So, after a long hot trip on the ferry, we arrived in Bali at what we thought was 7pm, because we thought the clocks went backwards. The coach we were on went straight onto Denpasar but as I said in the last blog we wanted to go to Lovina in the North. Unfortunately, we were the only people who wanted to go to Lovina so we got off and were pointed in the direction of a Bemo and its driver as we had piad for a full tour to Lovina we thought this was all sorted. Bemo are minibuses that drive around picking up people on a route or can be chartered (bear in mind that we have already paid for this part of the journey, which should have been a straight two hours to Lovina). Everything seems normal and then after a few minutes we asked the driver when we would be leaving and he said that he has to wait until the minibus is full before he leaves, a little annoying as nothing was said about waiting to us when we booked the tour but we have been up since 3am at this point - who's gonna argue! As it's only "7.30" we decide it cant be too long before the next ferry and more people. After the next ferry arrives with no buses I go and speak to the driver and he then tells me that he doesnt think anymore people will come on the ferry and that we can charter the bemo if we want for 400,000 Rhp, but we had already paid for this transfer anyway! Again, not that much money but it's the principle. Also, it's about this time that I look at a clock on the wall and realise it's actually 10pm and we're 2 hours from anywhere, with no one about apart from the driver and his mate and a few beggars. When pushed, the driver says that he'll sleep at the port until more people arrive. Feeling utterly stubborn we say fine we'll kip in your bemo. Suddenly he realises he has to go home in a couple of hours but can take us to a hotel he knows. Great, with no buses until morning and the few coaches coming off the ferry not wanting to pick us up and piss off the bemo driver we're feeling a bit lost. Alex then clocks its a another scam, leaving two westerners deserted with you as they're only way out of a ferry port and demanding they pay a huge sum to be taken to a destination they have already paid for - clever! Alex had spotted some police in the ferry and so we tell the driver where to go and that we refuse to be blackmailed and sit with a nice policeman until we figure out what to do. Apparently there was a public bus to Denpasar but not for an hour or two. The worst thing was that the drivers were still waiting around until it was too late for us to do anything else, but getting in a bemo with him for two hours was the last thing we were now gonna do. A stroke of luck finally came at midnight when a tour guide from Lovina came across in the ferry and saw us and stopped to see if we wanted a lift. After getting the policeman to give him the once over we decided to go with him and eventually got to Lovina at around 1 am to a really nice hotel at a fraction of the cost. But it was still an extra cost and the whole episode made us just want to leave. The people of Java and the crossings are out to make as many bucks as they can get from the few tourists who still dare go there. I know others have had good experiances here but for us we were tired of being forced to pay money to buy our way out of intimidating situations, that although aren't illegal, it still was not cool being deserted like that. At this point we decided we would cut our indonesia trip in half and looked to reschedule our flights by 10 days. Our advice is don't get the ferry crossing late at night as there are little options and no people around at all. Travel in a group if you can as if you are ripped off at least you can split the charge.

So anyway we were now left with 7 days to see Bali and we chose Lovina, Ubud and Kuta. Lovina was actually a really nice, quiet coastal town, and we spent a few days relaxing by the beach and the pool at Villa Jaya, which we highly recommend. The private tour guide that saved us at the ferry port turned up to our hotel every day wanting to be sure that we'd use him to our next destination. We eventually did and on 28th arrived in Ubud, which used to be a tiny village but has grown as a major tourist hot spot for it's arty and cultural theme set in lush greenland and surrounding hills.

Ubud still has many of its village charms and we absolutely loved it. We stayed at Sadru House, run by the nicest family who also ran a small restaurant next door which served the best Indonesian food we'd had and for a tiny sum of money. We had our own little bungalow set in a semi forest with lots of trees, plants and of course wildlife! The only downside were a few unwelcome visitors in our bathroom at night, but chasing around cockroaches at 4 in the morning is always good for the reflexes! Whilst in Ubud, because we loved the food here so much we signed up for a cooking class. It was run by Bumbu Bali restaurant and at 9 in morning we met our chef for the day who spoke perfect English and took us round the market to explain all the spices and foods that they commonly use. The next 5 hours was an orgy of him cooking and us eating 6 incredible main dishes, all extremly simple to make. We also got a recipe book and an apron. This was the best activity we did in Indonesia and we cant wait to get home and try the recipes out. We also visited the local monkey sanctuary where the monkeys get fed so much that they take the bananas and just throw them on the floor in boredom. On the last night we went for a massage on the main strip for half an hour for approximately 1 pound 50, which was excellent!

On Bali, unlike Java, there is actually a bus service set up for tourists so that you dont have to use private cars or tour operators. It's called Perama and we took it from Ubud to Kuta and although they cram people in, it was well worth the cost. We'd heard some pretty bad reviews about Kuta, but maybe because we were expecting it to be awful we were slightly pleasantly surprised. We chose to stay for two nights before we flew out because of its proximity to the airport and we stayed at Kedins Inn 2, again with a pool to escape the mid day oven, which was really nice. Kuta was overrun with tourists and hawkers, but by this time we'd become immune to the shouts following us down the street and only blinked when one tout claimed that he could offer 1000 percent off!! Despite the number of people on the beach it was still worth a visit and both nights we spent both nights watching the sun go down, which is always a theraputic event even with someone trying to sell you a bow and arrow!?! The beach isn't a picture perfect postcard but it has some great surf, a real buzz and you can drink beer all evening - definately for the younger crowd. There was also a really good value family run restaurant (always the best) near our hotel called Warung Pama that we'd really recommend, between Poppies Gang I and II.

On the 2nd February we got our changed flight to Singapore. I think we have slightly different views on Indonesia but neither of us regret going there and maybe we will regret not visiting Lombok and Gili islands after being put off from Java, but for now we're both happy to be in Singapore. If you are thinking of Indonesia as part of your RTW and its your first trip, maybe just Bali and Gili Islands would be a good enough snap shot, westernised yes but a road slightly more travelled.

Until next time,

Alex and Tom xxx