Sun, Sand, & Surf

Ahhhh yes...the three 'S's that a true backpacker really just can't live without. Well, at least not when this backpacker's name is Scottie Too Hottie! Hot as I am on my own (although not hot enough for Angelina Jolie it seems, as determined by her still-burning snub back in Cambodia,) a boy needs a little extra help from Mr. Golden Sun to really, truly fulfill that title. And god bless Bali for supplying all three of those glorious 'S's in pure and ready abundance.

Mmmm....pure and ready abundance....of anything....mmmm....

Alrighty then. Our long bus-ferry-bus odyssey from Bromo to Bali (B2B! The title of my next studio album, maybe?) was so damn worth it thanks to Bali. Bali is pure fucking heaven. There's a reason why it's pretty much the number one beach resort in the world. It's got everything baby, and lemme tell ya that S2H likes to have it all. I'm not the kind of guy that likes to share (unless it's a bucket of chocolate pudding, or an impromptu spanking, or both together), but luckily for the other tourists Bali has plenty of goodies to go around.

We stayed in the heart of it all Kuta, and were only minutes from the beach. And oh what a beach it was! Kuta Beach isn't all white sandy and calm turquoisey waters like Boracay, and it's not all quiet and chill like Mui Ne, and it's certainly not all family-friendly like, say, St. Petersburg, Florida. Kuta Beach is like the Bad Boy of the world's beaches. It's big, it's rough and tough, it's got virtual 24-hour mega surf, and all the eye candy that a voyeuristic hedonist you could ever hope for. Huge crashing waves cascading over golden bronzed Aussie surfer boys. Gentle breezes blowing ever-so gently over the ample bosoms of mahogany-haired Italian supermodels. The hot-as-hell sun rays causing beads of sweat to drip down the perfectly sculpted chest and six-pack of blond blue-eyed Swedish hunks. Bubbly surf wrapping like a liquid blanket around the toned creamy skin of the running, bouncing, frolicking English girls. Seriously, what more could you possibly ask for?

Kuta, admittedly, is rather commercial and hyper-Western, and therefore it's very trendy for backpackers to diss Kuta and pretend they're too cool for it. Those that do are the same snobby lame-asses who think they're soooo above Bangkok's Khoa San Road, or turn their nose up at Lonely Planet guide books (but then a minute later you catch them sneaking a glance at yours.) I hate those kind of backpackers. Well, I don't actually hate them, per se, but they do really annoy me. I've always believed in experiencing everything that a country has to offer, and honestly think that every place has something good to offer a traveller, so why limit yourself? I'm the kind of guy that loves getting off the main roads and disappearing off the map into a jungle or volcanic crater, but I'm also the same guy who loves to party it up with a dozen different drunk nationalities at some bar in Bangkok or Bali. And I'm not the least bit embarrassed about that. And so, I proclaim to the world, that I love Bali, and I love Kuta!

Janelle and I made fast friends with our four bus buddies, and the six of us became near inseparable during our stay in the island paradise. Laura, Wiebrand, Scot, and Sarah became really great friends, and the six of us had a blast every single day. We ate pretty much all of our meals together, and hung out all day long. We soaked up the rays together on the beach, learned how to boogie-board in the massive mini-tsunamis rolling in every ninety seconds, shopped-til-we-dropped up and down the Poppies lanes, sampled all kinds of delicious foods (both local and foreign) at a hundred and one different restaurants, and pretty much were having a laugh the entire time.

This is the other half of travelling. Seeing the sites and doing the activities is only 50% of the joy of backpacking. The other half is meeting all these wonderful people from different corners of the globe and becoming the best of friends for your short stay together. I love it. It is this experience of very fast, very intense bonding with other travellers that I will miss the most when I go back home.

Besides our new buddies, immaculate tans growing more golden by the second, and abundance of salt in our hair courtesy of the Indian Ocean, Janelle and I were blessed with finding a really awesome, kick-ass hotel. Laura, Wiebrand, Janelle, and I found this incredible steal of a deal in Kuta that was only a few minutes from the beach (Scot & Sarah stayed at a cheaper place around the corner.) Listen to all that this place had to offer. You're gonna be so excited and suspended in such disbelief that you really will pee your pants:

It was a brand new hotel, (only a year and a half old,) had huge rooms with big comfy beds, clean sheets, and thick blankets, luscious aircon, TV, balconies, giant bathrooms with bath and shower (separate from the rest of the bathroom by an honest-to-goodness shower curtain,) hot water and water pressure that could kill a pony, and the nicest swimming pool that I've ever laid eyes upon, complete with a swim-up bar!!! All of this for only 110,000 rupiahs a night! (that's about $11 US!) CAN YOU BELIEVE IT!!?? I stayed there and I still can't. It was the nicest hotel that I've ever stayed in in my life. Really.

We spent three nights there and I really wanted to just move in and live there. I had the best sleeps ever in that bed, actually felt thoroughly clean to the core (except in thought, of course), and had a good healthy sample of cocktails while swimming in that pool at night with my sister and friends. (Hooray for pina coladas!) Life really doesn't get any better than this.

Bali is like therapy for the soul, and after a few days there I really felt so warm and so good. Having a tan to die for is nice as it is, but being able to suntan/boogieboard/shop/eat/drink with four really cool people in such a beautiful place makes you feel even better. Everybody in the world needs to holiday in Bali at least once in their lives, but I estimate that around eight or nine visits would be a better minimum. We'll definitely be back again, and this I know for a fact as we have to return after our next destination - the Gilis.

Off we go...