Hello, Bali! (move over, Dolly)

Lunch at Four Seasons Ubud

I departed a frigid Beijing at 2:50 am and landed in Singapore six hours later, greeted by my dear cousin, her husband, and a splendid 94°F. It turns out that Singapore is probably the most beautiful city in the world. My hosts informed me on the drive home from the airport that over $30 million was spent lining the airport expressway with lush vegetation and massive pots overflowing with sensational tropical flowers to give visitors a mind blowing first impression of the small city-state. Rain trees, fan palms, mahogany trees, fruit trees, vines, bougainvillea, and much, much more. There was not a speck of trash anywhere.  It was absolutely unreal. I can only compare it to a video game or a movie in the sense that it seemed just too good to be true…but it was real. 

My stay in Singapore was brief since I was heading to Bali the following morning. I was exhausted from the overhaul of work prior to leaving Beijing, and therefore enjoyed relaxing in my cousin's outdoor great room sipping Tiger Beer and basking in the warm, tropical breeze. My godfather had flown into Singapore the day before from the US, and we had planned to meet at the airport in the morning. I arrived in plenty of time and checked-in for my flight hassle free. All was swell until some unexpected passport issues with my godfather meant he would be spending his day resolving them at the US Embassy. I made the trip by myself, and he joined me the following evening after quite an experience that left a seasoned international traveler such as him floored. That's a whole other story. 

Bali was exceptionally beautiful and quite different from other tropical places I have visited. A strap on the $7 backpack I bought in the Harbin Railway Station had broken so I asked the driver to stop at every sports equipment store we passed with no luck finding a replacement. Peering out the windows along the drive, I was unsurprised to see trash littered everywhere from the sides of the road to the creeks and rivers. It was a far cry from Singapore, and certainly worse than I expected to see. When I reached Sanur on the east coast, the smorgasbord of high-end resorts left no room for any authentic culture, though at least by now the trashy landscape had given way to more tropical forests. At the main gate of the Bali Hyatt our van was stopped for inspection. I didn't realize at the time that all the resorts have very heavy security following terrorist attacks on the island in 2002 and 2005 that killed 202 and 20 people respectively. 

I spent the first few days getting my scuba certification. Beginning in a resort swimming pool, I "graduated" in Tulamben on the north shore of Bali and dived the USAT Liberty wreck. The ship was initially built as an animal carrier in WWI and later outfitted as a cargo transporter in WWII. She was struck by a Japanese torpedo in 1942, but managed to beach itself on the coast after a towing attempt to reach Singaraja failed. In 1963, vibrations from a volcanic eruption pushed the ship off the beach and it sank in the deep water just off shore. Today, a vast diversity of marine life call it home, some being the biggest fish I have ever seen. I dived 2 times on the wreck and 2 times nearby in the coral garden. The wreck was much more fun; it is considered the 2nd best wreck dive in the world. Since both sites are just off the beach, we only needed to walk into the surf, however, the beach was rocky and proved very uncomfortable on our feet. Local women carried our equipment for us, and to my amazement, they carried the tanks on their heads! 

After getting my diver certification, we hopped on a boat and traveled to the neighboring island of Lombok. The ride lasted two hours and stopped in the Gili Islands first, but not before offering fantastic views of Mt. Agung. Patricia Schultz's bestselling book, "1,000 Places To See Before You Die," guided us to the luxurious Oberoi Hotel secluded on a quiet beach. Since we were there during the low season, the hotel upgraded us to a villa that came with its own walled off garden, outdoor dining cabana, and spa tub. To keep it short: I could have spent the rest of life there. 

Lombok is untouched and beautiful, and in my opinion, what people probably expect Bali to be, minus the temples. Unlike Bali, Lombok's population (along with the rest of Indonesia) is predominately Muslim, and there are mosques everywhere. Similar to driving through the Bible Belt but seeing mosques instead of churches. We spent most of our time relaxing on the beach, but one day hired a driver and guide to tour the island. We stopped at a local open-air market that should be renamed "eye-opening" considering the assortment of live poultry, vegetables, and meats sitting in the hot sun. There was zero sanitation and the smell was horrendous, but the people carried on unstirred. We continued on to a jungle and trekked a few hours to a hidden waterfall with pool at the base. Thankfully I didn't see any snakes.  

After four nights in Lombok, we took a 20 minute flight back to Bali. First we stayed in Kuta on the west side of the island and then headed north to Ubud, the old capital located in the mountains. Ubud was peaceful but by now the Chinese tourists had flocked here after the Chinese New Year festivities..and they came in droves. We were sitting by a small river eating lunch, noticing that one by one, rafts holding 10 people each kept flowing by - all Chinese (I recognized the language). Bali has been a great destination for mainlanders because of the visa on arrival in Indonesia. Despite the crowds we enjoyed strolling through the old streets marveling at several temples and slightly more authentic culture. Best of all, we walked into the Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary where literally thousands of monkeys wander about, stealing whatever they can from the tourists - mainly shiny things and all matters food. My godfather got chased by a few of them, and all I could do was laugh and think of the sweet revenge my mother had been served (a family story involving a bee). 

Balinese have dirty thoughts

I must say that after my experience I felt Bali was not the paradise everyone thinks it to be. The beaches were littered with trash and every 100 feet was another big resort. The food was delicious, but the water is so unclean that Montezuma certainly got revenge on us - I think I lost 12 lbs.  Nothing could get rid of it. Despite this, I would like to have another go at Bali to explore more temples and the rain forests, and of course divulge in more scuba diving.