IsLaNd O'cLoCk

In German you'd hear "Macht Schnell!" in Spanish, "Vamos!" and in English, "Faster!" Well in Bali, as in all other island nations, you constantly hear "Hati, hati" or "slower, slower." I always knew that time was a fluid concept on islands... but after one day in Bali, I get it on a whole new level.

On Sunday afternoon my friend and I climbed aboard a flight to Bali (after 2.5 hours sleep). I asked how long the flight was and was told, "Oh, about four hours." "Okay, that's not bad," I thought. That was, until we all climbed aboard the aircraft and the pilot said it was a 6 hr 15 min flight. I looked at my friend wide eyed, both from "that's a big difference!" and "holy crap we have no food!" We just laughed, at least we had a healthy bag of chips for lunch. Well, that and a lot of sleep to catch-up on.

Once we arrived in the Denpasar airport, they quickly (in their words) got a bus to shuttle us through the hot/humid weather to customs. Of course, on the way people were walking around the tarmac so we had to stop a few times to let them cross, but we finally arrived. Again, arrived is a fluid word. I don't count actually arriving until I cross through customs and breath fresh air; there's just something about the finality of a passport stamp.

We bought our visas then got in line for customs. We were told to pick a line and that they move "really fast. really, really, fast. Promise madame, really fast." Being a normal human being, we tried to guestimate what line was moving faster. One big problem: none of them were really moving. These lines, like much else, moved at a glacial--or as I now refer to it-- ISLAND pace. These lovely island agents were turning out visitors at the rate of 15-20 people per hour. They'd do their due diligence of glaring at you, giving your passport a once over and then stamping it in as gruff and intimidating way as a smiley, ninety pound Balinese man could.

As we waited for our turn at the high, podiumesque judgment desk, we flipped through brochures and had another good laugh. Several of the tours painted exciting pictures of snorkeling with dolphins, climbing up an active volcano or watching ancient Balinese dancers perform at a temple at sunset. While each tour had some unique flair, there was one thing they all had in common: a start time of 8:00-8:45. You know, start times, as everything else is a fluid concept.

*other examples available upon request.