The name on the whiteboard sounded very inviting. ‘Bali Hotel’ –what an  exotic name for what appeared after a 156 km ride. Maybe I am a bid spoilt by the standards of the first class lodges we had for the past two stages? Am I? No, with my travel experiences it takes a lot to kick me out of my boots!

I doubt that the Bali Authorities know about, how there name is being misused. The hotel is a loud, rundown complex in the center of Tarutang. It has basic and standard rooms. I share a basic room with Eric. The room is 4x4m² with a window to the entertainment corner. Outside a live band is currently playing …

Basic room means:

• no toilet paper (not a joke, it is not provided)
• two beds only (I’ll sleep in my sleeping back inlet or outside on the couch) and a mirror
• no sink to wash hands or do toiletry
• a more than filthy bathroom (if that is the name for the wet and dirty something)
• cold shower, but more than enough water (+)
• it stinks like hell! Like a public toilet
  –> I found that there is no syphon but just a hole in the floor to drain the shower water. The acid smell comes directly from the sewage … I tried to seal it, with little effect. We got some spray to fight the bad odor … headache programmed!

I dumped all my eatables, that were not sealed …

Note, this is by no means criticism at TdA. They do an awful good job, to find big enough places to sleep all of us, in such remote locations, but there are things beyond their responsibility.