Day 1: Well the maiden journey has finally begun with my good school friend Sharna. After a clean and friendly journey filled with turbulance we arrived in Bali around 8:30pm local time and still a pleasant 27C. The smell, as per warnings was quite noticable but not unbrearable. Our transfer to the hotel was made with relative ease and we were very pleased with our choice of the Hotel Bakung Sari (Room 132).
Day 2: We awoke the next day to find gorgeous sunshine and to really appreciate the pleasant surrounds of our hotel garden and pool. The hotel breakfast provided went down darn well; with Bacon, eggs, toast and OJ all included. We then set off to explore Kuta. The first thing to get your head around was the fact that not one street map places the streets in the same location or direction for that matter. So it was a matter of pot luck on the first day of exploring, and thank goodness I have a pretty good memory for retracing my steps to get us back to the hotel. Although I had no intention of swimming at the beach in Kuta I had to check it out, and it was quite empty midmorning, but was packed when we returned for another look in the afternoon; and also it was relatively clean which came as a surprise after hearing stories of the rubbish floating in the water. It became quite apparent that the markets throughout Bali were going to extremely repetative, but with a good eye and some bartering skills there were a number of bargains to be had. This is where research before departing came in handy. I had a good idea of prices before leaving and this made things much easier. It was on this day that the hair braiding, nail painting and transport offers began......and never stopped. After a day of at least 8km of walking and exploring the local area it was good to return to our hotel and laze back in the pool; it was heaven for almost 2 hours. It was in the pool we came across a nice englishman that was absolutely astouded at the number of bugs in the place; luckily we are used to a few bugs coming from Australia. Dinner at our hotel was very nice as were the cocktails (26,000rp).
Day 3: We awoke this morning to call from the front desk; our driver Wayan was ready to pick us up. I had come across this guys details on a bali travel forum website, he came with good recommendation. Turns out they were right, he was a nice guy and seemed more than happy to take us where we asked for a set price for the day (200,000rp); and not take us everywhere he may receive a commission. So we set of for Mengwi to see the Royal Palace. Nice enough, as Indonesian Palaces go. One hell of a big arse spider hanging in front of one of the paths as we were walking around the temple fence tho. We drove through a number of little villages on the way to each destination which made for some nice picture opportunities. Plenty of stone work on our way to Tabanan were we ventured through the street stalls. The stall owners here were far more relaxed and friendly than in Kuta, we only received a few requests to 'come in and look'. From here we went onto Tanah Lot in its beautiful seaside setting. Great photo opportunities here and we made the venture out through the water to the temple island. We even accepted our blessing from the water with rice placed on our foreheads from the monks in a quick and mass produced ceremony. After this we walked along the cliffs to another lookout point to take more photos of the island temple. It was here I found myself suddenly amongst a group of Japanese tourists all asking to have individual photos with me. After about the 20th shot Sharna came along the path to find me mid photo shoot wondering what on earth was happening. The markets here at Tanah Lot were small but very impression. I picked up a few bargains here, including my pride and joy as it turns out - a mahogany elephant I picked up for 55,000rp. Some of the stalls claimed fixed prices, but luckily their asking prices where extremely low anyway, so I didnt mind. After travelling back to Kuta and our hotel, we decided to walk back to the beach and spend at least one night at a nice restaurant. Although the meal was quite nice I was a little upset to have to send my chicken dish back to be cooked....because yes thats right it had barely hit a pan before coming out to me, and I certainly wasnt going to eat partially cooked chicken. After another long and energetic day we took another refreshing dip in the hotel pool about 10:30pm before a nice hot shower.
