Bali Bound
A less than auspicious start to our journey as our plans for an early, and organized, departure collide head on with an alarm clock that doesn’t go off. Fortunately, we wake up not too far behind schedule and hit the road only 30 minutes late. A few hours later, we safely board in Vancouver for Tokyo. It seems no matter where we go in Asia, we always end up going through Japan, but every time to the connections are the best there, and this is no exception. With only a 90 minute layover, we are quickly on our final leg to Bali. All tolled, flying time is about 18 hours. Add in the time to drive to Vancouver and change planes in Tokyo, and door to door, the trip is literally a full day of travel.
Our first five days in Bali are at the Le Meridien in Tanah Lot, which is about an hour north of the main tourist area and next to one of the most important Hindu temples in Bali. The hotel is spectacular, and as with all the places we have stayed on our travels to Asia, a bargain. The room is like a small apartment, missing only a kitchen, which honestly we wouldn’t use anyway. With my internal clock off kilter from the previous day’s travel, I have the chance to walk the grounds at the crack of dawn, long before things get busy and see just how big the place is.
As the day wears on, it becomes clear just how convenient Bali is to Australia, as the place is quickly crawling with Australians. Where, to me, traveling to Bali seems exotic, for those Down Under, it is just a quick trip on a discount airline. It makes me wonder if right now somewhere in Sydney, people are talking about the adventurous trip they are taking to Cabo San Lucas or Cancun. I’ll have to ask if I get the chance.
We spent a good part of the day just lounging by the pool before working up the energy to venture away from the hotel. Our first stop was the temple next door, where we figured we could find a cab into town for cheaper than the car service the hotel offered. As it is the weekend, the temple is very crowded, which is not lost on the local merchants who have set up a long sting of shops selling pretty much any kind of trinket you could imagine, and quite a few you probably couldn’t. Falling squarely in the latter category are wooden bottle openers, carved in the shape of certain male anatomy. I’m not sure what the theory of these are, perhaps they keep people from stealing your beer because no one wants to use the opener.
After a few pictures and a quick snack, we decide to wait a bit and just take the free hotel shuttle into town (free being just the price I was looking for). Its late in the day, but our goal is to find some furniture shops and a good place to eat. That is not to be as we quickly find ourselves wandering aimlessly through streets of mostly closed stores and very few restaurants. I am sure that somewhere here there is an area similar to the night markets in Phuket, but on this night we don’t find it. Many (and I mean many) blocks later, we come across a restaurant that looks crowded, and decide to jump at the chance. By the time the shuttle gets us back to the hotel, it is just a little after 10 pm. No more than five minutes later, I’m drooling on my pillow.