UTI Fun in Bali

Bali Update:  An overshare about getting a UTI in Bali.  Not for the faint-hearted.   Listen in...Listen.

Why Worry

Hati- Hati: (be careful)

Are Balinese people just amazingly optimistic?  Is there an unspoken widespread death wish in the culture?  No one in Bali thinks that bad things can happen to them.  Judge for yourself:  motor cyclists driving the wrong way on 1-way streets, balconies have rails that are no higher than your knees, open manholes along the sidewalk, everywhere.  That is not exactly tourist friendly policy to encourage return travel.

We had a wonderful young man install Internet for us the other day. He shimmied along the edge of the tiled roof, barefooted, to place the radio receiver.   No helmet, gloves, ladder, or safety cable.  Later he spliced electrical wiring without bothering to turn off the power to the house.  He’s fine; I’m still taking deep breaths.

Ergonomics have not made much headway.  Local women carry cement and bricks on their head. Their shoulders are bigger than mine.   They carry loads that would give a buffalo a hernia.

Farmers and gardeners jab coconuts with 20 foot poles and hop out of the way as they crash down.  No protection.   Perhaps they need to genetically modify the trees to make soft coconuts in the interest of worker safety.

As beautiful as Bali can be, you have to be mindful.   Manholes, falling coconuts, and dare-devil drivers are reminders to stay in the moment.

P.S.  Since I’m not the most optimistic person, and do not have a death wish, we had the rail replaced in our house. I am not ready to be one with the universe.

How Much Language Can You Learn in 5 Weeks?

Murray and I started bahasa Indonesia lessons five weeks ago.  We had classes three times a week for four weeks, and now we have a month off to practice before we start our Beginner 2 class.  We are having so much fun, and so are the Balinese as they laugh at us and correct us, full of generosity an heart.

We had lunch this afternoon with two Balinese men, one in his early twenties and one in his early forties.  (If you need a great guide, we will connect you with Dewa.)
The younger man does not speak English very well, so Dewa, pronounced Daywah, helped keep us all connected.  There was much laughing and brain frying going on as we traded inside secrets to speaking like a local and like an American.  For example, we taught them how to say "sh" and how don't answer a "Why" question by saying, "Why I like to go to the beach is because..."  They helped me learn how to roll r's, and how not to use the word for no, tidok, unless there is really no hope.  If there is hope, we should say "belum," which means "not yet."  It's about optimism.

Our guru, teacher, Nyoman, sent me this email recently, and, the great news is we understood it!  We are so impressed with ourselves!
Here is the message:

Selamat malam Vicki, apa kabar? Bagaimana makan siang dan latihan bahasa Indonesianya? Maaf saya tidak bisa datang karena saya harus bekerja,, sampai jumpa dan salam untuk Murray, selamat malam :)

Vicki

What You Should Know if You are Coming to Bali

Coming to Bali Prep List

Passport

1. Make sure your passport is valid for a year beyond your return date. I learned this the hard way.
2. It’s a good idea to have a xerox copy of your passport somewhere separate from where your carrying your passport. If you lose your passport, you will be very happy to have this copy available.
3. You need to have a blank page in your passport for your immigration stamp. This blank page must be at the end of your other immigration stamps. In other words, it can’t be at the beginning or in the middle. Someone else learned this the hard way.

Shots

1. Make sure your tetanus shot is up-to-date.  Other than that, you don’t need any shots.

Transportation

1. Your hotel will pick you up at the airport for $25-30.  Or, we will arrange pickup for you.
2. If you want to rent a car or motorbike, you will need an International drivers license. Go to the AAA office fill out the form, pay your money, about $15.
3. Getting transportation is easy, whether on a motorbike or a van. Riding a motorbike has it’s hazards, but it’s adventurous, and lots of fun. Murray and I rent a motorbike and wear helmets. Even with lots of awareness, it is still a risky business.

