and then there were four.

On Thursday we had a school field trip to Uluwatu where we were going to watch fire dancers at sunset in a picture perfect venue. We were quite excited as it was going to be the most exciting trip were going to have other than the white river rafting.

However when we got there we were dropped off at the entrance where we waited for the other half of our group to join us, along with our lecturers. When this didn’t happen we all got over waiting and decided to go get ice cream. After returning to our drop off point, our one lecturer came to us saying that they had been waiting at the other entrance. Cool.

We received sarongs and sandwiches and headed inside, while walking to the area to watch the dance I spotted a monkey eyeing my sandwich out, refusing to be attacked like Lindsay in the monkey forest, I threw my roll into a bush and ran, at which point my flip flop broke.

So we found seats and got ready to watch fire dancers, but what we saw was not at all what we were expecting.  About 50 shirtless men came out and sat in a circle and started chanting and repeating what sounded like the words “check” and “tseck” the entire duration of the performance. There were also other dancers who told a story, luckily there was a program telling us what was happening, otherwise we would have no clue. It was interesting but it wasn’t a fire dance, in actual fact the only fire involved was the fire that was used to light us the stage area.

It was a nice experience and we all enjoyed the bit of Balinese culture we just saw but the highlight of the night for all of us was the 1hour and 45minute drive home. It was a truly unique experience as the driver insisted on driving in second gear the entire journey.

Friday was the 10 year anniversary of the Bali Bombings that happened in Kuta, where 202 people died. We decided to go check it out, which in retrospect we regret a bit as the street of Legian was like a ghost town as all the clubs had turned off the music for the duration of the memorial. There were such bleak vibes in the air and it definitely rubbed off on us.

Saturday was spent doing what we do best, vegging by the pool.

Sunday we woke up early and caught a taxi to Sanur, were we bought return boat tickets to Lembongan Island. We got there on a ferry the trip was bumpy but not as unpleasant as expected. We arrived in Lembongan and were bombarded with an offer to go snorkeling, the price was right so we accepted.

We got led down an alleyway away from the water. Slightly confusing. All of a sudden Balinese Rambo pulled up on a scooter that sounded as if it would break down any second, ripped camoflague cargo pants and mullet to boot.

Sami and Linds jumped on the back of a scooter with the guy that approached us first and I got on with Rambo. They took us through a very rural area until we eventually got to a beautiful white sand beach with crystal clear water. 

Rambo then grabbed his kid, gave us snorkeling gear and took us to his boat. We had a great time because we could get really close to the fish and coral reefs. Im not sure if we enjoyed snorkeling or taking pictures of ourselves more. Thank God for underwater cameras. Lucky for us Rambo let us do our own thing, unlike his son, Yogi, who wore a lifejacket and got tied to the boat with a piece of rope.

On our trip back to Sanur we caught a fast boat, the trip was short but extremely bumpy and unpleasant. Note to selves: take the slow boat and never drink the night before. We foresee disaster.

We got back to our hotel relatively early and seeing as we only had a fieldtrip the following morning, the party animal within convinced me to go to Alleycats with the boys. Needless to say, it wasn’t a great idea to play 1 for 1 with 5 dutch boys when drinking the infamous double doubles.

The following morning can only be described as living hell. Being stuck on another bus for a very long drive to Ubud to go visit a traditional Bali Village, to see how daily life is for the Balinese people although I am almost 100% sure that most people don’t plant rice and climb coconut trees all day. I must say that the highlight of the trip was watching a cock fight and of course seeing the reaction of some of our classmates when they saw a spider in a tree.

The rest of the week was spent working on assignments and sitting in classes. Boring. No need to elaborate on this point.

Brandon arrived in Bali yesterday and all three of us are so grateful to have a South African to hang out with and I absolutely love having my partner in crime at my side.

Gili Islands tomorrow and we are all crazy excited for this trip as we have been looking forward to it from day 1. 

