For the next couple posts, I’ll try to write a little about Bali/Lombok and a little about my current stay in Sri Lanka.

We flew from Jogjakarta (Java) to Denpasar (Bali) instead of taking a train and then a ferry. It was not much more in terms of money, but did save us a load of time. The airport is known as Denpasar International Airport which is named after the capital, but in actuality the airport is south of the capital and much closer to Kuta Beach, where we spent our first night. Kuta is a complete tourist destination and reminds me A LOT of Cancun / Cabo San Lucus / Tijuana and every other spring break location rolled into one. It is really popular with the young crowd and tends to be a hot spot for Australians on school break. I thought it was quite over developed and polluted. On the bright side, it does have a huge beach with great waves for learning how to surf. We decided to take it easy and just found a beach front bar for a few drinks. We went back to our hotel soon after and went to sleep. The next day we were planning on heading to the much less touristy north coast.

Quick note: Tourism in Indonesia was really down when we went. Typically this time of the year is the beginning of the peak season, but because of the Euro Cup (second largest soccer tournament in the world) most Europeans decided to stay at home for the month of June. Add that to the lingering fear of further club bombings for a few years ago and the results were vacancies at all hotels, no lines for any restaurants (half were completely empty) and a less crowded feeling to the whole experience. Even with this, the island is still swarming with westerners.

In the morning we decided the best way to get from one side of the island to the other was to rent a car and drive. We rented a Toyota Kijang (A what? Yeah… exactly) which is the size of a midrange SUV, but packs the punch of a Honda Civic. It was perfect for our leisurely drive through a tropical island.

Navigating the Kijang

Between all of us we had zero years combined of overseas, drive on the left side of the road experience. So naturally we figured it would be a piece of cake. This wasn’t the case. Roads in Bali are EXTREMELY narrow, often barely wide enough for two cars and the lines are suggestions rather than limitations. The only freeways are directly around the capital, but once you venture 10-15 miles out all the roads look the same. The streets have absolutely no signs and the only way to orient yourself are with signs indicating the direction of major towns (no distances are given). Often we would have to read the addresses of places to see which town we were in and match it up our rickety map. To make matters worst, most Indonesians zip around on scooters and will weave in and out of cars with no fear. You literally have to force your way through intersections since traffic lights are either no existent or completely ignored. It was a bit harrowing at times, but we saw a lot of the island and having the freedom to stop whenever is something you don’t get on a tourist bus.

Half way through we stopped a temple on lake Bratan. It was a complete coincidence, but this temple is one of the most photographed landmarks in Bali and commonly found on postcards.

Bratan Temple

The temples main attraction is a bit which floats separately in the lake and presumably is accessible by boat only. We snapped a few pictures and continued onward.

Waterfall on the way to Lovina

We arrived in a small town known as Lovina, which Lonely Planet touts as the perfect place to go to do absolutely nothing. It has black sand beaches and the water is completely calm. Without knowing otherwise you would think the town was lakefront, not oceanfront. We found a small hotel on the beach and coughed up the $10.00 per person for a night. Our bungalow was beachfront with an open air bathroom… quite nice if I say so myself.

The actual town of Lovina has a really nice “small beach town” feeling to it. None of the buildings are more than 2 stories and it’s full of little Inns, local open air restaurants and bars. Lovina is also a major fishing town so all the restaurants advertise different fresh fish caught each day. I became quite fond of a local dish known as Serrapah which is fried calamari with a curry sauce served over rice. Delicious…

We also signed up for a snorkeling trip to a small island an hour away. The package also included a sunrise boat ride and to see dolphins just off the coast in front of the town. I was presuming the dolphin watching would be a small private viewing with a few other people, especially cons

idering the severe lack of tourists. I was completely wrong… The dolphin watching is more accurately described as a dolphin rodeo. We ventured out on essentially a motorized canoe for about 45 minute. We were one of the first boats out but were soon surrounded by dozens of similar rigs, each containing 4 or 5 tourists with cameras in hand. No one really know where the dolphins will surface or if they will even surface at all. For the most part each boat putters in circles as the captain keeps look out. Everything is rather calm… until… A DOLPHIN! It surfaced 100m away. Pandamonium breaks loose as every boat (some 50 by this point) smashes on the throttle and rips towards the school of animals. Before we even get there the group has submerged again and is invisible to us. This process of wait…. spot… sprint… miss… continues for an hour until the captain gives up and drives back to the mainland. The whole production is much more entertaining

than the actual dolphins.

No where near Kansas anymore…

I’ve been in Sri Lanka now for 3 days and it’s has been a real eye opening experience. The first day and night was spent in Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka. I was really exhausted after spending two nights sleeping on pushed together benches in over air conditioned airports. Actuall

y, my night in Chennai, India deserves a quick story. I arrived in Chennai at midnight and had a 7 hour lay over until my flight out to Sri Lanka. You can not receive a visa on arrival and I never bothered to apply for one in advance (who wants to see India for the first time between midnight and 7 am?). I got off the plan and was escorted by an airport employee to the transit area where I was allowed to wait until my next flight. I was unable to pick up my ticket for the second leg of the trip in Singapore so the woman told me she would pick up the ticket and return it to me at 4:00am.

