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Published: November 29th 2006
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Hello from Bali. It's like Cancun for Australians here. Beaches, clubs, shops and restaurants abound. Great seafood so far, snapper seems to be the favorite catch. Room at the Hard Rock is sub par compared to the expectations they set on their websites, but the pools are some of the best we've ever seen. One particularly disgruntlement with the hotel is the "deluxe room" we booked for $10 more a night. Turns out the only difference between their standard rooms and deluxe is access to a "VIP Pool" which no one uses and does not even have towel service. Save the $10 if you come, it will cover your food for the day. Also of note is that you can get a day pass for just the pool here for US $10. In retrospect we would have stayed somewhere nicer for half the price and just come to the pool once.
Internet is limited here, so will post as it permits.
We're gong to need a bigger boat! boot trip out to a floating activity pontoon barge off the coast of Lembogan today. Snorkelling was incredible. Water was crystal clear and about 12M deep there was no
bali gardens
so lush and green here reason to scuba. It's a protected bay so there were many small fish but nothing larger than a grouper. Also on the barge was a 140-foot water slide, submarine boat, banana boat and a excursion to the local village. The village was incredibly fascinating. 6000 people on the island split between two villages. 15 cars. Primary industry is cultivating seaweed for export to US and Japanese cosmetics companies. People were so friendly and welcoming to our alien invasion.
Bali dining Interesting restaurants loaded with fresh seafood abound here. One exception to this is Mama's, which prides itself as the best German meat market on Bali since 1983. One really wonders what it displaced in 1983, but the sausages were excellent and a pleasant diversion from our usual Asian dining. Other standout place was the Kopi Pot, where we dined on local Indonesian food - an interesting mix of Asian inspirations and island cooking. A great classy meal for under $15 for both of us.
Also worthy of note is Eddy's Bar right on Kuta beach (across the sidewalk from the Inna Kuta hotel) Eddie is happy to provide anyone with an ice cold soda or beer for
US $1 and a plastic chair and footstool so you can kick back and watch the sunset and surfers. This is paradise to say the least and I'll be longing for Eddy's until we meet again.
Speaking of surfing I rented a board for an hour this afternoon (US $5) and took to the waves of Kuta beach. While not incredibly technical waves, they were powerful and at 6 - 10 feet more than I have ever tackled before. I'm sore tonight but happy that I was able to experience surfing on another continent. Thanks to Steph for sitting patient on the beach and playing lifeguard for me.
Dance monkey, Dance Checked out of the Hard Rock none to soon. Hired a driver for the day (US $8/hour booked from the hotel bell desk) to take us on a tour during our hours we were without residence. Explored the monkey sanctuary forest near the town of Ubud. I expected maybe 5-20 monkeys, but we were greeted with no less than a 100 (maybe more) furry primates just waiting to make our acquaintance. Entrance to the park was us $1 each and a dozen bananas went
funny club
all of them are almost American, but not quite right for a buck as well (probably could have bargained them down.) The driver had warned us against acquiring food for the monkeys, but you know us and we couldn't resist. As soon as the monkeys saw the bananas we were swarmed and handed them out as quickly as the monkey's little hands could grab them. Thank goodness for the advance warning to wear no jewelry or eyeglasses as the monkeys have worked out a barter system with local merchants to swipe whatever is shiny. Please Swiper no swiping. After the bananas were exhausted, we wandered and had a few grey visitors hop on this author's leg to examine the contents of my pockets. If you were wondering how to get a monkey off you leg, and your wife offers no real expertise (short of giggles) while watching the spectacle, I would suggest jumping up and down and making hissing noises - that did the trick.
We also checked out the elephant safari. Lame. Not worth the US $15 they wanted just to see the elephants. They also offered rides but we had been warned that the anatomy of elephant skeletons isn't built for riding the way these tours conduct
Mama's
best sausage in Bali since 1983 themselves. We were happy just to take pictures and pet the massive animals. Also pleased to no end to see the elephant play a harmonica with its trunk while dancing.
best. hotel. ever. After the wildlife safari, we checked in at the Ritz Carlton Bali for one night of R&R before our flights. Finally appreciate the beauty of this country. Can’t even put these beach views into words and the pictures don't do it justice. This hotel is 5 stars, no question. In all my travels to date, I have never experienced lodging like this. From a gong being rung at arrival, every staff member knowing my name and pools that mesh with the ocean like they were part of this - this has been an amazing stay. The club level here offers five presentations of food and drink daily, we almost didn't need dinner but could not pass up one last seafood meal on the beach.
So we say goodnight here in Bali and almost farewell to Asia. We'll post some thoughts after we recover from our looming 40+ hours of travel Bali > Kuala Lumpur > Singapore > Tokyo > Detroit > Atlanta. Keep us
Memorial
In memory of the 2002 bombing in your thoughts and get a good night of rest for us. We'll see you Monday.
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