Day 4: Unfortunately Wayan was not able to drive us today, he had a funeral to attend; but he had organised for his brother Norman to drive us. We did a trip this day around the East coast of the island and surrounds. First stop; Sanur, with beautiful weather and an amazing beach massage for only 20,000rp it was a great start to the day. We were even fortunate enough to have a large ceremony in progress about 100m away from where we had our massage. From Sanur we ventured across to Celuk; checking out pleny of silver and gold works. The price tags in some of the silver stores were outrageous; we were told they were priced for the Japanese tourists who are not always great at bartering. My friend Sharna with my help got them down from 650,000rp to 200,000rp for a full set of necklace, pendant and earrings. She was pretty happy with this. A Canadian lady in the store asked for some advice on what to pay for a little charm for her bracelet, she didn't realise she could work them down so far. In the end I told her to offer them $5US and walk out of the store if they say no. She got to the doorway and they were begging her to return and they would accept her offer. Next it was Sukawati markets we set out to explore. I had read that these markets were very large and packed with stuff. I must say it wasnt quite as enormous as I had expected but there was a large number of stalls in a relatively small area which made it quite warm inside with little ventalation. The isles were less than 1m apart which was a little difficult when we started filling up our backpacks with purchases throughout the day. It was good to see a few different pieces in these stalls and all at good starting prices. I even picked up a quilt cover for my mum here (100,000rp), which was quite adventurous to get home being so bulky and all. Our next destination was Mas, where there were some fantastic woodcarvings. Unfortunately a few of the shops along the streets didnt have good prices and werent too keen to barter so we moved on. This is where we then found ourselves at the Goa-Gajah Elephant Cave. It was a beautiful setting here, although I could have been far more fit to endure the stairs down to the cave and the hard part, getting back up the stairs. But I did make it....just. There was the most beautiful moss covered baths that had belonged to the old Queen near the entrance to the cave. The cave itself was extremely small but the opening was stunning; all carved into the rock face. Along the paths were a number of small water falls, most with fallen pieces of the 'original buddha' amongst them. A local man walked with us along most of the pathway (which we worked out near the end, he was hoping for payment) there was loads of statues along the way and the 'Big Cave' where apparently buddha relaxed and meditated. Walking further along this path we came to the Angel Temple and the water of the youth. There were even more lovely views along the mountain range looking over the Elephant River and across to the King's Temple. It was amazing to see such green grass and foliage. We eventually made our way back along the path (about 2km) and back up those horrid stairs we checked out the small market near the entrance. More great bargains here, it became apparent about now that there were far more bargains to be found outside of Kuta (which is not all that surprising). On our way back to Kuta we drove through Denpasar where we stopped and checked out the Gaja Mada Street Monument; which was huge. It was built for the islands independence from the Dutch. After a big day, a lot of driving and walking we finally made our way back to Kuta and our hotel for a little more swimming and relaxing.
Day 5: This day we made the mistake of deciding to go on the Bali Hai II - Lembongan Island Reef Cruise. If there was a little more sunshine and a lot more fellow travellers it would have been great. But other than Sharna and myself, there were only about 8 Japanese tourists onboard who all chatted amongst themselves. The boat was very nice and clean that took us out to the pontoon off of Lembongan Island for a day of snorkelling, scuba diving, water slides and underwater submarine boats. The submarine unfortunately was very run down and I fear was taking on small amounts of water every minute. I could have stayed in there for hours had it been on the barrier reef with all its fish and reef; but unfortunately there was more rubbish floating past the windows than there was fish. Sharna decided to pay the extra to go scuba diving, but I decided against it because of my fear of the equipment quality. In the afternoon we took the tender boat across to Lembongan island where another local man took us on a walking tour. We saw the small hospital on the island which surprisingly has 2 full-time doctors, 3 nurses and a dentist. It is open 6 days a weeks and even has its own ICU area. The dentists equipment seemed quite modern also. Lembongan islanders make a living from harvesting seaweed; which covered the sand and grassy areas along the shore. A freshly cracked coconut awaited us while the tender made its way back to shore to pick us up. When we returned to the main island we decided to explore the markets and restaurants along Jl. Legian.
