Blogs from Ubud, Bali, Indonesia, Asia - page 14

About a week after Christmas holidays had ended, we had a mid week day off due to a Muslim holiday. It was nice to have a short week as it helped us settle into our routines again. I ended up spending the whole day going from one spa treatment to another unintentionally. The day was kicked off with a facial, followed by a cream bath and ended with watching a movie at the premiere theatre where we watched The Life of Walter Mitty. I often head into Kemang on weekends. I go with two others to visit friends who work at another campus apart of our school. We sometimes go to coffee shops to work which makes for a great way to get work done. When it rains, it becomes cozier, making it a ... read more

Geo: -8.51927, 115.263The drive from our beach-side enclave at Nusa Dua up to Ubud in the foothills of the mountains takes about 90 minutes - but we extended that with a stop at Sanur to see the mouldering remains of paintings by Belgian artist Adrien Jean Le Mayeur who moved here in the 1930s and ended up marrying a Balinese beauty 37 years his junior. The house and paintings were adopted by the Indonesian Government though they seem to spend next-to-nothing on conservation. High point was that the lady who ran the shop was the grand-neice of the painters Balinese wife. Great beach - and a nice cool spot to sit and drink/eat a young coconut each. Liz takes over here!After the safety and luxury of the beach resort complex setting off in our little pink ... read more

See "Christmas with Orangutans" for the prequel to this trip. Oh Bali. The party island of southeast Asia. Known for beautiful beaches and legendary nightlife, Bali seemed like the ideal place to go after a stint in the Malaysian jungle. Our flight lands an hour and a half late (due to the weather in Kota Kinabalu) and we reach Bali-Denpasar airport just before 10:00 on Thursday night, the day after Christmas. I've landed in Asia, but when I step into the airport I might as well be in Australia. I have been warned that Bali is constantly full of Australians looking to party for less than $12 a beer. And "full of Australians" might be an understatement. The line for immigration is endless. After being surprised with a $25 USD fee for "Visa on Arrival" we ... read more

I wake up to the bus conductor yelling where we are. “Ubud! Ubud!” he wails, as the passengers get off the bus. During the early afternoon drive to this bucolic town in the middle of Bali, all image of paradise I had in my mind of this Indonesian island were quickly replaced by grinding traffic and unremarkable city structures, and before I knew it, I was asleep. After yesterday's trip to Mount Bromo, I backtracked in the afternoon to Surabaya, where I took a short flight to Bali, the last leg of my (ill-advised) whirlwind trip. I had actually scheduled an early morning walking tour that would have taken me across Ubud's rice fields, local villages, and possibly a Balinese dance school. But during my last night in Yogyakarta, a blackout hit the city, which prevented ... read more

Bali !! 9 mois d'Australie... Un jolie périple ! J'y aurai volontiers passé plus de temps, mais disons que j'étais un peu pressé par le temps. Une fois que l'on commence à voyager, on a pas envie de s'arrêter et ne pouvant pas vraiment me permettre de fuir la France pendant 5 ans, même ce n'est pas l'envie qui m'en manque, il était temps d'aller à la conquête de nouveaux pays, surtout après travaillé et mit de l'argent de côté. Au passage l'occasion était trop belle, Bali étant à deux heures de vols de Darwin, les billets d'avions étaient vraiment pas chère. Disons aussi que l'Australie n'est pas non plus vraiment le pays avec la culture la plus riche du monde. Ce n'est d'ailleurs généralement pas pour ça que l'on s'y rend, mais plutôt pour sa ... read more