Visa

1. You can buy a 30 day visa at the airport for $25 US you can renew this 30 day visa without reentering the country, but it’s very expensive to do so. If you’re planning on staying longer than 30 days, give me a call.
2. Leaving Bali:  HAVE 150,000 Rupiah per person for exit fee. 

Meds

1. If you are taking any medication, bring them with you. It would be a good idea to have a copy of the prescription with you to, just to be safe. 
2. Bring polysporin, insect repellent, broad spectrum sun screen, foot fungus powder, Imodium, something for stomach upset, Band-Aids, cortisone cream, supplements, and any special items you use occasionally such as hemorrhoid cream.

Toilets (Kamar kacil)

Generally, the more you pay for food or massage, the better the bathroom.  It’s a good idea to carry tissue and hand sanitizer with you just in case.  Some toilets have a scoop in a water bucket and you are supposed to pour water down the toilet after you do your business.  Some toilets have a handy, not as much fun as a bidet but fun nevertheless, hand held nozzle to spray your who-who.  (That would be huhu in bahasa Indonesian.) Some toilets are the hole in the floor variety, and, if you can see, it’s not a big problem to put each foot on the side of the toilet, squat, point yourself in the right direction and let go.  These toilets never have paper and sometimes don’t even have the friendly huhu sprayer.  Use your left hand adn then get the hell out of there. 

Clothes

 1.  It’s a good idea to have rain clothes, but you can buy then here very cheap. You can get umbrellas,  vinyl ponchos, rain jackets, rain pants–all for $3-4  apiece.

2.  The temperature varies from about 77° to 88°. It is humid.  I suggest you bring lightweight summer clothes that dry easily. You can get lots of great clothes in the market, but come with at least a weeks clothing so you don’t have to rush to buy things.

1. When entering temples you will need a sarong and a sash, and you can buy them here easily. Often your driver, or the temple has loaners for you.

Shoes

1. You will be taking your shoes on and off a lot, so bring shoes that make that easy. My crocs served me well as they are easy to slip on and off and it doesn’t matter if they get wet. 
2. You’ll feel cooler without socks.

Money

1. The airport usually is not the best rate change , but you want some money for the driver, tips, etc. ,$30-50 or so.  US banks can get you Rupiah with a few days notice.  Saves you having to endure an extra line at the airport. Change rates on the weekend are lower.
2. Bring new $100 bills to get the best exchange rate. Bring money in cash, and then store it in a safe box.. All hotels will have a safe box for you to put your passport in extra money in.  If you pay with Visa, you will pay 2 or 3% extra plus whatever your bank charges you for international charges.  Capital One Venture Card has no charge for international charges.  You can get this online.

1. Rupees look-alike. I separate my hundreds and 50s from my smaller change. It’s a good idea to have small change because many of the taxi drivers don’t have any change. If you only have a 50,000 rupiah note they will happily take it all, even if the fares only 30,000 rupiah.
2. The exchange rate used to be 10,000 rupiah for a dollar, but it has fallen. If you can get anything close to 9, grab it.
3. Make sure your bank knows where you are, so they don’t’ cancel your credit card.  It would be a good idea to have two different credit cards to make sure one works.  Again, learned the hard way.

 Internet and Phone

1. If you’re going to be here very long at all, I suggest you buy a phone. It only costs about $30-$40. You can use your phone to call internationally, and people can use Skype to call your phone directly from anywhere. It’s great for communicating among your friends in Bali.

2. Internet service is free in many coffee shops and at Melati Cottages where we live. It is not as reliable as it is in the United States.

1. Skype. When Skype works, which is most of the time, it is really great. Skype is unreliable, though, so that’s why having a phone is back up is a good idea.
2. Internet Highway is one Internet place that we know of in town that has the bandwidth strong enough to download audio books and upload movies to YouTube. It charges per hour.

