BALI

We arrived at Bali airport after a good two days of traveling, we had flown from Cairns to Brisbane- Brisbane to Singapore- Singapore to Bali. As you can imagine we were all really tired but as soon as we stepped foot outside of the airport the heat hit us and the mad chaos, hustle and bustle and the bartering began, we all looked at each other and smiled as we were instantly aware that we were back in Asia, we were all wide awake again and so excited. This time we were all more prepared: rice for breakfast, squatting toilets, eating off stalls- bring it on Asia we can take it!!!
First on the list for Indonesia was Bali and the nearest destination from the airport was the very popular town of Kuta. The taxi man as always knew of a really nice and cheap place (normally a member of their families or on high commission) on this occasion we went with him and actually it turned out to be a beautiful hotel that indeed was also cheap, so we took him up on the offer and got our heads down.
The next morning we were even more impressed with the accommodation as we had our own pool, so for once we didn't have to go pool crashing. Walking around Kuta was also a bit of a surprise; it had so many lovely shops, cool bars and restaurants and was really lively. It was a lot more developed and trendy than anywhere we had previously visited in Asia. The shopping situation was even better as now we could at least go into the shops and maybe even buy something if we wanted to, the only problem now was where to put it -our backpacks were now at bursting point (where there's a will there's a way-hey lisa ha!).
It took us a whole day to come to terms with the money, we kept stopping at cash kiosks, money exchangers, and banks and saying 'could you tell me the exchange rate for English pounds please'. We continued to ask people all day for the simple reason that we just could not come to terms with how cheap everything was. We would look at lovely posh restaurant menus and convert it and say 'no that can't be right'- but it was, bless its lovely Asian socks Bali was just dirt cheap- back to the land of civilized living! So we celebrated and treated ourselves to a slap up meal and proper wine, not a box of goon in sight, thank god!
Kuta beach was a lovely long stretch of sand and the sea was packed full of surfers lapping up the huge waves, we saw more surfers here than we did in Australia. The beach itself was also full but mainly with all the Indonesian men frantically waiting to see a glimpse of some western flesh and Indonesian women trudging up and down the beach strategically balancing baskets on their heads trying to sell almost anything you could think of. So given this it didn't make for the most relaxing of sunbathes but plenty to keep you entertained!
Although the hotel we were staying at was cheap we didn't want to get too used to the plush standards and pool so we found some even cheaper and more suitable accommodation for backpackers. We said goodbye to the pool and aircon and settled in to the dingy, dirty, filthy, sweat boxes around the corner, but funnily enough we felt right at home!
The night life in Kuta is really good with some brilliant bars but the trouble being the only thing in Bali which is expensive is alcohol! So yet again we managed to find the most disgusting and liver damaging local drink but as we keep convincing ourselves its because of the 'budget', this time it went by the name of 'arrack'- looked like, smelt like and certainly tasted like paint stripper but hey ho it is cheap! All in all we really enjoyed our time in Kuta and were just so pleased to be back in Asia and here was certainly a good start!
Whilst in Kuta you can't help but visit the Bali Bomb Memorial as it is situated right in the centre of the town, it's a simple and sombre monument that lists all those killed in the 2002 blast. It always seems to congregate numerous amounts of people at all times of the day who are taking a few minutes out to remember those affected, whilst still the buzzing streets continue on around them. To our knowledge there isn't a monument for the 2005 bomb which was also in the busy area of Kuta, this time killing twenty six including three British. Even after all of this recent devastation Kuta is still a thriving, lively place and has made a conscious effort not to let the devastation put a stop to all the great night life and partying.


SANUR

Next stop on the Bali map was Sanur, this was a quite and small town which hosted mainly resort hotels but it did have a hand full of backpacker places. The beach was the best part of Sanur, it was a complete contrast from Kuta as we were able to relax and sunbathe in peace without being hassled to buy something every two minutes or having men standing over you taking pictures (so if you see any photos of us floating about on the net, I can assure you we didn't get any money for them). Sanur didn't have much more to offer so we promptly left the following day and made our way to Ubud.


UBUD

Ubud had an abundance of things to offer, it was a large inland town which gave a real insight to Balinese culture and the Hindu heritage. We also landed ourselves a great deal in an absolutely beautiful set of traditional Balinese style bungalows, they were set back from a swimming pool which was surrounded by pristine gardens, and it was cheaper in Ubud than Kuta so even the backpacker's budget found it easy to stretch to a pool and aircon. It also had an added advantage of having the most fantastic and cheap restaurant at the front, we could go on and on about the Indonesian food but just let's say it's probably one of the most delicious and healthy cuisines and we just couldn't get enough of it!
Ubud had a maze of winding streets and back alleys full of stunning shops and markets selling locally handcrafted gifts, coffee shops and spas. You could literally turn a corner of a busy side street and come head on with a vast paddy field and old stone houses; it was such an interesting place full to the brim with culture and history.
We decided to venture out on a trip; it was a cycling tour which took you into the depths of rural Bali. To start of the day we had breakfast at mount Batur, overlooking the active volcano Kintamani. This was a truly magical moment and what a view to start off the day! The relaxing didn't last long as we had to start peddling on our mountain bikes through the small villages and beautiful Balinese countryside. The villages were completely free of any traffic and tourists (apart from us which stuck out like saw thumbs) and it enabled us to get a real insight and feel for typical village life. It was a special sight to see the children's faces they were so excited to come across tourists and eager to use the few English words they had learnt at school. When we didn't stop they would run along side your bike and want to 'hi five' you, this was a task in its self when you are racing down hill and haven't ridden a bike for years but we all got the hang of it in the end without squashing too many Balinese children!
We had the chance to look around the typical Balinese houses, it was completely back to basic living but with such a strong sense of community. Everything revolved around the family with everyone living under one roof, even the newly married couples and the dozens of kids. Definitely cant see this working back in England, Jeremy Kyle would have his work cut out! The Balinese men thought that most of the gossiping and b****iness went on in the kitchen so they decided many generations ago to make all the women have separate kitchens. The men in today's generation must still agree as you can see a long line of tiny separate kitchens next to the main house - good of them isn't it!
We came across the locals doing the traditional wood carving which we saw all around Bali, the tools they used were so simple but the finished result so detailed and intricate.
We then had a short stint of hard peddling to contend with, the first bit of hard exercise in four months our legs were suffering! We went into the rice fields and met the workers and had a go at helping them, much to their amusement. We later sat amongst the rice fields and again were treated to the lovely dishes and tastes of Indonesian food.
The last stop of the day was the monkey park; still at the forefront of our minds was our previous experience with these horrible little creatures. We tried to be more prepared and locked away any valuables and food, they were even worse than others that we had come across before- jumping up people snatching everything off them, biting each other we were like a bunch of screaming girls and just couldn't wait to get out of there. Lisa again had the right idea and was sat in a spa having a massage whilst we were running around this money park petrified!
We could have easily stayed in Ubud for a lot longer, if not just to try everything off the menu at our restaurant. It is such a fascinating place with lots to keep you busy, but we were on the move yet again and heading for three Islands that someone whom we met on our travels had mentioned to us- The Gili Islands, three small Islands off Lombok, which is a boat ride from Bali. So we though we would go with the recommendation and got the boat from Pandagbai in Bali and cruised across the waters to the first Island we decided on Gili Air.