Bitching and bawling in Bali...

Let me start by saying my trip to Bali did not pan out the way I had imagined. Sun, beaches, surfing lessons, diving, and yoga classes were definitely not had on this vay-cay.

Having to wake up at an ungodly hour on my first day of vacation should have been the first indicator that this was not the start of vacation I was looking for. My alarm went off at 3:35am Wednesday morning and I could have sworn I just closed my eyes. For the first time in my life I had to fight the urge to ignore my alarm and stay in bed - usually I am a morning person, but apparently not THAT early. Up I went and into the shower. By 4am I was packed and ready to meet the taxi I arranged the night before - only one problem, it was nowhere to be found. Awesome.

There I was hot, sweaty (I didn’t know if could get so freaking hot at 4 o’clock in the morning) and waiting for my cab. I called the company and 20 minutes later they sent another. Great, already running late and it wasn’t even my fault. Thankfully there was not a single car on the road and we were able to make it to the airport in record time.

Once there the fun began. I needed to change my Thai baht into both US dollars and Indonesian Rupiah. As you can imagine, not a lot of places are open as of yet, even at the airport. I finally found a bank that would give me US money (for my Indonesian visa) but no one, I repeat no one would give me rupiah. As I saw the lines getting longer and longer for check in I decided to skip the money exchange and do it once I was in Bali.

An hour and 40 minutes of standing in line, I finally made my way to the front of the line. Once I checked in, I looked at my ticket and read the plane starts boarding at 5:45am. I glanced at my phone and realized I had three minutes to get through the "exiting the country" line AND security. No big deal. This is going well I thought. Did I mention I got to the airport EARLIER then the 2 hours they tell you to? How in the world are people suppose to make these things when it’s the airport itself that is causing all of the problems?!?! With luck on my side, I cleared the departure lines and customs with no issues and went straight to my gate.

After a fairly smooth ride, I thought to myself, that wasn't SO bad and now that I've got all the bad juju out of the way everything else should go well. Wrong! Little did I know those were the least of my problems along the way.

An acquaintance of mine from the condos I live in in Thailand recently moved to Bali and offered his second bedroom for me to crash while there. Free accommodations are not something to pass up, so off I went to find his place. Before doing so, I needed to exchange my money so I would have the correct currency to pay the driver. There were not many options at the airport, so I went with what I saw first, little did I know I would get screwed and they ended up taking about an extra 2,000 baht out of my pocket. Live and learn I guess.

After being screwed by the locals once, I quickly realized it was going to happen again and again while I was there. Balinese people are nothing like the Thais. Where are all my smiley happy people? Already I missed the comfort of Thailand!

My first afternoon/evening in Bali were great. My friend met me at his place once he finished work and took me to the nearby beach where I laid out and watched surfers ride the waves. We later went to a sports bar to watch some big Australian match, ate yummy food and drank good beer. Sadly this was the best day I had in Bali.

My second day, although productive, was a total dud. I woke up to the sound of rain pelting against my window. I recently blogged about the rainy nights we've been having in Bangkok and, well, these are nothing compared to those in Bali. Thankfully the downpours seem to last only an hour or so, and off to the beach I would go...or so I thought. Apparently the rains in Bali are not like the ones in Thailand. I kid you not the rain lasted ALL FIVE DAYS that I was there. We're talking can't even get outside to get a cab b/c the roads are flooded kind of rains. So there I was stuck in the house with no cable, no internet and no a/c in the main room. I watched 3 movies and wrote ALL of my term 3 reports for my kids (which by the way were not due for another 5 weeks).
That night I went out with my friend and his family for dinner and along the way he noticed he needed to get gas. He then realized he did not have any cash on him so I lent him 100,000 rupiah even though my wad of cash was quickly going. I thought, thats okay, we're going to a cheap dinner and I can pull cash out tomorrow...wrong on both accounts. We ended up going to some 5 star restaurant that I could barely afford the water at. Knowing I didn't have much cash left I purposely ordered the cheapest thing on the menu, no appetizer and water only. Did I mention while at dinner I got completely embarrassed to be with the people I was there with? The guy repeatedly snapped his fingers at the waiter then refused to let him put his napkin on his lap for him - he was so incredibly rude the entire time that I kept hoping no one thought I knew them other than some random chick they found at the beach that day. Doesn't anyone have manners anymore, especially in a place like that? The bill came and it got totally AWKWARD. My friend and his dad offered to split the bill and when it came up short I offered to pay the difference and they agreed that was fine. Okay I think, that's it. Little did I know 4 days later when it's time to leave the guy has the nerve to ask me for the money from that dinner - did I mention he never paid me back for the money I lent him for gas or even thanked me when I bought him lunch and a bottle of tequila to say thanks for letting me stay (more to come on this later).