How I spent 7 hours

I gave her my only copy of the flight confirmation and found a large room which was full of cushioned benches. The room had so many that I could not tell if it was a storage area or a proper waiting room… I pushed two of them close together and tried to fall asleep. I had made the m

istake of wearing shorts and a t-shirt since outside of the airports was a sweltering 90 degree. Unfortunately, inside the airport was 40 degrees (or so it felt) and I was freezing. I fell in and out of sleep for two hours in the fetal position, not to mention I was the only person in a room which could seat hundreds. I was awaken by the poke of something at around 3am. I opened my eyes and sprung up in complete confusion. Standing in front of me were two Indian army officers… semi automatic rifles in hand.

“Can I see boarding pass sir?” One of them said in broken English.

“Uhh… umm… , sure, let me… um… find it,” I responded.

I opened my backpack, but I so disoriented from lack of sleep tha

t I could not remember what I was looking for. I pulled out my passport and held it out. Without grabbing he looked at it and looked back at me.

“Your boarding pass, sir”

“Oh right”

By this time I was coming to my senses.

“I actually don’t have one right now, a young lady who works here is picking it up for me.” I said

“Can I see confirmation then sir?” He replied.

Then it hit me… The lady had my only copy of my confirmation. I had no documents to prove I was leaving India, nor did I have a visa to legally allow me to stay in India. Quite a pickle…

“I don’t have a confirmation either, the woman who is picking up my boarding pass took it.”

“When is your flight?”

“At 7:30am”

And they walked off…

Oddly, I wasn’t able to fall back asleep. I sat there awake, read my L

onely Planet, Sri Lanka book and waited for the lady to r

eturn with my boarding pass. 4:00am came and passed… then 5:00am, 6:00am and 7:00am, all without any sign of my boarding pass. I was getting a little flustered and started seconding guessing myself. Did she really work for the airport? What was taking her so long? I began to work on a Sodoku to take my mind off of it. It was ranked ‘Easy,’ but due to my lack of coherence still took me the better part of half an hour. 7:20am and a young lady taps me on my shoulder. She has a boarding pass in hand and gives it to me. I smile politely, and breathe a sigh of relief. I walk through security and board a half full flight. I am the only westerner on the entire plane…

My entry card:

My first evening and night in Colombo were quite uneventful. I was taken out to dinner by one of the staff members and went back to my hotel room for a nice long sleep. The next morning I woke up and was picked up at 6:00am to be take 100km south to Galle. On the way we passed by a recent train accident:

Apparently the train derailed (non-terrorist related) and I believe 6 people died. It was really eerie to see and not a pleasant way to be welcomed into a country. It has also made me think twice about riding the public transportation here. We soon after entered the town of Galle.

Beautiful Galle

This is the town I would be living in for the next two months. Its main claim to fame is a 16th century dutch fort built during the time of dutch occupation. It has massive walls (40 - 50 feet high) and has held up over time. I haven't actually been to the fort yet, but it's inevitable.

Today was my first really day in the hospital. I had a small orientation yesterday which consisted of a nurse taking me around all the areas of the hospital. The place is HUGE… with 52 wards, I quickly became lost. It is also a teaching hospital and therefore is full of student nurses and a handful of student doctors. Each new ward introduction went something like this.

“This… neurology. You want see inside?”

“Sure… I’ll have a look.”

We would walk in and usually there would be a doctor at a central table. For the most part the doctors speak fairly good English, while the nurses speak very minimal English (or Singlish as I call it, a mix of Sinhala and English). The nurse would then ask.

“Would you like speak to patient?”

“Absolutely, Why not?”

This happened a half dozen times and every time it would consist of me introducing myself to a bed ridden Sri Lankan who spoke ZERO English. I would shake their hand, and we would exchange head nods and smiles for 30 seconds or so. During this time, a group of 10 – 20 student nurses would gather behind me and watch. I’m not sure where they would come from, but inevitably they would appear. No one would be speaking… Just smiles…. And head nods… Yeah… It was really awkward.

Today was a lot different. I was assigned to the Mini Operation Department which is a tiny operating room for outpatients. Essentially all minor surgeries which don’t result in hospitalization happen here. Within the first couple hours I saw five ingrown toe nail removals, 4 cyst removals and countless venous ulcer (I think that’s what they call it) cleanings. The method of treatment is worlds different than in America. The patient comes in and lies down immediately. The doctor injects lidocaine (numbing agent) and epinephrine (to prevent excessive bleeding). He then instantly goes to work… I doubt the anesthetic has even set in. Within 10 minutes, he will have sliced, cut, cleaned and sewed. The patient leaves and another one comes in within seconds. The paper work is minimal, which makes the turnover incredibly fast. The process repeats… The doctors has a Bluetooth headset which rings every 30 minutes or so and he always answers it while working. He’s quite the multi-tasker.

The mini operating room

Here is the second story of the house I am living in, my room is just through that door on the left. Everything is open air...