Welcome to Padang Bai

Beautiful Bloo Lagoon

Today began at 11am, with Ketut's yummy pancake and honey breakfast. We then go to Padang Bai Cafe in town where Nanon (our chef and friend since we've been in town) has promised us a good price on ferry crossing to Lombok. We give him 300,000 rupiah and he takes our names on a piece of paper. We are to return later in the afternoon for our tickets. This is how it works in Indonesia, so it's always a good idea to make friends with the locals and cultivate a relationship - they will help you out big time when you need something.

At the Bloo Lagoon, we spend hours of the day snorkeling. This is some of the best snorkeling we've seen, even better than the Great Barrier Reef. It's amazing because you can swim to it right from the beautiful sandy beach. The sand is so soft it feels like pancake batter between your toes. I see so many kinds of fish I can hardly begin to remember them all now. Fat blue puffer fish with yellow spots, long silver pike fish, a school of a hundred trout, and big bowls of lettuce green coral. We have lunch at the Bloo Lagoon Cafe. I try the Bali coffee, which is unfiltered grounds in typical Balinese fashion, but it tastes good. Just sip carefully to avoid the sludge. We have a leisurely stroll back through town toward Lemonhouse, where I leave Chris to head to the well-named White Sandy Beach. I am just not done swimming, and looking forward to some time alone - which is rare when traveling full-time with a companion in third world countries.



Cow path to White Sand Beach

I proceed past the ferry terminal and turn left at the two big cows and head up a steep gravelly hill, serenaded by chickens. Then it's down the other side of the gravelly hill until you turn a corner and "bam baby" - there's your first glimpse of White Sandy Beach. Moby's "Porcelain" is playing in my head and, rightly so, I feel like I've discovered my own private slice of Indian Ocean paradise. I trek through tropical bush and heaving coconut trees on a small dirt path to the beach. There are only 6 or so other people enjoying the sand and I luxuriate in a long swim in the warm ocean before settling on my sarong for a good read. A friendly local has plopped down next to me with his guitar. He's wearing nothing but a pinstriped speedo and a silver playboy necklace. Awesome. The Balinese people are unfailingly friendly, generous and helpful, so I decide to trust this silly man. He would like to practice his English, so I indulge him for a few minutes, how can I refuse such a genuine desire? I am rewarded with a personalized song. The guitar is lovely, and the singing seems to be a compilation of every sentence he knows in English. It goes something like this:

Welcome
to Padang Bai
How are you today?
You swim today in Padang Bai
Soon you leave
But come back
to Padang Bai
America love Bali
so beautiful
I hope you like Padang Bai



Discovering White Sand Beach

This is Indonesia...I smile away and enjoy the moment. Eventually, after a very long story in half English half Indonesian - something about Obama and Indonesian boats - I head home. The Indonesians love to talk about Obama because he went to school in Jakarta for a few years. I have just passed the cows at the bottom of the gravelly hill when I hear a voice behind me: "Kristin - I bring you to Lemonhouse!" Ketut happened to be cruising by on her motorbike. She pulls over on the side of the road and I excitedly hop on, hoping I won't later regret my helmetless state. We proceed down the tiny winding alley to Lemonhouse, dodging other motorbikes (how do they all fit?!), and I make it alive at the bottom of the steps to home. In all seriousness I've been dying to try out one of these things and I had so much fun riding along with Ketut.

After a cold shower, we head to town for dinner. We pass Nanon at the Cafe, and he has our ferry tickets for us. Yay! We pop in to Puri Rai for dinner tonight, and it is the best meal we've ever had. For only $3.30 USD I receive a grilled Mahi Mahi steak on a bed of wilted greens with a trio of homemade salsas, and a tower of rice shaped like a temple. Yes, I will be worshipping this meal. There's even a cute little sign in the restaurant: "Thank you fisherman for providing us with the best fresh seafood" - they pull it right out of the bay across the street. You can't get fish that's fresher, I beg you to try.