what a pain in the ass. i just wrote out a this post card and lost the bloody thing before it could be saved! 7 months late but i've finally made it! i've reached the southern hemisphere!!! coming into bali i knew very little about the place other than try to stay away from kuta, the over crowded, not nice place where everyone trys to rip you off and also that it just got bombed again a few weeks before i was to come here. got talking to a few guys on the plane and before i know it i'm sharing a taxi with these guy on route to kuta! the taxi driver's smileing aswell due to the fact that he has just charged us the cost to go from one side of the island and back for a 10 minute ride! i wasn't expecting much from kuta atall and that's pretty much what i got from the place... b***** all! it's not a bad place but it's just not for me. to many people, most australians, a little bit of a edgey feeling due to people being stop and searched for bombs and the beach isn't all that special either. enough of the bad points anyway. good things about kuta. i met 3 guys from bristol who were staying in the same hotel as me and we went out had a great night drinking some form of toxic waste which was given to you in a fish bowl and after 2 of those and i don't know how many beers i can't really remember alot. good night. and also the surf. the waves here a pretty big and it looks like a great laugh when you get the hang of it. i didn't get the chance to learn to surf there due to my balance being slightly impared by the god awful hangover i was having most mornings in kuta. i will have a go before i go to oz but maybe not in kuta. cheers all, speak soon. christopher.