Day 197
Obtaining an Indonesia visa extension is a 3 part process. First you must go and apply, then 3 days later pay, and finally collect it another 2 to 3 days later. Today I had the honor to return to the visa office just to pay the visa extension fee.
Driving in Bali traffic is a bit like being in NYC traffic without the stop lights. Many of the roads have dividers so you have to drive past your destination, turn around in a traffic circle and double back. It took 3 trips, but today I didn’t get lost. I return on the 30th to pick up our visa and now we can flee the crowds and traffic for Gili Meno, where there are no motorized vehicles. We are both looking forward to some peace and quiet. We both are starting to wonder if our hearing is being damaged by the road noise. Either that or we hear each other so much that our own voices have begun to register as background noise.
We also learned that there is good snorkeling with an abundance of turtles in Gili Meno. Too bad we sent back our snorkeling gear with Cher’s parents. When we planned this trip we surveyed the long line of coast we would follow and imagined popping off to snorkel on wild untouched beaches, with the only problem that most beaches are not untouched. That and the water has to be clear as well. Looking back our perception was quite naive before we started this tour. Looks like we might be investing in some cheap snorkeling gear.