Cross another b**ch off

We can add Selong Blanak to the list of beaches we have visited now. 13km east of Kuta, it's the ideal place if you want to learn to surf. Gentle, medium size, slow-moving waves. It's also a gorgeous swimming beach. Afterwards we went to Mawun Beach [previously] and then lunch at Ashtari [previously], which now has a paved road, unlike last year.

Along the way we also passed the illegal gold mines.

Let me tell you about dinner last night though. We went to the Anda Restaurant and Monika had a perfectly nice Mahi Mahi with a Sasak sauce. I ordered the vegetarian pizza. 

When it came it had the usual pale, insipid look of most Indonesian pizzas but that's alright I wasn't expecting much. I had already eaten there and had the only other vegetarian dish, Fettuccine Alfredo, which was quite nice. As I made my way through the third slice I started to chew what I thought was a particularly tough piece of onion skin which turned out to be plastic (probably from the bag of mozzarella). I put it down to 'there is occasionally an oversite in the kitchen'. When I got another chunk in the next slice I put it down to carelessness. 

When the the waiter comes over and asks if we have finished we say yes but I point out the lumps of plastic and say that we're not paying for this. He gives a sort of bemused grin (I don't think he understands what I'm telling him), collects the plates and heads off to the kitchen. While the bill is being prepared he hoes into the rest of the pizza. I guess strips of plastic don't bother him.

He comes to the table with the bill and the pizza is still on it. I repeat that we're not paying for it and he finally gets the picture and heads for the kitchen again. He comes out with a portly, bare chested chap wearing a sarong talking to him. The wiater heads for our table and the other fellow marches off to the exit to the hotel restaurant. The bill has the pizza crossed off and the waiter apologises and says that the chef has "taken his uniform off". Quiet what that means, I'm not sure, but the moral of the story is, 'don't order pizza at the Anda in Kuta'.

Composing

Wow! That post from yesterday looks like pure arse. That'll teach me to compose outside of blogger. I'm sorely tempted to spend some time fixing it up but life is too short. I'll leave the hybrid aol/MySpace looking monster as it is.

Getting to Kuta on the ferry

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0XXzjuhkDw&sns=em

Yes! There was a live band. Also, the only lifeboat I could locate.

Let's deal with Danny first.

He picks me up from Lembar and is all smiles and bonhomie. He apologizes to me profusely for letting me down last time, but what with he accident and everything there was nothing he could do. To make up for it he is giving me this pick-up for free. Great, instead of forking out $40, it has cost me $4 on the ferry and free ride to Kuta. We chat on the way to Kuta and he tells me all about the accident. They (he and his driver) were taking some guests from Senggigi  to somewhere but they had stopped for some drinks. The driver had drunk too many araks and Danny had said that he couldn't drive and had taken the keys from him. The driver became very angry and fighty and Danny had given in and given him the keys back. One person was killed in the accident and two others put in hospital with serious injuries. Danny escaped unscathed by opening up the window at the crucial time and leaping free. [I know! Amazeballs].

We have some more general chat but the stage has been set.

We arrive in Kuta and he waits while I book into a hotel. I come back out and say I'm all booked, but I feel a bit guilty not paying him anything so I say, "Look Danny are you sure I can't give you any money?" Danny, "Yeah, can you give me a million, I have to go to the hospital tonight and buy some medicine for my friend who was hurt. I'm coming back here tomorrow and I'll pay you back." I said no, and there was a bit of back and forth as he asked for lower and lower amounts. In the end I gave him $15, so I wasn't out of pocket and also didn't have to feel guilty.

Disappointing though. Am I expecting too much?

Now let's deal with Kuta. WTF government!

You've done the same thing with Kuta that you did to Padangbai all those years ago. Knocking down all the beach warungs and stalls is not a move forward. It rips a major part of the charm out of the community, not to mention the local economy and makes it that much harder for those least able to recover.

Apparently there was much resentment and even some protests. All to no avail. It's empty scrubland now with a few goats wandering on it.

Dredging

Pouring like cats and dogs here. Enforced relaxation as Monika called it. Lovely to be here. They're dredging Padangbai. Off to Lombok tomorrow, if I can get hold of Danny to pick me up at at Lembar.

Off again

On my way to the airport for another jaunt in beautiful Indonesia. Sadly, Pepe will not be joining me this trip. He has succumbed to multiple kitten attacks and is severely deflated.

Hanuman

One last post from Ubud before I leave for the airport.
Killing time before before my 12:00 checkout and 5:30 departure - shopping and a massage.
God, I hate shopping. I interspersed the chore with taking photos of the fantastical and sometimes absurd monkey statues that line Jalan Hanuman.
The hour and a half long massage, body scrub and petal bath (120,000 rupiah) was just what I needed to relax after visiting so many shops.

Bali Buda

Back in the Bali Buda with a 'Beat the Heat' - beetroot, cucumber, celery and parsley, and a slice of 'Heavenly Chocolate Mousse Cake'. I love this cafe.
On my way here I pass the markets and more than half of them are gone! It's now a major construction site with two huge hotels being built.
I called Danny today to arrange for the car to take me to Denpasar but he had bad news. He is in the hospital in Mataram. His car is '90% broken', he has a 'broken leg and hand' and 'blood coming out of his head'. He had had a crash the day before he picked me up at Senggigi too, a motorcycle had crashed into the side of his (other) van. He was always a distracted driver, constantly talking on his phone whilst driving. So much so, that the other passenger with us from the drive from Kuta-Lombok (he was going to the airport), had exhorted him several times to 'not kill anyone' before he was dropped off at the airport. He sounded very miserable, not at all like his usual happy-go-lucky self. I wished him well and a speedy recovery. As a consequence I've had to make other arrangements and booked a car to take me to the airport tomorrow at 5:30PM at the cost of 250,000 rupiah. Well out of pocket on this whole 'open ticket' thing. C'est la vie.

