I arrived in Bali in the early evening. Things appeared a bit organized for what i was accustomed to and there were three luggage carrousels at the airport. I knew I had hit the big time. I had left Sulawesi a little before I would have wanted to, but the lure of an ultimate tournament overruled all else. I quickly found a hotel north of the main tourist center, Kuta, in an area called Seminyak, which means "land of the flying disc" in Balinese (ok maybe not). I headed down to the beach for a run and was amazed at how low the tide was and how flat and perfect he beach was. The moon was almost full. It was a beautiful setting, which almost helped me forget how bad my body felt.
The Kuta region is known for having way too many people, way too many hotels, shops, restaurants and bars, and definatly too many hawkers roaming the beach selling everything from watches to kites. I did take advantage of the massages however. One hour for $2.50 was just too good to pass up. The beach is wide and goes on for miles, so it is really nice for walking and hanging out. The sunsets are absolutely breath taking. My purpose for being there was the second annual Nusantara Cup tournament put on by the ultimate players in Jakarta (see separate section: Indonesia – Bali- Ultimate Tournament, PG-13 rating).
After the tournament, I spent a couple of days recovering form all the fun. I hung out with the few players that stayed and visited some areas around Bali. The highlight was checking out the amazing restaurants. Afternoons were spent throwing on the beach and nights were pretty mellow. After a few days, I packed up my things and headed north to Ubud, the “cultural capital” of Bali.
Ubud is in the hills and is known for its terraced rice fields and beautiful scenery. Its also hot and humid. It was absolutely brutal to walk around during the day. There is lots of shopping, actually some really cool stuff, and there are lots and lots of temples. It seems like there are ceremonies everyday, in numerous places. Quite amazing. The highlight of Ubud was watching the traditional Balinese dancing. It comes in various forms, all which are extremely beautiful. The movements are kind of jerky, the fingers always moving and the eyes darting back and forth. Kind of sounds freaky the way I just described it, but it was beautiful.
Bali is the only predominantly Hindu island left in Indonesia, so there is a very unique cultural blend. Their temples, art, dance and ritual are ornate, complex and beautiful. They are even more impressive when compared with the asture and conservative Muslim temples and rituals. The traditional Balinese dress of sarong, waist and headscarf and blouse is beautiful. The colors, textures and designs are wonderful.
I enjoyed some nice walks and runs around the area. It was so hot, I spent most of the afternoons working on catching up on my travel log and reliving my adventures. Next……off to the island of java.
