Bali Hi

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When planning and outlining our trip around the world we ran into the difficulty of getting from Thailand to Perth. Very few carriers go into Perth from Thailand, most of them fly into Sydney or Melbourne. The best option, that was also one of the few affordable options, was to fly via Indonesia to Western Australia. With no additional charge on our ticket, we were able to enjoy a nice 5 day layover in Bali.

Five days we learned was not nearly enough time to see much of what Bali had to offer. However, we had a chance to take a surf lesson, observe a traditional Balinese dance and then get roped into trying Bali-style dancing ourselves in front of the rest of the audience and even enjoy an Indonesian reistafel!

We began our stay in Bali a block from Kuta Beach. Where we took a beginner 3 hour surf lesson from the local surf instructors. They guaranteed we would stand on a surfboard by the end of our first lesson or we would get a second lesson free. Before we knew it we were out on ocean waves, tasting salty water and standing, albeit briefly at first, on our boards. Corey and I rode some very small ocean waves within an hour of learning how to surf! Talk about beginners luck! I have been told the waves in Bali are some of the best.

We left the beach for Ubud and managed to see the traditional dancing of the Frog Dance. This was accompanied by live music and was a magical story similar to the Frog Prince. We enjoyed the antics of the dancers and their precise hand and foot movements resembling Thai and Hawaiian style dancing. After the performance, the dancers asked for volunteers. Corey and I got a chance to try our stuff. The graceful movements and posture of the dancers were even further appreciated when we failed to mimic even some of the easier moves.

We rented bikes on our last full day in Bali and rode around the peaceful countryside seeing rice paddies and banana trees with an occasional house or two. Our time in Bali was short and was very safe, fun and affordable. We highly recommend visiting Bali.

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Photos

I'm dreaming of a Thai Christmas
We left Thailand on a balmy day with the temps in the 80s. Pheww sure does not feel like Christmas back home.

Chris on Kuta Beach in Bali
This is the last picture taken of Chris before he surfed and stood on his surfboard for the first, second, third and fourth time.

Corey at Kuta
Corey says, "Hang loose, Chris, I am going to show you how to surf!" Corey impressed everyone with her determination and balance and rode a few waves much longer than Chris.

Un's Hotel in Kuta
Highly recommended for its location, service and wonderful pool.

Balinese Dancing
This was the main character of the Frog Dance. The story is basically a poor king gets turned into a frog by a whimsical god, a beautiful woman falls in love with the frog and the god finally turns the frog back into a poor king.

Chris Dancing
After the performance, volunteers got a chance to try to dance Bali-style.

Bali Rice Paddies
We went for a bicycle ride around Ubud and saw rice paddies like this one.

Comments

[Holly]

Bali sounds like my kind of place.
I'm definitely jealous of the surfing opportunities. And Chris, nice pic of you dancing! :)