Blogs from Sanur, Bali, Indonesia, Asia

Relatively early start for our day at The Bali Safari and Marine Park. Got a Grab car for $11.70 and arrived there at 9.15am. Took the Jungle Safari ride which took us through open areas with animals from Indonesia, India and Africa. The whole park is very well designed and you really felt like you were in the jungle at times during the 30 minute Safari drive. After that there were a series of shows. First show was an Animal Show which was really well done. It started with Indonesian birds flying across the stage and groups of Guinea pigs, rats, cats and dogs scurrying across the stage on cue. Then presentations of other animals. We then moved to another area where they presented a show featuring tigers. They were able to demonstrate how the tigers ... read more

Late start to the day. Decided to walk along Sanur beach, which was similar to yesterday's walk along Nusa Dua but not as 5 star. Quite a few cafes and restaurants just around the corner from us and we picked out one for lunch as we strolled along. Towards the end of our walk after passing some nice resorts, we saw some fancy privately owned properties, which were huge. We stopped at Bamboo Eatery and Bar and we both had a yummy crispy fried whole snapper. Food is so cheap here that you really never have to worry about prices. After lunch we thought we'd better get over to the GWK Cultural Park , our planned activity for the day. I'd read that you only needed 2 hours, so the plan was to head over to ... read more

Today’s activity was a visit to see the sunrise on Mt Batur. Woke up very early this morning for our 3.00am pick-up (although they were 15 minutes late). I figured that this was the best day to do this because our bodies hopefully were still on Sydney time which meant 5.00am. Seemed to work although we didn’t get to bed as early as I had planned so we only got about 5 hours sleep. It was a 1.75 hour drive to the jeep pick-up, so we both managed a bit more shut eye before then. It was a 25 minute drive in the jeep, 5 minutes on a sealed road, then 20 on a steep, bumpy dirt road. It was actually a lot of fun. We reached the viewing area at 5.25am, along with about 200 ... read more

Today we leave for home, which is always bittersweet after a great vacation. We are both excited to be back in our own beds, watching for Charlie the seal, enjoying our awesome home and seeing our friends and family . However, leaving the sun, smiling locals, healthy/tasty food and the chill vibe is also sad. Some take-aways from our time in Bali: The people of Bali are so welcoming and gracious. They are always ready with a smile and a greeting, no matter the time of day. It never feels contrived and you do feel like a very valued guest. The food is amazing. It is fresh, flavorful and varied, with options from grilled meats/vegis to noodles to rice to smoothies. We have been careful over the past two weeks to not drink the water (even ... read more

It is time to say goodbye to the Swallow House, but before we leave we get to have another wonderful breakfast on the patio served by Uly. This time it was the fruit, with black rice and little mini-rice cakes. I also realized that I hadn't really posted any pictures of the guesthouse, so most of the pics on this blog are from the Swallow House (not the Nike Villas). We had time for a last dip in the pool, before packing up, saying our good-byes to Wayan, Uly and Coco the cat. Luckily, they were able to haul our bags on the motorbike down the path to the road, where are driver was waiting to take us to Sanur. The mileage to Sanur is only 20 miles, but the traffic in the various little villages ... read more