A Proposal in Bali

One of my intentions upon arrival in Bali was getting a massage, preferably on the beach. Massage sessions are super pricey in the US but in southeast Asia, they tend to be both good and inexpensive. After discovering this regional bargain in Thailand, which resulted in succeeding daily massages for less than $10, I wanted to keep the pattern going while in Indonesia. Bali is perhaps one of the most well known and tourist-trekked islands in Indonesia, and for good reason. The landscape is comprised of volcanoes, mountains, rice fields, waterfalls, rivers, and of course, beaches! Surfers flock here from Australia, culture buffs come to explore Ubud and Hindu culture, some come to be pampered in the spas, and others come for the nightlife. 

My friend Lauren and I rented a great Airbnb on a super remote beach called Balangan in the southern part of Bali, near South Kuta. The property featured only eight or so bungalows, a staffed cafe, outdoor showers, views of the ocean, and best of all, a private beach!

The private beach was gorgeous, with giant coral rock formations, sprawling greenery, and… trash. After the 10 minute hike down, I was disappointed to see the polluted trash washed on shore from the ocean. The Indian Ocean is heavily polluted. I’m sure the recent influx of tourism has not helped; the local society is simply not able to keep up with this problem. Bali is a poor island and when you are trying to meet basic needs, recycling and community waste disposal may understandably be the least of your concerns. I digress… I filled up a plastic bag with trash before settling down to catch some rays. 

After some time at the private beach, we decided to venture away from the property as we had heard about a slightly busier beach a short walk up the road. Not three minutes after we got there and settled onto some lawn chairs, a guy approached us asking if we wanted smoothies. It was super toasty out, and the fruit in Bali is the bomb.com, so I jumped on the offer. He started walking away only to pivot a few seconds later, asking if also we wanted massages. While Lauren declined, my eyes lit up – achievement unlocked! The smoothie and hour long massage would be 130,000 rupiah total (10 USD). I realized I was almost out of rupiah; Lauren was, as well. I sheepishly asked if there was an ATM. I was told there was one, a short ride away in town.

A few minutes later I found myself on the back of his motor bike, him warning me about the hot engine as I swung onto the seat. He gave me his ball cap to protect my head from the sun. His name was Wayan and he was delighted to ride around with me behind him. Our ride was actually pretty wonderful, sun shining brightly, and wind whipping my hair the whole time. Bali is fascinating and I loved the views as we rode through the rural village. We passed other motorbikes, chickens crossing the road, skinny cows hanging around, and cute children waving as we passed. Wayan asked me all sorts of questions in his impressively advanced English- where I was from, my age, about my family, what I thought of Bali. He also told me I was beautiful numerous times. While I remained guarded, I won’t lie – I was totally flattered.  

We eventually made it to a grocery store in town, and he parked the bike alongside many others. Completely forgetting his earlier warning, as I slid off the back, my leg grazed the engine, leaving me with a pretty gnarly burn. And new scar. I always seem to sustain injuries on my trips! I got my money and we rode back to the beach.

My massage was interesting. He certainly wasn’t a professional or well trained for that matter but he kneaded my back, mumbling sweet nothings and telling me I was “nice” while the Indonesian ladies around him giggled. I was soon in a peaceful trance but was startled awake when I realized his lips were practically on my ear. “Will you marry me?” he whispered. I flipped my eyelids opened and saw the sincerity in his eyes. Yikes, I thought. It was at that point that I lied and said I had a boyfriend. The massage ended shortly thereafter and I returned to Lauren on the sand.

Lauren laughed so hard when I told her the story. Wayan visited twice more while we laid out on our beach chairs, watching a storm roll in. Just when I was thinking that life couldn’t get more ridiculous, a crazy little lady wandered over. Wayan called to us “it’s the mushroom lady!” The lady was tripping on mushrooms that she had apparently picked from a cow pasture nearby. She sat on the sand next to us, laughing wildly with googly eyes.

In case you were wondering, I did eventually get that smoothie and it was pretty damn tasty.