isolation

wow. six days without internet access and i feel like i fell off the planet! after ubud, i landed in remote toya bungkah, located on the shore of lake batur at the bottom of mount batur, an active volcano. my first night, i got a knock on my door at 3:30am. it was my trekking guide, putu. we started out for the summit, just the two of us, in the pitch black. kinda freaky at first! not many tourists stay in toya bungkah, but come in on tours from other parts of the island. however, my starting from town allowed me to sleep in an extra two hours...but then it creamed my pocketbook, just getting to this town. it's hella isolated. so the hike was pretty intense. putu is a crazy hiker. he's fast, and he worked me. i thought i was going to have a heart attack. it was steep and slippery in a lot of areas, but man oh man, it would make for some wicked mountain biking! so we get to the "sunrise view" 1.5 hours later and there is a little makeshift cabin with an old balinese woman in the back...with her cat. she has a fire going, on which she cooks our eggs, fried banana (which goes in our sweet hawaiian-like bread), and kopi (yummy balinese coffee). we got to eat away during the sunrise which was remarkable. a snowboard instructor from austria (a kid, really) and another traveler from toronto joined in the fun. they got chocolate on their bananas. i was so jealous! anyways, after my little tantrum, we made it to the top of the volcano and got to peer into a crater (actually, two of them) that spanned 7 miles. it was unreal. little pockets of steam were shooting out of the sides. i guess that sucker demolished a town in the area twice before the residents wised up and built their new town on a hill. there is also a temple down at the lake. the tale goes that the lava stopped at the foot of the temple. i suppose all those balinese offerings to the gods pay off.

after the hike, i went to the hot springs. what a joke! it's a big pool. i laid out for a while (after paying the equivalent of $10 usd) and promptly left when two meatheads tattooed from head to toe moved their towels near me and wanted to know, "what is up?" uh, no.

the rest of my time in toya bungkah was BORING. there is nothing going on in that town. after my second night, i made a six-mile walk to the town next door, kedisan. totally happening town. not. then i spent some more time with putu. he drove me around on his moped through another town in the area, songan. i don't think many tourists go here, so i was lucky! and what a place it is. if you make it up to the hills (which is quite a hike, even on a moped - i had to jump off a few times so putu could get his bike up), you end up in a remote jungle with crazy views...when it's not foggy. supposedly the ocean was down there. then we drove over to putu's sister's place. these people live in shacks, seriously. BEAUTIFUL area, but shacks. i saw a person's mattress. oh my big g. however, everyone in this area is a farmer. lots of agriculture in songan/kedisan because of the fertile volcanic soil, and i got a big ole avocado as a visiting gift. i just ate it, once the ants crawled off. so good.

upon my pricy escape from toya bungkah, i landed in paradise: amed. GO THERE. i think it's my favorite in bali. still, no internet, and no atms (which proved problematic when i ran out of money - i couldn't pay my driver, but that's a whole other story), but no tourists, either. well, not many. the beaches are empty. fairly small and pebbly, but empty. i laid around for two days at the dancing dragon cottages (a "unique feng shui boutique hotel" with dragon energy!). i was such a sloth, drinking espresso by the pool, sipping coconut water, floating in the turquoise blue water...it was a dream. and the snorkeling is UNREAL there. step off the hotel property, walk into the water and immediately you are in a coral reef, absolutely stunning! no repetition, whatsoever, just color after color after color...and last night, my final night in amed, i ate a killer tuna dinner with a lively group from, get this: oakland. i travel halfway across the world to make new friends in oakland. a very diverse bunch, too. one of the best nights of my life! i got drunk on brem...well, not really drunk. you can't get drunk on balinese liquor. the balinese think you can, but they are so small.

now i am in sanur. my last stop in bali. it's weird here. lots of colorful boats, banners, and "mature" traveler types. the balinese don't even greet you in english here - it's all german or spanish. i was sipping an espresson on the beach just now (totally trying to fit in, no doubt) and a dude asked me to dinner, some english bloke. totally weird! i said no. men are trouble.

three more days and back on the plane, when i really just want to go back to amed. :(