Swine Flu,? Malaria?, or Perhaps just a BAD Tuna Sandwich?

Nov 10th

The alarm went off at 7:30am this morning (just a short 5 hour slumber), giving us 15 minutes to put on our bathing suits and get ready to meet Meza and Icha for breakfast. I was excited for the day, but as soon as I got up I had a horrible pain in my stomach and wanted to keel over. I laid back down in the bed. The pain continued. I waited a few more minutes and finally told Jess to go to breakfast without me. I felt nauseous, light headed, and like I could pass out. I ran cold water over my face and went to the bathroom which helped a little then laid back down. I knew that we had to meet our driver at 8:30am and I didn’t want to keep everyone waiting so I pulled myself out of bed and down to the lobby. Everyone was very worried about me and I was instantly waited on, Jess got me toast, and Meza got me tea. I drank a glass of orange juice but I still felt horrible and decided not to test whether or not my stomach would keep food down. The plan for the day was to go to see a traditional Balinese dance performance then off to the beach for water sports. I love water sports and have been looking forward to going to the beaches in Bali since the day we booked the flight., so I was really bummed that I wasn’t feeling well.

The three went to the Balinese dance performance without me and I laid down for an hour and a half. The extra rest was what I needed. Although I still wasn’t feeling great I decided that I was feeling well enough to make the 20 minute trip. The beach was unbelievable. We parked at just one section and were greeted  by a man who brought us to a table and gave a book with all of the different water sports that they offered. I decided to go scuba diving for an hour and try a new water sport that I had never heard of called “flying fish.” Why not put my stomach to the test? I figured that I was there and really really wanted to do everything, so I went for it- it was a good way to take my mind off my stomach ach!

The guide decided that we should start with scuba diving. I was happy that they allowed Meza, Icha and Jess to come in the boat with me. They got some great pictures and got to tan while I was underwater.

 

 

 

 

 

The dive was unbelievable. It was the deepest dive that I have been on to date 50 feet (still not too deep). I was a little worried because when I went scuba diving this spring to get my certification I think that it triggered a series of sinus infections (including loss of hearing in my left hear for about a month) and eventually lead to me having sinus surgery. I was prayed nothing would happen and I would feel okay when I returned back to the surface. The drive was great. The instructor kept telling me that the water was freezing, I kept saying how hot it was. We got a reading  of the water temperature for the dive, 81*F- I guess he’s never been scuba diving in Maine in April. The fish were amazing! I took down the two pieces of toast (that I had nibbled on for breakfast but hadn’t hardly touched) in a plastic bag and was swarmed by fish the whole dive. It was so neat to take out little pieces of bread and the fish would just eat it out of your hand. It was an interesting feeling to have them nibble on your hands and fingers- it didn’t hurt just felt funny. At one point I was surrounded by 1000’s of fish and could even see my instructor. The fish were surprisingly smart and knew that I had more food in the plastic bag- I even had several dozen fish follow me on my 45 minute dive. The fish were the best part of the dive, I saw all kinds-  such bright colors and were so pretty too look at. We also saw lots of coral and green starfish that I liked a lot. On the dive we found a baby squid and my scuba guide and I tried to catch it- thought we had no success. It was definitely my favorite dive to date- although I did miss my 3 favorite scuba buddies- Taryn, Scott and Labelle.

 

 

Up next was parasailing and I am actually really glad that I didn’t partake in this activity. Icha and Jess were the ones who decided to give it a try. The take off and landing were both done on land which I had even seen before- I have been parasailing a bunch of times, and was very surprised that they could do it like that. I also thought it was interesting that it was only a 1 person parasail- I’ve always gone with a buddy. The worst thing in my opinion was that the whole parasail was literally 3 minutes for each person. Yes, it was very cheap, but I was shocked how quick it was. Also- to get the parasailed to land on the beach a team of about 10 guys stood below and jumped up and down until they grabbed the ankles of the parasailed in the air- probably not the safest way to do it, haha!

The last extreme activity of the day was flying fish. Flying fish starts off with a boat pulling an inner tube, but in this case the tube actually flies in the air. The tube is kind a mix between a double banana boat and an inflatable kite. I had NEVER seen anything like this before. At times the kite was 30 feet in the air! It was a really cool was to see the water and still have an adrenaline rush because you aren’t strapped in at all. It was a lot of fun!

 

 

 

We were all getting kind of hungry so we took a break from the sun and had lunch at a great restaurant on the side of a cliff over looking the beaches and houses, it was picturesque! We walked around the Garuda Wisnu Kencana Cultural Park afterwards. The Garuda is the national bird, even though it is a mythical bird. The statue is huge and it’s not even complete yet!

 

 

 

For the rest of the late afternoon and early evening we went to Dreamland beach and relaxed for about two hours. The beach was a long walk down this rocky path. When we got to the beach we bargained for beach chairs and boogie boards. It has been a few years since I have boogie boarded but it came right back to me. Icha and I had a lot of fun catching the waves- I felt like a kid all over again! After about an hour we climbed the stairs back up the hillside and went to this resort area that has an infinity pool and lounge/restaurant area right on the beach. We bought a drink and enjoyed watching the sunset and took lots of great pictures! We got to watch the sunset from the pool deck and it was beautiful! I felt like I was in a travel magazine!

 

 

 

 

 

We came back to the hotel and showered, then walked around Kuta Center, the beach area where our hotel is, and had a really late sushi dinner!

 

 

Our hotel is right near the beach, less than a 5 minute walk, and our balcony over looks the pool. If the pool was a little deeper I’d want to jump right into the pool- but I guess I have done enough extreme sports for one day. The room is pretty big too and it’s nice to have our own space and not be in a hostel for a few days. Our room has a TV with CNN which has been nice to catch up on world news- I have felt so out of the loop. Our hotel is in a very touristy area which has been fun. There are a bunch of markets all around, a Bubba Gump Shrimp restaurant, Planet Hollywood, and lots of huge surf companies. There are a ton of Australian tourists and surfers (with lots of cute surfer boys too!). It’s really funny because sometimes the Indonesians will mistake us for Australians and will say “Good day Mate” in an Indonesia-Australian accent. I die laughing every time.

That’s all for now.

Love,
Katie