Dewi Sri Cottages Bali Kuta

... to the room to change into our swim suits but unfortunately on the way it started raining. We ended up checking e-mail, having lunch and then doing some shopping before showering and getting ready for dinner. Whitney met two guys from Ecuador on the plane to Bali from Los Angeles, and we agreed to meet them for dinner that night. The two of them were meeting a group of friends that they had met in Bali several years ago. The entire group convenes every year or two to surf in Bali. We ...

... tigers, komodos, birds, panthers and all sorts of things - and they were very close (things you wouldnt get away with in Oz). Then we hopped on a safari bus where they took us around a heap of 'countries' - Asia, Africa, India and we got to see the native animals and they were right next to the bus - the hippos were literally 2 feet away from the bus as we drove through the water - the lions were right next to us, it was amazing.<br><br>We also got a free ride on one ...

... cure. Swimming up the waves just as they was about to crash down. I figured out that it was safer to dive under the wave than feel the full force of the wave hitting you. At one point I couldn&#8217;t get out of the large waves. every time I tried to swim clear to shore. The water would whip me back up and into another incoming wave. Eventually after some 20 mins struggling I returned to the beach puffing and panting and totally exhausted by my efforts!<br ...

... br>competition (Benchong!! - you'll hear about that word in weeks to come) because my tan had started to fade. After only half a day he conceded defeat. Oooooh yeah!<br>After taking lots and lots of photos of surfers, and getting burnt to a crisp (Andy is actually the only one that managed to get burnt), we decided to head back to the room and catch some dinner.<br><br>After dinner we bought some Whiskey and coke, and played cards outside of our room again; this soon become our ...

... bounce up and down in the raft. I guess I didn&#8217;t read the brochure to carefully but about this point I was informed by a grinning Jerry that we were about to make a 4 meter drop. 4 meters? that&#8217;s nothing. We were informed to give him our oars and sit in the bottom of the boat. He pushed us toward the edge and that was when I realized 4 meters was more like 10 feet, and yes I screamed like a girl over the edge. When we hit the bottom the kid in front of me was ...

... until the end of your tour. So Tara and I looked but we didn't see anything we liked and the lady kept pleading with her to buy something for good luck and that she would get another number for a long time. It was pretty bad. But we really didn't see anything at her store worth buying. Shopping in Bali gives me such anxiety. I'm actually much better with the bargaining process as I mentioned before, but I've come to find ...

... how to prepare delicious Balinese food at a cooking school, we know the recipies wont taste the same back in London without the sunshine &amp; warmth of Bali! It was the annual Tjampuhan temple festival on the edge of Ubud - the Balinese year has 210 days not 365 like ours. The festival lasts 5 days &amp; is very colourful &amp; a major social event for the town but tourists are welcome to watch the dancing ...

... afford a house and marriage gifts. Plus every other official seems to take kickbacks to bolster their wages so it is not seen as outrageous an incident as you may at first think. Luckily for me, I had been briefed on this odd, social, dance beforehand and knew that the most important thing was to keep smiling and never, ever become annoyed! Having secured the map and had my first fast food in Bali - Yeuch, forgotten how vile it is! Started off to Ubud. Got lost ...

... town centre, to watch a traditional Balinese Lekong dance and music performance. Incredible vivid colourful costumes and headresses. Perfectly timed head and hand movements but it is the eyes that tell the story - all made up with amazing make-up to capture and allure the audience. Asia is a land of such contrasts - from ancient architectural gems, historical city kingdoms to modern day sprawling metropolises. Travelling through Asia has been an incredible journey. New sights, smells ...

... friends are arriving in Kuta from Australia that same day and we'll all hang out for Easter weekend in Kuta. After that, who knows? Maybe I'll use my last two weeks in Indonesia to bounce up the islands and head toward Thailand island hopping. It might be cheaper, and more fun!, than a flight up to Bangkok directly. I dunno, I'll think about that over the next two weeks. Enjoy the pictures of the monkeys...I just love them.