Lombok and Bali
First, a bit of unfortunate news: the ATPIC server where I keep my photo albums has crashed and all my online photos have been lost. They also have informed me that they keep no backups and do not plan on doing so as long as ATPIC remains a free service. So, unfortunately I have no online photo albums anymore. Their server is back up and running now and I can start posting again -but there is no way I can afford the time to go back and repost past pictures :( Future pics will be posted either there or I may (should) try to find some other host.
On to more interesting things:
I went to Bali for a little over a week. First thing I did when I got there is hop on a ferry to Lombok and headed to climb a volcano: gunung Rinjani. Now, I'd had enough of climbing mountains for a little while and debated not doing this one, but the Rinjani volcano is unique: in it's crater is a lake; and within that lake is another smaller volcano created by a second eruption of Rinjani. I was quite annoyed by everyone in the town that I met telling me that you were not allowed to do the climb without a guide and a porter -when that is certainly not an Indonesian law (they were all lying-except for one person who agreed that it wasn't a law but highly recommended I take a guide) . They try to sell you a 150US$ package (you may think that this is not a lot but in Indonesia, it is a huge amount) that includes a bunch of stuff that I didn't want. I even tried to go the "park office" to pay the park entrance fee, but the guy there told me that I couldn't get into the park if I didn't also buy guides/porters/etc. So, they forced my hand. I had tried to do the right thing by paying the entrance fee, but they wouldn't allow me. I told them that I couldn't afford it, and then went off and climbed the volcano on my own. It is a two-day climb (although they try to market it as a 5-day expedition). After about 8 hours of walking and about three-quarters of the way up the mountain I found a neat little cave; I unrolled my sleeping bag and made camp. The next day I woke up at 3am with intentions of going to the summit for the sunrise. I could hear the wind howling outside my cave. I poked my head out and the wind almost took it off -it was freakin cold!!! I quickly crawled back into my hole and went back to sleep. I woke up again at 6:00 as the sun was rising and headed for the summit, the cold bite of the wind softened somewhat by the warmth of the sun. Above the treeline the wind was so strong that it was difficult to walk in a straight line and, unfortunately, about 200m away from the summit, I had to stop. The last part to the peak was on a hairline ridge that dropped off sharply to both sides. I was so close to the top. On the other hand, one misstep on that ridge and I was a certain goner. I sat there, back bent against the raging wind, looking at the ridge and the summit for maybe 20min. I decided my chances of getting up and back down were pretty slim. So I shouldered my bag, and headed back down the mountain. Though I did not make it to the top, The last 2 hours of the climb were along the rim of the crater, and the views inside the volcano were fantastic.
While I had been annoyed at the people in the town for lying to me about the guides, it hadn't really made me angry until I was on the ferry back to Bali and met a couple that had really wanted to climb Rinjani, had the correct information before reaching the town about not needing guides, but were turned away from climbing it because the locals there were so aggressive in claiming that it was impossible without the purchase of their ridiculously overpriced package. They were so dissappointed and even more so when I told them that all you had to do was walk by all those people and start walking up the path (I told them about my trip before I knew about their experience, and after felt really bad).
As I tried to leave the town where I had started and ended my climb, I was approached with offers of transportation that were absolutely ridiculous. So I started walking out of the town. One guy in particular was trying to "help" me and he told me that the next town was 10km away. Of course I knew that the next town was 4 km away over mostly level ground. Once I got away from all those people and got out into the countryside, I found a guy with a motorbike who was willing to take me to the next major town that had a bus station (about 30km away) for a reasonable price (twice what the locals pay, rather than 20 times the price).
Unfortunately, his motorbike broke down (flat tire) in the middle of nowhere. After some discussion, he decided to walk his bike back to the previous town to get it fixed and I decided to continue onwards on foot as he told me that my destination was about 3km away. Unfortunately for me, he was wrong. And as I walked in complete darkness on a country road with nothing around, I attempted to do some hitching. Very few people were going by, most of them on already overloaded motorbikes. I did eventually find a dude who was very happy to take me the 10km to my destination, for no charge at all.
Back in Bali I spent a few days in Ubud, a cultural centre of sorts. Lots of artists make their homes there. There are paintings and crafts for sale on the streets, in markets, and in shops, and performances every evening. I spent some time wandering around checking out the shops, saw a show -a local dance, and wandered the countryside.
I then went to Kuta and spent some time surfing (or rather trying to surf). It is not nearly as easy as some of these dudes make it seem, and I spent ridiculous amounts of energy getting past all the little (3 foot waves) and the surf of the bigger waves, out to where the bigger waves break. And then I would sit on my board with all the other surfers just waiting for that perfect wave. When it came, I would miss it, or I would be too far forward on my board and get tossed head over heels, or I would get up for a second or two and then lose my balance; most often, one way or another, I would end up under the water rolling around with my arms protecting my head if by chance it should meet up with the board. It really was hard work. But, when you do manage to catch and ride a wave, it is really a lot of fun. In a full day of surfing (8 hours, I breaked for a half-hour lunch) I probably had two good rides. And I would say it was totally worth it.
