Life isn't that Bad

After a flight from HCMC via Singapore we landed on the "Island of the Gods". The island is full of temples, touts, eroded beaches, trashy commercialism and lush green scenery. Our first impression of Bali was not that good and the island of gods and paradise seemed to have turned into a tacky-trashy beach destination. Having heard and read so much about this place we knew that we had to give it a chance and that we did. The island has so much to offer as we later found out, just don't stay in Kuta, Legian, or Seminyak! It is so unfornuate that such a beautiful place had such incompetent city planners that neither understood traffic flow or how to perserve such beautiful waterfront. One only needs to look to Rio to see how a beautiful beach and promenade should be built.

We stayed (5) nights at Vira Bali (Kuta/Tuban, good value & location, but the staff is very green with regards to service and tourism). Switched hotels 50m down the road to Febris for (2) nights (good location and great value & staff, awesome spa and a very good and inexpensive restaurant).

We rented scooters for (3) days, however the congested narrow streets and one way alleys would make driving a Semi during rush hour in Manhattan seem like a breeze. Riding scoots should allow one to weave in and out of traffic, avoiding all traffic congestion - Nope not in Kuta or the road(s) that hug the coastline from Kuta up to Seminyak. After being put off by the over commeralism and the ridiculous traffic congestion we needed something to give us faith that all the hype that we had read about Bali was true. We drove out of Kuta and headed south to Jimbaran beach and then onto Uluwatu. Jimbaran has a nice beach and is not that built up, but unless you have a very thick wallet your accomodation choices are limited to sky high prices. The temple at Uluwatu is located at the south western tip of the island and is perched a top the rugged coastline a few hundred meters above the ocean. The views are great here, once you manage to navigate your way past the aggresive monkeys on the path. We also rode to Nusa Dua, a very posh area home to the Grand Hyatt and the likes. The beaches aren't any better here, still muddy at low tide and virtually gone at high tide. However, the grounds leading into Nusa Dua are very well maintained and way less commericalized. One must have their car/scooter inspected for bombs before entering this neighborhood. Heading north, we also visited Sundar. Sundar is a wee bit less commericalized than Kuta, but again the beaches, at least at this time of year - wet season, are nothing to write home about.

After touring around the southern part of Bali on our own, we decided it was time to head to the central part of the island and get away from the beach scene. We did an (8)hr tour, Nice Tour Co., by renting a car and driver and headed to Ubud, the most photographed Tegalalang terraces, and the village of Kitamania that provides a great view of the Batur volcano and lake. This did not disappoint and we now know what all the hype is about - Bali is lush, lush lush in these parts. The rice terracing is awesome and the entire scenery of green green rice paddies with volcanoes in the background is what makes Bali resemble those picture perfect postcards. The scenery here is magnificient. On our way back to Kuta we stopped at the Tanah Lot Temple to view the sunset. Unfortunately the sunset was nothing to write home about, Kuta Beach is by far the best place to view those famous Bali sunsets. Many people stay a couple of days in Ubud, which we contemplated on doing but decided against it - maybe next time.

Lembongan Island
After spending (4) days in Kuta hunting for those golden/white sandy beaches and seeing some of the central part of the island, we booked a 40min boat ride over to Lembongan Island. Our trip to the island included (1) night's stay at the Coconuts Beach Resort (via Island Explorer Cruises). Lembongan Island was beautiful and was such a change from Bali. The island has 8,000 people, fewer than 10 trucks/cars and the main industry is seaweed farming. The first day was spend snorkeling, swimming and watching the surfers on the break just a few 100meters from where we were moored. Unfortunately like the rest of Bali, the 2002 & 2005 bombings along with the conviction of an Aussie for supposedly importing drugs, has really hurt the island's tourism industry. However, we benefited as there were not many tourists on the island and it allowed us to rent scooters for the (1 & 1/2) days we were there to tour the (6) roads on the island without seeing many gringos! Renting a scooter or bike is the best way to see the island and allows you to easily get to Mushroom and Dream beaches - these beaches are what you expect of an island in the middle of paradise. A great palce to have a meal is Pandam Cafe at Dream beach, and the best place to watch the sunset is at Devil's Tear. We honestly did not find the people of Lembongan or Ceningan Island, which is connected to each other via a suspension bridge - very friendly. The morning before we caught the boat back, Isabel caught some rays at poolside, while I walked along the beach to try and meet the locals and learn a bit more about them and their way of life. I was somewhat successful, helping an elderly lady sort through her seaweed catch and chow down on some seaweed with a few other locals along the way. The seaweed is harvested on the island and exported to Japan, Thailand and Europe for use in cosmetic products. Unfortunately 2006 has not been a good harvesting year, and the wet season has not been so wet. I was also told that although very hard work, the seaweed farming is good money for the locals.

Having had a great time on Lembongan we returned to Bali with a different perspective on the area. Our last day was spent doing a (4)hr massage treatment. Yes - 4hrs, 1.5hr massage, then body scrub, facial, pedicure, and head/scalp massage all for $30USD. Don't worry Dad, I haven't painted my nails pink - yet! Seriously, the massages are cheap in Bali and well worth splurging for!

All in all we enjoyed our time in Bali, but it was certaintly not the paraside island it is made out to be. The value for the hotel accomodations is great and if you looking for a place to sit at poolside, dive and surf it's a good place. As far as beaches go, there are many golden beaches else where that live up to their hype. There is no doubt that tourism in Bali is very slow and you could really see it in peoples eyes. The hawkers were near "Indian Status" - now that's saying something. You are constantly beeped at by taxis looking for rides, and the hawking reached a boiling point when after we filled out a tourist evaluation form it resulted in us getting 8:00am wake up calls for (4) days straight from a tour company, time-share business and a crafts store.........need we say more - Sounds like Desperation!

We are now off to Malaysia truly asia via Kuala Lumpur

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