... & 33: From Hell to Heaven in 12 hours

Our bus from Mt Bromo showed up at 6 pm, 2 hours early, forcing us to miss dinner and buying water and snacks for the 12 hour over night bus to Bali. When boarding the bus we were surprised to see that it was filled with locals, with the exception of a French couple we had met at the volcano. We suspect this wasn't the bus we paid for, but because we had showed up early they put us on the public bus so they could resell our private bus seats. There is no other way to describe the evening besides it being the bus ride from hell. We were stuck in the last row, right next to the bathroom, whose door opened with every bump in the road, releasing a hot burst of noxious sewage smell. Danny's seat was half broken and reclined at a strange angle. Ashwin sat in the window seat, and when he managed to dose off for a few minutes (not an easy task on this bus), would be rudely awaken when his head smashed into the metal crossbar at eye level.

7 hours of this torture finally took its toll on us and we managed to fall asleep out of sheer exhaustion. When we woke up we were the only people left on the bus, and the entire bus was oddly rocking side to side and the semi truck full of mopeds next to us was way too close for comfort. We soon realized that we were in the cargo hold of the ferry to Bali. We barely squeezed out of the bus door and joined the French couple on the passenger deck on the top of the boat to see a beautiful view of Bali at night. After a strange and completely ineffective security check, the bus continued on for another 5 hours to Denpasar. We arrived at the crack of dawn and witnessed our 3rd sunrise in 4 days - a feat neither of us had come close to achieving before. We had made it out of hell...

...and soon realized we were in heaven on Earth - Bali, Indonesia - an island paradise rich in a laid back surfing culture. As it's the high season and the island is filled with Aussies on vacation (this is their Cancun) it was very difficult to find a room at any price in Kuta Beach (the 2,000 USD a night room at the Four Seasons began to look like a viable option). After two hours of searching we finally found a reasonably priced room that is surprisingly nice with its authentic Balinesian style cottages and gardens. We couldn't help but take a nap, and slept for 7 hours, awaking at 1 in the afternoon to tour the city and get in some time at the beach.

This city is the "bro" capital of the world, filled with big Aussie surfer dudes wearing tank tops and board shorts. We decided to embrace the local culture (even though we doubt its authenticity) and purchased Bintang Beer and "I <3 Bali" tanks and equally ridiculous sunglasses. Danny's are red and white Prada aviators, and Ashwin's are bright orange Ray Bans with tiger stripes on the sides (perfect Princeton prep-wear, ready for reunions 2010).

We watched a poolside Balinesian fire dance show at the Ocean Beach Club, and headed to the clubs on the main drag. Every club here has at least 4 dancefloors, and we especially enjoyed our time at Bounty, which boasts a full-sized two story pirate ship dance complex, complete with mast and sails. Somehow without noticing, we each consumed 3 liters of Bintang and danced the night away (Anu, we think you're right and we won't be drinking with each other again... at least until the Gili Islands).