Anyway, see the pix below. I don't have time to add captions, so use
your imagination :)
Happy Bali-Days everyone!
I left for Bali on December 15, and had a pretty long journey to get here: 3 hrs to LA, 13 hrs to Korea, 3 hours in Korea and then 7 more hours to Bali. Ah but it was worth it.
My sister got me a "Gnome away from home" that I'm supposed to take pictures with :) So here we go.
Me @ Home, with my book and the gnome:
The gnome getting a pedicure at a spa in Bali. My toenails were getting long, so I had to get a pedicure, and it was the best $3 pedicure I've ever had :) An hour of massage at a spa goes for $5, and on the beach just a bit cheaper. Amazing.
Yes, its Christmas here in Bali. Bali is a Hindu island, but people like celebrating for no good reason. Its more for the tourists tho, who tend to be Westerners.
Nothing like a skinny Asian Santa Claus tho!
Lots of little Balinese temples scattered about. People leave offerings daily, and you'll see incense all over the place, usually right in front of their doorways.
Ah and onto the world famous Kuta Beach!
Its long and sandy and the water is so warm. Its pretty weird to walk into the ocean and have it be this warm. I guess I'm so used to the cold Pacific in California. But I'm out there surfing in just shorts and a rash guard. Awesome!
It hasn't been too sunny tho, in fact we're in the middle of two days of nothing but rain....insane. I've been in Kuta now for 11 days, one day turns into another I could probably spend about the rest of my life here and be happy for it :)
Surfboard rentals on the beach. They go for $2-3 an hour, or lots more if you don't bargain too well. I rented a board from a shop up the road for $3/day.
One of the ways to carry stuff around here....
There are lots of these "Sun set" bars scattered up and down the beach. I pretty much just go to one run by a guy named Froggy of all things....
Same same but different.
Don't ask me who is going to buy the bow-and-arrow and blow-dart gun that this dude is selling. No doubt people are buying them....there are about 5 different guys running up and down selling them. Must be all the Australians that buy em...
The locals want to take our picture!
...and I'm still working on my tan...
Sunset in Kuta - lovely.
This is my buddy Froggy. He's been tending a little drink-stand here for over 10 years. Amazingly nice guy. He's really happy with his life, which he spends working on the beach. If only we were all so lucky. Some of his customers have been coming to him for years....so I guess he's an institution.
Some of the regulars at Froggys.
So its the day after Christmas. The rain finally stopped around 6pm after raining alllllll day. I suppose its poetic justice that I see about 4 days of rain a year at home, and then get it in spades on vacation. It isn't all bad - it really slows things down and gives you a chance to catchup and relax. Not that I wasn't relaxing before!
So I finally bought a ticket outta here tomorrow. I've been trying to leave Kuta for 5 days or so....! Off to Yogyakarta to visit the ruins of Borobudur. Just a quick 3-day "hey lets check out Java" trip, and then off to the famed (or not so famed?) Gili Islands, where there are no cars, just lots of sand, and a cute bungalow right on the beach. Spend New Years' there, do some diving (its a "dive" island, unlike a dive bar, which, well, ya know).
Hope everyone had a great Xmas!
