in plastic bottles at the gym, so often get to the bottom of my water bottle and just fall into an increasingly uncomfortable state of dehydration... geez, and I wondered where all those headaches were coming from!
I have been thinking that it might be nice to do something useful over here and I've been trying to think of a way to get more stores/cafes to sell water in a sustainable way. I could drop some flyers at the venues which sell the metal water bottles suggesting they invest in a water cooler and charge customers a small amount for refills, but flyers just seem so lame... Anyone got a better idea??? I just know you guys are more creative then me!!
Wow, what a rant! I did warn you that this post was about the environment, but its ended up even more altruistic than I'd intended!!
Don't worry though, if you come for a visit to Bali, you can shower as long as you like - especially now that rainy season has hit. This is the cafe I'm writing in as the midday deluge hits:
The whole courtyard ended up filling lime a giant bath. I love it - it feels so cleansing.
Finally, I had to share with you.... cheese TimTams.
I haven't been brave enough to try them, but I'm pretty sure they're filled with cheddar rather than something sweet like marscapone...eeewwww...
On the upside, I think they're halal... Phew, right??
- Posted using the drops from a thousand rain clouds
Monday, 31 October 2011
Bali Mach #2
We made it back to Bali on Sunday night after completely uneventful Malaysia Airlines flight... Well, pretty much uneventful, although I did have to laugh when a woman who was traveling with an infant was asked to move out of the emergency exit row seat (that she had commandeered during the flight) for landing. The stewardess patiently and politely explained that she had to go back to her assigned seat for landing as it was a safety risk for her to sit blocking the emergency exit row.
Now usually, I'm pretty skeptical about all rules connected to supposed safety risks on planes... They're often complete bullshit excuses designed to keep all the passengers quiet and in line. However, in this instance it's pretty obvious why you need either a clear path to the emergency door, or a person sitting there capable of operating the door themselves.
This woman rolled her eyes so high I though they might disappear forever and made pointed gestures at her sleeping kid. "Like, he's sleeping, okay. This is nature's miracle, and it cannot be disturbed." Poor stewardess - they don't even have the luxury of being able to use sarcasm at idiot passengers :(
She did eventually move, but she huffed and puffed up a storm and took her sweet time about it. Lady, it's for your own safety!! Ahhh, entitled, but clueless parents, one of the joys of traveling!! I just don't get some people...
Rant over.
---
So not too much has been happening in the last few days. It's nice to be in Bali again. The rainy season has started, so it's really really humid during the day and then pours for a while and then the nights are really pleasant... Until it starts to get humid again. I don't mind the humidity, although it does give me giant, ridiculous hair... Phil, of course looks his usual calm, tanned, hair-appropriate self...
We're here for pretty much the whole of November, except for a short trip to Darwin in three weeks.
We don't really have any plans as such, but I do want to take a surfing lesson, or two. There are surf schools dotted all along the beach that offer a half day introductory course, which should be fairly silly. I went on a surfing camp in year 10 and could barely lug the board into the water. I think the surf schools offer a guarantee that you'll be standing by the end of the day... They might have to glue my feet to the bottom of the surfboard to make good on that one... We'll see. I did see a dog surfing the other day - not on a board with it's human, but by itself!! The owner got the dog to jump on the board, towed it to the waves and then let the board go. It looked amazing - I was too slow for a photo, but I'll try and hunt them down another day.
There's also a cooking class I'm keen to try, although it's very pork/ chicken based and both Phil and I have gone almost vegetarian. At least Phil has gone vegetarian and I think chicken is 99% a vegetable anyway. And smoked salmon obviously doesn't count...
----
Wow, all I wanted to do was write a short post to let y'all know we were safely back in town and it's turned into a rambling post about surfing dogs and chicken as a vegetable... Scary!
We're fine here. Have a great Cup Day holiday my Melbourne friends!
- Posted using vegetarian chicken labour
Now usually, I'm pretty skeptical about all rules connected to supposed safety risks on planes... They're often complete bullshit excuses designed to keep all the passengers quiet and in line. However, in this instance it's pretty obvious why you need either a clear path to the emergency door, or a person sitting there capable of operating the door themselves.
