Rested, recovered and eager to test our surfing legs on the surf spots in Lombok, we packed our ever expanding backpacks and jumped onto the ferry from Gili Meno to the mainland port of Bangsal. Although it's about a km from Bangsal to the bemo (local taxi van) 'terminal' we decided to spare the legs and hop on a horse taxi instead That has to be one of my favourite things about Lombok, the horse carriages... What a great means of transportation! Anyway, we'd been hoping to take local transport, and save on the marked up tourist shuttles down to the south coast, but found ourselves in a similar situation to where, while waiting for a van to full up, a driver who already had 2 passengers approached us and asked if we wanted a lift. ... read more

Just what it is about Ubud is hard to put a finger on. Maybe it's the streets of small arty shops and cafe restaurants. Maybe it's the laid-back atmosphere or the way everything is closed by 9pm. Maybe it's the lush greenery of the Monkey Forest, rice fields and moss-covered stone temples. What ever it is, you leave (reluctantly) feeling refreshingly restored. The small town of Ubud is renowned as Bali's cultural center, and cultural it is indeed. Hindu temples dot the small town every block or 2 and every morning, local women bring small neatly woven grass baskets filled with petals, a few grains of rice, a cracker and incense sticks and carefully place them at the entrance to their shops, homes, temples and behind the license plates of their motorbikes as religious offerings. Dance ... read more

Heads up, the road from the ferry terminal to Denpassar is a windy one... take a pill or bring a packet if you don't have a strong stomach! Other that that, the bus is great! Weaving in and out of the small villages and rice paddies and rushing passed all the Hindu monuments gives you a brief glimpse in to the very colourful Balinese way of life. The bus trip took 3 hours to Denpassar, and from there we hired a taxi with a French guy we met at the to Kuta. Kuta must be the most chilled out beach city that I've ever been to! It's awesome! I can see how people could get lost here. After chatting to Darrell, I think that what I mean by 'chilled out' may need some explaining. To be ... read more

After driving for 8 hours to arrive in Cemoro Lewang late in the evening, we were not keen to take a brief drive to see the sunrise over Mount Bromo and then get back on the road to hit the next sight, as all the tours recommended. While returning from our sunrise walk we were discussing what to do with the day when we bumped into a German couple who were just returning from a four-day trek to the distant Mount Semeru. While it can be a bit disorienting travelling without a fixed itinerary (we rarely know what day of the week it is), the best thing about it is that there is the freedom to seize a passing opportunity. Upon their enthusiastic recommendation we returned to our room, packed our bags, and headed off to ... read more

Yogya is a vibrantly colourful place, with horse drawn carriges, Wurung cafes on the pavement and all the batik you could ask for! It's an easy place to take it slow for a while, as long as you don't let the " "You want Batik?", "Transport", "Okay just looking I give you good price" "Batik?" " screeches get to you. And slow is exactly how we spent our time there. Batik is the traditional way of dying fabric, using wax to block out the parts the artist does not want died. The artist uses a hot pen to melt wax over the initial pattern. He then dyes the fabric with the lightest colour first using more wax to cover the parts that will remain light. The fabric is then dipped into the next lightest colour, and ... read more