A big day at Ubud Palace -
people bring in offerings for the gods; it's amazing to see these women walking, balancing and carrying heavy loads on their heads. Wow, no hands!
Introduction
I left San Francisco six months ago and returned to Taipei. My love and hate relationship with Taiwan takes me away from this place once was called Formosa and then it brings me back. Anyhow, I like traveling. It is a good way to free your mind. The best thing about it is that it allows you to see how other people on earth lead their lives even though we all look at the same sun and moon everyday.
As soon as the summer starts, I have been dying to get off this island for some cooler air. I feel like I’m sort of losing it in the midst of summer heat in Taiwan and everything else. The heat is making it impossible to leave the indoors where A/C is blasting like a storm.
My sister has some airline mileages good for a roundtrip ticket within Asia that is going to expire in August. My possible destinations are either Bangkok or Bali. Then I remember that some friends have been talking about getting a group of friends to travel to Thailand later this year. Therefore, Bali it is!
Finding a place to stay in Bali
Now that I have a free plane ticket to Bali, I just need to find myself a place to stay. I’ve heard good things about Hard Rock Bali and a friend recommended it after spending 3 days & 2 nights there. I sent an Email to inquire availability and pricing. A reply bounced back quickly. It seems expensive to me. With my current financial state, I cannot afford to stay at Hard Rock Bali.
I don’t have a specific budget for accommodations. However, I am not making the kind of money I used to. Since the airfare is complimentary, it’s best to be frugal.
Then Club Med comes to mind. I still remember my first time in Bali. It was the summer of 2000 and I spent the entire time – five days & four nights at Club Med Bali. If you’ve been to any Club Med, you’ll understand why I remained inside the village. That’s beside the point. Needless to say, I didn’t see much of Bali except for Denpasar airport, Club Med Bali and the beach / oceanfront adjacent to Club Med. Therefore, despite how much I would love to revisit Club Med Bali, it’s not an option this time. My mission for this trip is to explore the island and see for myself why Bali has always been a popular destination for tourists worldwide.
And the search continues. It can’t be too difficult to ‘google’ a safe and affordable hotel in Bali. Somehow, I came across this place in Ubud called Matahari Cottage Bed & Breakfast. From the website, I discovered that this place has six different themed bungalows. Each has a unique name and they look quite beautiful. That’s not it. The room rate even includes breakfast and afternoon tea. What a good deal! There’s a $5 difference between single and double occupancy. I’m glad that I won’t have to pay for double, as most hotels will charge for a double occupancy no matter what.
A series of Email correspondences began between the co-owner of Matahari Cottage, Sean and I. My reservation is for two different bungalows - Indian Pasha and Batavia Princess. I also asked for an airport pick-up. Ubud is a cultural town in Bali and there is no nightlife. Sean recommended an in-room massage for the 1st night upon arrival. The idea of pampering is fabulous.
Upon Arrival
Five hours is all it takes to fly from Taipei to Bali. Prior to my departure, Sean has advised me to prepare $25 in exact amount for visa processing at the airport. Four years ago, there was no such a thing. Passengers arrived, picked up luggage, and off they went. Starting about a year ago, the Indonesian government requires all foreigners to pay a fee when they enter Bali - $10 will get you a 3-day visa and $25 will allow you to stay up to 30 days on the island.
I’ve been up since six this morning. I just paid $25 and now I’m waiting in line with at least a couple hundred tourists to get a visa. I have a tendency to get impatient but I’m not going to let this bureaucracy ruin my good mood. I just arrived! My vacation hasn’t exactly officially started! However, I do feel terrible for the Europeans who probably have traveled a day or two just to get to Bali. They finally make it to the island and the first thing they’re faced with is standing in line for a visa! The lines seem never-ending. And it’s frustrating because the lines only move a bit every five minutes!
90 minutes later, it is 4:30. I finally passed through immigration and received the visa stamp on my passport. I picked up my luggage and walked out the airport. Matahari Cottage has a contract with a driver named Mr. Pandra. In his Email, Sean described Mr. Pandra as a mean-looking man with a kind heart. If I was Mr. Pandra, I would probably look mean because I’ve been waiting for an hour and a half while holding up a placard at the airport. And this woman is still a no show! As soon as I stepped outside the airport, I spotted my mean-looking driver right away despite there are at least a hundred men looking just like him and holding up placards with names in every language possible.
