Okay.. it has officially been a week since we arrived in Bali. Already so much has happened. There is the good, the bad and the ugly.
The good would include the kindness of the Balinese people when Kate left her passport at a petrol station and was handed it back with no questions asked and how an Indonesian woman called Kelly (real name ketut) remembered me from last year and calls me her sister. When we first arrived we stayed in Kuta, the main city and you can get stuck in it… mentally. The Kuta rut is good and bad, just getting stuck in a cycle of getting loose, being hung then haggled and doing it over again. It is so sick while your there but when you realise you are literally stuck in this rut, it is time to venture out. We had some awesome nights watching reggae bands, dancing on platforms, singing with bands (Bish became famous) and drinking cocktails and we will hit it again soon but it is a good good feeling when you reach the relaxed quiet coast, the Bukit Peninsula. Padang is where we are staying and it is a small cove coated in white sand with an amazing surf break. It hasn’t shown its true colours to us yet surfing wise but I’m sure it will soon and it will be siiiick (to watch, I would come out looking like an emo who used the reef instead of razor blades.) Danielle, Bishy and I surfed it a couple of days ago (though stayed away from the intense reef part) and it was so incredible. It was the first time that I realised that this was the reason I worked night shifts, in Hawera and until ten every Saturday night. IT WAS SO WORTH IT!!!
The most amazing experience I have had though would be surfing Uluwatu/temples. It is a surf break in front a high cliffs which are littered with shops and people. You walk down to the cave and paddle out from there. The waves come in fast and smash up against the rocks, so I had to paddle fast. Kahn bet me by a mile paddling out but I got there in the end! The water is so clear, the reef looks about a metre away but if you try dive down to touch it, it seems hours away. We were out there for a few hours and the crowds were intense but fiddle sticks it was fun.
The bad would be the hell route we took to get here. I do not recommend going via Singapore airport. Arriving after a 12 hour journey from Auckland we had to go to a part of the airport which was a basic public area. It just so happens that there was construction work being done on the airport so for 9 hours we listened to drilling, grinding and saws all through the night. Hot, tired, a weeeeee drunk from the French wine on the plane (so pretty much coming straight into a hangover) and lying on surfboard bags/wooden seats was hell. When 6am rolled around and we could check in, it was like Christmas. The present was air conditioning, comfortable chairs and free internet!! 3 hours later it was onward to Bali. YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSS!!!
The bad also includes getting 200,000 rps (around $30NZ) stolen out of my pocket in Kuta by a little kid. Valid he needs it more than me but I do not enjoy thieves.
The ugly is definitely the unfortunate event with bishy babe. While drinking many Bintangs and Vodka on her 21st birthday we suddenly thought it would be a good idea to drive into Kuta from Padang. (about 30 minutes away.) We all scooter in but lose everyone so it is just Walshy and Bish on a scooter and Kahn and I on the other. It starts to pelt down with rain and we approach the corner to Balangan. Walshy and Bish zoom past and Kahn shouts “Oh my god they are going to stack it.” Suddenly I see legs fly in the air and balloons of water explode everywhere. Bish and walshy had gone through a pot hole puddle and crashed into a parked bike on a corner. Coming to a fast stop we run over to see the damage and Bish’s foot is pissing out with blood. We take her over to a stall and I put my hand under her foot to elevate it. There is a pool of blood in the cup of my palm and I look under her foot to see what is going on. There is about 2cm of muscle hanging out of a massive cut under her foot. The locals are crowded round in amazement and start putting sand and sprite all over her foot to stop the bleeding. We take her to two hospitals where they realise that her foot is broken and we get her home hours later. The next day we take her to the international hospital and get her in a cast and start the mission to organise to get her home. Bishy we wish you were still here, rest up!!