Sahid Raya Kuta

... enough to spot 2 sea horses which were so cool, an octopus, a sting ray and many giant fish. The coral and plants were amazing and combined with the colours of the coroded boat it was simply spectacular. More so in a way than the great Barrier Reef in my opinion. So it was an extremely successful day! Headed back to Kuta to find Miriam on the beach and after finding new and cheaper accommodation next to where Sarah and Stephen were staying we got a reasonably early night.
Yet ...

Are you in bali right now? love indian food? if yes then u have to go to queens tandoor at seminyak. the food are great. The ingredients were the highest quality. I will say that the sauces were very tasty, The naan is very good and they have some very nice tasting pappadum crispy with good flavor. The tandoori chicken they served was interesting. The vegetable dishes were quite well done. Queens tandoor is the best!

... for 5minutes and he was covered in sand! and managed to cover us in sand too! It was hilarious! Sandy Andy!

After the beach fun we decided to head home, shower, and go eat some dinner. In the evening we bought some Whiskey and coke, some cigars, and sat down in front of our rooms smoking, drinking and playing cards; true gentleman!

After a while we headed out and hit the town, but only for a quiet drink. We headed to what seemed like a posh looking bar (with ...

... of my shoes on. The bad part I was could only think of my broken flip flop most of the trip. We stopped about halfway and there was a guy selling beer and drinks. Instead of walking around in my flip splats I settled onto a rock to watch the activity, next think I know im surrounded by the guides. I have no clue what was being said but they were having a good time. We headed out again and ran the rapids and got stuck on rocks and had to get jiggy with it as Jerry said, which ...

... kind of untouched beauty, we would all be better off for it. After a few hours we ventured back into town just in time to catch the start of the opening parade to mark the celebration of the Balinese New Year, something which I will talk about a bit later on. We made it back to the hotel in good time and managed to find a cab which would take us back to our next destination, the town of Padang Padang on the southern most tip of the island. As Sean and David had already been ...

... the spirit of free enterprise, in spite of prices of up to 10.000 Rupiah per litre, against the regular price of 5500. I was happy to reach Amed on the north east cost of Bali shortly before sunset, where I checked in at Jogi Lodge which boasts spacious clean rooms, a good bed with a mosquito net and even a small pool. A swim first in the warm sea, then in the pool feels like a massage after such a day. And Amed is a place to fall in love with instantly. There are about 200 of those ...

... it was dark out now, so we opted to return the bike and walk to the restaurant for dinner instead. We spent around 5 hours traveling on the bike and must've covered at least 100 kilometers for a total cost of 63,000 Rp. The price of fuel in Indonesia is subsidized by the government but I was still amazed at how efficient the bike was on gas and how inexpensive it was to rent one for a day. The next big event in Ubud for us was a cremation ceremony that was held ...

... stand on a sidewalk that was about 2 or 3 feet deep, with a high wall behind it. After waiting in the sun for an hour the bull finally came... and yes there were easily 200+ people underneath it (it's set on a huge bamboo lattice work). There are musicians in front and behind who are very joyfully playing, increasing the tempo of the music to a frenzy everytime before they picked it up. Remember this thing is bigger than a house. I was ...

... incredible, and very peaceful. It was the first time its rained since Ive been here, It has been sunny ( and hot) every day since Ive arrived. Knowing that without the rain once in a while, Bali wouldn't be as green and lush as it is. I wanted to come here for peace and serenity, and I was lucky enough to find and feel it. Ahhhhh, time to go back to reality.....well after some great thai food and a couple more massages before I get on my flight home back to the states!

... there. It all got a little overwhelming after awhile and everything started to look pretty much the same (and, frankly, it all pretty much was), so we headed up the Monkey Forest Road to have a mooch around the boutiques there. Lots of copies of the same paintings over and over again. There are clearly groupings of artists in different parts of Ubud, each group with their own artistic influences. A nice dinner, and then back to our "Wind in ...