World ExploraSean: Darwin to Bali

My final stop in Australia was Darwin, the hottest, most expensive place in all of Australia. Upon arrival I couldn't help but question Darwin, because their daylight savings time difference is 30 minutes, I mean who staggers their time by half an hour, that's just a dick move. The only big activity I considered doing was the crocodile cage, which is where you get into a giant glass cage and then are lowered into a tank that contains a crocodile, which is then fed in front of you. I ultimately decided not to do it since it wasn't like I was seeing an actual crocodile feeding and making it's own kill in the wild; It was too manufactured for me.

My hostel had the worst deposit system ever created. Key deposit was $30, dishes were $10, but you didn't get a kit of a plate,bowl, cup and cutlery, you just walked up and they just randomly gave you a few items unless you specified each item individually....and in order to use a pot or pan, you had to go back down and trade in your room key. So for this entire system, you had to take all of your dishes and groceries to the kitchen, go downstairs, turn in your key to get a pan, then head back upstairs to the kitchen, hope you didn't forget anything in your room, such as a plate, because if you did you had to go back and re-exchange to get your room key and repeat steps 1-3, and then cook your meal and take the pan to reception to get your key back....WHY!!??!!!

I maintained a low profile for the few days I was there, since I was dealing with the loss of my father, so I didn't get up to too many crazy antics, but I did procure a new external hard drive and tripod for all my camera activities. I also worked out and tested out my new tripod by doing a time lapse along the beach. My roomates, Charlotte (New Zealand) and Vincent (American... [North American, Canadian to be exact. That's right America, you never thought about it, but Canadians are Americans, just like you! Canada FTW]), as well as their friend Tibeaux (Tebow), showed me some of Darwin's finest bars on my last night, which was a really good time. A dutch girl also gave me her lonely planet Bali guidebook, since I told her that's where I was headed. Peeps be too nice to me, it's undeserved.

Darwin's Army...Not quite as powerful as Dumbledore's

Amazing

After 4 days in Darwin, I had to start making my way to Indonesia, so I could check off continent 5 of 7! Africa and Antarctica, Seanie's gonna get you... I had such an amazing time in Australia, I'd say it's the funnest place I've ever been in my life. From seeing landmarks like the Opera House, camping out, sailing around islands, cuddling zoo animals, jumping out of a plane, swimming with a shark, to meeting so many cool, beautiful people on various tours or in hostels, Australia exceeded my wildest expectations, lofty though they were. Expensive as hell, but if you're on a working holiday visa, you can do alright for yourself and still have a great time.

On the way to the airport I ended up meeting a Brazilian kid named Leonardo, who was making the same journey, so he decided to head to the hostel I had booked, so we could figure out how to get into town and split a cab together. Once our flight landed in Bali, I was pretty stoked to get a passport stamp, since Australia didn't feel the need to give me one and I like my mementos. Once you arrive, you get hit with a $25 entry fee and then go pick up your bags. Picking up bags was the craziest shit I have ever seen in an airport. There were little Indonesian guys running in and out of the chute that the bags come out of and it took 45 minutes for our bags to show up. At one point a 15 lb kettlebell fell onto the conveyer belt. I have no idea what was going on in there, but thankfully my bag arrived and no one placed any illegal drugs inside. The airport is insane, all the locals run at you like you are a celebrity and try to oversell you on a ride into town. The rate is supposed to be 115,000 to our hostel, but Leo and I settled for 120,000, a difference of about 50 cents. My brother Josh would not approve of the over-payment, but I can live with it.

Leo and I explored the towns of Sanur and Kuta with a Japanese American friend we met at the hostel, Adam, on our first full day in Bali. The hostel I stayed at, Big Pineapple, was probably the best hostel I have ever stayed at in terms of sociability. It has an amazing set up for central lounge locations so everyone ends up hanging out together and doing various tours together. There were a few issues like the WiFi cutting out all the time and a long power outage, but if anything it forces you to be more social. The people that run the hostel also live there with their 5 year old son Soren, so Peppe (Italian), Linsay (Scottish) and I had the pleasure of playing Zombies, shadow puppets, and a Big Daddy style "I Win" card game with him for a few hours while we waited for the power to get sorted. A bunch of us from the hostel also hired some personal drivers and did a big trip together, starting with a brief stop a silver shop before heading to the Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary in Ubud.

They're so human like, it's creepy and amazing!

Every creature has loved boobs since the dawn of creation. Boobs are amazing, enough said

Gollum...seriously a triple mohawked baby Gollum.

The monkey sanctuary was absolutely amazing. All the monkeys roam free and seem to enjoy life, which is what I believe to be the most important thing about these types of establishments. Adam and I also saw two monkeys having sex, which basically just looked like rape, even more-so after the female ran to a puddle and started cleaning herself immediately after. To be honest, I felt a little violated just being witness to such an act of indecency...Watch dirty monkey sex, not on my bucket list, but check. Most of the monkeys were a little more chill, as evidenced by the following photos :). Best 2 bucks I ever spent!

Monkey Love

Possibly the best photo I've taken on this trip...to me it says, "I've got you back bro...Always"

Deep thinker

When you see this face on any animal, you run the fuck away. That's why I run every time I see a mirror

After wrapping up all the monkey business, we made our way to some rice paddies, which are famous in the town of Ubud. The charge for entry was 5000 rupiah...which is like 45 cents $US, but I sucked it up and paid the staggering fee. In keeping with my longstanding tradition, which occurs whenever I arrive to a rice paddy on a Tuesday, I also levitated...

You don't need wings to fly. All your life, you were only waiting for this moment to arise...

If I wasn't obsessed with technology, I'd like to think I could understand the beauty of living in a simple, peaceful place like this.

After the rice fields we headed to a coffee farm, to experience one of the most unique beverages in the world, the legendary Luwak coffee. The Luwak is a small, weasel/catlike creature that eats the raw coffee beans and then poops at a digested form of the bean, which is then harvested...I shit you not. In keeping with my tradition of trying anything once, I ordered a cup. It was super strong, but with a couple scoops of sugar it was drinkable. They also let us sample a bunch of other teas and coffees, which were amazing, most notably the coconut coffee, which tasted better than unicorn venom. After the coffee break, we made our way to Kintamani for lunch, which has an open deck with views of an active volcano, Mt. Batur.

I literally ate this Luwak's shit... and he seems pretty content about it

Drinking Luwak Poo Coffee with Adam and Emma (Candian)

Some of these views are totally Balistic, I mean seriously UnBalievable. Balin. Ok, I'm done

The boys enjoying the buffet and beautiful views

After we got back into town, we roamed around for a little bit and procured some shrooms (you know a little fungi to turn me into a fun guy, bwahahaha... alright that's a dumb joke, I apologize.) to celebrate my belated 12th birthday, since my parents decided to go on a Carribbean cruise during my real 12th birthday, leaving me at home with a babysitter, who made me macaroni and cheese. The shrooms (or mush as the rest of the world seems to call them) were extremely mild, so it was basically the exact same feeling as smoking pot. I am not counting this as my first time doing shrooms...but perhaps there would be more potent ones in my future.... But that my friends is a story for another blog.

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