Blogs from Kuta, Bali, Indonesia, Asia - page 18

Im Vergleich zu Java, ist Bali ein wahres Touristenparadies. Ob Infrastruktur, Gaestehaeuser oder Wohnsiedlungen der Einheimischen... man merkt, dass der Tourismus eine Menge Geld auf der Insel der stolzen Balinesen gelassen hat. Standard und Komfort sind um ein Vielfaches hoeher, wenn ihr mich fragt. Wie wahrscheinlich fast alle Backpacker, sind auch wir am naechsten Morgen in Kuta gelandet. Zwar ist der Strand so ueberfuellt von Menschen und Surfbrettern, dass man gar kein freies Sandkorn mehr findet, aber die Hotels haben alle tolle Gaerten mit Pools und saubere, grosse Zimmer. Und in den populaeren Gassen Poppies Gang 1 und 2 bekommt man alles, warueber sich die Daheimgebliebenen als Souvenier freuen, vorausgesetzt, sie stehen auf Kitsch und gefaelschte Markenprodukte oder raubkopierte DVDs. Da es so kurz vor Weihnachten Hochsaison auf Bali war, mussten wir zwar mal wieder Duzend ... read more

Bali was my vacation trip. If I were to sum up the entire trip, I would describe it as a series of sunsets and sunrises. I left on a Wednesday afternoon, thereby missing quite a lot of class; but I ask myself, “how often am I in SE Asia?” That is how I justify skipping out during the middle of the week. Anyways, I traveled with two Americans (one being my roommate), two Scandinavians, and a Canadian. Bali is an Island that is part of Indonesia; the people down there are primarily Buddhist. They’re economy is based on tourism if you’re by the beach, or rice farming if you live inland. The currency in Bali is the Indonesian rupiah, 1 USD=10,000 INR. For this trip I tried to learn some useful phrases, this is what ... read more

Wow, it’s been a while since we’ve blogged! Sorry about that! We’ve been so on the go these past few weeks. Hmmm… let’s see… After beautiful Sideman and short stop at the Tirtha Gunga Water Palace, we set off to circumference the island of Bali, hoping for just as much amazing scenery that we saw in the first week. What we soon found is that every part of Bali is different, which makes sense considering the few volcanoes that have erupted in the recent past. They’ve left dry baron desert-like areas with little plant life and tons of black rock and dead shrubbery that are not as pleasing to the eye. Our next stop was Tulamben, a small town on the NE corner of Bali with nothing else to do but dive. Excited to explore the ... read more

So Beash and I got back from our overnight trip to Nusa Lebangan a few days ago. It’s one of 3 tiny islands about an hour off the coast of Bali. We went with 12 friends from Max’s school. They are an easygoing, friendly bunch of people from England. It was pouring on the boat ride out and I got stung by a bee in the neck. As soon as we pulled up to shore the rains subsided and we all got situated, negotiating for hotels along the coast. The water along the shore was out of a dream. Crystal clear with teal tones, if you were neck high in the water you could easily your feet. Nusa Lebangan is known for amazing snorkeling so we hired a boat to take us out to a ... read more

Ok. Waar was ik gebleven. Nha Trang ontvluchtten ja. De typhoon kwam richting Vietnam en ik wilde dus zo snel mogelijk weg. Vliegen ging niet omdat alles afgezegd was en de trein kon ik pas 2 dagen later nemen. Ik geen zin om nog eens 13 uur in een slaapbus te zitten, dus bleef ik maar twee dagen extra. Uit wat verhalen maakte ik op dat ik Saigon toch niet leuk zou vinden, dus ik vond het prima. Ik kwam Dusty tegen in een barretje bij het hotel en we raakten al snel aan de praat. Praten maakt de mond droog dus het nodige bier werd toegevoegd om niet uit te drogen. Uiteindelijk belandden we met een hele groep buiten Nha Trang in een restaurant waar we de hele kaart bestelde. Met drank en al het ... read more