I remember the first day of my first (solo) international trip ever, to Thailand via Taipei. I remember our first full day in Bali, a year ago.
To say that Indonesia is an entirely different place would be truism. But EVERYTHING is different, and that’s what makes it disorienting. There are no flat surfaces (you must watch EVERY step you take). And the sidewalks which you imagine should be afe for pedestrians, definitely are not. Open sewers, cracks, missing bricks, slopes, parked cars, parked motos, MOVING motos – anythng can come at you on a sidewalk.
There is no pedestrian culture in Bali. There is no public transport. Everyone drives, and drives badly. It is a place where motorized Darwinism rules supreme.
And it is morbidly beautiful, in its own way; a frenetic melange of the exotic, mixed with no little amount of exhaust fumes.
It is also tiring.
And then, later in the day, while walking along one of the signature beaches – Semenyak – you run across this. One Hindu, alone with her thoughts, facing the ocean.
This is the epitome of Bali. We learned this on our first full day in country.
We have so far travelled…
- 14 094 km Air (674km YYC-YVR, 9610km YVR-TPE, 3820km TPE-DPS)
- 13.8 km walking
This is a 163 part Blog series, chronicling my family’s Le Grand Voyage II, through Indonesia, Malaysia, Japan, Hong Kong, Jordan, Cyprus, and Greece. A 163 post reflection on our trip, highlighting some touristy and distinctly no-touristy photography, a sampling of the 20 000 photos I snapped on three cameras.
- Where’s Teddy now? is my YouTube Vlog – www.youtube.com/wheresteddynow
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