Gending Kedis Villas & Spa Estate Jimbaran

... to various gods - making it all very peaceful and enchanting. There were certain restrictions put in place by the monks there on those visting the temple such as "no mad ladies/gentlemen" and "no women who's first child has not yet lost their first tooth"! We all had to borrow a sarong to wear too.

Back at the hotel we went for a massage at the spa centre (very cheap - 8 pounds for an hour); Paula and Sarah had a pedicure. A great way to end the day.

... 45pm one, which was actually perfect since it would give me time to go on the internet to find a place to stay once I got to Singapore. I easily got online from the airport while sipping a Coffee Bean Vanilla Ice Blended (yes, if anyone knows how much I love those drinks can imagine my excitement to find a Coffee Bean here in Kuala Lumpur after not having a coffee drink for the past two months!!! I was in heaven). I found an email from my mom with an address for a hostel in ...

... hundreds of branches they grow hang down like vines. And when these vines touch the ground, they become trees themselves, growing roots into the ground while their trunks widen and widen. There were nearly a hundred trunks around us, sprouting up from everywhere from all the trees of expanding outwards. We headed up the mountain in the car and the rain was not stopping. We were actually cracking up with laughter because of it. Of course the one day that we had ...

... in the restaurant. They had an animal show and they brought them out so you could hold them!!!!! First was a giant bat (which Josh held) then they had a bear cat which both Josh and Jess held (or rather balanced on their shoulders, these things arnt small) then some more birds and then oh yes the highlight of my day, maybe even my life they little lion cubs. Oh my god so cute and so heavy! I contemplated stealing one but i cant imagine it would have been easy to smuggle ...

... the two very accessible shipwrecks in the area ( a Japanese fishing boat and the US Navy cargo ship Liberty). Unfortunately the ocean was in a big snit and had been for about 10 days prior, according to some frustrated divers we met at our guesthouse in Jemeluk. No snorkeling at all. Zero. But it was mesmerizing to watch and listen to the waves pounding the foundation of our guesthouse (when constructed about 10 years ago the guesthouse enjoyed about 15 feet of ...

... 52.00 for a super-plush room (everybody said this was the best deal in all of Bali), when in Santa Barbara, we pay 120.00 for a low-budge place near downtown. We spent the day sitting by the pool, sipping on tropical drinks from the poolside bar, feasting on our lounge-chair lunches, and enjoying the perfect all-day temperature. In the evening, we decided to head to the beach, Lauren got her 3 dollar beach pedicure, and I had a 30 minute, 3 ...

... protected Indonesian birds in the park, a growing number of which are now breeding successfully under the care of our staff. The staff are proud of their new additions some of which can be seen in their incubators through the observation windows of the laboratory & nursery building. Bali Bird Park - Jl. Serma Cok Ngurah Gambir Singapadu, Batubulan - Gianyar - Bali Telephone: 62 361 299352 Fax: 62 361 299614 E-mail: sales@bali-bird-park.com, Website: www.bali-bird-park.com

... graag de crematietempel nog zien. De tempel werd bewaakt door het standbeld van een hond met een doodshoofd tussen de voorpoten: de poorten werden versierd door beelden van kinderenetende heksen, waarvan er ook binnen de tempel twee stonden brrrr.... Ook hier sprongen de apen weer vrolijk rond en aten een banaantje bovenop de grafstenen van de doden die begraven waren enonder de grond wachten op een goede dag voor een crematie (zoals gebruikelijk binnen het hindugeloof) of ...

We proceed to Jimbarang for dinner. The village is justly celebrated for its open-air restaurants that open around sunset right on the beach. all serving delicious and freshly grilled seafood. In Oct 2005, Jimbarang's peace was shattered when a bomb was set off by a ...

... quiet compared to Kuta & the sand there is of the black volcanic variety, unlike the white stuff in the south, and we found a brilliant hotel, which was practically deserted. The backpacking element of our trip has really gone out of the window in fact, as our rucksacs are generally transported on porters trolleys & the standard of accomodation is now considerably better than some of hovels that I stayed in in Thailand etc. The place in Lovina was so nice & we got a ...