This woman rolled her eyes so high I though they might disappear forever and made pointed gestures at her sleeping kid. "Like, he's sleeping, okay. This is nature's miracle, and it cannot be disturbed." Poor stewardess - they don't even have the luxury of being able to use sarcasm at idiot passengers :(
She did eventually move, but she huffed and puffed up a storm and took her sweet time about it. Lady, it's for your own safety!! Ahhh, entitled, but clueless parents, one of the joys of traveling!! I just don't get some people...
Rant over.
---
So not too much has been happening in the last few days. It's nice to be in Bali again. The rainy season has started, so it's really really humid during the day and then pours for a while and then the nights are really pleasant... Until it starts to get humid again. I don't mind the humidity, although it does give me giant, ridiculous hair... Phil, of course looks his usual calm, tanned, hair-appropriate self...
We're here for pretty much the whole of November, except for a short trip to Darwin in three weeks.
We don't really have any plans as such, but I do want to take a surfing lesson, or two. There are surf schools dotted all along the beach that offer a half day introductory course, which should be fairly silly. I went on a surfing camp in year 10 and could barely lug the board into the water. I think the surf schools offer a guarantee that you'll be standing by the end of the day... They might have to glue my feet to the bottom of the surfboard to make good on that one... We'll see. I did see a dog surfing the other day - not on a board with it's human, but by itself!! The owner got the dog to jump on the board, towed it to the waves and then let the board go. It looked amazing - I was too slow for a photo, but I'll try and hunt them down another day.
There's also a cooking class I'm keen to try, although it's very pork/ chicken based and both Phil and I have gone almost vegetarian. At least Phil has gone vegetarian and I think chicken is 99% a vegetable anyway. And smoked salmon obviously doesn't count...
----
Wow, all I wanted to do was write a short post to let y'all know we were safely back in town and it's turned into a rambling post about surfing dogs and chicken as a vegetable... Scary!
We're fine here. Have a great Cup Day holiday my Melbourne friends!
- Posted using vegetarian chicken labour
Friday, 28 October 2011
Media, movies and storms, oh my!
So the media frenzy surrounding a certain traveling couple continued this week with this article appearing in The New Straits Times, which is the more serious Malaysian newspaper. We even got a full colour portrait of a handsome, smiling Phil, with quotes**:
(NB: there is a huge gap between the picture and the text because I am using a new app, the awesome powers of which will become apparent a bit further down.)
Ironically, while the tabloidy Star newspaper more or less quoted us accurately, the New Straits Times just made up some stuff and claimed I said it.
Apparently, I said:
"We heard about this event from friends and public messages... We are amazed by the racial unity here".
Huh???? It's not a quote that really flows off the tongue for a native English speaker now is it? And although I am genuinely amazed by the racial unity in Malaysia, I didn't say it. Mebbe they're psychic??
According to the article, we were also at a Deepavali open house last year... Which is impressive because this time last year we were somehow simultaneously in Germany... Spooky!!
Since we have been pretty low-key (read "lazy") over the last couple of days, there isn't much news to post. Unless you want to hear about Real Steel, the Hugh Jackman movie about fighting robots which are meant to have replaced human boxing because they provide more violence and carnage**, or my kleptomania when it comes to hotel-issued shower caps... No??? Didn't think so... Moving on
Tonight really should have yielded a bit of a story and a few photos - we arranged for dinner at the restaurant at the top of KL tower - a very tall sightseeing spot. Which houses not just a restaurant, but a revolving restaurant. I've always want to go to a revolving restaurant, so I was moderately psyched.
But at the exact moment we were set to leave... crash, boom... in the form of a massive electrical storm that lasted for hours.
Here is the storm from our room. This shot is actually mine. I got it on my second attempt - woo hoo... Of course Phil eventually got a bunch of awesome shots of lightning and I only got this one, which is pretty lame, but it does serve my blogging purposes...
(BTW, do you see the awesomeness of the new app?? I can write on the photo and stuff... Looking at it again now, I'm not at all sure that's how one spells lightning - oops. Ach, I cannae be bothered doing it again.)
The pouring rain alone would have made it difficult and very slow to get there in a taxi in the first place and I was also kind of reluctant to go to a tall lightening rod of a building during a massive electrical storm...
