The Real Bali

Tom and I decided after 3 nights in Kuta, that it was high time to see "the real Bali". We did our research, talked to other tourists, looked at fliers, and haggled with various motorbike rental guys and settled with a lovely feisty blue number for 35,000 rupia per day, as in around $3,50 Australian. Crazy good, helmets and insurance included.

But, if you've never been to Bali, you don't really know what you're getting yourself into when you climb aboard a motorbike. Boy did we find out. You pretty much make your own rules on the road, especially if you're on a bike. Going the wrong direction on a one way road, flying through red lights, and parking wherever you stop is commonplace. By the fifth day, Tom had a good handle of the road, but I was happy to return the bike still alive and unhurt from our wonderful, yet heart-stopping adventure.

For a better image go to http://mapsbali.com/areas/bali.php

We began the real Bali experience in Uluwatu, which is at the Southwestern most tip of the island. Spent a night there in our first homestay and watched the sunset from the cliffs. The next day we headed to Sanur for a bit of a dip before zooming over to Denpasar where we spent, literally 7 hours looking for our hotel. Really I don't know how we kept going after the 4th or 5th hour, but Tom was really determined as we had already paid for it, and I think men are just determined like that :)

We had a couple of different addresses for Piliau Residence, as they may have moved or had a really terrible webdesigner, I may have to refer them to Reg, but the website only gave street names and no number for the address. So 7 hours of driving, crying, rain, darkness, and mixed language conversations later, we stopped at a restaurant that was about to close in defeat to find out where else we could stay. The woman, Melan, was wonderful to us and called all her friends, who called all their friends, and no one knew it, but the hotel happened to call us back in this time and gave her directions so she drove me there with Tom following behind. To this day, we would never be able to find our way back there. PHEW!

The next day we were pretty exhausted, but we made our way to ubud and saw the monkey forest, where there were heaps of monkeys wandering around, jumping on my head and reaching straight into my purse to look for goodies. Those buggas even know how to use zippers! They're pretty darn cute though. That night Tom took a nap, I got a massage, and we went to a shadow puppet show. The next morning we got a tour of the Gaia Raja, which is a Hindu temple also in Ubud, and we learned heaps about the Hindu religion and how the Gaia Raja came to be. Afterwards the tour guide took us swimming in a lovely river. Nice day.

After the tour, we made our way though the mountains to the north coast, buying a snack of fresh strawberries for $1 along the way, and stopping for a cup of coffee at a local families house that we just stopped for a stretch.We were admiring their view, when Katrina, who's 7 decided to practice the only english she knew by asking our names. The mother heard and came to investigate and offered us some coffee. It was a bit awkward because we couldn't really have a conversation, but they were very lovely.

Then we arrived in Singaraja, where a man on his motorbike invited us to stay at his homestay, we got there and it was full, but he set us up with a friend and we got a pretty good deal on a sunrise dolphin cruise and snorkeling. Tom's first time snorkeling! The dolphins were beautiful and intent to impress us with flips and twists and the coral and fish were beautiful and reminded me of home.

Finally we made our way back to Kuta area, stopping in Tanah Lot to see a temple on a small island in the ocean and getting a feast of some of the best chicken I've ever tasted from a local family grilling some on the side of the road. They were very pleased to show off their delicious cooking to some foreigners. Along the way we have been eating as local as possible, and have discovered that we quite like the local cuisine, even thought we're not sure we always know exactly what we're eating, but it doesn't necessarily agree with our stomachs. I think I had to visit the little girls room 4 times last night and again twice when I woke up this morning. Tasted good the first time around anyways :)

Tonight we head back to Darwin and the next morning to Cairnes to look for work. Wish us luck and blessings to you all.

Billy Bali

It's my first time in Asia and we have been here for 3 days now. I'm really glad Tom decided to come along with me, as the people that are constantly getting in your face was a bit intimidating to me in the few few hours. I do believe I would feel a bit lost by myself, but as the days pass I'm feeling more comfortable and would be okay with venturing off for a walk alone. Bali does not feel like an unsafe place at all. I would guess the biggest cause of deaths would be tourists getting drunk and getting hit by a motorbike, as there are many. I don't think there are many road rules either. Do whatever you can to avoid the obstacles. We considered renting a motorbike and found out that you could probably rent one for a month cheaper than what a small bottle of sunscreen costs. Apparently suncream is a tourist item because the darker skinned locals wouldn't need it.


