India to Indonesia via Singapore

- Our final leg home -

In Em's last post she said we might have been the only people not to get a stomach bug in India. Maybe that is true - we didn't get upset tummys - but by the time we left India I was suffering a sickness of another kind. We discovered when we arrived in Singapore that I had contracted a Denghi Fever type of virus during the three day wedding, which knocked me around like an angry bull in a rodeo. During the wedding I was feeling pretty fluey, as was Em, but by the time we left Baroda to get to Mumbai I was convinced it was more than a flu for me. Em was convinced that I was being my usual hypochondriac self and was really fine. This was until our flight from India to Bali. We flew out of Mumbai to Chennai then on to Singapore for 8 hours and then we were supposed to continue on to Bali. While waiting for our flight from Chennai to Singapore my body exploded in a wild fire like rash from head to toe. There was not much I could do about it so we took our flight to Singapore. There the rash seemed to have died down but a fever soon replaced it. I tried to sleep in a few different spots around the airport but couldn't get comfortable and then my breathing started to go on me. By now Em was thinking that maybe there was something a bit more wrong with me then just a flu so we went to the airport doctor. He took my temperature, looked at me and said that to fly in my state could be fatal. So instead of catching our next flight to laze about on the beaches of Bali, Em and I caught an ambulance to the Raffles hospital in Singapore. Now this - like the name would suggest- was no run of the mill hospital. It's owned by the Raffles Group, which owns the famous hotel, and was probably the nicest place we stayed during our whole trip! Once I was hooked up to the drip and had my mask on to breathe it was time to sit back, relax, and play with the hi-tech electric bed. Bed goes up, bed goes down, bed goes up.......and so on. You know how it is - the simple things and all that. After a week in there suffering from blood poisoning, and the denghi type thing, I was told I was able to fly again. Wicked. We checked out of there, said goodbye to all the great nursing staff and the doc and went looking for a cheap backpacker style place to stay. Our mate Grant who has been living there for years took us out and showed us around and made sure we were looked after properly. Great guy. Then before we knew, it was time to get back on schedule and head for Bali.

Bali.....well Kuta actually, was a bit of shock at first after seeing the rest of S.E. Asia. It was so not like Asia to me. More like one big shopping mall spread out over many kilometers. But as we did many times before we met some great people and soon found our groove with the place. Kuta takes some getting used to if you have just come from India or anywhere else that's so poverty stricken. Everywhere you look it's designer boutiques, 5 star hotels and extra trendy cafes and bars. It was a real culture shock at first. However Kuta is only a small part of Bali as we found out. In Kuta we would spend our mornings around the pool then go for a motorbike ride and go shopping. Then at 5:30 we would head down with our mates to the beach to get a cold Bin Tang and watch the sunset at one of the many beach bars (guys with big eskys full of beer and fold-up chairs). It didn't really take us to long to get used to the place. The funniest thing about Kuta is hearing Aussie accents agian. They are everywhere. It's a pretty wierd thing hearing your native accent after going without it for so long. Very amusing. Everyone there sounds like they have just walked off the set of Kath and Kim.

The main beach at Kuta

Sunset at the beach

Bol won the drinking competition at this bar ... surprise, surprise!

After seeing much of what Kuta had to offer we decided to ride up to the hills of Bali to the artists town of Ubud. The two hour ride to Ubud was great. Riding on the highways with packs of locals on their bikes. Trying to get to the front of the pack got the adrenalin going - a lot of fun if you are up for it. Once off the highways the gently sloping winding roads take you up to the greener lusher parts of the island until you hit Ubud. Ubud has a really laid back, alternative feel to it. Very relaxing with no hassles. It's a great place to go and chill for a while. We arrived mid arvo and spent literally hours looking at different hotels and bungalows until we found a place that was absolutly perfect for us. For about $12 a night we had ourself a two story bungalow with all the trimmings. Downstairs was an elevated lounge area, a groundfloor dining area with our own fridge, (very handy) and a tropical graden style open air bathroom complete with bath and HOT WATER!!!!! Now you might think that hot water isn't that special but when you have been having cold showers for the past 3-4 months, trust me, having a nice warm open air bath on a rainy asian day is one of the most luxurious things a traveller can do. Anyway - to finish off the tour of our "home" in Ubud, we head upstairs, where we had our private balcony complete with comfy lounges which were great for reading a good book or just to do a bit of daydreaming. Inside was our bedroom which had a hand carved four post bed and even a proper writing desk complete with lamp. To top it all off, for $12 a day (between us) we even got breakfast poolside every morning. You can't beat that!

