Kuta, Bali, Indonesia

8-16-10
On my last night in Hong Kong, I was able to meet up with my HKU friend Cindy which was nice. We ate some good food (amazing sushi) and caught up. It's always nice when I get to meet up with people on the road.
After that it was off to Bali. I slept most of the way to Jakarta. You buy your visa on arrival on Indonesia and there was a long line for customs. I barely made my flight and my backpack was killing my back but it was all worth it because I got bumped up to business class for the flight to Bali! I've never flown anything other than economy so this was fantastic. By the way, I flew Garuda Indonesia for both flights. It probably sounds a bit sketchy but economy was pretty nice. Pretty big seats, good service, your own TV. Business class was awesome. Tons of leg room with a foot rest, comfy chair, and a table cloth to put over your tray table. I feel like after flying so many crappy economy class flights I had a true appreciation for this.
I arrived in Bali late, got to my hotel, and got some much needed sleep I haven't really been getting. I woke up at 2 today, but I think I still did a lot. I signed up for surf school for the next 3 days. I went swimming in the ocean. I got a massage.
I'm at the Kuta Beach area at the moment. I'm not really sure what I think of it yet. It's sort of like the beach areas I've been to in the Philippines except way bigger, so it's a bit overwhelming. I find, though, when I'm traveling solo my sense of direction becomes about a million times better, just because it has to. There are the usual people trying to sell you everything, but that's everywhere touristy you go so I'm used to that. It's similar to the Philippines in that there are lots of souvenir shops selling the beachy stuff, outdoor restaurants and cafes, and spas. Not that there is anything wrong with this type of beach area- it's all quite cheap and enjoyable.
I got to the beach and I understood. The waves are just the shape that you imagine a wave to be- I haven't seen anything quite like it before. Perfectly round and curling. I did some swimming and body surfing around that late afternoon time just before sunset. It's a huge, broad beach. It strikes me as pretty safe with all the lifeguards and people. And it's covered in surfers and surfboards.
My massage was really nice (an hour for about $9 US). It was a full body massage and sort of similar to the massage I got in China, with a combination of pressure and stretching and bone cracking as well as the usual rubbing down of the muscles.
Of course this is all great, and I love the beach, but I'm sort of glad I can move on whenever I want. I want to get more of a sense of Bali and I don't think I will get it very strongly here.
At the least I should meet some people at surf school which will probably be very helpful.