Lovina Sucks!

April 28
Lovina, Bali


I'm through with Lovina. I will never return here, and I will discourage friends from doing so.

The beach is not particularly attractive, and the solicitors for services and sarongs and souveniers are so aggressive that one can't even enjoy a stroll on the beach in peace. Being swarmed is bad enough, but most all the solicitors do not gracefully leave at the first "no". It often takes 3 - 6 "no's" and increasingly rude responses. Being told by one of those sales people "smile, be happy" during one of my more unpleasant group encounters almost sent me over the edge.

The only good thing about Lovina is the food in the non-touristy places, and my hotel. It was a kitchy place with colorful bungalows and tidy but lush garden. The restaurant overlooks cobalt blue tiled pool with a faux boulder waterfall in the corner and faux volcanic wall studded with plants. Sort of Tiki Bar meets Bali. Pulestis, on Jalan Bina Ria, in Lovina's center town of Kalibukbuk. The breakfast was decent, the coffee fab, and the management agreeable. Unfortunately, one has to impress the management that one doesn't want to hear tour offers upon every encounter. Also, it's not uncommon to be approached within the hotel compound by soliciting friends of the management and staff (massage, jewelry, you name it).

Apparently it's not uncommon to score magic mushrooms... and like all other solicitors, a local will find you and make the offer! I wouldn't say there was any place peaceful or pretty enough to warrant such indulgence! I can see it now... someone getting high and ultra tuned to ones surroundings, enjoying the pink sunset, suddenly being accosted by 3 solicitors at once! Talk about a bad trip waiting to happen!

If one had good company along, instead of travelling along like me, or if one liked hanging out at the bars with smoking and drinking tatooed Bali boys who ask invasive questions, then perhaps this place could be fun. Low season is very boring, and that's especially true post bomb.

I'm taking one of the 6am tourist boats out to see the dolphin schools in the morning. Then I'm paying the big bucks ($18) for a day long tour and drop off at a new hotel, up in the central mountain regions of Lake Tambligan, Lake Bayan, and Lake Batur. The latter has a famous and lovely island temple I'd love to canoe around at sunrise. On the way their, I'll stop at Air Panas (a hot springs) and a Buddhist Mountain temple, and a traditional Bali Aga village.

I'm worried about $s, since exchange rates and some unexpected expenses have severly strained the budget. My indulgences have been pretty conservative. Internet access is pretty expensive here, when one takes the slow connections into consideration.