Nandini Bali Resort & Spa Ubud

... told that they were closing early today, with no explanation given. it was just before 5pm, and i should have had over an hour to wander around. I got back on my bike, only for it to begin to rain. Bugger. I blazed back down the hill, swerving to avoid puddles, people and mopeds; at one point an eager dog chased me for a good few hundred metres, and nearly managed to nibble my back tyre! half way down the road the rain turned from drizzle to a downpour, and I was forced to stop ...

... flower bath, and a facial
done for less than $30. The service was top of the line, world class. And done for a ridiculously low price. The masseuses knew how to do their jobs alright - I felt the circulation in my body rejuvinate itself and run more smoothly throughout my body. As this occurred I thought to myself...well maybe a blood clot won't form in my head? And finally calmed myself down...

As soon as the massage was over my head ventured off into ...

... selling coke).

We descended the rest of the way sans guide through forest and farms to the lakeside village of Toya Bungkah. We had an uninspiring lunch (but welcome cold beer) at the hotel with a pool fed by the hot springs by the lake. Andy then commandeered a ride on a scooter (for an enormous sum) to retrieve the car on the other side of the mountain while Duncan swam and Maddie and I recovered by the pool side.

On another memorable day we went on a ...

... on another trip. Tulamben We were just in Tulamben for the night after our wreck dive. There is supposed to be some great snorkel spots but we were exhausted after two dives and trying to find a place to stay. If I thought Lovina was small and didn't have much, then Tulamben practically doesn't exist. We did our best to try and get local transportation to begin our journey to Volcano Batur but that was pretty impossible. The locals were going to charge us ...

... play with them. I had to shower quickly and leave with dripping hair to make it to school. We got to school, but there were no children anywhere to be seen. We waited for a few minutes, but it was quite obvious no one was coming. And waiting a couple minutes, you already start to expect and get it in your mind that there is no school. So, although we knew for sure they weren't showing up, we also just wanted to leave before they did. It's hard when you expect school ...

... for excellent sunset pics. I pay for the ticket to the temple - it.s 5.15 - sunset in one hour and to be honest - I couldn't give a fiddlers **** about the temple - I just want to find myself a nice seat by in a bar on the sunset terrace with a beer and watch the sun go down so that I can take a perfect snap. I oogle what's left of the seats and see what is certainly the best place to take pics right by the cliffside. Then it ...

... are lots of temples scattered along the mountain road. We went into town that night and saw a band in a restaurant on the beach. Day 28: We decided to take a long ride down the coastal road. We swam in the hot springs, went to a very tranquil Buddhist temple Drove right down the coast for a couple of hours, or so, and ate at a roadside warung along the way. That night we were in bed early as we were fishing the next morning. Day ...

... Plus I've got all the jellyfish allergens in my blood so add onto those a pile of mosquito bites and all I can do is take Benadryl to knock myself out. But I'm still awake every 15 minutes...I even contemplate trying to sleep in the pool with my body submerged to the neck....my head resting somehow on the side. Eventually 5:45 AM arrives and I hear our boat driver calling us. Next thing, we're on the boat in the dark looking for dolphins. I guess the ...

... car with mirrors and flashlights, looking for bombs, I presume. I'm going to tell you precisely what we had for lunch, because you will understand the relevancy of it a bit later: we had jasmine tea with a little cookie, 5 roasted duck potstickers served on a bed of greens, a club sandwich with a green salad, caesar salad (small), and rolls. When the bill came, Jack nearly had a heart attack. The equivalent of ...

... sitting on lounge beds and toys were here and about. I didn't have a problem with this. it was basically a normal Balinese family compound. The room was so-so, nothing really spectacular and the outside seating area was rather small. The bathroom however was nice since part of it was open to the outside, something common in Bali, and a feature I was hoping to experience. In the end I decided not to take the room ...