Monday March 8th in Seminyak Bali

Monday morning I woke and remembered I had to take the rental Sukuki Katana back to the place on Jl. Legian where I hired it.

The man told me I could have it for the weekend and then bring it back on Monday morning sometime.

Stepping outside my front door I saw the driveway was blocked with an offering structure and a priest (pedanda) was sitting in a cross legged position performing a blessing.

The bamboo structure was laden with flower and food items and Wayan told me it was to bless the house.

I slowly wheeled my bike down the alley and tried not to disturb the people.

A funny thing happened in the evening. Bill from NY who is out in Canggu sms’d me to ask if I wanted to eat with him. I had just finished eating at an Indonesian/Chinese place in Kerobokan called Lebung Padi and told him I’d join him for a drink. He said he was outside a restaurant called Extreme close to Kura Kura Japanese restaurant.

I hopped on my bike and shot down there. I saw Kura Kura and parked. Unable to see Extreme I asked some locals and they had never heard of it. As luck would have it my pulsa (minutes) had finished so I was unable to contact Bill). After 15 minutes I gave up and went home. Some time later Bill calls and says “Hi Nick you like to get a beer I’m right outside the place now.” I asked him where he was and he said “Actually I made a mistake, its called Ryoshi.” I asked him where he got Extreme from and he said he must of seen it on a sign somewhere.

We caught up a bar across the street and Bill told me about a motorbike trip he did with a couple of other tourists. He actually managed to lose them in the mountains as it was foggy!

Bill did have a minor accident when one of his friends braked hard and he slammed into the back of him. The few cuts he has are healing and there’s no real damage done.

After losing his friends he still went on to climb Gunung Batur, one of the large volcanoes and while up there met a Balinese local who invited him to a ceremony. The guy lent Bill the sarong, udeng and other accessories and they both enjoyed a 300 plus person event, totally on the spur of the moment.

Bill said that when people come to Bali they should get out and explore themselves. He told me that when he and his dad took the day tour to Kintimani it took 3 hours to get there, they stayed for an hour and then drove back. Exploring by himself he got to hang out with locals and actually see what Bali is about, “Those tours suck.” said Bill.

We’ll have to arrange a party at Bill’s place and I’ll report how it goes.