Things I've seen/random notes on Kuta:
1- Huge group of drunk string bikini clad Scandinavians -make that VERY drunk- wrestling on the beach in the afternoon. Look of total disgust on Muslim women's faces as they try to walk down the beach without getting hip checked.
2- Indonesian man asking the Swedish guys I'm sitting with if he can take my picture. I refuse (because I'm in a bikini), while the Swedish guy sits there confused. The Indonesian man stands around awkardly until a flash of lightning distracts me and then he snaps my pictures. YUCK.
3- Locals on the beach selling ice cream, bracelets, hena tattoos and wooden dragons, while calling you sexy, beautiful, etc.
4- Court's plane arrived at about 10:30pm and since I was so excited to go meet her I couldn't settle on the beach or focus on my book etc. so I decided I would walk to the airport to kill an hour or so. THe road to the airport is pretty much straight and is lined with huge stores and loads of restaurants so I wasn't at all worried about walking it.
5- Crude bumper stickers (ex. Up the bum, no babies) are sold in mass quantities. Vendors make even cruder comments if you stop to read them. Pains me to think of the impression Westerners have left on the locals. Clearly, at some point, Westerners must have approved of/encouraged/purchased this kind of thing. It's pretty sad when you think about it. No wonder some people think we have no morals.
6- Courtney lying with her head in my lap while she gets a henna tattoo on her stomach and I get one on my back. Since we are essentially helpless, the locals swarm and Court and I are subjected to women shoving bracelets in our faces, while another woman tries to convince me I want a massage (she giving me a free sample and ignoring my No Thank Yous) and Court has her heel pumiced (also a free sample). All we could do was laugh. Don't think we'll encounter a situation like that for a long time.
7- With the exception of one girl who was standing in a Jakarta train station looking very upset as she checked to see what was left in bag (a huge slit had been cut down the side so I can imagine at least her wallet was missing), I haven't seen much theft in Indonesia. However, that doesn't mean I'm being careless either. Court and I decided to head to the beach for a swim one night and delibrately brought only the equivalent of $3-4 and nothing else. Our Swedish friends weren't so saavy and returned to the beach after our swim to find that their beer, money and one digital camera was missing. It sucks, but I can't really say I was surprised...
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