Memorial – Bali
This is the memorial that was built on the site of the where Paddy’s Pub, the site where the 2002 terrorist bomb was exploded on Legian Street in Bali. A total of 202 people from over 20 countries were killed in the blast. Over 200 more people were injured. The bombers were caught and executed in 2008.
Jammed Up – Bali
They had some of the narrowest streets I’ve ever seen. I don’t think they were built for motorized vehicles. You needed a scooter to get around Bali due to the horrendous traffic jams. Here, we see an automobile, driven by a person who probably rented it and had no idea where he was going, trying to turn a corner. He was in a neighborhood where the streets were not wide enough for two cars. In this neighborhood the streets were not even wide enough for a car and a scooter to pass side-by-side. When two cars going different directions came upon each other in this area, really bad things happened.
Learn To Surf in Bali
How often in your life do you have the opportunity so say that you are a graduate of the Big Kahuna School of Surfing? I mean, how cool would it be, when they ask you where you went to school, to say "Big Kahuna School of Surfing" and watch the expression on their face?
Liquid Dinner
I’ve never understood alcoholism. Drinking, I can understand. Think "something that tastes good and makes you feel good." You drink it because you like it. I’ve lived with alcoholics, but not for long. A person realizes that an alcoholic is very, very similar to a drug addict in their lifestyle. Sometimes, they can control the effects of the alcohol on their day-to-day activities. Sometimes, they can do it years. But, sooner or later, it catches up with them. I like to drink, but I don’t like to drink a lot and I don’t like to drink everyday. These two cans of beer were today’s dinner. I had never tried either brand. I don’t think they can be bought in Oklahoma and, if they could, I wouldn’t buy them. But, in Bali, they were the cheapest beers in the convenience stores, costing around $2 each. Way-too-much for such bad beer, but, I had to try them. That’s not to say that cheap local beers aren’t worthy. The eastern Europeans brew the best $1-a-liter beer in the world. Just thinking about it makes me want to go there.
Offering
In Bali, you see these things scattered everywhere. They are offerings and people put them out in the mornings on the sidewalks in front of their stores as a religious offering to the Gods. There are some flowers and some vegetable and some incense in a tray. The incense is lit. For the uninitiated, it’s really easy to step on them as the shopkeepers place them right in front of the door. Of course, they attract chickens and other stray animals that are looking for something to eat. I’ve even seen a rodent or two going after their contents. The point is that they shopkeeper is paying tribute – people come around selling these to the shopkeepers in the morning – and the tribute paid by the shopkeeper will keep the Gods happy. Don’t even think for one minute that this is an isolated instance. They’re everywhere. Everyday.
Bali Beach II
Check out all those surfboards. Man, makes me wanna’ go catch a wave. Or something like that. Bali is very high on surfing and there are lots of people who surf at the beaches in Bali. Even the locals get into it. It’s really strange to see surfboard racks on the local scooters.
Bali Rice Terrace – Indonesia
These are rice terraces in Bali. They’re everywhere. It seems that Bali is really hilly away from the beach and they have grown rice here for centuries. Terraces work really well. These terraces are the ones on the tourist trail. There were other terraces as well as traditional fields everywhere I went in Bali.
Bali Beach I
Bali is beach worship personified. Everyone in Bali goes there sooner or later. Some people seem to live there. I guess there are a lot worse places in the world to spend your days. Note that, contrary to popular opinion, most of the people at the beach are Indonesians, not Australians.
Poppies I
There are two streets that run east and west in the Kuta area of Bali, Popies I and Popies II. There are two streets that run north and south, Jalan Pantai Kuta, which parallels the beach, and Jalan Legian. I stayed in that little square that is surrounded by those four streets. It’s a very “happening” place. Lots of activity. Lots of bars, hotels, surf shops, restaurants, t-shirt shops, and other establishments. If you go to Bali, this is definitely a place you should see. You may want to move on as quickly as possible or you may want to stay. It’s not a place for the faint of heart or someone who needs bed rest. I’d say it might even border on the insanely chaotic.
Fuller Brush – Bali
This was a guy on a bicycle selling brushes, buckets, brooms and who-knows-what-else on his bike. You see these guys all over Asia, not just in Indonesia. I caught this guy in Bali.
