Monday afternoon we were not sure we were ever going to make it to Bali, but our hopes were high and we persevered through a challenging day and boarded our flight at 1:30 am Tuesday morning, nearly 12 hours behind schedule. We arrived at the International airport in Depensaur, Bali around noon Tuesday morning and jumped into a taxi heading for our Bed & Breakfast in downtown Kuta. The sun was shining, the air was clean and the weather was hot (although I was still dressed in my layers from the plane) and I could not have been happier!
Kuta is the popular tourist desitnation for Australian surfers. Based on our research and recommendations, Kuta would be great for shopping, restaurants and nightlife. Just as expected, our B&B was smack in the middle of the busiest street, lined with shops, cafes and bars. The beach was about half a mile walk, but was nothing to write home about... sandy beaches, lots of people (mostly Muslims in all of their clothing) and a few surfers playing in the water.
After we got settled in and freshened up, we spent the afternoon walking around - did a little shopping, ate some food and eventually made our way to walk down the beach. Kuta is definitely consumed by tourism, which is something that I have found to be a turn off. People were constantly calling out to us, grabbing us to pull us to their shop, then quoting ridiculously expensive prices! The men were rather inappropriate staring as we walked by and saying things like, "sexy lady", "hey honey", "I want to fuck you"... yes, believe it or not, someone actually yelled that out across the street.
Once we were on the beach, we were harassed by surf instructors, and people trying to sell necklaces, ice cream, fruit and beer. Then, we were approached by a whole army of young teenage Muslims. At first, it seemed sweet. A couple of shy girls walked up to us and asked if they could take a photo with us, so we did (this is something that happens frequently in China, too). Then, another group, and another groups, until we were completely surrounded by teenagers taking photos with us - I now know what it feels like to be Justine Timberlake! After several minutes, we had to say no and run away from the beach. That evening, we met up with Justine and Natasha, co-workers who were also in Kuta for a couple days, for dinner and drinks before calling in an early night (I didn't get much sleep on our over night flight).
The next morning, we started our day with a 5K run on the beach, following by breakfast before returning to spend the afternoon on the beach. The rest of the day was lazy before going for India and meeting up with the girls, now joined by Nani (co-worker) and her friend Dave. We went to the Sky Garden Bar downtown that was advertising for one hour of free drinks. We met up with some people from Justine and Natasha's hostel and had a fantastic night of drinking and dancing! Eventually, the combination of Indian, fruit free drinks and a handful of shots was giving me a stomach ache, and after my fair share of dancing and sweating, Ayesha and I headed back to our B&B early!
Our last day in Kuta, we spent at the beach again until a storm rolled in and sent us on our way. The rest of the day, we wondered around the other side of town, souvenir shopping and eating Wendy's (yup, we have to come all the way to Bali to get Wendy's). Sine the rain still wasn't letting up, we treated ourselves to the most amazing Balinese 4-handed massage (seriously, it was amazing) for only 14 USD! On our way back to the B&B, we stopped off in a bar that appeared to be promising for some hookah and drinks. Turns out, it was not the place for two single ladies. We had the best seat in the house for people watching, and we watched girls in tiny dresses gather in front of the bar and strut around for the Westerners that walked by. In less than 30 minutes, we saw several guys come up to different girls and kiss them. Several other guys walked over, chose a girl, then proceeded into the bar. We were so horrified that we quickly left before we were mistaken for hookers! Later that night, we read about the prostitution and HIV epidemic taking place in Bali at the moment - specifically, Kuta. Male and female prostitutes, alike, are targeting young foreign tourists in shops, bars, and on the beach. Men play surf instructor by day and work to pick up the young girls. Women set up in massage parlors and hostels waiting for a westerner to scoop them up. The lack of education for diseases has caused serious issues as these prostitutes are refusing to wear condoms, thus spreading HIV like wild fire!
Side note: are we were parusing the markets, we kept seeing these shirts with slogans about Ketut and Rhonda... things like Fuck Me Rhonda, Sorry Ketut I Fucked Rhonda, Rhonda is Mine... Of course, my mom's name is Rhonda, so I was curious. I asked several shop owners who is Rhonda, but no one knew. I later looked it up to find that Rhonda and Ketut were two characters from an insurance commercial which gained a lot of media due to the controversial relationship between Rhonda (an Aussie tourist in Bali) and Ketut (a Balinese prostitute, commonly called a Kuta Cowboys). Rhonda and Ketut have become the names and faces of sex tourism in Bali. Interesting, huh?
Anyway, next we are off to Ubud for a couple days for the "More than Eat, Pray, Love experience" (it is the film location).
Kuta is the popular tourist desitnation for Australian surfers. Based on our research and recommendations, Kuta would be great for shopping, restaurants and nightlife. Just as expected, our B&B was smack in the middle of the busiest street, lined with shops, cafes and bars. The beach was about half a mile walk, but was nothing to write home about... sandy beaches, lots of people (mostly Muslims in all of their clothing) and a few surfers playing in the water.
Once we were on the beach, we were harassed by surf instructors, and people trying to sell necklaces, ice cream, fruit and beer. Then, we were approached by a whole army of young teenage Muslims. At first, it seemed sweet. A couple of shy girls walked up to us and asked if they could take a photo with us, so we did (this is something that happens frequently in China, too). Then, another group, and another groups, until we were completely surrounded by teenagers taking photos with us - I now know what it feels like to be Justine Timberlake! After several minutes, we had to say no and run away from the beach. That evening, we met up with Justine and Natasha, co-workers who were also in Kuta for a couple days, for dinner and drinks before calling in an early night (I didn't get much sleep on our over night flight).
The next morning, we started our day with a 5K run on the beach, following by breakfast before returning to spend the afternoon on the beach. The rest of the day was lazy before going for India and meeting up with the girls, now joined by Nani (co-worker) and her friend Dave. We went to the Sky Garden Bar downtown that was advertising for one hour of free drinks. We met up with some people from Justine and Natasha's hostel and had a fantastic night of drinking and dancing! Eventually, the combination of Indian, fruit free drinks and a handful of shots was giving me a stomach ache, and after my fair share of dancing and sweating, Ayesha and I headed back to our B&B early!
Side note: are we were parusing the markets, we kept seeing these shirts with slogans about Ketut and Rhonda... things like Fuck Me Rhonda, Sorry Ketut I Fucked Rhonda, Rhonda is Mine... Of course, my mom's name is Rhonda, so I was curious. I asked several shop owners who is Rhonda, but no one knew. I later looked it up to find that Rhonda and Ketut were two characters from an insurance commercial which gained a lot of media due to the controversial relationship between Rhonda (an Aussie tourist in Bali) and Ketut (a Balinese prostitute, commonly called a Kuta Cowboys). Rhonda and Ketut have become the names and faces of sex tourism in Bali. Interesting, huh?
Anyway, next we are off to Ubud for a couple days for the "More than Eat, Pray, Love experience" (it is the film location).
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