Lonesome in Kuta

This describes exactly how I feel. All by my lonesome in Kuta for the next week, awaiting my Australian visa approval. I figure, it’s better to wait out the process in Indonesia then Australia since it’s much cheaper here. But now Heather is gone, and I’m left to make the best of my situation in tropical paradise. I suppose it’s not a bad place to be if you’re just going to chill out and save money. I spent about $15-$20 a day including lodging and food. How you like them apples?

Say hello to Bob!

So I checked into a single room for $10 a night at the Beneyasa Inn once Heather deserted me. It was pretty dodgy but it’ll do. I had a bed with one sheet, a fan, a dingy toilet, and no toilet paper and no bath towel. Glamorous, right? The first day was mellow not only because we went out the night before, but I also had a case of Bali belly so I basically didn’t eat and just slept and read all day. That was until I went to the internet cafe that night. I didn’t spend much time there, but when I was paying my fees, a man about 55 years old approached me because he saw my California driver’s license. His name was Bob and he's from the states, the US Virgin Islands in fact. Bob was also by himself purchasing an assortment of goods to bring back with him to sell to other businesses for profit. We get to talking and ended up having a cup of coffee together. The guy is super interesting and has a great outlook on life. Since I was still not feeling 100%, I suggested we meet up for breakfast the next day. That avalanched into casually meeting up the next few days until he left to go see some friends in Sydney. We talked about everything under the sun including such topics as: traveling, men painting their toe nails, problems with America, relationships, his sailboat, not using the word "hate", having the same birthday, the grateful dead, and more. Who doesn’t want to talk to this guy!? He’s such a teddy bear and I sincerely enjoyed hanging out with him. Although I was getting some evil looks from some of the young Balinese women out in front of the massage parlors… Lol. There’s nothing wrong with making friends, no matter how old they are!

October 31^st… HALLOWEEN! As per usual, I spent all day on the beach. I was planning on some surf but the beach was like a bloody lake! Damn! When my tummy began to rumble, I walked to the nearest café for a cheap sandwich and a large Bintang. I end up going to the Rainbow Café where the only table available was next to about 20 Aussie men. They of course were all drinking and it didn’t take them long to invite me, all by myself, over to their table. I was a bit outnumbered wouldn’t you say? (See pic) They are all apart of an Aussie rules football club from Wagga Wagga in New South Wales. Of course, right? Only this would happen to me. Good thing they were super chill and bought me a grip load of beers while I told them about LA and why I was a single chick all alone in Bali.

Aussie Aussie Aussie! Oi  Oi Oi!

Unfortunately, Americans are the only ones who properly celebrate one of the greatest holidays ever invented. The Aussies and Balinese are missing out! None the less, the Skygarden lounge was having a huge Halloween party and of course, cheap drinks. The group of football guys invited me to join them out that night, and well since I didn’t have anything better to do, plus it’s Halloween, I accompanied them in the evenings festivities. We all had a blast and while some of them didn’t make it through the whole night, some disappeared into Kuta’s wilderness, and some got kicked out of the bar, I had a pretty fabulous time! Being alone in Bali is turning out to be just as fun as with Heather (just kidding Heath, lol)!

The next morning was perhaps a little sluggish… But I made myself useful by going to the internet café to check on my visa application and catch up on some emails. I was minding my own business, when what do you know, a guy next to me starts making conversation. What’s with me meeting randoms in internet cafes? Hmmm. I’m not complaining! Turns out, he’s from Chatsworth, California. For those of you who don’t know, Chatsworth borders Northridge, where I went to college and lived for 4 years. Rich and I chopped it up and talked about backpacking throughout Southeast Asia, and about what we missed about LA. It’s really such a small world out there. We even have mutual friends on Facebook. Imagine meeting a long lost friend half way around the world?! Anyways, we agreed to meet up later to watch the sunset with his friends. I agreed and after hanging out at the beach all day once again, I met back up with Rich and his best friend, Dylan. It was an awesome time getting to know new friends. That night we all went out to the bars in Kuta and had a killer time.

Dylan and Rich from Chatsworth

My last couple nights were not too out of the ordinary. I was primarily trying to save money while also enjoying paradise. I ran into a few people each day that I had met throughout my time there. Tried to surf but failed cause there were absolutely no waves all week starting the day Heather left. Sadness. Had some more sunset beers. Bought a few souvenirs and couple things I could use before I got to Australia. Time is winding down!

The last day was extremely surreal and I’ll never forget it. Because my flight left at 11pm, I didn’t need to leave for the airport until 8pm giving me all day to dick around the city. Unfortunately, I had my final banana pancake breakfast and had to check out of my hotel at noon. What does a girl do for 8 hours where you don’t sweat or spend money? Ya, there’s not a lot of options. But I’ll skip to the part where I was doused with perspiration and watching my final Bali sunset *sigh*. I intentionally went to a place where I was by myself and could enjoy a Bintang. I sat and thought to myself, “I can’t believe it’s my last day. Where did the past 3 months go? I’m moving to Brisbane, Australia in a few hours where I only know 2 people. What the f%ck am I doing?” I was honestly choking with fear and on the verge of a panic attack. If I wasn’t wearing my sunglasses, I’m sure people would have been coming up to me asking if I was ok. I wasn’t ok, I was up to my ear in anxiety and freaking out inside. Frankly, I can’t remember being that scared in my entire life. It was the calm before the storm. Then before I knew it, I was riding the backseat of a moped to the airport. I bid adieu to my crusade through Southeast Asia and said G’day to my new home in… Australia!

**Please stay tuned while I wrap up my finals thoughts about my crusade and continue to update my life in Brisbane, Australia!**