Bali - Legian

Upon arrival in Bali I felt like I was really in a foreign country. I was sleep-deprived, and after buying a visa and getting through passport control I picked up my bag and got a taxi to Legian. Driving through Kuta was a bit shocking because Bali in general is poor, and I hadn't been to a country like this in a while. The Balinese are very friendly, courteous people because most are Hindu - and harming anyone is very bad. The hostel I was staying at ("The Island") was very highly rated and near Seminyak where Harry was staying. I figured I should stay at a great place so that my first hostel experience was positive. The hostel was down an alley a few minutes walk off the main street so I was a bit concerned, but it turned out it was a fantastic place to stay. It was brand-new, the staff were very friendly, there was a pool (at a hostel!) and everyone was friendly and in their mid-20's or higher. I went for a walk on the beach to get see the other side of the pacific - the water was so warm and the gradient of the beach was really shallow. Surfers enjoyed the waves and I understood why Mike P told me I needed to do some surfing here.
After getting settled in (the hostel was perfectly clean and had AC) I befriended two people from the UK - Natasha and Chris. They were both solo travelers and had met at the hostel as well. One day we went surfing with a longboard. I had been working out and doing my physical therapy exercises, but I wasn't really strong or confident on my legs enough yet to stand up and catch a wave. Chris and I both tried a number of times, then I went out one more time...and a big wave crashed on top of me and it broke the nose off the board! I brought the board back to Chris and Natasha who both gaped at it, and we walked it to the rental place. By this point I was used to the Balinese haggling and asking for very high prices - he asked for 300,000 rupiah - $30 USD. I thought this was fair so I gave it to him - he was happy and so was I for settling it.

One other night I had a great evening buzzing around the island on a scooter with a local that working at the hostel. She showed me around the close towns and we had dinner at a cool Italian place. Then we went to meet her friends and I had a few drinks of Arak - the local booze made from palm trees mixed with sprite and lime. It was delicious if it wasn't mixed too strongly. Hanging with the locals was cool because I got insight into how they live poorly but are happy. They simply enjoy life because that's what they have. They think "it would be nice to have more, but its not necessary to be happy".

Serendipitously, I got to see Harry since he was in Seminyak with family. We relaxed at his house, traded stories, and enjoyed the pool. I was thinking, "I'm on the other side of the world hanging with a friend in paradise - life is pretty good!"

Other than the above stories - I relaxed, worked out (goal #1 of the trip is to finish the recovery from the car accident), ate, and worked to hand-off to my replacement in NL. I wish I had done more in Bali but at the time it was what I needed to unwind and kick-off the trip.