I have been thinking lately about heading to Southeast Asia, as I feel I have seen as much of Australia as I care to, for the moment, and would like to experience a different culture. These ideas have caused much stress to me as I have been getting mixed messages from both my family and my friends. My family all have warned me how dangerous Asia can be and that a young woman should not travel there on my own, while one of my very good friends has told me how she went there for a few months on her own and had no troubles besides the usual theft and over charging that can occur to anyone. It is commonplace for people to either go from Australia, both Aussies and backpackers, to SE Asia, or through SE Asia on their way to OZ. From these backpackers I have heard the occasional story of something bad that may have happened to them, but not one of them has told me not to go, and all of them say it's definitely worth it. So you may understand my confusion surrounding the issue. I think I will do a bit more research, being in Bali is part of that, and will have to come to my own conclusions as we adults must do every day, don't we?

There are a few tricks I've learned so far in Bali, such as booking hotels online is much, much cheaper than actually booking at the hotel, we usually get about 50% off what the hotel tells us. The price is ALWAYS negotiable. There aren't really prices marked on anything and most people look at the color of your skin before making the price up. I haven't really been comfortable with bargaining yet, something I need to work on, but I still haven't spent much on anything. We're looking to get out of Kuta tomorrow and see some other, less touristic, parts of Bali where people aren't trying to sell you stuff constantly. We'll see what happens.

OH yeah, about the rest of the road trip. It went pretty smoothly until the very last day where we lost 2 of the girls for about 3 or 4 hours, it was dark by the time they were found. So the next day there was still a few fuses blown when we arrived in Darwin and it was hot and we had to prepare the car to return, which took hours, there were many arguments and a few unkind words, but all in all we worked it out and the day was done to get a well-deserved beer and hot meal.

Darwin was nothing to write home about for me. Mostly a party city and I just wasn't really in the mood, so happy to be off to Bali and experience something new and different.

ALLLLLLLLLLOOOHA.

The Red Center: Chapter 1

It's day 15 of our epic road trip through the center of Australia and I'm having the most awesome time of my life.

I'll set the stage:
We have Lara who's from Ulm, Germany and a cosmotologist by trade, she cooks a mean meal every now and again
Amy is from Adelaide and is currently finishing her nursing diploma, she loves to have us pull her finger and let it rip loud and clear so everyone can hear
Baptiste from Paris, France has a certificate in wildlife preservation, he is a bit self-centered, but very good at eliciting help from strangers when we're having car troubles
Vanessa, Baptiste's partner, from Montreal, went to Concordia at the same time as I and studied sociology, she is very nice and says she never farts, how disgusting!
Tom, my boyfriend, from Dresden, Germany is a musician and is about to study something when he returns home from Australia, he's wonderful and adorable and loves to count my hiccups and make wishes on them...
AND me

We don't always get along being smashed into a car together for 21 days straight. There have been a few arguements, a couple of breakups and reunions, and heaps of swearing in various languages.

But we laugh CONSTANTLY and we cry and we are getting to know each other and their habits REALLY well.

We started in Adelaide and our target is Darwin, but currently we are in Alice Springs and sleeping in beds for the first time in 2 weeks, which feels amazing.

Along the way we saw The Olgas, Ularu, King's Canyon, a domesticated Emu that grumbled at me when I disturbed it to go take a pee in the middle of the night (who expects to see a giant bird outside their tent at 3 in the morning??), Flinder's Ranges, a crazy 4WD trek to Palm Valley, tons of mice (as there is a plague at the moment), heaps of nothing but salt bush dotted with random mountain formations, a baby joey in his mother's pouch, some wineries, done a few bush walks, got stuck in the mud at Lake Eyre, had a few car problems, slept under ground in Coober Pedy, saw a few wild dingos, and met many wonderful friendly people along the way.

We've named our rig Trudy, after a woman we met in the first couple of days. When Trudy's feeling a bit temperamental, she doesn't like to start, this can happen in the middle of nowhere off the main road or in a small town, which, let's face it, it's all in the middle of nowhere. We give her pats and tell her we love her and that usually gets her going. So, we're chugging along.

