Sunday in Padangbai Bali

Sunday morning in Padangbai I woke and took a leisurely shower before getting my complimentary breakfast. I chose and egg and tomato ‘jaffle’ ( toasted sandwich ) and a plate of mixed fruit ( papaya, melon, banana, pineapple ) and a coffee.

Check out time was 10am and I got Wayan to look after my gear while I hiked up to the headland on the left side of the beach for a view. There’s a temple up there and as I was returning a line of local bearing offerings walked by in calm silence.

Back in town I visited a couple of internet cafes and the speed was quite awful. I gave up trying to post after about 30 minutes. Maybe it was just a bad moment, that happens with the connection over here. The owner of Made’s Warung and Internet proudly showed me her daughter, the latest in an endless line of cute kids.

I sat back and drank a coffee at this place and was joined by a couple of young guys who tried their best to sell me paintings. One fellow asked me quite honestly ‘what can I do to make money if no tourists?’. I went through a selection of solutions which didn’t give him what he was looking for ( immediate money ). I told him about the guys back in Oregon working a paper route for years to support their goal and said if he wanted to continue ( in the silver business ) maybe he would have to seek alternative employment while the market for silver jewelry was down. I really didn’t want to come across as a ‘I’ve got it made, you’re screwed’ tourist and hope he saw I was being supportive.

While traditional industries like fishing still exist, many people have invested their resources in tourism. Some people think the best way to deal with less customers is to hammer the ones they’ve got harder. Three teenage girls were trying hard to sell me models of wooden boats ‘to help my school’. They were very good and knew all the angles ( ‘makes a great gift for your mother, auntie, niece, nephew, brother…it floats just like real boat, just buy one to help my economy’ ). Once again its a larger problem we’re dealing with ( Indonesia’s image problem ).

Padangbai is a quiet relaxing place where you can meet nice people and enjoy tasty satay chicken after snorkeling. I think a lot of westerners would enjoy this place and think the department of tourism should take a course in ‘how to promote your business’.

By 1pm I was ready to hit it and after gasing up at a roadside stall I headed for Denpasar.