Blogs from Bali, Indonesia, Asia - page 227

very much a hindu area, strong in keeping their traditions & cultures. nice to see the contrast between here & java. wonderful houses - all very much look like temples - all have temples inside them for making offerings to the gods. beautiful offerings & incense all over the place - little baskets with fresh flowers everyday placed outside doors & at varous places around the rooms, streets, etc for luck & general protection from god. definitely a great feeling of relaxation & calm (despite the many touts & other tourists wandering around!!) getting a bit of a culture shock being here...really quite enjoyed being in a minority in java & missing the way of life i was getting used to. monkey forest - great little forest, yes, full of monkeys..very fun!!! spent a morning doing ... read more

Wednesday 23rdthrough tillThursday 31st: Well, after the tragic death of Nikki the Nikon, we headed to Kuta to sort out the insurance claim. It's been 8 days and not even a response from the insurance company yet. Kuta is the main tourist destination and the capital. It's busy, overcrowded and often costs more than the rest of Bali. It's basically an Australian holiday resort similar to the Costa Del Sol or Tenerife. So, we basically spent the first night in the first hotel we found, which was a rank place - but for Rp50,000 a night, you can't expect much. So we upgraded and moved to Aquarius, a nice little place on Jalan Legian, between Poppies Lane's 1 and 2. It had a swimming pool, free breakfast, was clean and had hot water. All for Rp85,000 ... read more

Ben here... I'm getting better i'm sure you're all thrilled to know! but not completely, in fact the reason i'm writing this is because i was caught very short and had to dive into this conveniently located internet cafe! Back in Kuta now, just sitting on the beach we were offered: Kites (fantastic kites but how are we going to carry them around? big things), massage, rings and toe rings, including one guy who offered us a ring for free and we 'pay next year' (?!), we refused, he laughed maniacally, we looked away, he left. Also, ice creams, (no sarongs today!), but a big old crossbow and arrow (properly sharp!), i couldn't imagine taking that through all the upcoming countries! We were watching the sunset, that was although hidden, still beautiful. I was immersed ... read more

Hi everyone so we are now in bali and its amazing!! everything is really cheap, our hotel is 4 pounds a night, and really nice and the clothes are really cheap too so me and kate are in our element! Its only our second day so not much to tell, we've been sunning ourselfs by the pool. Kates been really ill with flu (shame for her) so stayed in last night, i on the other hand went out and got very drunk and was sick, first time in 3 months, which aint bad going!!! Its over 30degrees here by day and pretty much the same by night... a big culture shock from oz which is very similar to England! Will update with more stories soon!!! lots of love xx... read more

Ahoy all! Apologies for the lack of blogs but we actually havent had a chance to get on the net for the whole time we've been here! Gonna have to give you a quick run down, cos its been a few days (so no details on each and every meal we have had, although I do find that the most interesting bit!!!!My belly rules me what can I say!) I think we left you in Kuala Lumpur, we flew staight to Bali from there. Spent the first 2 nights in a HOTEL! in Kuta, the main touristy bit of Bali. We had a hotel room, with towels , hot shower and a blimming swimming pool!!! Hell yeah! 4 squids eacha night so not bad. In Kuta we went to the beach and had a look around, ... read more