We only have 6 more days to go and it's passing quickly. Four of us are hoping to go to Bali together to keep our trip going because we love each other so much.

Will have to update when I get to Darwin, until then send your love to Trudy, we can use it!

Goodbye Adelaide *lower lip pout*

We'll I've always believed if you're patient, you will get what you want. So I stayed here in Adelaide with a dream in my head to drive to Darwin through the center of the country and make a heaps of stops along the way to see the sights. I have my previous WWOOFing host, Todd, to thank for this dream, as it was his suggestion that turned me on to it.

So I patiently made a life for myself here in Glenelg, as you can see in my previous post, and settle in for the wait.

Things often seem like fate when you're traveling, it's quite a beautiful feeling and has really changed the way that I look at life.

So fate made me start looking for the perfect ride on gumtree right about when the perfect advertisement popped up.

Me and four others from various countries are headed off, hopefully Monday, to do exactly what I had been waiting for: Renting a FWD and traveling up the middle to see the sights and I'm excited. I'm trying not to be too excited because I don't want to have too high of expectations, but, oh hell I'm pretty excited.

Upon making my plans to leave, I've realized how attached I'm come to Glenelg, so settled in that I forgot to pay for my hostel because I just felt like I lived there. Me and Rich, the man I had to pay, had a bit of a laugh about it.

I have so many beautiful people around me that I had share laughs, tears, ideas, and moments of silence with.

I've learned quite a valuable lesson that I hope to carry along with me: No matter where you are in the world, you are not alone.

Love to all my readers,
Sarah Rose

The nitty gritty of Glenelg, Adelaide

Glenelg is a Palindrome, same spelling front and back. A lovely woman named Karen informed me of this at singing group last Thursday.

Singing group is wonderful! A whole heap of people, about 80 of us, get together and sing our hearts out every week. It's better than drugs! You actually get an endorphin rush. People don't sing enough these days. I hope everyone will go off and sing a song after you read this blog. I know I've had Bohemian Enrapsody stuck in my head this morning if you have trouble picking a song it's one of my favorites to belt out at the top of my lungs whilst running down the lovely beach that is literally a minutes walk from my hostel! Who could've drempt a better location? Sorry for that incredible runon sentence. I just feel like I have a lot to say today! :)

I have been hanging out with quite a few elderly people actually. I quite enjoy their company. They're (usually) pretty accepting and curious about me, unless they're feeling a bit grumpy (usually the men *coughcough*) AHEM! :D

I found most of my new friends at the lovely community center that has given me free range on their craft room. I'm currently making baby hats and practicing for when I'm older. Don't worry mum! Much, much older. They have also convinced me that I must come to folk dancing class on Thursday and Tai Chi on Wedensday AND Bingo on Tuesday, need I go on? They love their hobbies! I'm not complaining, it's keeping me well entertained.

I even gave a little computer class to a couple ladies who were wondering how to use in the internet. I found it requires quite a bit of patience, but I do enjoy teaching. Hmmm..career opportunity???

I made a friend, Karen, at my singing group. She's lovely and lives just around the corner from me so we walked her dogs on the beach AND I'm invited to Family dinner on Sunday. Boy do I love family dinner! It reminds me of home. Thank you mum and dad! Dad especially for all the lovely meals. I think it was one of my favorite things in the whole world. And now I get to enjoy it on the other side of the world, hehe.

Otherwise, I'm going to have new adventures every day and I will keep you updated. Key words: free internet. Gotta love the local library eh?

From beyond Tasmania at the edge of the outback

So the Tasman Penninsula was AMAZING. I had such a good time there, if you check my facebook you can see some photos of the hike, or as they say in Aussieland 'bushwalk', that I did whilst I hung out and chilled at a community that my friend Ilan was attempting to create. They had just put up the 'for sale' signs on the different lots on the property.

While I was there I helped out by doing a bit of garlic planting and cooking. There was a couple from Taiwan that were wonderful and we took turns making our local dishes from our home countries. They were fascinated by my gourmet mac and cheeses as well as the hamburgers where my friend Lian (Lee-Ann), also from Taiwan, and I made the buns and dipping sauces for the handmade french fries. It was all good fun. I was only going to go for a couple of nights, but ended up staying 5 and got a free ride back to Hobart with another backpacker that was also moving on after being there for 2 1/2 months. He was from Holland. It was quite an international crowd with another girl from England and a couple from France topping it all off. Wonderful place.

