Bali: Island of Beaches, Leeches, and Motorbike Screeches

I went to Bali over Easter primarily because my brother seemed enthused about surfing there. I'm all for recommendations from trusted sources. Besides, he has to live vicariously through someone, right?

It was an awesome experience. I don't quite know how to encapsulate it. Like Gaul, the trip was divided into three parts.

Part 1: Kuta and Legian Beaches
We surfed and hung out at the beach. We paid exorbitant tourist prices. We were continually attacked by vendors hoping to sell us bracelets, transport, beach chairs, surf boards, and everything else we didn't want.

Part 2: Begdugul and Mt. Catur
We hiked a volcano for 5 hours in a torrential downpour, sustained numerous leech bites, and then slid down the steep, narrow, rocky, half-stream-half-mud-river, overgrown "path" to the bottom. There were all sorts of signs in Indonesian along the trail, but all we could translate was the word "beware." They probably said something important.

Part 3: Kerobokan and Denpasar
Anja went home to study, and I hung out in the city and some temples. I relocated to a hostel that provided a motorbike free of charge for guests. Very cool, if only I knew how to ride one.

That's the cliff notes version.

The end result is that I'm back in Singapore tanner, poorer, wanting to surf, and more aware of God's rich blessings in my life. When I am a foriegner in a strange land, I become conscious of how little control I have over my life. The people I meet, the circumstance that fit together, my safety and health--that's all up to God in the end. He has blessed me far more than I deserve.