Day 297 After a brief drive to the airport form Jay-Jay's we were in the long line at check-in. There seemed to be no issues as the line moved quickly. Security seemed like a breeze compared to what we are used to back in North America. But then when we went through the doors to the international section there were more x-rays and scanners. Neither of us wielding a weapon of any sort we were through no problem. Now we waited. Watched an episode of Rules of Engagement on the laptop and it was time to board the 2 hour-ish flight. The trip across the Timor Sea went smoothly with minor turbulence and in no time the captain was on the mic announcing, "seat belts on, we are nearing Denpasar International." He landed us flawlessly on the hot tarmac and we crept over to the gate. Getting through customs was a breeze. We bought 30 day visas on the spot for $25 USD each (currency preferred for this transaction), got our passports stamped, a quiet "Welcome to Bali" and we were through. Hello Bali!
The onslaught started before we even walked out the airport doors. On the way out money exchangers yelled and waved trying to get our business from the long line of tiny booths. Having been prepared with some local Rupiah (Rp), we ignored them all. We stepped outside into the Indonesian night. It was hot and humid (both expected) and the taxi drivers were in a frenzy trying to get anyone into their cabs. Little overwhelming we walked a few hundred meters to the edge of the melee so we could get our bearings. Declining a few more drivers, we found one with a reasonable rate AND who knew where to go and we were off. The drive was an "experience" to say the least. Hate to use the cliche but it was just like on TV, the Amazing Race comes to mind. It would seem that more than 70% of the people here use scooters or motorcycles. Small ones, no Harleys or racing bikes. There is very little when it comes to signs or painted lines on the roads. Everybody seems to just zip around weaving in and out of traffic, turning and stopping when they see fit. We arrived in one piece at the Ida Hotel. It was dark but from first glimpse it seemed like a nice place. We checked in, got shown our room and handed 2 complementary drinks. We put our bags in the room -we only had a carry on each- and walked the 10 meters to the open air bar. We had a few drinks, shared a light meal and went to bed.
Today we got up and had a chance to take in our surroundings in the daylight. The Hotel is an older building showcasing some great Balinese architecture. Our room is plain but very spacious with our own balcony. The hot tub that empties into a clean infinity pool is right outside our door, surrounded by comfy deck chairs and the bar next door. There is an outdoor spa on the far side of the pool, which offers cheap massages. Tropical trees and religious monuments fill the rest of the landscape. Our stay here comes with a complete breakfast every morning and if the rest are as good as the first we will not be disappointed. There is a cook on hand to make eggs the way we like to go along with bacon, fried tomatoes, toast, cereal, coffee, tea and juice and fresh fruit. After breakfast it was time to head out of the hotel compound and into the busy streets of Kuta, Bali. The first thing we noticed before we even exited the gate were little baskets woven from leaves containing flower petals, grains of rice, some a cracker or two and incense. We found out these are Canangsari. These little offerings are put out every morning for the spirits (good and bad), offering them food, sustenance, respect and possibly bribery. Offerings for the good spirits are put on shrines and temple stands but more often you will see the Canangsari on the ground for the bad spirit. One in front of your shop door hopefully keeps the bad spirits out and from disrupting business. A properly constructed canangsari has to have a porosan, a container with betel leaves, areca nut and lime (the three necessary items for betel nut chewers) which represent the Hindu trinity of creator (Brahma), preserver (Vishnu) and destroyer (Shiva).
As we walked out of the hotels alley and onto the main road these offerings were everywhere, almost as many of them as scooters (lol). Seriously though the scooters are scary. They have no problem coming on the three foot wide sidewalk, popping out of alleys without notice and scariest of all is all the parents riding with kids of all ages, infants up. The streets are narrow, packed and the exhaust has nowhere to go so it does smell a bit. We found it a little odd that we were out there at 11 am and most shops were just opening up. Late starters we thought, but it was us that were early. When we got up and looked at the time on the IPad, we failed to realize that it did not switch time zones. So when we thought we got up at 9 am it was really 7:30. When we were out and people were just opening shop at 11 it was really just 9:30. Oops. We walked around the busy streets getting hassled by every other person for who knows what. From knock off anything u want to taxi rides and scooter rentals to massages, everyone has something to offer. We decided we would take a guy up on the offer to go see what he's got. We followed him down an alley filled with market stalls lined with what look like fake watches, wallets and sports jerseys to his in the back. I stood near the front while Jenn examined the goods. As bad as they wanted I refused to go in. Jenn found a shirt that was "ok" and the guy could see it. So he offered us 2 of them for a whopping 350K Rp. We said no thanks and started to walk away at this point the guy started to follow us, yelling "how much, how much you pay!". We kept walking out through the other shops syaing "no thanks". He just kept following and yelling till he finally said "10K!!" What?! How do you go from 350K to 10K?!
To put the money in perspective:

1 US$ = 9400-9900 Rp
1 AU$ = 9800-1100 Rp
1 CA$ = 9000-9600 Rp

Depending on where you get it exchanged.
The prices for some things are:

1 330ml bottle Bintang beer = 15K
1 620ml bottle Bintang beer = 25k
1 1.5L Bottle water = 3.5K
1 hour massage = 75K

During some of our walk we noticed what we considered an unusually high presence of police and security. Didn't give it much thought beyond it being the norm here, till the street we were on cleared right out. Then around the corner comes about 8 to 10 police cars and motorcycles, and the closest official to us ask us to step back a bit. I asked him what was going on and he told us the Indonesian president is just about to pass on his way to one of the hotels. We stood by and watched the motorcade pass by trying to guess which car the president could be in.
After our walk we headed back to the hotel for a swim and a nap. Later that night we went out for dinner. we ate at a nice restaurant with outdoor seating upstairs. we got a balcony all to ourselves. We ordered chicken Satay and sweet and Sour Chicken with rice. The satay came in a ceramic bowl with the skewers of chicken on smoldering coals and the sweet and sour chicken was the best we have ever had. we also had 2 large Bintangs. The meal came to a monstrous 122K Rp...oh wait that is about 13 bucks.