I stayed with a friend and his family at their home just outside of  Hobart for a couple of nights. Two beautiful young daughters, the oldest of which, 4 years, challenged me greatly by wanted to play the game 'how much does that hurt'. I told her I wouldn't play with her if that was the only game she had in her repertoire :) A couple days, a few curries, and a lecture from Vancouver about midwifery, isn't the internet wonderful, later I was dropped off at the airport with a hug and a warm adieu and back in Melbourne.

Melbourne wasn't hugely exciting, but it was nice to see old friends and have a bit of a chin wag (I learned that one in the past couple of days.

I decided to wait till the last minute to decide where I was going next, and headed to the train station on a bright early morning. Needless to say the teller wasn't too impressed with me not having a destination in mind and made me stand to the side for a while until I could give him one. I saw a sign that said Swan Hill and gave him the word and 3 hours later I was off.

Luckily I made friends on the bus who made sure I was safely in an accomodation before leaving me to my own devices, she even got me a discount on my room. The town was so small and not really touristy so it only had motels and single rooms. I spent a lovely night by myself with a hot shower and some telly before heading off the next day to cheaper beds.

I ended up in Mildura and booked a couple nights at the backpackers that looked like it had the most character, it had shoes hanging off the electrical lines out front. Mildura is a huge grape, almond, and citrus growing area. There are lots of people that go there to do some seasonal work in order to earn their 2nd working/holiday visa for Australia. I quickly made friends with the family of backpackers who had united together in their efforts to reach this goal. They were from England and Germany and Italy and Korea. I had such a wonderful time, but knew that despite this I was not ready yet to settle down.

So I decided to come here to Broken Hill. It's a strange little mining town that is literally in the "middle of nowhere". Actually. My new friend Nick and I had a bit of a drive around in the nothingness and ended up in the next town Silverton, population: 42! Hahaha. His friends were the proud owners of the Mad Max II museum which I got a free tour of. Interesting.

I'm off to Adelaide tomorrow or the next and shall continue to blog along the way.

No more pictures from here on out, it's too hard with not knowing when I have to pay to use the internet everywhere.

Love to all!

Tasmania

 I decided to take the ferry from Melbourne...

 I'm on a bit of a ground transport kick, it's nice to feel the distances your traveling in real time. The ferry was quite relaxing, read, slept, lounged...

From the port I knocked on the window of a future Olympic rower, lucky me, who drove me to Launceston. Then from there I got a ride to my first WWOOFing host on the Northeastern coastline from a lovely man named Clive. He had two babies, sold wheelchairs and was building new house in Launceston, your typical family man. We stoped in a tiny little town on the way to pick up a boat and I was facinated by the petrol station...I'm guessing it's self-serve?

My host dad, Todd, taught me how to eradicate Spanish Heath, which is a pesky weed that took over their property. One bush at a time, there were throusands...they are the rosemary-looking brush behind us.

 

 

 On the last day I was there, it was mother's day and my host mum, Astrid's, Birthday so we all spent the day baking cupcakes and cake and...

Host mum with all our yummy baked goods.

 Vegemite scrolls. That would be vegemite and cheese rolled into bread and baked..deeelicious. I grew a love for vegemite when I lived in New Zealand and have rediscovered it since I got to Aussieland.

Todd and Astrid had 2 daughters, Eve and Grace. Grace lived in Launceston during the week, but came home for the weekends and Eve in this photo is still in high school.

This was my home for the first week. I snuggled up in my sleeping bag like a cocoon, with a hot water bottle shoved down by my feet. You could only see my eyes peeking out, it was pretty cozy.

After a week I sadly parted and made my way south to a new family. Brenda and Stephen, with little 3 year old Quinny and 6 year old Elanta their two 11 week old kittens. Living in a purple house, much like the one I grew up in back in Kauai. Little did I know how much work it takes to be a parent, but I walked away with a much better idea of what life can be like when you have small people to take care of.

I luckily found a ride to the lovely Tasman Penninsula, which I arrived at last night and am about to venture out into the town of Nubeena, population 277. See what I can find. Until next time....