We stood in the middle of the road in Sanur Village gazing sadly at the bright lights and buzzing restaurants. Through the open-sided pavilions the sounds of laughter cascaded out, rippling above the music from various bands playing in each venue. The occasional Bemo or taxi would pootle by, beeping forlornly in hope of a fare. Couples strolled by gazing into the various shops and stalls that lined the pavement. We turned, lumpen-throated, to walk into our hotel for the last time. Three glorious weeks had come to an end and now we must return to cold, grey Wales and come [View Full Entry]

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There was a gentle rain falling as we rose and made our way to breakfast. But, by the time we had eaten and prepared for our outing, the skies had dried up. It promised to be an overcast and slightly cooler day. Suadi was waiting outside the front of the hotel and quickly flipped the roof of the Kubel down. We headed off in open-aired splendour to the hills of Central Bali. We had no particular plan. We would climb up to the heights of Brattan via the small back roads. Then after lunch plunge down below Batukaru Nature Reserve [View Full Entry]

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Today started with a minor victory, swiftly turning into a rout and retreat: After rising quite early I was faced with the usual protracted wait whilst Madam went through her mysterious early morning rituals. I decided to seize the moment, grabbed the beach towels and slipped away in search of sunbeds and parasols. I returned, triumphant, having seized a prime bridgehead midway between pool and beach by Madam’s favourite swimming place. Oh how smug I felt as we walked into the restaurant for breakfast (although a tad guilty, having succumbed to the selfish eurohordes’ practices.) We selected a nice table on [View Full Entry]

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We made our way down to the lobby full of eager anticipation. We exited the lift and looked around anxiously. Perhaps he hadn’t come? Then we spotted a corner of the lobby that seemed to radiate sunshine - and up leaped Suadi with a Megawatt smile on his face :o) The smile grew bigger and even more dazzling when we presented him with a picture of himself with our daughter and son-in-law on their honeymoon. And when we gave him a large canvas print of himself alongside his multi-coloured Kubelwagen - well, he was simply speechless. Suadi seems like a [View Full Entry]

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It was with very heavy hearts that we said goodbye to all our friends in Junjungan. Putting it simply, I goofed. I should have booked twice as long. There is so much of the real Bali to experience here and we gave it up in order to return to the Sanitised Beach! A pleasant surprise awaited our arrival. I had upgraded to a middle range room for our last nine days. Sanur Beach went one better and gave us a free upgrade to the best room they had :o) Madam Gippy-Tum smiled broadly for the first time that day as [View Full Entry]

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The telephone on the bedside cabinet rings. It’s hotel reception: “Peter, if you go to your balcony you will see the old farmer is preparing the field outside your window”. Where in the world would reception call you with a message like that? We are back in Junjungan, in our favourite room in our favourite hotel :o) The Junjungan Hotel is actually built in a paddy field, with views from the balcony consisting entirely of rice fields and palm trees. The back wall of the hotel has rice growing at its foundations! By night incessant crickets’ chirrups and frogs croaks [View Full Entry]

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This morning we took a stroll through Ubud, to catch up on some gift shopping and do some people watching. As usual there are preparations going on throughout the town at various temples. Ceremonies are almost a daily event here and sure enough the traffic suddenly stops as the tinkling sound of a Gamalan is heard. Crowds throng the pavements as the gamalan passes by, followed by golden canopies and a line of immaculately dressed ladies. At the rear come the drums and gongs and all the men from the temple. Finally a massive log-jam of scooters, impatiently waiting to [View Full Entry]

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Cocktails by the Pool Candidasa is an uninspiring sort of place: a long strip of rocky beach where erosion has stripped all vestiges of coral sand away. A series of concrete pontoons are linked by a long-shore barricade to prevent further damage. Out to sea a few tankers are anchored-up, waiting to berth in Amuk Bay. A pair of car ferries pass each other mid-crossing to Nusa Penida, which sits as a grey misty mass on the horizon. Either side of the road a few warungs compete for passing trade. Money changers and internet booths sprout from the pavement at regular [View Full Entry]

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Time to Jack it in at Dazzling Candi Dasa “Hit the road, Jack, and don’t you come back no more no more, no more, no more, Hit the road Jack and don’t you come back no more.” Today was transfer day and we made our way cheerfully down to reception to check-out. There were none of the tears of regret we saw when we left DeWankara last year, no “Come back soon” but just a stamping of bills and a curt “Your driver has your baggage.” We’ll be back in a week for another 9 days worth of Sanitized Beach. Will [View Full Entry]

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Tears of Joy under a Full Moon At 4pm prompt an elegantly dressed gentleman in full Balinese dress appeared in the Foyer. He led us to a quiet spot in one of the restaurants and proceeded to dress us both so that we would blend in with other worshippers at the full moon ceremony. Then we were whisked away to a village near Ubud whilst our host explained at great length what the Full Moon ceremony was about and about the significance of the three temples in every family compound and every village. We stopped at a Shiva temple in a [View Full Entry]

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