Day 6: So off we were again for more adventures in the wonderful air-conditioned comfort of Wayan's van. We drove back to Denpasar to check out Geneva Handicraft; a set price warehouse packed with just about every kind of wood work, furniture and tableclothes to be found anywhere in Bali and then some. I picked up plenty of stuff here including a few more wooden items; which was a little worry incase they take it off me on return to Australia...but here's hoping. After clearing out Geneva (or at least filling Wayan's van), we moved onto some bat caves within one of temples along the road. From here we hit Candi Dasa on the east coast of the island. It was a little overcast and I have to say less spectacular than what I had been told; but then again perhaps we didn't spend enough time in the place. The pollution in the water here was even worse than what I had seen in Kuta. There was a restaurant on the side of the road overlooking the water which looked quite nice but we weren't here long enough to stop and eat. A few stalls on roadside were about all we came across while walking around. This was were we saw the cutest children I think I've seen since arriving in Bali; they were adorable. And very happy to have their photos taken. From Candi Dasa we drove to Tenganan which turned out to be not far down the road. This is a very small Aga village completely surrounded by a fence and we had to pay an extrance fee just to see inside. We were told the money goes towards supporting the families within the village. Each family also had their own little shop which was disapointing because I had read that this was a traditional village unlike the touristy parts of Bali; which was a lie. The chickens walking around had even been painted, I presume with natural dyes or food colouring. After the disappointment of Tenganan we headed back to Kuta for yet another amazing swim before returning to our room to pack up our things ready for our transfer to Ubud then next day.
Day 7: We got up this morning and decided to do a big walk down to Melasti St markets in Legian before we transferred up to Ubud for a few days. We got to Ubud by about 10am and checked straight into our hotel; Ananda Cottages. First impression were very good, it is set within a beautiful surround of green grass and rice fields. The first room we were allocated was set upstairs, however the room did not really have any windows or full walls and due to the surrounds we requested a move straight away to avoid the mosquito factor. The upstairs room also didnt have a fan or air-conditioner as we had booking for. Luckily they were able to give us the room directly below us so we moved our stuff straight down so we could unpack a little and have a lay down. The only dilemma was getting our stuff back down the stairs because this time the male staff didnt come and help us, and I almost fell down the stairs (of course because my suitcase was already nearly full). We were instantly glad to make the move to the new room, the fan above the king size double bed (the only difference we no longer had twin beds but thats no drama). We had our own little front patio and table and chairs, and the bathrooms on the ground floor are actually outside (with a brick wall around of course), so that was a nice difference, although it was a worry some nights in the dim light as to where a spider had moved to I had seen earlier. I think the only problem we found with this bathroom was the need to rince out the basin every time as it would be full of ants and leaves. After a well earned nap we checked out a few of the surrounding stalls and shops and nearly made our way back into the centre of Ubud on the journey. The pool at the back of the property overlooks a gorgeous rice paddy, which was good because we were able to actually get a close up look at how rice is grown. The mozzies as it turns out weren't too bad at night here. For dinner we checkout a little restaurant (The Pesto Bali Cafe) on the side of the street where I had the most amazing satay type chicken dish I have ever tasted, and for about $2. We also checked out the Legong & Barong Dance at the Ubud Palace as we happened to be there when it was about to start (50,000rp).
Day 8: Ok so yet again we headed of on another walking adventure today, we walked all the way from our hotel to Ubud town, which I'm guessing would be about 5km. Luckily the journey is all downhill towards town, although it meant we would have to walk uphill all the way back.....groan. There were plenty of shops along the way which was fantastic to check out, and they are nowhere near as pushy to sell in Ubud as they were in Kuta which was a relief. When we made it into town we came across the enormous market at the top of the Monkey Forest. There was so much to see here and I did loose Sharna a few times amongst all the stalls. Unfortunately by the time you make it all the way to the back the stench of the fruit market back there nearly made me throw up. After checking out every square inch of that market we made our way down Monkey Forest Road to you guessed it, the Monkey Forest (10,000rp entrance). This was a great little place that you guide your own way through, the monkeys were amazing to watch and they weren't too dirty from what I could tell. Some of them even skamper over you if you sit down along the benches. It is definitely not advisable to take plastic bags into the place however, some other tourists had their bags ripped to shreds by some of the monkeys that obviously thought there was food inside. I got plenty of photos of the monkeys playing around and just lazing all over the place, there was even a heavily pregnant one wondering around. I couldn't believe how blue its stomach was, almost as if the skin was filled with massive blood vessels that turn the entire stomach blue. After the monkey forest and returning to the market to pick up a few more bargains we walked down to The Bridge Cafe for dinner. Again a very nice meal here and a beautiful restaurant and view over the bridge and gully below. Dessert was quite pricey tho at 9,500rp for a scoop of icecream.
