august 11th

i finally booked a ticket home! i am flying to greensboro out of bali on august 11th (arriving august 12th) and am very excited! cant wait to see everyone again...

so to play catch up... had an uneventful 14 hour trip from yogya to bromo, and got up at 3am to hike up to the summit to see the sunrise... unfortunately the weather wasnt cooperating and all we saw was deep mist growing lighter and lighter - no actual sunrise or colors or even views of the surrounding countryside - disappointing. i was planning to stay the afternoon to hike some more, but it was very difficult trying to find my way around the mountain and to where i was supposed to go (no signs, no maps, etc) so decided to have a javanese massage instead! that evening i caught the night bus to bali, only to find that the trip i had booked (to lovina, bali) was no longer running. ive never met such disorganized tour operators (and this was for a tourist shuttle made for westerners, brochures in english, booked at the hotel for premium prices) - i think the deal was that they dont actually run the trips themselves, just book you on all of the individual operators who will (supposedly) take you were you want to go - which means no one knows anything about the trip, speaks english, or is able to be responsible and correct problems that occur, being delayed so missing connections, etc. needless to say, the whole thing was an exercise in patience. it is a very humbling experience going from asian countries like malaysia and singapore where everyone speaks english and even (unfortunately) apologizes for not speaking perfect english (when youre in their country!) to going to a country where i have been constantly chastised for not speaking fluent indonesian, being laughed at hourly for the "funny" way i look, and given a lower status than locals (even though paying a tourist price) for services.

anyhow, eventually i did get to my destination in bali and spent yesterday lying on the beach, swimming, and reading. today i went to the nearby hot springs and Buddhist monastery. tomorrow im going diving to one of the best dive spots in bali! Lovina it turns out is maybe a little too quiet for me - the lack of tourists compared to what i guess they normally have here means a 24/7 barrage from touts so not a moment peace to enjoy the beautiful surroundings. Plus since im traveling alone at the moment, i would like to head somewhere where there are more backpackers my age so will have friends to be made! I think i will head to Kuta after diving and see how that is for a change...