I had a sneaking suspicion that booking with the travel office next door would not end well, but it was the same price as a taxi and my thought process was that I did not need to worry about finding the ticket office at Bangsal and that I would be shepherded through the process. The fact that the price changed three times between us agreeing and me filling in the form and paying a deposit made my little voice want to tell him to sod off, but a glutton for punish...

Early start as always, I had to be ready for 6.30am pickup.For once the journey was pretty painless and the boat company were pretty professional, apart from the Ozzie ski instructor who not only had to wear his baseball cap backwards and constantly wear his Oakley shades he also had to tell everyone, especially the girls, he was a ski instructor in New Zealand, and only worked winter and spent the summer travelling and partying. Thats because as a ski instructor...

Next day I Headed north to Ubud, and it took longer to get out of Kuta than the rest of the journey. But what a transformation. Gorgeous rice fields, palm trees and peace and quiet. No pushy shop staff.Luckily I met a couple on the bus from Slovenia that had actually booked the same hotel and knew where it was, so for probably the first time ever, managed to avoid the usual taxi shafting upon arrival.Hotel was mint, really nice with a room overlooking the pool......

Early start from Bangkok and I was torn between fast trains with a dodgy ankle or a taxi that could be stuck in traffic for ages.I decided to suck it up and be a man so threw on my rucksack and was in agony before I even turned the first corner. Anyhow I made it on time to Bangkok airport and flew via Kua Lumpur to Denpasar. I had been warned that Kuta was cheap rowdy and full of surfers, but decided to stay as it was close to the airport and my flight got in ...