Day 9: Sunday was the day for adventure; we had booked a Bali Adventure Tour Package before leaving Kuta. We were picked up from our hotel for a morning of white water rafting followed by lunch and then onto the Elephant Safari Park in Taro, including riding an elephant (864,500rp). The white water rafting was fantastic; they were only Class II rapids but it was great fun and some beautiful waterfalls and scenery along the way. Our guide/rapid expert Made was so much fun and we met fellow Aussies Peter and Debbie from WA who we shared our raft with. They had been ill for a number of days with the horrid Bali belly and were meant to do the adventure a few days earlier. Luckily they the excitment I think made them finally start to forget how bad they were still feeling and we had a great day. At the end of the rapids we had to walk up a mountain edge full or dodgy stairs and rocks (it just about killed me); but at the top was our restaurant ready with our lunch and dry clothes and bags. After lunch we were driven to the Elephant Safari Park in Taro which appeared to be quite a clean little park with quite a number of elephants on the grounds. They were even cleaning out the bathing pools while we were there, which was left with at least half a metre of literally shit at the bottom when the water finished draining out. We lined up ready for our elephant ride; we got Kosima a gorgeous thing. The ride took us through the park and surrounding paddocks, the only problem was our chair was hanging half off the side of the elephant and unfortunately I was on the lower side, which meant I had to use my feet to help stabilize myself. After about 35minutes of the ride my ankles were killing me from trying to stay on. After everyone on the tour had finished their rides they put on a show with the elephants dancing and playing with soccer balls, basketball and balancing poles etc, which brings up a few disturbing thoughts about how they are trained but it was still impressive to watch. I would have like to see them doing the painting that I had heard about but they weren't doing that the day we were here. For dinner we once again walked into town and tried out a beautiful little restaurant (can't remember the name), it overlooked little ponds and I recall waterlillies on everything. Dinner was very nice once again.
Day 10: We found ourselves another driver for this day to take us to see a few more towns around the place. We checked out the volcanoes at Besakih and the Mother Temple at Kintamani (I think I got that right). We were most annoyed however that the driver would not take us to the hot springs because he believed it was too far and that the road was not wide enough. It kinda put a dampner on the day because that was the thing I wanted to see the most while there. The Mother Temple was a experience and a half...and that had nothing to do with the temple itself. The guys standing at the entrance are con-artists. Luckily I had read about them before so I knew they would try and make us pay a huge amount just to see the temple even tho there is not officially any fee to enter. We payed a very small amount just to try avoiding any hassle from them but they were not impressed with us at all. I had warned Sharna that morning to keep all money out of sight and what I offered them was to be all the money we had on us. Even with the small amount we gave them they still gave us a guide to talk us through the temples (not that we really listened to what he had to say). From the top of the temple there was an incredible view back across the island and out to sea which we were lucky some of the clouds had lifted allowed us to actually see the water. After returning to Ubud we rested at the hotel for a while before taking a quick taxi ride into town for dinner. We had decided to try out the Casa Luna Restaurant as I had read it was fantastic. Quite expensive however. There were other yuppie looking cafes in Ubud that looked fantastic but we didnt have time to check every place out unfortunately.
Day 11: Sadly our Bali journey was coming to an end. For our final day I had organised we spend most of the day at a day spa called Ubud Bodyworks Centre....and it was incredible. The morning started with a full body massage, followed by pedicures and manicures with fruit and drinks provided. By the time we finished at the spa our trusty driver Wayan had come all the way to pick us up and put our luggage in his van ready to take us back to Kuta for some more shopping, photo printing and eventually onto the airport to head home to Oz. Exhausted and shopped out I was kinda ready to leave Bali, I'd felt we'd seen a good amount in the 11 or so days were there; and I was looking forward to a good nights sleep at home without the thought of walking all day every day for a little while at least.
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