20 August to 03 September 2023, Indonesia
Bali, Kuta
The time has come! We've been planning to stay somewhere a little longer for weeks. Now we have rented accommodation for a fortnight in Kuta, Bali. Unfortunately, the room turned out to be very dirty on arrival. When we look for accommodation, we always book in the lowest price category. We don't need much comfort. I don't have a problem if the mattress is on the floor, the room is really tiny and/or you have a shared bathroom. As long as it's clean...
Unfortunately, this is not always the case. There are always accommodations where I keep repeating a mantra in my head: "don't look closely, don't look closely, don't look closely...."
Our goal for these two weeks is to catch up on a few things. For example, sorting out Ha Giang videos, sorting pictures and writing blog posts.
Right at the beginning of our stay in Kuta, we have to go to the immigration office. We want to extend our visa from one month to two months. The visa extension procedure is quite annoying. Firstly, you have to go to the authorities to hand in your ID. The next day you have to pay the fee, which can only be transferred from an Indonesian bank account or you have to go to a bank with a corresponding payment request. After another 5 to 10 days you can go to the immigration office a second time. Then you can give fingerprints and have your picture taken. And on the third visit you can pick up your passport again. We used an agency to make the process easier for us, even if it costs a little more. The agency took care of the payment and the first and third visits to immigration for us. This meant that we only had to go to the authorities once to hand in our fingerprints and photo.
History
Bali, like the whole of Indonesia, was a Dutch colony from the 17th century until the mid-20th century. In our travel guide, I found an interesting paragraph about the history of tourism in Bali, which I would like to share with you: "In later years, Dutch officials encouraged the locals to maintain their traditions. This aroused interest abroad and attracted the first Western holidaymakers in the 1930s. The tourism boom that began in the early 1970s brought about numerous changes. Road construction and improvements to telecommunications, education and healthcare could now be financed. While tourism and the booming Balinese economy have had a negative impact on the environment and society, Bali's unique culture has proven to be exceptionally resilient, despite receiving nearly 4 million visitors a year." Lonely Planet. In 2019, there were already 6 million visitors per year.
In Ubud I marvelled at how extraordinarily robust Bali's culture is, I fully understood what my travel guide meant. I really liked the way the culture was reflected in the streets. Kuta is somehow the opposite. I don't really like the town of Kuta. Someone once said that Bali is the Mallorca of the Australians. This flair is very present here in Kuta. One tourist shop next to the next, loud music everywhere and every now and then a beer bike ride crosses your path. Australia is pretty expensive and Indonesia is super cheap. The Australians really let it rip here. Somehow understandable from the Australians' point of view. Except that Australians have been missing since Corona. A driver once said that most Australians don't have enough money because of Corona.
But Kuta is also right by the sea and the beach in Kuta is perfect for surfing beginners. We think the prices are really good, so we won't let this opportunity pass us by.
On the first day, theory and a few dry runs are on the timetable. Then it's off into the water. Tadikan, our instructor, has chosen a wave for us and then it's just a case of getting up, although that was much easier said than done. We took it in turns to have a go. By the end of the second surf lesson, getting up and catching a wave had mostly worked quite well. Tadikan pushed us with the wave every single time. That's important, otherwise the wave just flows underneath you. You simply don't have enough momentum for the wave to take you. During our third surf lesson, we even tried to take the wave on our own. You have to paddle very hard just before the wave arrives. Paddling is very strenuous, it looked so easy. In the meantime, we also took some pictures, which you can see in the photo album. As always, you'll find the link at the end of this post. It was a lot of fun.
Our surf instructor Tadikan is not from Bali at all, but from the island of Sumatra - his home town is 3,000 kilometres away from Bali. (It's 2,700 kilometres from Berlin to Lisbon). I think it was only then that I started to realise how huge Indonesia is. In terms of length, Indonesia is just as long as the whole of Europe. Tadikan tells us about his home country - he is here in Bali because the people from his village are too traditional and too narrow-minded for him. At home, everyone just asks him every day when he's getting married. Here in Bali, everything is much more relaxed.
As a result, I started asking the "locals" here in Kuta where they were from. I originally thought that everyone here was Balinese. I then realised that almost all Indonesians here in Kuta are from somewhere else. I ask them why they moved to Bali. The most common answer is that there are good opportunities to earn money here in Bali, which is not the case in their home village.
What I found very funny is the image Tadikan has of Europeans, namely that "all" Europeans are "always" travelling and open to the world. When I explained to our surf instructor that some of the people around me had said that travelling wasn't for them, he couldn't believe me. But I understood him. In Bali, he only ever knows the people who are travelling.
Ticket to the moon
We also go on a few excursions, including one that was very important for Karli. That's why he tells you about this experience himself:
"When I still lived in Weilburg in the town centre, I regularly went over to the Weltladen to buy fair trade goods. I saw these tiny packable bags every day. As I liked using these bags and they were far better made and fair, I was thrilled.
