Tropical Heat Tour: Bali Part 18
Friday, July 20, 2012
Lovina, Bali, Indonesia
I woke up early this morning feeling as bad as I did yesterday, so I took some ibuprofen with my breakfast, then donned a helmet and climbed on the back of a motorcycle bound for Sawan, a town about 15 miles away where gamelan instruments are made. A local motorcycle transport guy offered to ride me up there for $20, but, my hip joints flared up–which is bizarre because that’s never happened before–and I had to abandon ship after one block. Back at the hotel, after a lot of deliberation between myself, the hotel owner and various drivers–they wanted $25 to drive me up there in a car–I decided I just couldn’t afford it and I’d try to catch a bemo (tiny van) tomorrow.
Since I had already slathered on a bunch of sunblock, I took a short walk around the immediate neighborhood, down some back alleys with really scenic beach huts and small family compounds, most of which were, unfortunately, covered with garbage. The worst is when you see streams and rivers in that condition. It looks so awful! I stopped to take a photo of some ladies selling fish on the side of the road, then swung around and dropped my camera for the second time! But this time, the lens was open! Ugh. Luckily, I don’t think it got scratched. So, I guess that’s mini-disaster number five.
Covered with sweat, I made my way to the Rasta Cafe right on the beach and had a plate of veggies and rice, then, in a state of dazed fatigue, took short naps on and off all day. After dinner, I was pleased to chat for an hour or two with a fellow American traveler, a rare breed down in these parts, as most of the tourists I ever meet or overhear are German, French or British. His name is Jason, a really nice guy from Arkansas who exports textiles and gemstones to the U.S. After talking about such diverse topics ranging from traveling Southeast Asia to the weirdness of Florida, we finally headed to our rooms to get some shut eye around 10:00 pm.
Roll over photos for captions.
Words and photos ©2012 Arcane Candy.
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