First Impressions of Bali

My first sunset, Kuta beach, Bali

Hello everyone.  I arrived in Bali on September 28, 2014 and the ship arrived on October 2, 2014. Things have been very busy and there has been some adjustment to sorting out limited Internet access and things of that sort.  I'm going to break this post into two parts, this one will be about what I've seen so far of Bali and the other post will be about what life aboard the Picton Castle has been like so far.  This is just first impressions of Bali because I've only been able to see a very small part of the island and I'm not done exploring yet.
The area of Bali that I am familiar with so far is the large metropolitan area north of the Airport.  It's really 4 or 5 cities that are all right up against one another.  I can never tell when I cross from one into the next.  I've been staying in Kuta when I'm not on board.  Kuta is the primary tourist area and has a large beachfront and is crammed with hotels and shopping.  Bali has about every big name chain store, restaurant and fast food joint you can imagine in the cities, and it's crowded.  This is Australia's version of the Caribbean and there are a lot of Aussies as well as many Asian tourists.
They drive on the left and there are millions of scooters.  They only have traffic signs on their most major roads, when you're not on those you're on your own.  No speed limits, no stop signs, no controls of any kind at intersections and the street names, if they're there at all, are very hard to find and there is no uniform, consistent sign.  So getting around on ones own can be a real challenge.  That hasn't stopped me from walking all over though and I'm starting to recognize my way around.  There are streets, similar to our 2 lane streets and then there is a network of what we would call allies.  The allies are narrow and lined on both sides with stalls of people selling stuff.  All of these allies are only wide enough for a small mini van but most all of them allow two way traffic of scooters and cars. The locals are masters on their scooters and they load them up with stuff and people.  One of my crew-mates said he saw a family of 4 riding together on one and the mom was nursing the baby at the time. I've seen 4 teen age girls on one.  Often the small children stand in front of the driver so I imagine they're pretty comfortable with the rules of the road, or the lack thereof,  by the time they're 10 or 12.  Surprisingly the process works much better than one would expect.  There is some beeping on horns but it's always a quick beep, more to say, "here I am" than to say get the hell out of the way.  I'm pretty sure in the US it would be total chaos but somehow it works here.  Crossing the street can be a bit frightening though.  One thing that is pretty cool, along the major roads and at round abouts there are great statues.  Most are cultural and or religious and they can be pretty spectacular.

Detail of the God

A God standing on the backs of horses

A major round about sculpture, about 60 feet long and 20 feet high

Sorry, I didn't write down the name of the God that this statue represents.  Most Balinese are Hindu and they have many Gods.
The people are very nice and friendly.  The vendors can be pretty aggressive and I can't count the times I've been offered Viagra and Cialis...I'm a bit offended by that but, evidently I'm in the target demographic for that stuff.  Bargaining with vendors is expected and I've been taken advantage of several times.  After a few days I had a conversation with an Aussie expat who gave me some good advice and I've been doing better since.  Service at restaurants is pretty slow but the prices are very good, with lunch including a soda easily had for about $6.  My hotel is awesome, with 2 pools, lovely gardens with fountains and statues.  The rooms are simple but they have WiFi, refrigerators, safes, air conditioning and hot breakfast every morning.  My room is in the mid price range for this hotel and it's $25 and change a night.  The staff is great and very friendly.
My goal is to get out of the city the next time I am off duty so I will be able to report more about the "real" Bali.