Blogs from Bali, Indonesia, Asia - page 219

We caught a taxi to Ubud after a fast boat ride from the Gili's. It seemed like a quaint little place with lots of art and craft shops. As it was a public holiday we were a bit worried that we wouldn't be able to find somewhere to stay however spent the night in the biggest room ever! It was very basic though and we moved the next day to a lovely little place where we had a four poster bed and they bought you breakfast every morning on the balcony! We both loved Ubud for one main reason, the food! Both of us haven't been very impressed with the Indonesian food compared to the Thai and Malaysian cuisine so we definitely appreciated it here. The second day in Ubud we went to the monkey sanctuary ... read more

We caught a plane to Bali (we were both very relieved to be leaving Jakarta) and wanted some time to relax before heading to Sydney to work. Due to the plane crash in Thailand about a month before we decided that we wouldn't chance it by using the cheap budget airlines (and also there is no alcohol served on these flights to calm the nerves) so we flew Air Asia which only had a late night flight. We got to Bali late that night and got a taxi to our hotel down the narrow winding roads to Kuta. We had booked to stay in a hotel as we knew we were arriving late and managed to fall into bed and sleep. Kuta is the very touristy bit of Bali as it is near the airport, it ... read more

Ok so we have been a little lazy....probably been about 3 motnhs since i last uploaded a blog..but that is because this is a travel blog...and the last 3 months we were not travelling..we were working very hard. Right, i'm gonna keep this short and sweet for 2 reasons; firstly, i just found out we have lost some entries due to server failure and secondly if i write to much now you will not buy my book in years to come where i plan to make my fortune... As most of you know we have been on koh tao...where my heart still is...we (Rich, Lisa and I) are now all qualified divemasters(DM). The course itself was really enjoyable (definately recommend the rescue diver to anyone) and we were so pleased we did it with Easy Divers. ... read more

Hey All Have finally arrived in Sydney and have a pc that really has broadband, not just pretending, like the one at the hotel in Bali. And what can I say about Bali, it was awesome. Hotel, weather (30 all week), room, facilities, service, food, even the gym, was fantastic. We had a really chilled week in Bali, the main aim being to get over the jetlag before arriving in Sydney (and maybe get a bit of a tan (or sunburn in Laz's case!!)) We ventured out mid week in Bali, for a bit of fun and a bit of culture. 1st, white water rafting down the Ayung River. The water level was fairly low but there were a few rapids in places and our tour certainly knew how to hit them. We were sharing the ... read more

Our late-night arrival in Ubud, though clouded by weariness, pissed-offness, and a general sense of frustration, had nevertheless been accompanied by images of art galleries, silversmiths', handicraft shops, and spas lining the streets on our way to the town. And our first morning in Ubud only reinforced the sense of an artistic streak running through the region, which continued through the fortnight we were there. Waking up in our room, which we'd not yet seen in daylight, the painted carvings on the door and flowers on the bedside table seemed like nice touches, but it was only when venturing outside that the sheer quantity of "nice touches" became apparent. Statues of creatures from Balinese Hinduism were dotted throughout the guesthouse's grounds. Exotic flowers including orchids and frangipani lent their colours and scents to an overwhelming background ... read more