Krazy Kuta

The first full week flew by. I got to know everyone a lot better and managed to slowly ease into work. It was hard and tiring but fun none the less - 'play time' as Justin likes to call it. Afternoons were free, and I spent most of them reading. In the evening, Suha and I tended to buy our food from local food stalls, spending 60p on average for veggies and rice. Local food is by far the cheapest, and probably the best food in Ubud. Gado Gado has become my favourite. It is a local dish with many variations. Essentially it is vegetables, rice and a spicy peanut sauce (just like sate). Some places serve it with tofu or tempe, others with egg and crackers. Each one tastes slightly different, but all taste yummy!

Suha and I headed to town Thursday to sample some of the nightlife. We ended up eating in a really expensive looking restaurant called 'Sagittarius'. Near the bottom of Monkey Forest Rd, it is a smallish eatery with oil paintings on the walls and candles on the tables. Opening the menu, I was surprised to find how reasonable the prices were. I order Mediterranean veg and salad and a large beer altogether costing less than 4GBP. I left with money in my pocket and food in my belly. We then headed to a place called Boom Boom for drinks. Hoping to see similar prices, I opened the drinks menu. Cocktails started at 5GBP and the cheapest drink on the menu was coffee: I decided to take the sobering option

We spent Friday working in Rebecca's garden, planting seedlings, creating raised beds and sowing seeds. In return, we were rewarded with a great lunch cooked by Rebecca. After we were finished, me and Suha made our way back to THK, packed our bags and headed to Kuta. I never had any intentions of paying Kuta a visit but as Suha was driving to return his bike there anyway I couldn't turn down the free lift. It took almost two hours to get there as the traffic was heavy and we kept getting lost. We arrived at about 4pm, and then parted ways. I checked into a hotel and booked some surfing lessons for the next day. A guy I met over coffee suggested I seek out Ewan as he gives private tutoring. I went with his advice.

I walked around aimlessly for a while and then decided to go for dinner. It was a solitary occassion and wasn't very enjoyable. I was gawped at for reading a book! There are a severe lack of book-worms in Kuta, so unless you have a beer in your hand you are considered an outlaw. Trying to ignore the unwanted attention, I immersed myself in the life of Karl Marks. Feeling rather deflated, I weighed up whether or not to go out. I know my intentions for travelling were not to get blind drunk, but I thought I would make an acception on this occasion... when in Rome.

Heading towards Legian Street, I began to hear the music pumping. Bright lights, tall buildings and drunk Aussies were all I could see. It reminded me of Guild Hall walk back home and I had to take a moment to realise what I was letting myself in for. Choosing the most appealing bar on the strip, I headed to the Reggae Bar. It was fairly empty when I arrived, so I pulled up a bar stoll and got chatting to the barman. A Javanese Rasta, he spoke fluent English and could make a great cocktail. I ended up having a really good conversation with him and he managed to teach me some Indonesian. When the bar was more full, and I felt drunk enough to socialise, I headed to a table and introduced myself to two Aussie girls and their three Indonesian friends. We all hit it off and I ended up staying out with them till about 4am. We ended the night in Sky Garden, a kind of super club split across several floors. I remember dancing to the music and thinking it was the best music I had ever heard, but actually have no memory of what was playing.

Stumbling home, I caught sight of a 24hr internet cafe. What a great time to phone Will I thought. It was 9pm UK time when I skyped him and although I don't remember what I said to him, I remember there was a lot of crying involved. Realising I was a drunken mess and had to be up in 3 hours for surfing, I headed to bed.

Urghhh. I was still drunk when I woke up. It was set to be the worst hangover I had ever experienced and couldn't see how I could possibly surf in this state. I walked to the surf shop and asked for it to be postponed, but no luck! Shit. I boarded the back of this guys moped, he attached my surfboard and we headed to the beach.

Ewan greeted me and plied me with coffee. Normally coffee does something to make me feel better, but today there was no liquid nourishment to be had. We walked down to the shores edge and laid down the surf board. What was to follow bears no repeating...

I was awful! I could barely support my own weight, heavy from the amount of alcohol still in my system. I tried to copy what Ewan did but every time I failed. He was calm and patient and I still have no idea how! I complained the whole time and was almost in tears at one point. I don't think he realised I was hungover and I don't think I realised I probably had alcohol poisoning. For four hours I tried to perfect my surfing, and for four hours I failed. When Ewan finally entrusted me to enter the water, I managed to just face plant on every attempt of catching a wave. I think there may have been one occassion when I managed to stand for a few seconds, but I don't think it constitutes surfing. I really, really, really don't advice drinking the night before you go surfing.

Still feeling like poo, I went and ordered myself a bowl of pasta... maybe that will make me feel better. No. Ok, I'll try coffee. No. Sleeping?

All the methods I usually rely on when hungover failed. I felt dazed and confused, I could feel the acid in my stomach burning and my whole body was like a dead weight. I had arranged to meet Suha in the evening for a drink, but I couldn't stomach it. All I had to do was hold on for a few more hours, then I could go to sleep and wake up better the next day!

I decided to check my emails to find my Mum had sent me an urgent message to ring her. When I finally got hold of her, I knew something was wrong. She made me turrn on the webcam so she could see me.

You OK Mum?
No.
What's happened?
I knew what was coming.
Your Nan passed away last night.
Pause.
Oh, Mum. I'm so sorry.

We had a very emotional talk and I left feeling helpless. I wanted to be at my Mums side to tell everything was alright. I wanted to hug her and tell her how much I love her. I wanted to mourn for my Nan but feel there was no privacy in this hell hole. I headed to bed.

With my hangover still lingering, I decided to do something with my last day! I headed to the beach to sunbathe. I sunbathed all morning and then swiftly made my way to the bus stop. I hoped on and drifted off to sleep shortly after. About an hour after leaving, I was safely back home. I was so glad to be home!