Day 17: Making Al Gore cry

My day started late, maybe 10am. My bro, Brit, fixed us an American style breakfast, eggs on toast with OJ on the side, so simple, so d-lish! Then headed off to Kuta to my local coffee joint, de Excelsio, to have my standard coffee drink: Cookies and Cream Ice Blended. I knew I was going to love Bali when I stepped off the plane and saw Oreos at a nearby warung.. These people get me. I read a bit more of The Naked Gospel and then headed off to return my motorbike. This was around 3:30 and I was craving some Nasi Goreng Ayam, so I swung by Treehouse one last time and gourged myself. 

Now it was nearing 4pm and church started at 5 at Brit's place. He lives about 4 miles up the beach and a mile in, so I had two choices. Grab a cab for $2 or walk it along the beach ... so $2 later ... Kidding. I could use the exercise, so off I went. 

Now here's a little known fact that they don't print in Lonely Planet, litter and trash line the beaches here, and most of it comes from the locals. They have no concept of cleanliness, and when they finish eating something, they drop it to the ground. Whether it's a banana peel, an Oreo wrapper, a 6 pack of bottled Bintang ... they just throw it to the ground. Al Gore and the tree huggers in Cali would have heart failure. So these particular beaches, where the locals can easily patron, are littered and disgusting. To the credit of some, there does seem to be a daily effort to rake the beach of it's refuse, but there is always more. Now that I've said that, this does seem to be exclusive to Kuta, Legian, and part of Seminyak. Nusa Dua, Padangbai, and Amed beaches were clean.  

So I arrive back at Brits, where church was being held this week, at 5:15pm. The 90 degree 90% humidity day had taken it's toll, I was sweating my balls off and smelling something fierce. As I enter, the first people I encounter is a group of 5 girls hanging on the lanai, 2 Aussies, a Brit, a German, and an American. I paid my cursory greetings and made a b-line for the room I was staying in to grab my towel and a change. But when I reached the top of the stairs I found a couch blocking the entrance to my room. So I cajoled Caio, a Brazilian friend from bowling, into jumping the couch and fetching my stuff so I could enjoy Brit's cold water shower, and the rest of the members could enjoy a break from the stench.  

Brit taught for 30 minutes, did some good exegesis on John 17 and the importance of community, and then we, as a community of hungry people, were off to a German Warung for some Chicken Schnitzel and fries. 

The night ended with Beyonce and a pirated copy of Obsessed - I don't think you can buy a real DVD here if you wanted to - and then I will be up before dawn, 3:45am to be exact, to catch my flight to Jogyakarta. 

Nite nite from the iPhone blogger