Day 20 1/27/10

Slept great. Woke up and talked to Travis on the Internet before breakfast. Went down to the beach then back to the pool, then had to pack my things. When I started to get my act together some guy that I had asked about a price to the airport showed up at my door asking when i wanted to leave. I then had a back and forth about how his priced was too high. He made it seem like I made an agreement with him. It pissed me off that I constantly feel bad for not just giving people money. I got all packed up while waiting Juno. Then the cab that I actually ordered showed up. The drive went by quick and quite, which is fine by me. When we arrived I asked what the total was for the ride. He said it was 100,000 Rph. I had already seen the meter which read 60,000 rph. So I told him that the meter says 60,000 Rph. He tells me that He will give me a special price of 60,000 Rph. I give him a pissed off face and give him the 60,000 Rph. A couple jumped into the cab while I was paying him so I told them to watch the meter. Its just exhausting trying to relax when everyone is ripping you off. I was pretty freaked out about getting on the plane. The gate number that was printed on the ticket was wrong, by the time I figured it out the plane was about to take off. The flight was pretty smooth back to Jakarta. I grabbed my luggage and headed out to grab a taxi. Everyone was yelling Blue bird when it was obvious they were working for another company. I ignored the 100 people looking to scam me and headed straight for the blue bird taxi. Got in one and headed to a hotel that is cheap and close. The room is pretty run down but its to be expected. Got some dinner then hit the sack.

Day 19 1/26/10

Woke up a little later today. Slept super great. Probably from the bintang. The power came back on at about 11:30pm which was a great feeling considering I didn't have a ceiling fan and I am in the tropics. I just laid in bed for about an hour as I realized that it was my last day in Bali. Its a little odd but I think 3 weeks was as long as you would need for this place. There is only so many beach town you can go to with the same hawkers trying to sell the same bracelets. So I got some coffee and breakfast after that I kinda just laid around before i headed down to the beach. Its a fantastic swimming beach because it is surrounded by reef protecting it from the waves. I spent a few hours chilling out and rejecting hawkers. I did buy a bracelet from some guy who wouldn't leave me alone. It was a buck so it wasn't that much of a loss. Had a good Lunch for about a buck. Went back to the hotel to swim at the pool and take a nap. After that I just lazed around for the rest of the night.

Day 18 1/25/10

Woke up with the same dream that I can't seem to get back to sleep after. So I was up early again. Went and had the breakfast that was free with the room. Decided to not waste all of today on my new found fascination of TV. The beach is pretty great, a bunch of docked boats on the teal ocean. White sand is perfect along with the 80 degree water. I laid out for a while while I read. At lunch I ate at a nice restaurant on the beach. Went back and swam in the pool for a bit then watched some TV. Next I hit the town to kill some time. When I got back i chatted with an English girl for a bit. It was nice listening to someone speaking English that I could understand. We talked for a while then the lights cut out, she went to bed and I stayed up writing and enjoying the bintang.

Day 17 1/24/10

Woke up ready to leave this morning in some what of a bad mood. I keep having a annoying dream. I was wide awake at 6am so i started packing. I'm all ready to go at about 7am but I don't leave until about 10am so i decide to get some coffee. the creepy guy I was talking to all week popped out of his door to engage me in his awkward style of talking. So I play along for a while then tell him I'm gonna get some breakfast. He asked if he can come along so I say sure and we head for the restaurant I have been eating at for a few days now. I ended up talking a bunch and he listened and answered some questions when I would ask. After breakfast I told him I would see him back at the hotel because I had to check the Internet for a bit. around 930am I headed back to the hotel to catch the taxi to Sanur, Bali. I'm kinda tired of talking to taxi drivers about the same things so I pretty much stayed quite. About an hour later i made it to Sanur. Its just another beach town but its nice enough. The place I wanted to stay at is full so I had to go to a more expensive hotel. Its about $35 a night, but I only have 3 more nights so I'm willing to pay it. Its nice to watch a bit of TV and have a pool. I walked to the beach and hung out at the pool for a while then pretty much watched TV and napped away the rest of the day.

Day 16 1/23/10

I was able to sleep much better then last night which put me in a much better mood. Got on the scooter and headed to get some crappy french toast and iced coffee. The sun is so intense today. I feel it burning my face every time I peak my head out. Decided to go to the big temple that is close to my hotel. I wasn't expecting much which was probably a good thing, because I was pretty impressed with what i found. It was perched at the edge of the cliff and made for some amazing pictures. There were a bunch of monkeys trying to get some food out of the peoples. I don't know where some of these tourist come from. They are not staying or eating or eating anywhere I am, but as soon as i show up at the biggest tourist attractions I am surrounded by them. So loud and out of place, coated with white sun screen. Its pretty interesting watching them walk from photo-op to photo op taking the same pictures with the same pose. I don't understand it but I'm not as upset as I was the first week I was here. I was only there for about 45min. The sun was too hot to stay in it. I started driving down a few road I haven't driven down before and relaxed I had driven in a giant loop. So I headed back to the hotel to lay down a bit. Ended up having dinner and watching a movie at a warang which was a nice change of pace.

