back to KL and an impromptu Bali trip

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22nd june.

Spent time with Bryan and Mandy, taavi and Wainani again, we all went to see the Petronas towers and had a lovely day. we then went back to oasis and played cards - inevitably this turned into a drinking game. mandy and bryon had sank a bottle of wine previously, and then a bottle of local whiskey. i drank beers and was pleasantly bamboozled but poor old mandy was knackered the next day and we didnt really see her till the evening! bless. taavi is going to bali and he said that i could come along with him, so i decided to join him for a spell in bali! oh the whims of travel. we booked my flight on bryon's laptop, my visa credit card has expired so taavi used his own to book my flight and i will pay him in indo rupiah when we get there! fan bloody tastic. then i will join sheena and the clinic again in koh phangan, and christel too.

23rd, monday

bryan and i went to the thai embassy at Ampang Park, and applied for our thai visas. mandy wasnt up to it with her monster hangover so she will go tomorrow. we had to go back the following day for 11.30am to collect our passports with visas. then we went back to oasis, collected the gang and we all went out to dinner at my fave veggie restaurant in jalan sultan. then we walked to pavillions shopping centre near times square and looked around, squeezing in a yummy ice cream dipped in chocolate. oh happy days.

wainini and i walked back while the others took the train. we were enjoying the pretty lights and night life of KL, its such a good atmos and has fairy lights, lights from the shops and restaurants and high rise buildings and is a different place by night. really love it there, top city.

24th
collected my visa in the late morning and then in the afternoon went to the twin towers viewing gallery on 41st floor with wainani, she went and got the tickets while i was at the embassy. after that we walked back to pavillions and had cakes and chocolate shakes with cream on top! we are trying to build our bottoms up for Fat Ass Championships, we are the favorites at the moment.

so then we had hours of fun window shopping and trying on clothes that we cant possibly afford to buy. a great day i have to say. we then went back to oasis and said our goodbyes.

25th

me and taavi up early to get our flight to denpasar in bali. we arrived there and i had some probs with my card at the ATM so had to borrow some more millions of rupiah from taavi. we got a taxi to kuta and found a place to stay in poppies gang 1, called LA Inn, nice place. we dumped our stuff and legged it down to the beach where we purchased 2 large bintangs (beers) and sat on the beach feasting our eyes on the surfers.

before long we were thronged by beach sellers and i caved in to a lovely wizened mini woman (about 2 foot tall, only 45 but didnt look a day over 90), who painted my finger and toenails and adorned me with nail art. she did a fab job and made my nails look nice. she was a character and sat with us for ages chattering.

felt pretty tiddley on the beach - those bintangs are large, taavi went for more beer and we were there for quite a while! eventually we went back to the inn for showers and then we went out for dinner at a place on poppies 1 that i recognised from my trip in 2001! we had a jolly good feed of snapper and general sea food and garlic and then we went our stinky garlic breath way and looked around. we were a tad disappointed in the massive westernisation that has happened, place is full of crap american chains like maccy D's, starbux, dolce and gabbana and the usual crapola u.s. taking over the world. where is the bali culture in kuta? well it aint there now. taavi said it was more like the gold coast in oz. anyway, thats our appraisal of kuta. on the other hand, there is some great night life and bars and surfing. which obviously appeals. to me anyway.

26th

we got a bus to ubud, leaving behind my big pack, i will collect it on the way back. managed to call the bank and get my card sorted in ubud, so paid the generous and kind taavi back his millions. i kid thee not.

ubud is pretty changed as well, and a lot more built up and westernised again, but is a pretty place. we found an amazing place to stay called Hai homestay off the main drag. it's set in lovely gardens with a big room, big clean twin beds, an actual wardrobe with full length mirror, a big table and a lovely balcony looking at the garden with chairs table and lounger, where breakfast is served to you - including eggs, fruit tea and coffee in the price! the best bit tho is the bathroom, off the bedroom, its got a big stone wall as 3 walls with faces in the stones! a big bath with hot water! aghghg, and has green plants in and is just beautiful. we both like to hog the bathroom - depending on who bags it first!!! and all at 2 quid a night. oh happy happy days. so much cheaper than singapore and malaysia - why did i spend so long there!!!!?

so anyhoo - first day we chilled out, read on our spacious balcony, walked around, saw the market and were a little disappointed again in the westernisation, but kuta and ubud are the most touristy places on bali so at least we are getting them out of the way first. we went to Biah Biah restaurant for dinner where i had some foreign stuff, very nice too, and then we found a little charmer of a bar in a side road with a bar tender who we talked with for ages, he had a good sense of humour and gave us 2 free shots of arrach each! i had 3 big glasses of wine and we were both quite tiddly at the end of the night. in fact, i would go so far as to say that i was sozzled. we walked back and discovered that at night the neighbourhood dogs turn into rabid wolves and bark and growl at you all along the lane. bit offputting but we managed to growl back and arrive at Hai in one piece.

