Blogs from Candi Dasa, Bali, Indonesia, Asia - page 2

28 October 2009 - 13 November 2009 TRANSPORT: Banyuwangi to Gilimanuk by ferry--Rp5,700 (1 hour) Gilimanuk to Denpasar by bus--Rp 50,000 (4 hours) Kuta to Denpasar by bemo--Rp10,000 (1/2 hour) goes to Tegal Terminal Denpasar to Candidasa by bus--Rp40,000 (2 hours) goes from Batubulan Terminal HOTELS: Hotel Sari (Gilimanuk) Double, cold water, western toilet, fan--Rp100,000 (incl. breakfast). Very nice place with good value for money rooms. A couple of km's from the port but it's a nice place to stay for a nice. Almost resort-like. LA Inn (Kuta) Double, fan, cold water, western toilet--Rp 82,000 (incl. breakfast) Possibly the cheapest place in Kuta (that we know about) in the centre of all the action. A good valued place, simple, clean (ish) and with friendly staff. After suffering from the cold (with Dan suffering from A cold ... read more

Day 9: Balinese Hangovers & The Balian’s Cure Dawn arose with pain and discomfort. Classic hangover amidst tropic humidity: weighty, dank and stale with arak and puke on the breath. At the breakfast I chose not to attend, stories were told. A group of yogis walked into Monkey Forest at 2AM and chanted the Gyatri Mantra for one hour. Others swam nude in the pool, lounged in a room, and then sobered each other with their words. I kept my secrets to myself and left the unspoken for the balian. A balian is a traditional Balinese healer. Typically a man, he is revered for his insights, intuition, and the use of his hands on the meridians points of the body for diagnosis. Everyone arrived excited, cheery, interested in the healer’s methods and what our predicted ailments ... read more

So i have moved on from the awesomeness that is Ubud. In a beach area on the east coast called candi dasa. its dead. but yesterday i did go snorkling and, i have never done so, nor did i realize how not lame it is! i compared it to diving, so i thought that you could not really get a cool experiance out of it, with just your head on the surface. Crystal clear water...and NEON fish!! i wish i had an underwater camera but, i do not. I leave here tomorro morning, to Lovina, for a few days till im off to Java. Rented a motor bike today, and went around for 5 hours to little fishing villages, naked children playing in water everywhere. Matt would be in heaven. I'll end this kind of lame ... read more

hello my lovely dedicated readers (aka mum and dad). hope you are all well and enjoying the sun i am sure is shining oh so brightly at home. i am currently in wales, and the sun does not seem so intent on shining here. it's odd sort of weather really - it has not yet rained, yet the sky is stuck in an endless sulk, content to remain grey and cloudy in a sure-fire attempt to suck the soul out of anyone not totally accustomed to shitty weather. haha. nah, it's not that bad, i'm getting used to it really. but last night joe and tom (some friends i met when they were backpacking around australia) decided to have a party in the backyard, which was about 2 degrees. i have to give them credit, british ... read more

Our first port of call in Bali was the surf spot of Kuta. A very lively, touristy beach town packed with pro surfers and wannabe's like us! Not wanting to feel left out of the surfer scene we decided to book ourselves into Surf School and by the end of our first lesson we were both standing up riding the waves.. a little wobbly mind you but we were up and living the dream!! Our second lesson taught us how to paddle out into the waves head on... sending us flying off our boards! The waves were a little rough and we were left feeling very battered and bruised by the end of the second morning. The day of our third lesson brought very strong winds and an undercurrent that sent us sideways! Apparently Kuta was ... read more