Ubud

It's pouring down with rain here and the place is absolutely packed with tourists. Prices are half of Sydney and twice as much as the rest of Indonesia.
I'm back in my old haunt of Abungun Bungalows. Jungle in front with flying squirrels, rice paddies behind me. Air-conditioning and a swimming pool for 300,000 rupiah a night. They wanted 350,000 but relented with good grace.
Dinner at the Lotus Restaurant - 5 course set vegetarian menu with two beers - 120,000 rupiah. Can't complain.
Home soon, so just a bit of shopping to do tomorrow.

Leaving Gili Air

So, it's 9 o' clock and I'm here at the jetty. It seems they have 'had some troubles'. Quite what the troubles are, no one seems sure. I'm to come back at 10:30 - 11:00.
To keep it smiley here's a beach cat.

Pepe

Today was both joyous and a little sad for Pepe. He has made many friends on the island and may even have encountered some relatives. He was happy to hang out with them for a while but it was bittersweet, knowing that we must take our leave tomorrow to spend the last few days in Ubud. We are taking the fast boat at 9AM.

Sun

Nothing to report toady except that there was no rain, just sunshine.
I circumnavigated the island and I wondered. If someone was standing in the center of the island and slowly turned to be always facing in the direction where I was walking, could it be said that I had walked 'around' them?
I saw many of Pepe's relatives today.I might take him out with me tomorrow and take some pictures with him.

Rain

Rain the whole day long. Sometimes torrential, sometimes gentle. Nonetheless rain. I have managed to get through nearly two volumes of Game Of Thrones though. It's cleared up a little bit now, just long enough to venture out and have a delicious Green Papaya curry. And the view, though overcast, isn't something to be complained about.

Gili Air

Danny picked me up this morning and drove me Bangsal to catch the public boat to the Gilis. On the drive over I told him I was going to stay on Gili Air for a few days and then spend a couple of days in Ubud before heading home. "We can write you a new ticket for that", he says. What the hell, why not. $35 later, I have an open ticket, straight to Gili Air - fast boat x 2 back to Padangbai - car to Ubud - Ubud to the airport. When I pay him I say that I'll just give him 200,000 rupiah because he borrowed 150,000 the day before for petrol. Seems he forgot his wallet again and needed the cash now. He's good for it he reckons when he meets me off the fast boat.
I fell for the "Hurry get in the cidomo your boat is leaving", trick at Bangsal. After a very short ride - 20,000 rupiah, I had a 40 minute wait on the beach before the boat left. The boat was packed to the gunwales as usual but the trip was uneventful.
Gili Air looks pretty much the same as my last visit but there's a lot of building happening. They have a shiny new ATM too now. Checked out a few place, most of them had bungalows available. Around the 200 to 250,000 rupiah mark. I settled on Star Bar Bungalows up near the top of the island. Only recently built, they look really nice. They even have sit-down toilets with toilet paper - not used to that.

New Years Day

I called Danny from Lombok Family in the morning and arranged for him to pick me up tomorrow morning to take me to Bangsal Harbour where I'll catch the public boat to the Gili's. Despite my previous misgivings, I have to say that Danny has come through with flying colors and has been great to deal with. I'll be adding my two cents to Foursquare once the trip is over.
The newly christened Pedro the Cactus (thank you Amanda) and I met with Claire and Bill at Cafe Alberto and we had a few snacks. The Tortilla Rosmarine, (home-made rosemary tortillas) and salsa were particularly nice. Then who should turn up but Sammi Walsh, *fresh* from nuptial celebrations. I spoke of Coco Beach in such glowing terms that we decided not to eat at Alberto's but head out to Coco's instead.
With some souvenir shopping to do first, I guided them to the Asmara Collection, but it wasn't what they were after so we headed to the Art Market. While they checked out the goodies I headed down to the beach where there was a bit of breeze and watched the local kids play in the surf.
Then it was off to Coco's and a feast of fried fish and chicken and sago leaf curries with Potato Coco and Zucchini in Tomato Relish (Oh! that zucchini was [baldilicious, fragalicious? - I forget the word], good pick Sammi), with vegetable and tofu fritters, Bintangs and MANS TEA. The bill came to just over AUS$10 each.
Then it pissed down with rain and we got a taxi back. The end.
What a great start to the New Year.

Coco Beach on New Years Eve

Recommended in Lonely Planet, Coco Beach was a must for me to visit. It has an extensive vegetarian component on its menu and they use local and home-produced ingredients when they can.
Vegetable fritters - crisp and succulent fritters with a French shallot and katsup manis sauce accompaniment.
Sago leaf kari - young sago leaf boiled for half an hour then served in a tasty, fragrant curry sauce.
Bandrek - ginger, lemongrass, cinnamon, cardamom, star anise, boiled with brown sugar.
What a taste sensation it all was.
The setting is a beach-side garden with several thatch roofed platforms. The owner gave me a small tour of their produce patch which has unfortunately been rained out just recently. Several centimeters of water has washed out their current crop and the only thing that seems to be thriving is the ginger. She is not deterred though, and has many future plans for the garden.
Only a few kilometers from main Senggigi it is reasonably easy to get to by taxi. On New Years Eve it was not so easy to get back from, so one of the staff gave me a lift back into town, gratis "all part of the service". Wonderful.
After such and early start I was back in my room and asleep by 9:30. Not even the combination of mosque calls, fireworks and bugles could keep me up to see in the New Year.