October 1st. Its wet in Kuta Bali!

Wednesday here in Bali was another overcast one with rain stretching all day.

As I prepared to leave the house and start my bike this morning its started raining so I went inside and put my $35 REI pants on (who wants a wet ass?).

Wet days mean slow business for the folks at the beach and I took the opportunity to do a ‘sticker run’, a little promo tour of local internet-cafes from Seminyak to Kuta. On the way snapping the scene in some of the smaller streets that may be familiar to Bali vets.

For lunch today I went to a small warung called Fajars. The staff who work here are sweet and welcoming but the place itself doesn’t look that special. Business is a bit slack right now in between high seasons but people try to stay positive. If you’ve walked from Poppies II to Poppies I in the evenings this is the place that plays pirated movies at max volume. Anyway I looked at the menu and wanting something quick I ordered the chicken burger. After a moments thought I said to myself ‘this is Bali, who knows what I’m going to end up with, let’s go with something safe.’ I changed my order to nasi goreng, something they’ve made a thousand times before.

I think Vegas gamblers will tell you when you go to make a bet, stick with your first thought. My nasi goreng was awful, with a stale metallic taste. I ate half, paid (6,500rp) and left.

On Jalan Dhyana Pura in Seminyak there are a group of internet-cafes further along from all the party action. One of my favourites is Bestest Café which has a restaurant and bar as well as an internet café right there close to the street.

I parked my bike and walked past the Seminyak branch of Gelati ice cream. Jalan Dhyana Pura really doesn’t get too much tourist traffic during the day compared with Poppies II and the staff are relegated to handing out free samples and chatting with friends who drop by for an hour or 3.

After hitting Legian and Kuta areas I swung through Jalan Benesari and stopped at a place for a hot ginger tea. This place is fairly close to where Gede (Tracey’s husband) can be found. I sms’d him but he was in Nusa Dua working on sound equipment for a stage set up.

Just around the corner from here is the second section of the Adhi Dharma hotel, a quieter place than the one on Jalan Legian with a pool that might suit families.

Internet Outpost was doing phenomenal business late this afternoon with people waiting on the spare seats on get a chance at a computer. Connections were okay today and I managed to answer people’s travel questions in a fairly short time. Having a new cell phone I am going through the phase of re connecting with people and letting them know I still like them ( Gede told me he’s been trying to contact my old number ). I read in the Bali Advertiser that one guy here in Seminyak is on his 25th cell phone!

Interesting point about the cell phones over here, once in a while you will send an sms to someone, then type a new message and send it to someone else….the message gets sent to the first recipient. Its some exchange problem and can get you in trouble if you’re not careful. If you have sensitive info and want to be sure about where its heading you might want to send it first, or back out of your message folder to the main menu, then go back in and type. Mick Turnbull explained this to me after I had sent a friend a message that was meant for Mick.

Thurdays Oct 2nd Kuta Karnival :

Bali X Week Surf Action
Opening Events : Contest registration. Pantai Kuta 9am
Live Bands: Slank, Dewi Padi Pantai Kuta 10am

Skateboard Competition : Kuta Midway 10am
Surf MemorabiliaExpo : Discovery Katika, Kuta. All Day