Driving in Bali
In Bali, the driver’s seat is on the right side of the vehicle. Take this from me: Don’t bother looking for seat belts. They are unknown on the island. If you have never been to Bali, you will never truly understand the meaning of ‘bumper-to-bumper traffic.’ There is no more than an inch or two between cars. Traffic lights are only available on roads that have more than one lane on each direction. There’s no speed limit and the fact is there’s probably no need for it. How fast can you go when you’re always traveling on one-lane traffic? Besides cars, there are scooters, which are more popular than cars and very few bicycles. There doesn’t seem to be a helmet law in Bali either. In most modern countries, seat belts and helmets serve a major purpose of saving lives when the unexpected occurs. In Bali, accidents are rare. The only incident I saw was a car fell into the ditch on the side of the road. Most roads have a ditch on the shoulder and some ditches are wide open without covers. I can imagine how some absent-minded drivers can fall into it. All in all, road safety doesn’t seem to be a major concern in Bali.
On my third day in Bali, I hire Mr. Pandra to drive me around for sightseeing. On the way to the temple, we pass thru a checkpoint alongside the road. There are a few men gathering inside and they are dressed in police uniforms. Mr. Pandra pulls over and hands money to one of the men. They all smiled, including Mr. Pandra.
I am puzzled. Clearly, the car in front of us just drove right through the checkpoint and the car behind us did the same. The checkpoint doesn’t have a sign that says ‘Toll Booth’. And the police-looking men do not look like they’re on duty either.
I ask Mr. Pandra, “Why did you give them money?”
Mr. Pandra says, “They won’t give me troubles if I give them money whenever I have a tourist in my car.”
Here is the lowdown. In Bali, only certain vehicles can apply for special licenses and register as tour buses. Mr. Pandra’s car is a privately owned vehicle. In other words, his service as a driver / guide for tourists like me is illegal.
In order to avoid troubles drives such as Mr. Pandra gives in to the legal reinforcement with bribery. Obviously, the cops know what Mr. Pandra does for a living. As long as he remembers to send money their way when he’s seen with a tourist in his car, everyone is happy. The cops get some pocket change and Mr. Pandra can go on his business as usual.
I am curious as how much the cops make out each time when someone like Mr. Pandra stops by.
Then I ask Mr. Pandra, “How much do you give to the police?”
“Not much. Usually somewhere between 5,000 to 10,000 Rupiah,” he says.
Right now one U.S. dollars is worth 9,000 Rupiah. You do the math yourself.
Honestly, I’m not too happy to find out that my driver / guide is not legit. He tells me that he sometimes works as a taxi driver when business is slow. Now I understand why Mr. Pandra’s car doesn’t have a sign that says ‘Taxi’ on top of it. You can’t really blame this hard-working man. On the main roads, I see tons of parked cars that look just like Mr. Pandra’s. The drivers try to hustle every passer-by who looks like a tourist, “Hello! You need taxi?”
One guy even says to me, “Transport, lady? For you, free!” He’s scaring me with that very lusting look on his face!
With Mr. Pandra, I have two encounters with the police. Well, almost twice. We are on the way back to Matahari. The traffic is slowing down for no reason. I stick my head out the window to see what’s holding up the lane. Then I see a cop pulling cars over. By now, Mr. Pandra looks nervous as we are approaching the police. Surprisingly, the cop takes one look at me and then he waves his arm, motioning us to move along.
I’m thinking to myself, “Does Mr. Pandra know the cop?”
Mr. Pandra burst out laughing. He says to me, “You know what? The police officer thinks you’re Indonesian. And he lets you go.”
Here comes another dirty side of the legal reinforcement in Bali. Cops have nothing better to do. Every so often, they just stand on the side of the road and stop any car that has passengers who look like tourists. Then they ask to see registrations and licenses. It’s all of an act. What they’re really looking for is money. If you’re smart, you’ll give them money. This corrupted practice will leave a lifetime impression every time I think of Bali.
