Sukun Bali Cottages Sanur

... of the southern corner as the land narrows before forming a peninsula. It is relatively quiet and has lovely views from the beach of the mountains to the north.
The 'manic' salesman style prevails in the shops and stalls along the main road as in Thailand.
Prices here are lower. A meal for two costing an average £13 and a pint of local lager £1/pt.

After a week at our hotel it was not possible to extend so we located another abode and headed ...

Arriving by bus, we were dropped on the beachfront at the wrong end of town. After a good hour's pounding I stumble upon Bintang Bungalows, meet the quaint Aussie owner and the nice Indonesian staff.

Probably the best value for money accommodation yet, we had a downstairs bright, cool lounging area with our own fridge and a great big bed upstairs looking out over the pool. With a small shared kitchen to boot it's a great place to save a few quid. Now what we found ...

... the boys for photo moments!!! Eventually we did find a club (Gangster Surf) which was still serving and so commenced the inevitable disastrous dancing!!! Then it was back to the 24hr bar where Jonno pretended to watch the Liverpool Chelsea game although he clearly had no idea what was going on. Eventually at about 6 we called it a night especially as i had to be up at 11 to go to the airport to pick up Josh and Anna.... or so i thought. Jess and the boys decided to go ...

... wandering around seeing the Grand temple and this huge gold lying down buddha. Pretty busy though with hundreds of tours going on around me. An unnerving number of old european men with young thai girls.... who knows maybe they are madly in love, and I'm the one jumping to conclusions! No hugely funny shona disaster stories as yet... will keep you all posted! Hope everyone is well, very sad to hear about the bushfire tragedy... would love to hear from you all shona x

... restaurants and shops. I didn't realise I had to say Poppies Gang 1 or 2, as there are about a dozen cafe's and bars of the same name that we stopped at before he got the meaning. Typically British but i thought the taxi drivers would speak the english lingo... Managed to find a homestay in Poppies Gang 1, 2 quid a night b+b so can't really complain! Hiring a motorbike tomorrow...........

... hlen Wind genossen. Leider hat es dann zum Nieseln angefangen und ich hab mich ins Cafe Bonsai verzogen (da haben wir an einem unserer ersten Abende mit den anderen Volontären schon gegessen). Hab dort bissl gelernt, meine besten gebratenen Nudeln bisher gegessen, einen Advokadosaft getrunken und bin wieder zurückgefahren. Diesmal hab ich die andere Richtung genommen und da war ich ziemlich fix wieder daheim.

Bali the last couple of days has been a welcome and peaceful respite after the previous week's peripatetic wanderings. I finally met a local driver who knows the surf breaks in Bali, and even though he ran out of gas on the way from the airport to my hotel the other night, he's someone I'll use again if I come back here. And today I put Ulu Watu on the surf resume ... the cave is amazing, but the ...

... food was great, so now I have to wait aound four hours before it hits, so hopefully, whilst on the bus back towards Kuta, I should feel a stomach rumble, or I will be disappointed !!! And Finally Thirty years ago, I learnt Indonesian, and all I can remember is salamat pagi and lima, but since then, I have learnt three more phrases Tear up my car seat Up at the bar Bike Once learnt, you will go a long way here !!!

... took it upon himself to be our most extraordinary host, guide, and even even fairy (in a very manly way ;-)god parent here in Bali. As someone who grew up in this area, he was able to show us all kinds of local places and give us all kinds of information on the local way of life which are always fascinating for both of us. Additionally, he has given us the grand hosting tour of the area in his private vehicle with driver (much less stressful than the motorbike) and even hosted ...

... I'm glad I didn't. Basically the monkeys are very greedy and snatch, jump on you and fight one another (they've got big teeth) - I just didn't like it. Steve wanted a picture with a few and I was scared to death as one of the monkeys really shows his teeth at Steve, but he is oblivious. Ofcourse we end the tour with a look round her shop. But no one buys anything. And finally we end the trip at the Merine Temple of Tanah Lot. A huge tourist trap to start ...