KL Tower
So we eventually conceded defeat and stayed in... For the hotel's Friday night BBQ buffet. And stayed so long using the wifi in the restaurant that the poor staff eventually had to ask us to get out.
Oh yeah, it's a spitfire pace we keep on the road.
- Posted using idleness even a sloth would envy
** in case you are burning to know whether robot fighting would be more entertaining to watch than regular boxing, it really, really wasn't. If a mischievious film projectionist had spliced in some real boxing matches, we all would have been vastly better entertained...
(NB: there is a huge gap between the picture and the text because I am using a new app, the awesome powers of which will become apparent a bit further down.)
Ironically, while the tabloidy Star newspaper more or less quoted us accurately, the New Straits Times just made up some stuff and claimed I said it.
Apparently, I said:
"We heard about this event from friends and public messages... We are amazed by the racial unity here".
Huh???? It's not a quote that really flows off the tongue for a native English speaker now is it? And although I am genuinely amazed by the racial unity in Malaysia, I didn't say it. Mebbe they're psychic??
According to the article, we were also at a Deepavali open house last year... Which is impressive because this time last year we were somehow simultaneously in Germany... Spooky!!
Since we have been pretty low-key (read "lazy") over the last couple of days, there isn't much news to post. Unless you want to hear about Real Steel, the Hugh Jackman movie about fighting robots which are meant to have replaced human boxing because they provide more violence and carnage**, or my kleptomania when it comes to hotel-issued shower caps... No??? Didn't think so... Moving on
Tonight really should have yielded a bit of a story and a few photos - we arranged for dinner at the restaurant at the top of KL tower - a very tall sightseeing spot. Which houses not just a restaurant, but a revolving restaurant. I've always want to go to a revolving restaurant, so I was moderately psyched.
But at the exact moment we were set to leave... crash, boom... in the form of a massive electrical storm that lasted for hours.
Here is the storm from our room. This shot is actually mine. I got it on my second attempt - woo hoo... Of course Phil eventually got a bunch of awesome shots of lightning and I only got this one, which is pretty lame, but it does serve my blogging purposes...
(BTW, do you see the awesomeness of the new app?? I can write on the photo and stuff... Looking at it again now, I'm not at all sure that's how one spells lightning - oops. Ach, I cannae be bothered doing it again.)
The pouring rain alone would have made it difficult and very slow to get there in a taxi in the first place and I was also kind of reluctant to go to a tall lightening rod of a building during a massive electrical storm...
KL Tower
So we eventually conceded defeat and stayed in... For the hotel's Friday night BBQ buffet. And stayed so long using the wifi in the restaurant that the poor staff eventually had to ask us to get out.
Oh yeah, it's a spitfire pace we keep on the road.
- Posted using idleness even a sloth would envy
** in case you are burning to know whether robot fighting would be more entertaining to watch than regular boxing, it really, really wasn't. If a mischievious film projectionist had spliced in some real boxing matches, we all would have been vastly better entertained...
Location:Lorong 1/77a,Kuala Lumpur,Malaysia
Wednesday, 26 October 2011
Malaysia's media darlings
Yesterday was the most important day of Deepavali (the Hindu festival of lights) as it marked the new year on the Hindu calendar. A range of events were held across KL and we decided to start the day by going to the Batu Caves. The Batu Caves are these very dramatic cliffs about 13km outside the KL city centre which house a series of very old and important Hindu temples.
For most of the year, the site is frequented by Indian Hindus who holiday/ make a pilgrimage to the temples, which involves a flight to KL, taxi or train to the Batu Caves, a 271 step climb to the temples, a brief battle with the resident monkeys (who are big and not overly friendly) and you're there.
(The view from the top)
But yesterday the Malaysian Prime Minister decided to hold the official celebrations, or open house as they call it, at the Batu caves. So when we arrived, we found three huge tents filled with tables and lined with people cooking and serving amazing Indian food - roti, curries, dhal, noodles, sweet coconut milk and jelly desserts.
We had just missed the Prime Minister's official opening, but there was a band playing and a lot of people - mostly, but not exclusively, Malaysian Indians, the women in some very glam saris:
As far as I could see, the main purpose of the open house is to sit and eat. They had catered for a crowd of fifteen thousand over the course of the day - all the food and drink was free and there was a really nice festive atmosphere.