Our bungalow
Around Ubud

During our time in Ubud and surrounds we would spend our days riding the motorbike, looking at all the local art and furniture stores or just seeing where the particular road we would be on at the time would take us. We had heard about a big active volcano which was not too far from Ubud - no more than an hour ride away. So one morning we decided to go and have a look. It was such a great ride, up the winding roads through the forests and bushlands until we encountered a police roadblock. "They won't stop us", I thought naively - "we are just backpackers". Yeah right. "Pull over sir" - said the smilling officer. There was something about his smile to this day that I still don't like. "Where are you from?" blah ... blah ... blah ... "Bike rego, licence and passport please". So I handed over my doccuments. He noticed that my licence didn't have the stamp for motorbikes but I argued that we weren't really riding a motorbike but rather a scooter. "Yes but it has gears and is 125cc's blah blah blah". By this time I was thinking that we might be in a bit trouble as he explained that he could confiscate the bike for 5 days, fine me a few hundred dollars payable at the nearest bank straight away and end up having to go to court. Then he asked me what I wanted to do about it. Strange thing to ask. But my reply was that I'd like to get on the bike with Em and keep on riding. Well - he said that can't happen so what do I really want to do about. I wasn't sure so asked him what he wanted me to do about it and his repy was: "It's up to you, what do you want to do about it?" The conversation was going in circles and getting us nowwhere and he never once broke that disturbing smile either. After 5 or so minutes of this backwards / forwards conversation Em stepped up and asked him if he wanted money? I was shocked as I was trying to delicately get around to the same question but in a more subtle way. I certainly wasn't going to just asked him out right "Hey mate do you want a bribe?" I was sure he would turn on us for trying to buy him off. However, his reply was "Well you could give me a present!" I aked if 50000 rupiah (about 6 Aussie dollars) was a good "present". He frowned at me and told me it was up to me but he didn't look too happy about it. So I pulled out another 40000 rupiah - handed it all to him (in all about $10 which is a lot of money over there) and his eyes nearly popped out of his head. "OK" - he said - "this is good ... now be on your way and enjoy your day ... oh and don't worry, there won't be any more police around. I am the main police officer for this region, you'll be fine enjoy yourself."

The volcano

Yeah right. As soon as we reached the volcano there were more police checkpoints. But with these ones we didn't stop or even look at them. We just gave it full throttle and sped on past. Upon getting back to Ubud I found out that 20000 was the standard tourist bribe and that it happens all the time. Well at least he would have had a good night out on our naiveity.

We spent about five nights in Ubud in total and really got a feel for the place but it was time to return to the bright lights and sunset beers of Kuta. Most of our mates in Kuta were surfers so we would follow them out to some of the lesser known surf beaches like Uluwatu, and Impossible Beach, and swim the reefs or bodysurf the smaller breaks while they surfed the big waves. These untouristy places really capture the imagination and the hearts of travellers who go there and show a quieter and gentler side to Bali.

Uluwatu

In all Bali was a cool place to go to. It is diverse, the people are beautiful and friendly and there is something for everyone. It is also very easy on the budget.

Bali was our final overseas destination and we left there feeling excited to be going home and to see everyone who we hadn't seen for so long, but also we felt sad. Sad that the trip was over and that we were going back to reality and routines. Sad that now all that would be left of our 22 month trip would be memories. Sad that it would be such a long time until we see all the people and places that we came to love so much along the way.

If you ever get the chance to travel and see so many different cultures, people and places - then do it. Don't let it pass you by. Travelling has no age, sex or racial limitations. So go on, put your pack on your back and get out there.

After 33 flights and 22 countries - look out Adelaide.

Balazs Varga and Emma Graham are back.