Unfortunately the night only got worse. I won't go into details, but basically I fell asleep while watching a movie and woke up to being touched/groped/etc with things I do NOT want to be touched with. I ran into my room and locked the door. So not only is this guy a jerk, he is a total perv as well. Quality. Sorry buddy, but I am not a bootie call.

Once in my room I obviously cannot sleep b/c I am so disgusted, so start planning my escape. The next day we are suppose to leave on a 2 night/3 day trip to the coast for surfing and diving. I figure I'll just use him for a ride there, take money out and get my own place. Little did I know at this point that I would be stranded without money b/c neither my of my bank cards OR credit card would work in Bali. There I was, without access to money and stuck with a creep.

Like I mentioned before, the rain never let up the entire time I was there, so we never did make it to our coast destination. Apparently the roads are terrible, especially in the rain. Knowing I could not stand being around this guy any more than I had to, I went to a city called Ubud about 2 hrs away for the day. I really enjoyed seeing another part of Bali and wish I would have had more time and money to stay there for a few days...back to my "friends" house I went. The following day I wasted time in Kuta where I went from coffee shop to coffee shop trying to pass time until night when I could crawl into the comfort of my locked bedroom.
Just when I thought things could not get any worse, shockingly they did. The day of my departure I get to the airport earlier then needed (mainly b/c I did not want to sit in that dang house any longer). Once it was a decent enough time to check in I was told "oh...hmmm...". Right away I know that's not a good sign. Yup, they double booked my seat on a sold out flight. It's between me and a cute little family for who "gets" to give up their seat. Obviously I am not going to break up a family, so I bite the bullet thinking how long could it be, a few hours? Wrong. Air Asia only flies out of Bali once a day...yup, there I was stuck in Bali for an extra night. With no money or a credit card, you know what that means, back to my "friend's" I go.

I will say thankfully this guy offered to lend me $100 USD to get me by for my time there and boy did I stretch that out to make it last...all the way up until he once again did not have enough money for breakfast, so I lent it (and of course the money he did not pay me back for gas) and the uncalled for multiple taxi rides to the airport. While stranded at the airport thinking I was getting on the next flight that afternoon (obviously before they told me they only flew out once a day) the freaking jerk had the nerve to ask me "So Sar (sorry buddy, we're not friends, don't call me Sar) when can you transfer the $100 I lent you and the money from the dinner with my parents"...are you joking me? Pretty sure the money I lent you for gas, lunch, breakfast, etc was more then my fair share of dinner that night dude and I told you repeatably as soon as I get to BKK the money ($100) will be in your account, no more, no less (although I am beginning to think I should just pass on paying him back; however, I know my conscience will catch up to me). Oh the nerve. I respond to him and we decide we're even - EXCEPT that he needs to give me 30,000 for the breakfast money I lent him that morning. Normally I wouldn't care, but after the hell I went through with him and not having access to money, every penny, or should I say rupiah, mattered especially when I needed 150K for my "International Exit Fee". We agreed this was fair and he would leave it on the table when he left for work. Let's just say I woke up that morning and went to leave for the airport and no 30K was anywhere to be found. I texted him and got a total jackass comment about how he "forgot". Great, now I dont have enough money to leave this freaking country b/c I was counting on his 30K b/c I only had 120K in my wallet. What to do you wonder...yup, I had to beg random people at the airport for money, not even kidding. Probably one of the most humiliating things I've ever had to do.

I am sure I could go on and on about these terrible events (and sadly there are more) but I think I am getting carpal tunnel from typing a novel so I will leave you with that.

Despite the minor (some might argue major) hiccups that came with the trip and the crazy amount of rain, I still managed to have a decent enough time and get another stamp in my passport to see another part of the world!