Indo Blog Dec 9th 2008
Ok it is Tuesday now, I left Gatwick Sunday morning and arrived in Bali Monday evening.
Story so far;
well It was raining non stop the night of my arrival and the whole of Tuesday the next day, the accommodation I was taken to by the taxi driver was 150,000 rupees a night (current exchange rate is 17,000 rupees to the pound) so it was approximately £9, It was run down and felt grotty, security for my camera equipment felt a little less secure than I could feel at ease with. Toilet didnt flush and bath taps did not work had to stop water coming out of shower head by folding the hose in half and jamming the shower hose in its holder.
Culture Shock;
England seems to rain more often, so I chose to go to a tropical climate in search of sunsets and sea, however I was greeted with heavier rain than I have rarely experienced in England. So it was less of a shock than I expected more like jumping out of a cold puddle into a moist sticky humid one, the main culture shock was the third world accommodation I ended up in and the fact there were not any streetlights. The main shock to my expectation was the howling wind with the sound of Indonesian bells playing loudly in every public place from the airports to the restaurants. It was quite achilling experience in my dazed and confused state.
Surfs Up;
Well not exactly the sea looked like a storm and the wave situation in Brighton the weekend before was better. So I am presently feeling gutted from losing my camera and all the pictures I had recently taken that were still on it. The holes in my brain and memory from the sleeping tablets I took on the plane still keep tripping me up, then having worked out my sums the accommodation was still 3 times what I had been told I could get a place and although my standards can sink, it was definitely in need of an upgrade. But at what cost?..
I hate worrying about money but I had a few concerns now about the cost of living here and replacing my camera etc as I want to stay out at least 6 months. So basically the first couple of days were wet, I could not sleep at all, I was tossing and turning all through the night. My body clock had gone haywire.
To be honest;
It is not easy being brutally honest about my feelings of mortality however the aim of my blog is as much a lesson in humility for me as the trip is a voyage of discovery. So if I am truthful at this stage, I felt anxious, a little scared and had a haunting sense of loneliness that I couldn’t shake off..