27th

we ate a leisurely breakfast on our balcony, served by a serving person to our very selves, and then walked down to the sacred monkey forest and saw lotsa monkeys, macaques again. ive seen a lot of macaques now! they are pretty cute. one of them attacked my skirt and taavi had to help me get it off, it was biting it and trying to rip it off. honestly, im just irresistable to monkeys, i think its my pheromones, that or my furry bottom.

so after, we went on a bit of long walk, through some back lanes and countryside and walked a couple of hours. by the time we got back to Hai we were pooped and both collapsed on our respective beds for a snooze before dinner. we had a lovely dinner at Bali Buddha in our lane and then back to our friend at the bar. we only had a couple of beers tho and had a decently early ish night.

28th

today - hired a motorbike and zoomed around bali countryside. very very nice day but sore bum now. at 5pm taavi dropped me off back in ubud and has gone for a spin whilst i live it up on t'internet. Taavi has now discovered the joys of bike and i think he may be getting one when he gets home!

29th

We got the bus to Padang Bai, on our way to the Gili Islands. We got on the bus and i heard my name exclaimed in a familiar dutch accent - and bugger me pink if it's not Luna and Tristan - the dutch couple we met in Bako Park in Bourneo! well, i knew they were gonna be in Bali but it was a coincidence they happened to be on the bus! well - i was really happy to see them and we gabbed the whole bus journey then we all got on the boat together to go to Gili Trewangan - the so called 'party' island.

We arrived and there were some guys there selling their bungalows, we straight away found a decent place at a good price, big rooms again with balconys and breakfast included. We all went out for dinner and the other guys were a bit tired, on the way home i left the others to go home while i went to the bar to watch the Euro final, there was a reggae band playing so nice buzz around the place. i ordered a beer and placed myself at the bar, there to chat with various people, then i heard my name again, turns round and there is jon dymond (first met on don det in laos, then again in bangkok) - was nice to see him. we watched the footie and i generally drank beers and talked, i left around 6am (i think it was!) cus some drunk northern lad was getting a bit fresh and so i did a sneaky one. Taavi was fast asleep with his beard. zonked out.

30th June

rather tired today - me and taavi found a spot on the beach on big cushions outside horizontal lounge, taavi drank copious beers and i snoozed and sunbathed.
We met Trist and Luna for dinner after their diving, and went to a sheesha bar, i have developed a lung splitting cough so no sheesha for me.

1st july

booked my flight from bali to KL on internet. Saw Jon in internet place. Then saw Luna and T after their dive, sat on beach, had a sanga and then walked with Taavi around the coast to take in a sunset, very pretty. Beautiful islands the gillis.
We had a fantastic dinner at the Wrap-a-Snapper restaurant, next door to our place, i had a codfather burger, oh it was lush. slaver chops. Early night due to tiredness.

2nd july

Beach all day with Taavi while L & T out diving. The 4 of us then went to dinner at wrap-a-snapper again as it was so good, we had coffee and Bintang on L & T's balcony, then bed. Taavi is leaving in the morning, he has arranged to meet up with some friends in Kuta, Lombok but i am staying on gili island with T & L as short on time and money.

3rd July

Taavi left 8am, sad to see him go. Had breakfast with T & L on their balcony, did some internet while they dived, then met up with them at 2pm. We went to a cafe with home baked cakes, i had a piece of gorgeous cheese cake, then a chocolate brownie, then a lemon cake and a latte. shit im on for first prize in the Fat Ass Olympics.

Crazily enough, i still had room for dinner later - fish and salad! Watched film and bed at 11.30pm. it may be the party island but it was quite quiet at that time!

4 july

We decided to go to Gilli Air, the next island, so up in the morning and on the early boat across. There were some touts selling bungalows when we got off the boat, we had a look and found a great place, Mowar Bungs, cheap and clean, i had my own bungalow with hammock and balcony and outdoor bathroom which i love. Its only 60K rupiah a night. There are american girls, Heather and Shannon staying there too, we all ate with the family that runs it - you book a dinner with them and all eat together outside, really good. they did a nice fish dinner thing, and i mistook the salt for parmesan, (yes, i know, i have no idea how i did this) and totally ruined my dinner and made myself feel quite sick. i tried to remedy this with bintang and stayed up last as usual, playing chess with the staff.

