Bodyboarding in Bali

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Hello all, sorry for the delay in loggs we are experincing some computer meltdowns! We have finished our first stay in Bali in legian just outside of Kuta. The hotel was a large , glamorous if slightly past its best affair. We did have the luxury of aircon, a swimming pool and free breakfast! I know we have made the transition into travellers when our eyes lightup at the thought of an all you can eat buffet breakfast! We ate a range of fresh fruit, spicy rice, noodles and rediculous amounts of french toast. we saw fit to pile our plates high, afterall it was free...though i think to the dismay of other holidaymakers! The beach was great, lined with beautiful palm trees and white sands and with the most tremendous waves you have ever seen. After a few tenuous swims, where we nearly lost our swim ware due to the power of the waves we attempted bodyboarding. This was great, we spent ages trying to fight the current to get in deep and catch the waves, then giggled hysterically if we actually caught one which took us in to the shore. It was amazing being on top of the waves and feeling the roar of the bubbling wave underneath you, a definate buzz. It was really hard work and Kyle even progressed to surfing and was really great!!! He now thinks he can be in 'Home and Away' or 'Baywatch!'

We also spent a day at the waterpark on the island. This was expensive but we had a fantastic day. The had all sorts of dark, pipe rides which threw you in to the water at some crazy speeds and really high scary slides which made you loose your shorts! You had to climb loads of steps to get up and it was pretty exhausting but worth it for the ride down. I think we didn't stay awake much past 8 that night as we were so tired.

Near the end of our stay we visited the artistic centre of Bali, Ubud. Here we saw artists at work, making silver, btaik paintings, wooden and metal sculptures. We also visited a monkey forest...I say this in the loosest terms. I thought we would admire them from a distance but as soon as you walked in there were scary beasts everwhere! Little monkeys eating banana and big daddy monkeys fighting with each other...sone of the mummy monkeys looked like they may eat your face off at any minute!! Think we walked all of 100yrds before running out. Still no Dr. dolittle tendancies coming through!

Kuta where we stayed was a lovely place but absolutely dead. Tourisnm has been seriously hit after the bombings in 2002 and there was just nobody about. as a result we got quite a lot of hassle from people desperate for you to eat in their restaurants and buy their goods. We have enjoyed learning to haggle over countless numbers of hookie goods. Everything we've eaten has been great and definately more like Thailand prices which suits our budget well. We have even been eating real meat again! Thankyou for the emails, we will reply as soon as we get to a reliable computer! lots of love Kyle and Nic x

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