Ugh, i really shouldn't post so long AFTER the trip. Especially with the short-term memory I have!
So we fly into Bali late at night and decide to start this trip in Ubud (city 1 hour from the airport). Just as we begin to look for a cab, a German man comes up and asks us if we want to split a cab to Ubud. Now I had JUST seen "Taken" not very long before this. But maybe this is why God gives us intuition. My theory is that our intuition is tapped directly into the Holy Spirit to discern things. I've also decided that all cab drivers from another country drive CRAZY. ...So we all drive to Ubud that night and when we get there, the German man simply paid for the whole cab and went on his way. Saved us some Rupia!
Since it was so late most of the hotels/bungalows were already filled for the weekend. We walked all around Monkeyforest Ln. looking for a place. No room at the Inn. And finally a man agreed to let the 3 of us split this honeymoon sweet. It was beautiful. If you're ever in Ubud, Bali, go stay at the "Sagittarius". There was a beautiful courtyard, an infinity pool, free breakfast, coffee at your doorstep every morning and afternoon. All for $30/night!!
We shopped, went on tours, saw some temples. Bali is beautiful...but their economy thrives on Tourism...which always makes me a little sad to see. Especially when there are western stores everywhere. I cant even get away from Starbucks and the Hard Rock Cafe in Bali!
We got to see some shows that were interesting. They're native dance is beautiful. Very Asian and lots of red and gold in their costumes. They also use a lot of black and white checkers, on everything, clothes, bags, buildings. One of our cab drivers said the white and black represented good and evil. Kind of like ying and yang.
After a few days we drove back to Kutah(near the airport) and stayed in a very minimalistic bungalow for $18/night. This place seriously had a bed, a sink, bathtub and toilet. And that was IT. Took us two days to even get some towels. But no biggie. We were happy with the price.
We spent a lot of time on the beach there. For those of you who associate Bali with surfing, and envision the most beautiful tropical beach...you will be disappointed like I was. Maybe my eyes are just spoiled by the intense beaches I've seen thus far...but I would not put Bali on my favorites list. The water was dirty, the waves were sucky, the sand was black and there was trash everywhere. The worst part about the beach in Kutah was the peddlers. If you're sitting on the beach trying to have a conversation, you won't make it far through your sentence before someone interrupts and you hear, "You want massage?, You want sarong?, You want cigarettes? I give you good price". They dont take no for an answer. Even if you ignore them they will push. It was super frustrating. I've been to beaches where there are vendors with a little table set up on the sidewalk...so that YOU could come to THEM. But never this.
Thailand
I only spent one night in Bankok so we hit up Cowsun Rd. to see as much touristy stuff as I could with the little time that I had. Man, I could have really decorated my house for cheap if I didn't have to worry about flying everything back. This street had everything you could want. We topped our night off with a 2 for 1 happy hour and then went to sleep.
All in all this was a great trip for all 4 countries. I feel like 8 flights might be a little much for a 2 week time span so I will remember that in the future. But I got to see a lot of things. I got to soak up the sun. I got to travel with my close friends. Actually, if you want to know the truth Asia as a whole has always been at the bottom of my list on places I'd like to visit. I'd put Europe, Africa, and South America first. But I'm so glad I went. Its good to get OUT of this little bubble in Dallas. It is good for my soul to remember how big the world is. It is good for my mind to see the way other people live.
In college, I spent a lot of time with Ginny. Her and I had the world figured out on some of our longer jogs, we made enough sugary things to open a bakery. We sang along with our friends guitar into the wee hours of the morning, and we've laughed and cried a lot. At least i've cried. But i cry at the drop of a hat these days. Ginny means a lot to me and I havent spent more than a matter of hours with her in 4 years. I miss her a lot and I know it is good to feed my soul with the community of people like her. Now with the purchase of a plane ticket, I got two weeks with her to talk out my problems, to laugh to pray. Mission accomplished.
Think my out-of-the-country-budget will have to replenish itself for a while. Think I'll keep things stateside for a couple of years. However, I believe God has been teaching me not to speak in absolutes, so who knows what will come? I've been contemplating relationships lately, so you might expect my brain to spill over about that soon enough!
