Tuesday 8th June - Ubud

We watched Monster on DVD last night which affected my sleep. I wish I didn't take movies so seriously :)

Woke up early and packed to go to Ubud. Ama got up and made me a yummy coffee, and we had a long chat about various things in life.
Just as Joni pulled up, we had got onto the discussion of spirits and Ama was telling me that he can see them .... BUGGER! A topic that I'm extra-interested-in, and we couldn't continue it.

Ama heads to Australia tomorrow, and me to Ubud today.
Generally he said that cremations are horrifying for him to attend as he hears the screams, and that burials are fine and the spirit is sent on. He said that sometimes he doesn't see his own reflection in the mirror. Maybe this explains why he has all the lights on at night.

Being that all of my diary is in point form, you probably see just my gullible sides :) but I'll update the diary properly when I'm back on a non-dodgy internet connection.

Joni, Ama, and I drove to Ubud, stopping via the silver shop to pickup the custom-designed jewellery that I ordered. Oh my god. Ok, they did what they thought I meant, and I could see how they thought that, but it's just nothing at all what I meant :( You will have to see it to understand. Oh well... next time I will take photos and bring them with me... as mentioned previously. Lesson Learned.

We arrived in Ubud and started walking down Monkey Forest Rd looking for suitable, cheapish accommodation, but it found us instead. Within 10 steps, we had 2 offers.
1 x 175,000 with pool and air conditioning - no thanks
1 x 80,000 with ceiling fan - ok, we'll have a look.
It's fine. Only thing missing is a fridge but that's not really that important in Ubud as it is a little cooler, so the water should stay cold most of the day, and I like it room temperature anyway (just not hot).
It has a double-bed and a single bed, an open wardrobe, vanity, bathroom with western-style toilet and a huge bath/shower with hot and cold water (yippee!). Ama bargained them down to 55,000 a night with breakfast, but as he bargained in Indonesian, I'm not sure if they will do it when Ama leaves. The place is Kabu Saren, it only holds about 3 different guests at once.



Ama and Joni left immediately, so I unpacked and went for a walk to get to know the area.

Iketut SMS's me so much, that I decided to tell him that I'm not into guys. I didn't hear a peep from him for almost 24 hours, but he's started again. He wants me to tell him where I am so he can come visit. Ugh, I'm getting annoyed at him, even though it's a friendly offer.

Anyway, I went for a walk, and yeah, people try and sell me stuff every few steps, but it is easier here to say no. People are more relaxed, not so focused on dragging you into their shops. However, perhaps they use different tactics to get the money...

I found some clothes that I liked and tried them on. First time I've been able to see myself wearing the clothes before buying them. I bought some pants for 25,000 ($4), and a top to match it from the store next door for 30,000 ($5). So nice and cool to wear.

I met a nice guy named Agus who was very friendly and helpful and not at all pushy. Sat with him for a while. He's going to move to Australia in December to open a traditional Balinese massage centre in Hamilton, Victoria, with his Aussie friend John. He does massage and tours (like nearly everyone you meet here).
We exchanged phone numbers and arranged to meet up for dinner. I went back to my bungalow and had a nice hot shower, put on my new clothes, put my hair up in Balinese style with bamboo, and met him out the front. I rode on the back of his scooter up Monkey Forest Road to a place called Rumah Makan/Warung Makan Restorant (I think!).

The scenery at the restaurant was fantastic. Open-air style, overlooking many, many rice terraces. We sat on cushions on the floor of a gazebo type thing. It was really comfortable.

His price for a massage was AUD$30 (200,000) which is a ripoff. It's very, very expensive for Bali. You can get them for 50-60,000 for 1 hour at professional salons, but he said that he would give me an extra hour and a good price.

He wanted to give me a tour of the East of Bali, what he considers the real, traditional Bali. I'm really not up to spending a lot of money. I would rather spend my money on learning the language, than on tours and massage.

His rent is due next week (300,000R per month), and due to lack of tourists, he hasn't had a job in 2 months. He has 5,000 left to his name.

After a very nice dinner, and great company, I decided 'what the hell', that I would try his Balinese massage that is so good that he is opening his own place in Australia. I would help him by giving him the money, and maybe he can help heal my aches and relax more.

So he drove me to an ATM, then around the city for about 5 mins, then we arrived at his place which is just behind the Ubud Market. It was dark outside and the stars were out. Riding around ubud at night, with much less traffic, is actually not as terrifying. I kinda liked it.

This is when it started to get scary all of a sudden.
We arrived at his place. His place is really... the only word I can think of right now is "POOR". The room has a bed and a cold shower in a separate bathroom. I didn't want to be there, but still I stayed. The light was too bright, there was no fan, it was really hot.

He asked me to take my clothes off. I wasn't sure what to do! Inside, I was freaking out and let my imagination run away with me. I remembered past bad experiences, and also about how much I've been ripped off. I got undressed to my underwear on the bed. He got into a sarong.

He could've handled it a lot better if he had treated me like one of his Japanese clients, but I can only assume that he thought that being a Westerner, that I don't have the same inhibitions as Balinese/Japanese women.

He massaged my feet, my legs, my back. I couldn't relax because I couldn't trust.

I was freaking out, and still I did not leave. Penny, get some friggin balls will ya! I seriously want a world where I can be nice all the time and not feel like I'm getting taken advantage of.
He then asked me to turn over, I turned over, but covering myself with my hands. I can't tell you how embarrassed I am, sitting here typing this to you.
I was hoping that the head massage he promised earlier would de-stress me, but he didn't end up doing it. I was uncomfortable, therefore, making him uncomfortable. I'm too nice. I paid 200,000 for a massage that I wasn't comfortable with so that this guy is closer to paying his rent this month.
Given where he lives, I have no doubt that he is telling me the truth, and that ripping off tourists is the only way he can think of right now for survival.

He has good Australian friends who have probably drummed it into him that AUD$30 is nothing to us.

It's not his fault, but I don't want to be around him anymore.
God, I see "victim' all over this post. Perhaps I am a bit weak. :(
We had organised to play cards after the massage, as well as drinks, and the possibility of tours, language and cooking lessons, but I just want to be alone now. I am shaking, but for why?