Bali Baby!

So it's been a while since I've last blogged... and by a while I mean a month. My internet hasn't been working, but surprise! When I got home from Bali last night it was magically back! Mville has been the greatest, letting me use her computer to keep in touch with you all as much as possible. Thanks Mville :) I owe you big time my friend.

So anyway, quick update before we get to Bali. Since the last blog I've been to Caversham Wildlife Park where we got to see lots of fun Aussie animals including feeding kangaroos, patting koalas and holding wombats. We also went to a wine tour and visited a chocolate factory. All of it was very fun and I especially liked playing with the roos... they are my new favorite animal :) Mville and I also spent a day a couple weeks ago back at Yanchep National Park. This time we went horseback riding on the beach. It was an amazing experience riding on the beach... something I've always wanted to do. Granted, I've always imagined it being at sunset with some guy I'm totally in love with... but this version works too! Hahaha. Let's see... netball is under way and we've had our first game. That was an adventure. Not having any idea really what to do until about 3 minutes before my first game, I somehow managed to survive the game and actually played pretty well for my first time. They have me playing some shooting position (don't remember the name of my position) which fits me just fine. I like shooting :) The Blue Dragons next face off against some unknown team this Tuesday night. Our geology teammates will be back from their rock fieldtrip this time so we're ready to kick some ass!

Ok... so Bali. The plane ride should have been an indicator as to the rest of the trip. On the 3 hour flight we got fed about 10 times, free drinks and got to watch Hitch on the way there. Man, it's like the lap of paradise! We even got ice cream and tim tams! I love it. So the island of Bali is an incredible little place. The exchange rate is way in our favor... $10US is worth 100,000 rupia (sp?) We were typicall tourists and got massages and facials because they are so cheap there. We also spent a lot of time in the markets bartering with locals for their merchandise. It's amazing how these people, day in and day out chase you down the street or walk in front of you just to get you to look in their store. I guess it's how they make their money though... after a while you get used to the constant shouts and grabbing, but I won't miss that aspect. It is part of their culture though and a way of life that I am only just begining to understand.

The crew that came with me to Bali included Mville, Sarah, Renee, Will, Lara, Brittany, Katie and Whitney. We split up a lot, but all stayed at the same hotel and always ran into each other. The city of Kuta, where we stayed, is where the Bali bombings happened in 2002. Our hotel was a couple of blocks away. There is now a memorial standing at the corner between the two night clubs that were hit. It was a little chilling knowing that the target in those attacks were Australian tourists. Needless to say, we stayed away from the night club scene and found other ways to have fun.

One of those such ways was probably my favorite part of the trip. On Tuesday we took a bus through the country to the top of a mountain that was overlooking 3 volcanoes. One is still active, one is dormant and one went off a few years ago. Anyway, we got to eat our second breakfast of the day overlooking these volcanoes before taking the bus for a short ride to pick up the bikes that we would end up riding the 20 miles down the mountain on. We got cool biker gloves and helmets to complete the trip. The bike down took about 3 hours and every minute was incredible. Riding through the back roads and hills or Bali was one of the most beautiful things I've ever experienced. All through the hills are fields upon fields of rice, workers farming them throughout the day. Houses are built right up along side the road and children came running out as we passed and lined up along the street to slap us high five. Adults stopped work to say hi to us and at times we got to pull over and get off the bikes to talk and meet the local villagers. The children from the mountain villages of Bali are amazed with our digital cameras. The fact that you can see a picture of yourself seconds after it is taken is such a new concept to them... they were fascinated by it. We were able to see a few temples scattered along the mountain road and even stopped in to see the inside of one family's house. Drinking water for these village towns is a 30 minute walk away and they have made their lives out of the most simplistic of things. At one point in our ride we were stopped in one village while a funeral was taking place. The body was placed in a giant bull replica and was being taken to the temple down the road. There was a long procession ahead of us that kept us waiting in the street for a little bit. It was amazing to see and to hear the songs the villagers sang. We got a chance to talk to some local school kids who again had fun with our cameras.

The end of the trip was wonderful as well. We spent our last night in Bali at a sunset dinner on Kuta Beach. As the sun set we ate seafood and chicken by candle light while locals sang us songs on their guitars. It was beautiful and I didn't want to leave.

I'm back in Australia now, getting ready for a big 3 week grind of class, work, papers, presentations and midterms before heading off on my next adventure around Western Australia. Of course there will be more updates before then but don't forget... wish the Blue Dragons luck on Tuesday night! Hope all is well with you all my friends. Eloners... hope school has started well and that ya'll are enjoying it!

love, Kate