The manufacturer states that they are made from 100% residual materials. The manufacturer "Ticket to the Moon" makes hammocks from parachute silk. As I liked to use the bag a lot, the loop with which you could hang it up has slowly torn over time.
As with the knives from Authentic Blaids, I googled where the bags are actually made, and had thoughtlessly marked the point on Google Maps.
When we were researching where we could go and what we could see for our trip to Bali, I realised that something was already marked. It's the headquarters of "Ticket to the Moon". I want to take a closer look. As I like using my rucksack so much, I have it with me, of course. One lunchtime we ordered scooter taxis (Grab) and set off. When we got there, we realised that there was probably no shop on site. There is only the sewing shop and an office. Some of the seamstresses were taking a break. As they didn't speak much English, they asked us to go up the stairs to the office. Here we learnt that there was actually nothing to see as it was just an office, but they didn't want to send us away. So we were asked to come in.
The woman who greeted us asked us to take a seat in the meeting room. She still had some work to do, but then she could show us a few things and answer our questions.
In the meantime, we could have a look at the catalogue for next year and look at a few products that were standing around.
In the following conversation, we found out that the hammocks they produce are not made from bought-in old fake hammocks and are therefore not recycled. Only the same fabric is used. On the other hand, the rucksacks and the new banana bags are made exclusively from the leftovers from the production process.
Of course, I proudly showed off my own beloved rucksack and received an "ohhh... But it's old".
I was then shown the new models. The new models have a few more compartments and I really liked them. There are now also more colours, and above all there are now random colour bags. This means that the right fabric is not always selected during production, so there are now different bags that are put together randomly in different colours. Depending on what is currently available.
Unfortunately we were not allowed to look into the production ourselves, but as the lady we spoke to started out as a seamstress herself and worked her way up (to the office) she went downstairs herself and repaired my old rucksack. They also give a 10-year guarantee on their products.
With my rucksack reworked and a great experience, I kitted myself out with new carabiners and Janine treated herself to one of the new Banana Bags. And the next time we're in the neighbourhood, we'll already have a few ideas for further improvements to the bag.
All in all, I was very pleased with my visit here and would like to take this opportunity to send my regards to the volunteer team from the Weilburger Weltladen.
If you're ever in the neighbourhood, take a look here. Here you can get the best chocolate bars, a great selection of coffee and fresh bananas (and of course much more).
You can also stock up on great clothes in the second shop. (Where does Greenbomb actually produce their clothes?)
Greetings from Indonesia.
Your Karli"
Kites
We also go on a few other excursions. One day we travelled to the other side of the island, to the eastern coast. Here is Sanur, which is much quieter and more upmarket and luxurious than Kuta. At the end of the beach, where it is already untouristy again, we are suddenly confronted by a huge dragon 🪁. Something like the kites we fly in autumn. Only much, much bigger. There must be 10 men attaching the fabric to the frame of the huge kite. A few metres further on is a huge meadow where other breathtaking, apparently home-made kites are flying. As we learn later, kite flying has a long tradition in Bali. There are even competitions.
On other days we visit a tower, a restaurant where you can borrow board games or take part in a couchsurfing meeting.
Quarrelling yeti gods
After one of these excursions, we want to drive back to our accommodation in the evening. Instead, we suddenly come to a dead end. There is a roadblock in front of us where we could usually drive through. A Hindu ceremony is being performed behind the barrier. I sat down on the ground and watched the goings-on. I didn't understand anything and yet it was really captivating. It's really difficult to describe what happened. I think the easiest way is to compare it to a ''theatre performance'': People in different costumes seem to be telling a kind of story. There are different characters, a kind of lion-dog and two yetis. I can only assume that these are gods from Hinduism. The funniest thing for me was how the two yetis ''argued''. This ''argument'' simply went on for a whole hour. Admittedly, it was very monotonous and lengthy in between. And I really have no idea what this dance was ''really'' supposed to represent. Take a look at the photos and video in the photo album (link at the end of the post). I'm looking forward to your opinions. I certainly found it breathtaking. I am very happy that I happened to be in the right place at the right time to be able to watch this spectacle.
And then, of course, we sit at the computer a lot again, sorting videos and writing blogs. In fact, that was one of the main reasons why we wanted to stay in one place for a fortnight. Just to have a bit more time for the blog. However, the two weeks ended up being over far too quickly. We didn't get as much done as we wanted to. But heeeyyy at least I'm finally finishing the post for Vietnam "ha giang". I'm very, very happy about that. This mass of videos has really driven me crazy...
Conclusion
I wasn't sure beforehand whether I would like Bali. We generally try to avoid more touristy places. But Bali really surprised me. Bali has a breathtaking culture and incredibly warm people. I will miss the cultural aspect in particular next week when we see Jawa. But you'll find out about that in our next blog post next week.
📷 You can find more great pictures in the photo album
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