Bali the Fifth: Tulamben

For the first part of our trip, we stayed in a small diving town called Tulamben. Tulamben is on the eastern side of the island, which is desert-like because the volcanoes tend to keep the rain clouds on the other side of the island. The town is very brown, with garbage-filled cacti lining the roads and chickens everywhere. Our hotel was amazing. The normal hotel was full, so we got upgraded to their top-of-the-line villa at half price. This villa was about a mile down the road from the dive shop, so transportation was a consideration. We could either use bicycles, use motorbikes, or walk. For the most part, we walked, which confused everybody even though it really didn't take very long. The sidewalk was small when it was available, and the road was not so pleasant, until you turned down for the villas. At that point, there was a lovely stone wall with many beautiful flowers, as well as a view of the mountains in the distance.

The room itself was excellent. Clean, spacious, and right in front of the complex so all you had to do was open the curtains to watch a sunrise from the bed. We had an excellent view of the ocean (on three sides), pool, and palm trees from our room. Balinese bathrooms are again another style of bathroom. They typically have a window open to the outside, and no shower curtain, just a wall between the toilet and showering area. Easier to clean, I'm sure, but strange for us.

Breakfast was included with these rooms, and we wish we'd taken a picture. Every morning, you got a choice of fresh fruit (typically papaya, banana, watermelon, and maybe cantaloupe with Indonesian limes) or cornflakes, either scrambled eggs or an omelette with cheese and veggies, toast with an assortment of spreads, and a glass of fresh fruit juice. When they say fresh fruit juice, they mean they toss the fruit (same as above) into the blender until it is juice. Very good, very fresh, very delicious, though I've never had watermelon, papaya, and banana juice before.

In Tulamben the restaurants were near the dive shop, not the villas, which were outside of the town proper. We were in town during the daytime for our diving anyway, so would grab lunch at a local restaurant, typically spending $6-10 for two darn good lunches of fresh fish or Indonesian curries with chicken, plus fruit drinks and a large bottle of water. The first night, we had dinner at The Wayan, a local restaurant named for its owner, also one of the most popular names in Bali for men and women. The maid, one of the head guys at the dive shop, and many other shops shared the

same name. The second night we were there there was a delicious barbecue at the villas, with all of the people staying at both the hotel and the villas as well as some neighbors who were friends with the owner. For the rest of the nights, since we did not want to stay in town the whole day or walk back at night, we ordered delivery from The Wayan and picked up beverages from a convenience store before heading back after diving. The food came nicely prepared for us, with soups and curries in plastic bags within the boxes.

Because the town is not as much of a tourist area as other places in Bali, there are many locals who live among the shops and along the road between the villas and downtown. Many homes had roosters in cages out front. We weren't sure why they were caged at first, but then were told that the roosters, once chosen to be fighters, were kept away from the hens so they would be better fighters. We were told that they have fights twice weekly, and lots of money is gambled by the locals on these fights. We also spoke with one of the women who worked at the hotel, and she told us a lot about local culture. Bali is primarily Hindu, and religion is very important. Men are allowed to have multiple wives so that every family will have heirs to make sure the ancestors are still taken care of and that all necessary religious services and ceremonies are attended. She'd been married for years, but her husband has three wives. As tourists, we were able to get amazing breakfasts and wonderful dinners, but the Balinese do not eat so well. She told us that she typically just eats rice for breakfast, and not too much at that.

All businesses put out ritual offerings (I think every morning) so they will be prosperous. These offerings are probably what keep

the many stray dogs alive and well. Everywhere you look there are stray dogs. Well, they're not all strays even if they look like it - some of the dogs had homes, but there were no leashes or collars to be found. The ones not full of mange with visible ribs likely had families, and a very few even had collars to show who they belonged to. One dog lived at one of the restaurants we had lunch at a few times, and would just hang out in the restaurant. Apparently, the way to get a dog here is to just pick up a puppy that's old enough, as we witnessed towards the end of our vacation. A female dog was walking along the road, and her adorable little black Lab-like puppy decided to follow her. It was unable to get back up on the curb, and would likely not have lasted too long if the taxi drivers started coming by. A concerned tourist picked it up and put it on the sidewalk, and it tried to cross the street again. A young boy picked it up, put it in the basket of his moped, and drove off, so we're pretty sure he now has a puppy. Or dinner. One or the other.

When we weren't diving, wandering about town, or attempting to have other adventures, we hung out at the villa doing dive class homework, reading, and napping. It was lovely to nap in the afternoon after going diving with the fan on and the sounds of the ocean coming in. From the rear of the villa, we had an amazing view of Mount Agung. One night, while waiting for our delivery, we just had to get some pictures. For more shots of our time in Tulamben, head over to our Flickr set.