I know I keep saying I won't, but I keep leaving it later and later. I think this time, it's because during my two and a half weeks in Bali, I spent about 80% of my time sitting by the pool and doing very little that was noteworthy. However, I will regale you with what little I have been doing, though it may be vague in parts due to my appalling memory.

I arrived in Bali on November 13th, after an awful flight that required a 5am start. At the airport, I got a taxi to the nearby Kuta/Legian region where I stayed for seven nights. I stayed in a lovely little hotel made up of Balinese bungalows, that had a gorgeous pool with a bar and flowers floating in the water, and some lovely gardens. Made a nice change from six weeks of dorm rooms and bunk beds and was a welcome change to have a room to myself. I spent those first five days mainly at the poolside, which doesn't make for very interesting reading I'm afraid. Weather was very hot and humid and have managed to top up my tan quite well, so at least I don't look like I'm fresh of the plane anymore. I wandered down the main street most days, mainly to replenish my supply of books. Kuta is the part of Bali that was previously bombed, the bombers were actually executed a few days before I arrived. The place was pretty much dead. Which is probably a better scenario than crawling with Aussie party animals. Saw the memorial, which has become some sort of hangout amongst tourists. There are lots of people having their photographs taken with it, and just hanging around there at night, which I found a bit disrespectful. A lot of the street sellers are quite pushy, but as Bali's tourism industry has taken such a hit this year, it's understandable that they're just trying to make some money, since there are nowhere near as many tourists to prey on as usual.

Met Mark, from the Isle of Man, at my hotel. Quite lucky really to find a fellow Brit since the hotel was so quiet. Would have been a lonely few days otherwise. Had dinner most nights with Mark which made a welcome change from trying to entertain myself with a book most mealtimes, and we stayed away from rice as I feel I have definitely filled my rice quota for the year. On my sixth day there, Mark and I hired some private transport and spent the morning doing a little temple hopping. Went to the revered Tanah Lot, the small temple that is out at sea. It must be quite spectacular when the tide is in, but unfirtuantely it was out when we were there. At least that meant we could walk right up to it though, where you have to drink water from a Holy Spring, Holy Water with flowers in it that tastes a little dodgy, and then have rice pressed to your forehead and a flower tucked behind your ear as a blessing. Also took a trip down to Uluwatu, another costal temple that was far less crowded and actually was far more attractive with better scenery. On the walk down, Mark got bitten by a bat that was hanging around by the street stalls. The guide asked if we wanted to touch it; I quite rightly said no, but Mark went ahead and it bit him on the hand. leaving two puncture marks, which taught him a lesson. Spent that afternoon back at the pool, followed by a nice dinner and a lovely night time dip in the pool.

The following day I had been hoping to enrol in surf school for the day, but since there were no beginner lessons I didn't get that chance. They did offer me an intermediate class but I think it's better for everyone's safety if I didn't take up that offer. Mark and I had dinner at a really nice resturant that night, which made up for my earlier encounter with a very strange shop owner. As I was trying to find the coach company to book a bus for the following day, I got lost and in return for browsing in his shop, this man took me to the bus company. While innocently browsing, this man gave me a run down on his entire stock, and then whipped out some Chinese herbs. These herbs that he tried to sell me cured a number of things, namely "tight breasts." Not that I think that is something that particularly needs solving, and I managed to somehow keep a straight face. Managed to get him distracted by talking about a photo on the wall on the shop staff and Mel Bigson. The owner said he'd been in the shop last November and was apparently quite intoxicated. So there's some gossip for you, Mel Gibson is back on the bottle after his previous rehab stint.

The follwing day, I got a wonderful five hour non air-conditioned bus ride up to Lovina, right in the north of the island. Hotel was even more beautiful that the first with the whole flowers on the pillow works. Shame it felt a little too much like a honeymoon suite. I think I was the only person staying in that hotel for the three nights which did not make for the most exciting experience. I foolishly hadn't really researched the place either, and I was 3km away from anything. No Internet, no shops, no nothing. And no street lights so you couldn't leave at night. I was pretty much trapped in a deserted hotel with one restaurant and four books for three nights. To combat boredom, I spent my second day on a snorkelling trip. Unfortuantely, I was the only British person on it, so no scintillating conversation for me there. The trip was brilliant nonetheless; we took a boat out to a nearby island where we snorkelled and set up camp on the beach for the day. The coral and sealife was far better than Thailand, and the coral dropped off into open water so had a swim over there and managed to cope with my fear of the deep sea. Still far too scared to try scuba diving though.