Bargaining

1. The stores with glass and air-conditioning sometimes have fixed prices and are more expensive, but usually you can bargain. If they say it’s 100,000 rupiah, offer 40,000. They expected, and they lie. We found out in our language class that the merchants have a special God that gives them permission to lie. It’s a game; it’s fun. If you really want to see what the lowest prices, start walking out the door. Ask them for their best price. Never tell them you just got to Bali. If they know you are fresh meat, well, you are fresh meat.

Food

1.  You can get almost any kind of food here you would like. Indonesian food is delicious. Some of it can be spicy.. You can trust all the local restaurants to serve you clean water. If you’re sensitive to MSG, you better ask about it. Do not buy any food from the food carts as they may have added plastic to the food to make it crunchy. Really.

1. Water. Do not drink water out of the faucet. Do not rinse your toothbrush under the faucet. We buy our water in 5 gallon jugs, and you can fill up at our house. You’ll get by with 2 liter bottles.
2. You might want to eat food your stomach recognizes for the first few days to give your system time to adjust.  Bali Belly(the local version of gastroenteritis, or traveler’s diarrhea) is common, but temporary. 

What NOT to Bring

1.  Too much stuff.  Check to see how much weight your airlines will allow you per bag.  On Eva Airlines it is 50 pounds per bag.  Leave some room to buy all the gorgeous bead work, hand-painted sarongs, wood carvings, paintings and such you will want to take home with you.

A Closer Look: Photos

Murray has ten photos for your perusal.  I've asked him to take some shots of Trouble in Paradise or the trash, the Holes of Death on the sidewalks, the begging mothers with their small children or babies, dan lein lein.  (ETC.. in bahasa Indonesia.)

http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/creativeapps/slideShow/Main.jsp?sourceId=533754321803&cm_mmc=Share-_-Personal-_-Email-_-Sharee-_-Images&_requestid=395456

Enjoy!

Do you want a large water or do you want to poop?

Murray and I are taking language lessons and we learned something very important yesterday.  If you order "a large water", you will be saying you have to poop.  If you want to order a large bottle of water without betraying the status of your intestines, you say, water that is large.

The reverse word order is the key; a small difference that could determine your relationship with the waitress and any Balinese who can overhear you. But then, I believe that a good blooper is healthy for all. 

In case you are wondering, we asked if there were a Balinese equivalent of "overshare" or "TMI."  There isn't.

Actually, the Balinese are quite willing to help us learn the language. And they don't refrain from laughing at us as they teach us.  It is such a sweet laugh that we don't mind.  I may just tell the staff here at Melati cottages, where we are well-known and, dare I say loved, that I want to poop just to see what happens.

He who laughs last, poops or drinks water. And he who laughs, lasts.

Massages in Bali: From Ahhhhh to Yikes!

Massages in Bali: From Ahhhhh to Yikes!

Honestly, if he had pressed any harder, he would have been doing surgery.   It was so good when it was OVER.

Bali Travel Hint 404.2: Toilets

Toilets (Kamar kacil)

Generally, the more you pay for food or massage, the better the bathroom. But it’s a good idea to carry tissue and hand sanitizer with you just in case.  Some toilets have a scoop in a water bucket and you are supposed to pour water down the toilet after you do your business.  Some toilets have a hand held spray nozzle to spray your hoo-hoo; not as much fun as a bidet, but so refreshing. (That would be huhu in bahasa Indonesian.)
Some toilets are the hole in the floor variety.  If you can see, it’s not a big problem to put each foot on the side of the toilet, squat, point yourself in the right direction and let go. And no, there are no shoe covers. You take your chances. That gives me a product idea...  These toilets never have paper and don’t even have the friendly huhu sprayer.  Use your left hand, and then get the hell out of there. 

Why Bali?

This is the link to my website:  Outrageous Visions: See Who You Are Meant to Be  The page you will find yourself on has movies I made about the Balinese New Year, a walk on a path, and the story of why Bali has drawn me and millions of others to her.

Let me know what you think.

Vicki