A friend of mine is getting married in Langkawi on Sat. On Sun I fly back to KL. On Mon to Canada. I'm in Canada for a little over a week, then off to my new home for the next two years: Belo Horizonte (Beautiful Horizon), Brasil.
On to more interesting things:
I went to Bali for a little over a week. First thing I did when I got there is hop on a ferry to Lombok and headed to climb a volcano: gunung Rinjani. Now, I'd had enough of climbing mountains for a little while and debated not doing this one, but the Rinjani volcano is unique: in it's crater is a lake; and within that lake is another smaller volcano created by a second eruption of Rinjani. I was quite annoyed by everyone in the town that I met telling me that you were not allowed to do the climb without a guide and a porter -when that is certainly not an Indonesian law (they were all lying-except for one person who agreed that it wasn't a law but highly recommended I take a guide) . They try to sell you a 150US$ package (you may think that this is not a lot but in Indonesia, it is a huge amount) that includes a bunch of stuff that I didn't want. I even tried to go the "park office" to pay the park entrance fee, but the guy there told me that I couldn't get into the park if I didn't also buy guides/porters/etc. So, they forced my hand. I had tried to do the right thing by paying the entrance fee, but they wouldn't allow me. I told them that I couldn't afford it, and then went off and climbed the volcano on my own. It is a two-day climb (although they try to market it as a 5-day expedition). After about 8 hours of walking and about three-quarters of the way up the mountain I found a neat little cave; I unrolled my sleeping bag and made camp. The next day I woke up at 3am with intentions of going to the summit for the sunrise. I could hear the wind howling outside my cave. I poked my head out and the wind almost took it off -it was freakin cold!!! I quickly crawled back into my hole and went back to sleep. I woke up again at 6:00 as the sun was rising and headed for the summit, the cold bite of the wind softened somewhat by the warmth of the sun. Above the treeline the wind was so strong that it was difficult to walk in a straight line and, unfortunately, about 200m away from the summit, I had to stop. The last part to the peak was on a hairline ridge that dropped off sharply to both sides. I was so close to the top. On the other hand, one misstep on that ridge and I was a certain goner. I sat there, back bent against the raging wind, looking at the ridge and the summit for maybe 20min. I decided my chances of getting up and back down were pretty slim. So I shouldered my bag, and headed back down the mountain. Though I did not make it to the top, The last 2 hours of the climb were along the rim of the crater, and the views inside the volcano were fantastic.
While I had been annoyed at the people in the town for lying to me about the guides, it hadn't really made me angry until I was on the ferry back to Bali and met a couple that had really wanted to climb Rinjani, had the correct information before reaching the town about not needing guides, but were turned away from climbing it because the locals there were so aggressive in claiming that it was impossible without the purchase of their ridiculously overpriced package. They were so dissappointed and even more so when I told them that all you had to do was walk by all those people and start walking up the path (I told them about my trip before I knew about their experience, and after felt really bad).
As I tried to leave the town where I had started and ended my climb, I was approached with offers of transportation that were absolutely ridiculous. So I started walking out of the town. One guy in particular was trying to "help" me and he told me that the next town was 10km away. Of course I knew that the next town was 4 km away over mostly level ground. Once I got away from all those people and got out into the countryside, I found a guy with a motorbike who was willing to take me to the next major town that had a bus station (about 30km away) for a reasonable price (twice what the locals pay, rather than 20 times the price).
Unfortunately, his motorbike broke down (flat tire) in the middle of nowhere. After some discussion, he decided to walk his bike back to the previous town to get it fixed and I decided to continue onwards on foot as he told me that my destination was about 3km away. Unfortunately for me, he was wrong. And as I walked in complete darkness on a country road with nothing around, I attempted to do some hitching. Very few people were going by, most of them on already overloaded motorbikes. I did eventually find a dude who was very happy to take me the 10km to my destination, for no charge at all.
Back in Bali I spent a few days in Ubud, a cultural centre of sorts. Lots of artists make their homes there. There are paintings and crafts for sale on the streets, in markets, and in shops, and performances every evening. I spent some time wandering around checking out the shops, saw a show -a local dance, and wandered the countryside.
I then went to Kuta and spent some time surfing (or rather trying to surf). It is not nearly as easy as some of these dudes make it seem, and I spent ridiculous amounts of energy getting past all the little (3 foot waves) and the surf of the bigger waves, out to where the bigger waves break. And then I would sit on my board with all the other surfers just waiting for that perfect wave. When it came, I would miss it, or I would be too far forward on my board and get tossed head over heels, or I would get up for a second or two and then lose my balance; most often, one way or another, I would end up under the water rolling around with my arms protecting my head if by chance it should meet up with the board. It really was hard work. But, when you do manage to catch and ride a wave, it is really a lot of fun. In a full day of surfing (8 hours, I breaked for a half-hour lunch) I probably had two good rides. And I would say it was totally worth it.
A friend of mine is getting married in Langkawi on Sat. On Sun I fly back to KL. On Mon to Canada. I'm in Canada for a little over a week, then off to my new home for the next two years: Belo Horizonte (Beautiful Horizon), Brasil.
posted by Leon at 4:54 PM
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