Throughout our entire 3 month adventure through SE Asia, I have looked forward to many things, but nothing was more highly anticipated and held in higher regards than our arrival to Bali. I specifically planned our trip so that not only would we end in Bali, but we would also have more time to spend here than any of our previous locations, and I'm damn glad I planned it as such. Bali has lived up to everything I wanted and hoped it would be, not only meeting my expectations, but far exceeding them. The beauty, the friendliness of the people, the surf culture, my entire life I've had an affinity towards island living, and it doesn't surprise me that Bali rivals my top spots for favorite place in the world. Needless to say, Brooke and I were ecstatic when we finally got there, and eager to put in some good beach time.
We first were in Kuta Beach and Seminyak, probably the two most popular areas of Bali. Basically, Kuta is to Aussies as Cancun is to Americans, and most people will tell you to only stay in Kuta for a few nights for this reason. Brooke and I ended up really liking Kuta however, and although I use that metaphor, Kuta is very different from Cancun and a helluva lot cooler. It's definitely Aussie bro central though. On Kuta, we relaxed on the beach, saw awesome sunsets, surfed, rented motor bikes, drank a bunch of Bintang, and made the quick transformation from intrepid backpackers to lazy beach bums, and were completely content in doing so.
Dare #4
Our next dare came from my loving parents, Bill & Laura. The dare was for me to find a bar, any bar, anywhere, and play a set anywhere from a half hour to an hour.
One night out in Kuta, we stumbled into one the many bars with live music, and took a seat to listen to the two guitarists playing that night. We knew we had this dare on the line, but me being the bashful person that I am when it comes to asking for that kinda stuff, didn't know when it was gonna happen. Luckily, I have a girlfriend who is quite the opposite, and against my will, Brooke walked up to the guys, asked if I could play a song and even offered to buy them both beers for doing so. Though they would have happily let me play regardless, it was a very nice gesture as well as the nail in the coffin for me to get up there and play. So I took the stage, played a song, was given a nice round of applause, and returned to the comfort of my bar stool and ordered another drink. Before I could even put my eager hand around the drink I had just ordered, I was once again being called to the stage to continue what I had started.
Here's the thing about live music in Asia. The musicians, for the most part, are really good, I've seen tons of really good guitarists, and good players of all sorts of instruments throughout my travels. Then they start to sing, and they can't sing for shit. Worst of all is, all of the songs that they play are American covers, whether it be classic rock songs or new pop songs, either way, it's in English and they don't speak English very well. So here you have a person on the mike who sounds like they are strait out of a shitty karaoke bar, and in the midst of their weak attempt at vocals, you realize they are singing the wrong lyrics, or mispronouncing the words so bad it sounds like gibberish. Then all of a sudden a dude comes on who has a decent voice, is familiar with the words of the songs that he sings, and is quite adept at pronouncing the words he sings correctly. Net, net: I didn't get an encore because I was good, I got an encore because I was an instant feeling of relief to all the Aussie and Irish blokes in the bar, they just needed another fix.
I ended up playing for a while with the guys and ended up getting to jam with them on a few songs they played as well. It was a lot of fun, and it was the first time I had gotten to jam since I left the states. Felt pretty good. Thanks for the dare Mom and Dad.
view all pics and videos of me playing here:
I guess you were singing in Spanish. Ole!
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