1 month in Bali

This blog post marks the end of our first month in Bali, an extremely scary feeling appears when we realise how fast time has passed and is going to carry on passing at this rapid rate. We will be back home in South Africa before we even know what has hit us, but until then...the party, and studying continues!

We had last Monday off from varsity, National Braai day for us Suid Afrikaaners, and we visited Sanur, a beach about 45 minutes away from where we live. The sand was the whitest we have seen and the water was clear, perfect for snorkelling. We met some of the other students there and we all had lunch and a Bintang together. I found a lightning fast worm in my prawn and avo salad, you dont get any fresher than that do you, im not complaining. Although all we could think about was how nice a chop on the braai and some potato bake would be throughout the entire day, it was a good day with being able to swim in the clear blue water and relaxing with friends.

Tuesday was full of Guest lectures again, by full of we mean two because they do take up most of our day. The one lecturer, John Daniels, a.k.a Jack Daniels, we enjoyed listening to very much. Who wouldnt like a man nicknamed Jack Daniels though? His advice to us as students studying Events Management, "A good Events Manager is someone who knows how to invite somebody to hell" or "Invite them to hell and make them enjoy the trip". A very interesting statement but so true at the same time.

We had our first ever "client meetings" on Wednesday with our project groups and our cbl tutor who acted as the client. A completely new experience for all three of us and although we had no idea what to expect going into it, we all survived and due to this we decided a good party was in order. This we have become very good at after scouting out the best places for the free and cheapest booze. Our newest dicovery, Green Box, which is literally just a small green box of a room with a bar counter, is our new favourite place.

We had the greatest time at the Green Box and we have already been inducted to the wall of fame based on our drinking antics that night.

Our weekend started on Wednesday, basically a little holiday and we have become very skilled at not doing much at all and as said before the time seems to fly making it seem like we never get anything done, ever. Thursday came and we made an irrational decision to rent scooters. I then decided it would probably be a good idea to try and actually ride a scooter before we get too ahead of ourselves. This ended really badly, so much so that I have many bruises and scrapes, some financial debt but no broken bones, luckily. What we learnt from this incident is, ALWAYS where a helmet or a fun time in Bali could be very short lived. As a result of my accident we have put the scooter renting on hold, something we are all bleak about but we like having no broken bones so it is probably a wise choice.

Thursday night came, along with a night at Eikon and all you can drink for 100,000 rupee or in rands, just less than a hundred bucks. Bintang and Purple Nurples (Balinese Wine mixed with we dont know what) were consumed at a speedy pace and before we knew what had hit us, it was nearly 3 in the morning and another mission to find a taxi where the driver would actually take us home without grumbling too much because he couldnt rip us off properly like all the other tourists hunting for a ride home. It can now be said that we are slowly losing our 'toursit' status in Bali.

Sami Bosman learnt to speak Dutch in a few hours and lost the ability to speak it within the hours after that. Most entertaining, along with our new dutch slogan "we spruiken af bij de kikkerfontein", tranlsation "meet me at the frog fountain". Code for see you in the swimming pool. 


 

Friday was spent indoors as we experienced our first rainy day of the rainy season. This 'rainy season' will not be enjoyed at all and it is hoped we wont experience too much of it while we are in Bali. A visit to Potato Head was paid where we bought tickets for Foster and the People on Saturday. Friday night was also spent indoors as we prepared ourselves for the debauchery which would ensue the next day at the last beach party before the rain comes for good.

 

Waking up on Saturday feeling as if  it wasnt even my birthday and we werent going to be watching Foster and the People live, was a feeling that was soon replaced by the feeling of absolute awe while we stood in the crowd at Potato Head and felt the amazing energy around us, a moment of crazy happiness. The most amazing firweorks display that all three of us have ever seen just topped the day off as well. Definitely something that will not be forgotten by choice.

 

It has been another week of injuries, fights and fun, and we cant wait to see what the next few weeks will bring.