Panas Manis

Panas Manis (Indonesian for Hot Sweet) is the best way to describe my last 10 days in Indonesia on Bali with my first visitor Shaun a.k.a Bintang Boombada! After 2 1/2 weeks in the more remote parts of Indonesia his visit and our journey through Bali was a real breadth of fresh air!

The plan was to rent a motorcycle (I now had my own personal ojek driver) and explore the island. In 10 days we managed to check out the southwest, northern, and eastern coasts of bali and get some culture inland while visiting Bali's art capital of Ubud.

In Kuta where you sometimes think you've seen more tourists then locals all day you're bombarded with dvds, cds, sunglasses, sarongs, the mentionables and the unmentionables can be bought here. This is the best place to shop price wise so it’s wise to look around first hone up on those bargaining skills and go to town on your last day

As you approach Ubud, which is about a 1.5 hour drive north of kuta the air changes. It gets a bit cooler and the hustle and bustle seems to quiet down. Here the streets are filled with boutiques and art shops some ranging from little holes in the walls to others that would seem right at home on West Broadway in Soho. We stayed at a great little homestay tucked behind the streets in a little alley. In Ubud is where we hired a motorcycle for 5 days. It’s also where we got to see the traditional Balinese Kecek Dance which tells the story of Sita and Rawan.

After Ubud we planned to head north through the western mountains up to Lovina/Singaraja then along the coast down to the eastern port of Padang Bai. All i can say is that i'm so glad that Shaun was there. If it were not for him I would not have gotten to see half as much or enjoyed myself as much as I did. His company and presence is what really made Bali special. Our way of traveling together really seemed to work for us. Its a word I seem to use often when describing Shaun but it fits - effortless, pure and simple. We’d agree on a destination and then just drive in what we thought was the right direction. Between the street signs, our little handy dandy map, and the kindness of strangers we had the luxury of heading down dirt roads making wrong turns and coming across beautiful views, hidden temples and some very interesting and friendly locals. One of my favorite moments was on our drive down to Padang Bai where we passed hundreds of school kids on their way home. For a good 15-20 minutes all we could hear was 'HALO! HALO! HALO!' and see these massive grins with arms frantically waving. I’m sure we looked a bit crazy trying to answer and wave back to each and every one of them.

Of course one of the other things that made me smile was the food. It seems like all we did was eat. Breakfast almost always was free and at times included eggs, toast, fruit pancakes, fruit salad, and fresh fruit juice. That in itself was amazing! I think i must have gone through at least 2 mango lassis a day. Along with the typical lunch fare of fried rice and noodles we came across some great regional dishes such as Ayam Bebetu (slow roasted Chicken) and Randang Sapi (Beef in a dry curry of ginger/garlic/shredded coconut). And then there was the mid-day satays, late afternoon spring rolls, and evening orange fantas ...mmmm...orange fanta in a glass bottle

Just to give you an idea of what the prices are like:
soda - 25 to 75 cents
fried rice - 60 cents to a dollar
imported Australian steak - 6-8 bucks
whole red snapper in garlic/sambal bali sauce - 4-7 dollars
double room with AC/hot shower/pool - $7 per person per night (that’s living it up!)
fresh mango juice - 30-50 cents

Throw in the mix some serious shopping, surfing lessons, a vicious boogey board, and some sunburn and you've got our Bali.