Hitchhiking in Indonesia: Kuta Beach and a slum in Bali
19th of February, 2025.
I must eat something. Considering the prices of everything, and the fact that I have only 30.000 INR in cash, I buy some oat flakes, one yogurt, and one package of instant coffee. I make the oat flakes and the coffee by the shop, and then walk to the beach, where I have my breakfast.
While still having breakfast, I’m spotting around the beach for a great place where there’s some shade and peace, so I can chill there for most of the day, finally go swimming, and also take a nap. And I find it!
As I walk there, I’m asking the universe to be a good place, and it happens to be perfect! When I first come there in the morning, there’s a group of teenagers practicing some sport (probably a local one, as I cannot identify). There are trees and boats, a public toilet nearby, and a perfect flat area where I can just chill and relax. It’s perfect!
I finally go for a swim, and the water is actually not bad. Way better than any of the other beaches I’ve been here in Bali, but nothing compare to the beauty and clean waters of Thailand. I try to take a nap and I think I manage.
As lunch time approaches, I decide to go and buy some instant noodles. After eating that, I come back to the beach. There’s some more people around now, mostly surfing (I was not expecting so many people surfing here in Kuta, not where I am, but to the right of the main entrance, as this is not a well known beach for surfing). There’s also a Colombian guy, David, and a Philippine female friend of him. As she asks me where I’m from and introduce us, he starts chatting with me. I admit that at first, I was a bit annoyed as I only want to be by myself, but he’s such a nice guy, and tell me many things about Colombia, he also likes travelling, so in the end is actually nice.
Again, I decide not to camp here. And I don’t know why, really, as now thinking, it actually seems like a nice place. So I plan to get as close as possible to the guest house where I’m staying tomorrow, the one which Andri’s friend owns, and he so kindly arranged for me to stay there for free.
A grab in a motorbike offer to take me there for free. Yay!
There are a church and a mosque nearby, and I plan to ask there first. At the church, nobody’s there, only a security guard. I fill up my bottle of water and take some time to decide where to next. I decide not to ask in the mosque simply because I would have to get up before sunrise, as usual, because of the people coming to pray early morning.
I start walking around a neighbourhood, only to realize that it’s actually a slum. Yes, there’s a slum in Bali. It starts really shy, there are some regular size houses, mostly Buddhist or Hindu, and then, all of sudden, the slum and only Muslin people.
After asking in a few houses and getting only negative answers, as I’m passing through the slum, a group of woman greets me and I decide to ask them about it. They listen to me, but seem unable to help, until they call a guy who leaves in the house next door, who can actually speak English.
He owns a villa in Nusa Dua, and offer to take me there, where I can stay. I explain to him why I cannot accept, so he says that if it’s OK, I can have my tent in this area where we are sitting, which is a kind of hut, just outside his house, but still on the streets. He explain to me that inside his house there’s no space, which I understand. He says it’ll be safe because everybody around knows him.
I decide to go and get some instant noodles for dinner. I hope I can find some tofu also. I do, and I’m surprise that the people “selling” it want to give me for free. They say it’s just some samples, not for selling. Now, normally I would accept but as something really interesting happened with me on my way here, I decide and insist on giving them 5.000 INR which were also given to me. Do you remember I had 1 MR with me? I tried to by a ferry boat ticket in Sumatra, but didn’t need to, so I still have it. It should worth about 3.000 INR, and I try to exchange in a currency exchange. The man working there, tells me he can only give me 2.000 INR for it, to what I say it’s fine, so I can buy two pieces of fried tofu. He laughs, and gives me one note of 5.000 INR. What? Yep, just like that! Should I have refused, and insist only with the 3.000 INR? Perhaps, but as it turned out, I actually gave that money back to the community, so now I’m happy. I shook that man’s hand and told him he made my day. I had only half of the tofu, and one instant noodles. I keep the rest for next morning, and ask the guy helping me to keep in his fridge overnight.
Right across the street there’s a space where people actually gather to talk. The neighboours also have their dinner there, and I’m actually surprise about how much rice they eat.
Around 20.00 hours, the guy helping me goes to bed and I take the chance to pitch my tent too. People still stay up until Loki knows what time. I manage to sleep anyway.
Next morning, right after there’s daylight, I’m ready to leave. The man helping me gives me back my tofu and buys me two fried rolls of a nice dough with some boiled eggs and mayonnaise inside. Is actually really nice!
10 Years Around the World 