As Phil and I entered the first tent we were almost immediately met by a Malaysian newspaper journalist who asked if she could interview us for her paper... Ooookay, well we have just arrived and know next to nothing about the festival or the open house, but we said sure and said that although we just arrived, we had been interested to see Deepavali celebrations and thought the festival was beautiful etc, etc.
Her photographer asked to take a photo of us together. Sure, we said. Cheese!!
Then he asked us if we would like to see the Kolam (rice powder floor mural) with an Indian lady who could explain it to us. Sure, why not, sounds awesome.
So we head over to the Kolam, sort of squat down next to the Kolam with the nice and informative Indian lady... And suddenly there are about twenty photographers snapping away - yikes!!! The two television crews come over and want to interview us. Wow!! It was all a bit overwhelming, especially for poor Phil who despite working in public relations, was very reluctant to be the story. I figured this is not something that happens very often, so why not embrace it - and dragged Phil along for the ride.
It took us a little time to extricate ourselves from the journalists, but once we did, we wandered around the various tents, tried some fresh, homemade roti and climbed the 271 steps into the Batu Caves to watch the ceremonies.
It was a fun day - we saw the Malaysian deputy prime minister, mingled with the who's who of KL Indian society and enjoyed the rarest of travel experiences - a free lunch!! Later in the day we met up with Kenny, who is the brother of Phil's old friend Alex.
This morning, we had a paper delivered to our room. This picture was on page three:
Hehehehe.... I think it's absolutely hysterical (apart from the horrendously unflattering shot of me).
For a fleeting moment, we are page three news in Kuala Lumpur.
It's a weird world!!!
- Posted using the power of online media
For most of the year, the site is frequented by Indian Hindus who holiday/ make a pilgrimage to the temples, which involves a flight to KL, taxi or train to the Batu Caves, a 271 step climb to the temples, a brief battle with the resident monkeys (who are big and not overly friendly) and you're there.
(The view from the top)
But yesterday the Malaysian Prime Minister decided to hold the official celebrations, or open house as they call it, at the Batu caves. So when we arrived, we found three huge tents filled with tables and lined with people cooking and serving amazing Indian food - roti, curries, dhal, noodles, sweet coconut milk and jelly desserts.
We had just missed the Prime Minister's official opening, but there was a band playing and a lot of people - mostly, but not exclusively, Malaysian Indians, the women in some very glam saris:
As far as I could see, the main purpose of the open house is to sit and eat. They had catered for a crowd of fifteen thousand over the course of the day - all the food and drink was free and there was a really nice festive atmosphere.
As Phil and I entered the first tent we were almost immediately met by a Malaysian newspaper journalist who asked if she could interview us for her paper... Ooookay, well we have just arrived and know next to nothing about the festival or the open house, but we said sure and said that although we just arrived, we had been interested to see Deepavali celebrations and thought the festival was beautiful etc, etc.
Her photographer asked to take a photo of us together. Sure, we said. Cheese!!
Then he asked us if we would like to see the Kolam (rice powder floor mural) with an Indian lady who could explain it to us. Sure, why not, sounds awesome.
So we head over to the Kolam, sort of squat down next to the Kolam with the nice and informative Indian lady... And suddenly there are about twenty photographers snapping away - yikes!!! The two television crews come over and want to interview us. Wow!! It was all a bit overwhelming, especially for poor Phil who despite working in public relations, was very reluctant to be the story. I figured this is not something that happens very often, so why not embrace it - and dragged Phil along for the ride.
It took us a little time to extricate ourselves from the journalists, but once we did, we wandered around the various tents, tried some fresh, homemade roti and climbed the 271 steps into the Batu Caves to watch the ceremonies.
It was a fun day - we saw the Malaysian deputy prime minister, mingled with the who's who of KL Indian society and enjoyed the rarest of travel experiences - a free lunch!! Later in the day we met up with Kenny, who is the brother of Phil's old friend Alex.
This morning, we had a paper delivered to our room. This picture was on page three:
Hehehehe.... I think it's absolutely hysterical (apart from the horrendously unflattering shot of me).
For a fleeting moment, we are page three news in Kuala Lumpur.
It's a weird world!!!
- Posted using the power of online media
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