5 july

ate and loafed on beach, this island is much smaller and i walked round it in an hour, really pretty and more rural and indonesian, very nice. my fave island. very worth a visit.
later on, Luna and i went to a party at the Blue Bar - trist went for an early night, lightweight. we danced for ages and drank a load of beer. Got chatted up by a zillion gigolos, ridiculous idiots but makes for entertainment. they were getting very zealous so the bar owner, Din, walked me home, as luna had gone already - i think this was around 5am ish.

6 july

beach, ate at gita gili with T & L, back to bung. Up early in morn to leave for kuta and flights to KL/BKK. wish i had given myself more time in gili air, really didnt want to go and didnt want to leave L & T, got very fond of them, but flights were booked already. would like to go back.

7th july
Travelled on boat and bus to kuta, flight early on 8th, need to check in 5am ish. Had emailed Lesley - my old mate that i had travelled indo with in 2001 and her daughter michelle was in kuta so i arranged to meet her and stay at her place! was lovely to see michelle, really great. found her place, dropped off bag and planned to stay there the night. we went out for a fab meal at a restaurant she knows - she is friends with the owners, staying in kuta for 2 months, she surfs every day and parties by night! a daughter to be proud of i reckon!

well, we had a fab meal, then were joined by her friends, 3 guys and we went to some bars and drank beers and wine. we then decided to play a drinking game, it consists of pretending to be a cockerel with goggles on (your hands with fingers in circles over your eyes) you have to make silly cock noises and follow some rules, which i was crap at and got very very drunk as a result of losing so much! we then decided we would pull an all nighter so as i could then get straight on my flight. i seemed at some stage to swap clothes with one of the guys, a big bloke who wore my small yellow dress and michelle swapped with another guy. god, i cant remember their names, except for Rob who dropped me off at the airport on his bike at 5am. i was very very inebriated and not sure how i managed to pack my pack, carry it, my second pack and a big mask and hammock i had pur - chased on gili air beach! i still cannot believe i managed to check in and board a flight. in heathrow i would have been thrown out for sure! i have never got a flight drunk before, it was a hilarious experience and im quite glad to add it to my list of general naughtiness on this trip. i really do not care a bit.

8 july

gah, by the time i got to KL airport, i was feeling pretty pooped, it was 10.50am and i had slept not at all and was developing a hangover by this stage! the corresponding flight to Bangkok was meant to be only a 3 hour wait, but twas delayed, gah, and i had a long old day and felt like pants. couldnt sleep a bit, and was very late in meeting christel in bangkok. i was about 4 hours late, i had no money in local currency and no phone sim so couldnt get hold of her. she was pretty worried by the time i found her. i used the ATM in bangkok airport and got a bus to koh san, the taxis were taking the piss with their rip off tourist rates so i found a bus for a tenth of the price and waited for that.

eventually got to ko san, logged on and saw where christel was waiting for me, she had booked in Rikka Inn on ko san road, so i made it over there, pretty knackered by this stage. anyway, showered and we went out to eat and then went to sheesha bar. think we made it home early hours and i was gagging for a sleep!

9 july

we got taxi (had to fight for one of the thieving taxi driver gits to put a meter on) to MBK and did some shopping, i bought one scarf only and a utility belt for travel after having lost my ticket and passport a few times in all my bags. now i can travel and its all in my perfectly formed belt with perfect pockets for each thing. perfick. anyway, we then decided to catch the night train to ko phangan and booked our train tickets.

got on the 6.30pm train, overnight to surrathani, then bus and boat to koh phangan. however,

(10th july)

got woken up by christel on the train, who was frantically declaring that everyone has disappeared! all the passengers were gone, usually the train people wake you up and make the beds back into seats. this time they had just woke everyone but us, and they had all got off. so the train man came along and told us we had missed our stop and chucked off our bags and ourselves at the next stop. not a clue where it is or what it was called!

nobody spoke english but we managed to find a taxi who would take us to donsak port for 1,000 baat. i was up for waiting for a cheap bus back to surrathani and then get a bus to donsak (which we had paid for) but christel wanted to get and pay for the taxi, so we did. then the arses at donsak wouldnt let us use the ferry tickets cus they were not issued in surrathani by the private bus company that we had arranged the travel through. GAH, had to buy ferry tickets again. bloody thailand is sometimes frustrating!!

anyway, no worries, we got the ferry and back on koh phangan at last!!!

after a sausage and egg buttie at Vantana (sorely missed) christel was picked up by her boyfriend billy, and then came back for me on her bike and gave me a lift to Adam Big Bike place to rent a bike! then we found me a house in the jungle, rubber tree gardens for 5k a month. paid for a month.

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Photos

the drinking card games commence
oasis guesthouse, we are all quite sober at this point,

Mama Loco doing her next client
little lady on the right

men at work
weaving baskets for the big ceremonial cremation of one of the local kings