Bali, day one.

3500 miles in 20 hours : Ine to Denpesar

I woke up at 7am (early, considering my flight wasn't until the early evening) and packed a few last minute items. Early morning logic had convinced me that I would need 15 pairs of underpants, 12 pairs of socks, and at least 7 outfits that I would find some sort of reason to wear. It's not every day you travel to the southern hemisphere, after all.

I drove down on what I would consider one of the more beautiful days of the year (at least in Tango) and rolled down the windows so I could get a good taste of the warm air and the spring smells that were permeating the winter chills (even in late April).

Thanks to a gracious Kameoka JET, I was able to park my car for free in front of her apartment complex. An older, more out of place building surrounded by beautiful houses and stunning flower gardens. I walked to the station with my over-packed bags and met up with Ian at Kyoto Station.
"You looked stressed," he complimented.
Though I didn't feel stressed, I certainly recognized that I sounded nervous. Maybe it was the excitement from driving and the idea of going some place new, or maybe it was just that I was going to spend the next 7 days straight with Ian -- something that was equally new.

We arrived at the airport, bought sandwiches and beer, and hunkered down in some massage chairs (which, to be fair, we did use for 10 of the 90 minutes we were there for). After our second beers, we boarded the airplane along with the horde of Japanese people also taking a Golden Week holiday to some place warm.

The flight wasn't terribly long, about six or seven hours. Ian and I spent the time drinking wine and watching movies (and no doubt pestering every one around us in doing so). Ian suggested watching Jurassic Park, though we couldn't find it in English. The dubbed version wasn't so bad, though I understood absolutely none of it. Not long after we realized how to put movies into English and felt dumb. We followed it up with AI (in English) and then went our separate ways on our individual entertainment systems. I attempted to study a bit of Indonesian (so I could be less clueless) but only retained the word for milk, which is 'susu'.

The plan was to stay in Nusa Dua (a peninsula in Southern Bali) for 6 days. Hours and hours of poolside reading, prepaid tours, and non-Japanese food awaited.



Upon arrival, we felt the thick warm air at once. It was a spectacular change from the chilly Japan nights we've been having this April. We coughed up some money for visas and went to collect our bags. Being white and foreign in Japan can earn you some attention (people speaking slowly to you, being overly polite or condescending, and someones avoiding eye contact with you). In Bali however, it just makes you a target. Three men rushed up to me and offered to help me carry my one suitcase. Being exhausted from traveling 3,500 miles in about 20 hours, I didn't argue. All of a sudden, Ian and I were surrounded by about 6 men, some of who had helped us with our things and some who had just showed up for no apparent reason. They all demanded 100,000 rupiah each (about... 8 dollars maybe?) for their 'troubles'. HIGHWAY ROBBERY.

Annoyed and cranky, we found our tour guide (whose decent English was masked by his thick French accent and creative syntax). 40 minutes later, we had arrived at the Ramada hotel in Nusa Dua (the Tango peninsula of Bali, I joked). We were greeted with fruit punch (even at midnight, what service!) and on the assumption that we were married, the hotel staff gave Ian the paperwork to fill out. I meanwhile spotted that the gift shop was a money changer. "Phew. Now we won't be completely screwed if more helpful Balinese show up and hold our things for ransom."

The room was big and comfortable (I was thrilled to see an air conditioner). After quick shower and a look around the mini fridge and porch, I crawled into my bed, eager to put the day behind me.

Unfortunately I didn't get more than two hours of sleep... whether for general excitement that we'd actually made it or the cup of coffee I'd had just before landing. So, I laid in bed, listening to the intermittent squalls outside, waiting patiently for the sun to come up so I could see what was outside of our window.