Day 15 1/22/10

Slept terrible last night. The room is so hot and I kept freaking out about the giant spider I saw but couldn't get to it before it took off. Started thinking about getting back home to sleep in my bed and bundling up because its so cold. Went to find a place fro breakfast which is difficult this time of the year in ulu Watu. It was really good and about $2. Then I headed to town about 15 minutes away to find a bank where i could get a bit more cash for the rest of the trip. i grabbed 1.25 million Rph which is about $150. That should get me home. I think I did fairly well considering I had to buy an extra plane ticket to Bali. So I think the total cost is about $1300 for the entire three weeks. I headed to the beach to check out the surf and swim. The sand was white and the water was fairly clean. Got a pretty good sunburn on my chest and face. Went back to the hotel to grab my camera and head to ulu watu beach. I sat in the same place i did the day before and started reading. A few minutes later the finish girls I met at the Gili's showed up. It was so strange. They just happened to drive from kuta beach for the day and I just happened to be in that one restaurant. It was kinda nice talking with people that I half know. Since I did half know them i decided to take pictures of there eyes and a few other peoples that were willing to go along with it. A couple hours later they decided to head back to kuta, Leaving me to finish the repetitive Henry Rollins book. I'm glad I finished it because it was driving me crazy to read on and on about his life. I listed to all of his spoken word and thought it was great but that book was ridiculously repetitive. But unfortunately I'm out of books. On the way home from the beach I grabbed some cup-o-noodle and some chips and beer for dinner. I'm getting tired of throwing money away at restaurants. i never eat out at home so it just seems wasteful for some reason. Saw the sunset and it was absolutely fascinating. Blood red through the clouds. now I'm sitting on the porch listening to some music drinking another bintang dreading falling asleep in this blood stained place.

Day 14 1/21/10

I feel like I have been here much longer then 14 days. Its no longer foreign or frightening. Woke up to some guy yelling "you will always **** me!" I opened the door and stepped out to hear what was going on but I think I scared him off. Had a hard time getting back to sleep after that, trying to think what that idiot was trying to convey. Not sure if I would have yelled at the guy to shut up. Is it really worth it to get shanked for some dumb chick that is stupid enough to get involved with a roided up freak? Eventually got back to sleep and was out until 930am. I had to be out of there by 11am so I packed my things and headed out for breakfast. Brought my own instead coffee and gave it to the women to make for me. the coffee at the hotel restaurant is such a shot in the dark I was tired o pulling the trigger. Gobbled down the food and jumped on the scooter to send off a couple emails. I ran into the awesome coffee place to grab a great coffee before I headed to Ulu Watu. I know the place is pretty bare bones and I wont have the luxuries I have in Ubud. I enjoyed the iced coffee while I read the depressing news paper about the giant earthquake in Haiti. Sounds like its pretty big news. I jumped in the van with the driver and headed out to Ulu Watu. The drive was a pretty good time. I try to ask odd ball questions to mix it up a bit. Turns out the guy spends $7 a month for a his cell phone. When I told him I spend $90 he almost crapped a brick. Found a hotel for $12 a night and a scooter for $4 a day.. So I jumped on the scooter to find out the town pretty much shuts down in the rainy season. only a few restaurants open before 4pm. Looks like I am going to be eating some Cup-O-Noodle for a while. I found a beach area where the surfing is pretty amazing. The walk down to the surf is pretty exciting. The cliff is essentially covered in shops and restaurants for all the surfers getting in and out of the water. I finally made it to the surf entry point to take a look and its pretty hairy. I found a nice little restaurant that had dug itself into the cliff side. I had a milkshake and started reading when the hawkers crept out of the cliff to offer me an amazing amount of garbage i would never want including 20 minute massage from a toothless smiling women. She just started rubbing my shoulders.I told her no thank you about 30 times before she gave up on me. They came in and out every 15 minutes until the sun started going down. After the sunset I went to the mini store for a beer and some noodles then back to my room, where i spoke to this Japanese man that lived in LA. He kinda looked like someone you might pop up on an amber alert or a newscast warning people about a new serial killer. It was so awkward I cant stand talking to him. I was reading on the porch and he approached me for a little chat. after i rambled on for minutes I purposely waited for him to respond with something, just to hear what would come out of his mouth. An amazing amount of time went by before he could say something. he is a nice enough guy but I had to see what I was dealing with. I usually am a bit more easy going when it comes to peoples awkwardness but this place is making me bitter i think. The constant rejecting of people selling me things makes me have less feeling for people who need sympathy. I cant say its a good things but it is what it is.