Hello there! Well, we managed to find an internet cafe - this one with so-called broadband, but we are not convinced! So now to fill you in with our Bali experience so far ... Our first stop in Bali was a resort called Buitan in East Bali. Here it was very quiet and relaxed with very few tourists. We were picked up from the airport on Thursday night by our driver, Made (this is the name given to the second born child). Our dark drive to our accommodation did seem like we were out in the middle of nowhere but we were so pleased when we saw our 'homestay'. Lumbung Damuh has only 3 rooms, each being a traditional Balinese rice barn. There are two floors to each suite - the bottom is all open with no doors except at the bathroom and the upstairs has only the beds. Our gardens are filled with trees, many growing coconuts, bananas and mangoes, and lots of animals including chickens, cockerels, crabs, geckos (oh and there are soooo many cats and dogs in Bali)! It was so gorgeous that we were really pleased to have 7 days to spend there. On our first day here we just relaxed around our area and had our first massage, mmm! That night we went across the lane to the Royal Bali Beach Hotel to experience the Balinese tradition of suckling pig! This is the first time that I have looked a whole pig in the eyes and then proceeded to eat it!!! It was a nice meal - buffet style - and it cost us 1,300,000 Rupiah, which is less than ten pounds! This was the most expensive meal we have had here, all the others have come to approximately 3 pounds or less! Although we were in the quiet area of Bali, the island is that small that we could hire a driver to go to any other part of Bali and practically for pennies! On our second day here, we hired a driver - although 2 actually came with us (Made and Made - confusing or what!) - and we went to one of the best markets in Bali, the Klungkung market. The market mainly sold fruit, spices and some local handicrafts. We spent thousands of Rupiah on fruit - including Markitha, which is one of the weirdest fruits I have ever seen! We had been given it as part of our breakfast that morning and at first we were all disgusted by the look of it (reminded us of fish eggs or something) but we were brave and tried it and it was lovely, very citrus! If only we could sneak some home for you all to try! After the market we went to other various places for some more retail therapy! We went to a gold and silver shop, where we even got to watch them make some jewellery, to a wood carver and to some more handicraft and souvenir shops. On Sunday we decided that we wanted to go scuba diving so we had a practice session with the dive-master in the pool. He went over the hand signals and breathing techniques etc and we had a go in the pool. I was definitely in the pool for the longest so I must have been the least natural or the hardest to teach - but that doesn't surprise me as I have never been that good in the water! Christine decided that she was too freaked out in the pool so decided she would come with us tomorrow but go snorkelling instead. That night we were back at the Royal again for another yummy (but expensive ... well, in Balinese terms anyway) meal and some Balinese dance. The Balinese are really into their culture and religion so it was really interesting to watch the effort that went into the dances. Monday was dive day and I was sh***ing myself, to put it politely!!! I had butterflies in my stomach the whole way to the dive site but was determined to go ahead with it! It wasn't so bad once we got started. The first big fish that swam towards me made me panic slightly but I took some deep breaths and began to relax. Although I still didn't venture far from Wayan and only let go of his hand towards the end! That first dive we went down over 12 metres and then we had another where we went over 18 metres! I felt much more comfortable on the second dive and enjoyed it a lot more (not that I didn't enjoy the first though)! We were diving at Tulamben, which is the wreck of a US cargo ship called Liberty that was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine in 1942 during World War II. We were right in between the wreck and got to see lots of amazing fish and marine life. Wayan even fed the fish a couple of bananas!! What a great experience! Oh, and it made up for the sky-dive that I never got to do in Darwin! After the dive, Wayan took us to a gorgeous place in Tirta Gangga called the Water Palace and we also got to see Gunung Agung, which is the highest volcano in Bali, reaching 3142m above sea level! On Tuesday we had another day out and about in Bali with our driver, Made. Today we went to Pura Basakih. This is a directional temple which is known as the 'mother temple' as it is the most important. This was a day out in itself as it has 7 levels to it! We weren't sure whether or not to go at first because we had read in the Lonely Planet book that the number of unsavoury vendors etc around the area were a real nuisance. In fact, it wasn't the adults that were a nuisance, it was the kids! We were only approached once by the 'local guides' but were constantly surrounded by little boys and girls putting flowers into our hands and bags and shouting "give me money, give me money"! It was crazy! Later that day we went to see Gunung Batur and Lake Batur. This was a gorgeous area with amazing views of the volcano and the surrounding lake. We had lunch here and then after running back to our car to avoid the street vendors we went to the town of Ubud for yet more shopping!! I have now racked up an impressive collection of musical instruments!!! Bali is such a cheap place - I think we have yet to spend near a tenner on one item - but it is amazing how much money we have each managed to spend! I think Christine is now going to struggle to eat again for the remainder of our holiday! xxx