Blogs from Sanur, Bali, Indonesia, Asia - page 5

I made it to Bali. It’s not quite what I was expecting, except for the heat and humidity. I guess I had this image of it being similar to Fiji because it’s a honeymoon destination—very romantic, very tropical, very remote. But in reality, it’s quite over developed. I’m in the town of Sanur, which is where the first Westerners settled over 100 years ago (aside from the colonists). I’m staying at a place called Sativa Cottages off a little side street. It’s nice enough, but a bit outdated with its yellowed sheets and dishes and worn furniture. The food in the restaurant sucks. But I have AC, hot water, and electricity, which is more than I can say for a lot of the places I’ve been. There is a nice beach in front of the sprawling ... read more

The sound of silence... No horns beeping... No bustle of the morning markets... No local shopkeepers shouting to each other as they open for the days tourist trade..... No men shouting "Taxi" or "Transport" to tourists wandering the streets. In fact no tourists. At least not on the streets of Bali. Not today. Today is Nyepi. Nyepi is arguably the biggest festival in Bali. From 6am to 6am the following morning, Hindu Balinese celebrate a day of self-reflection and anything that interferes with that is restricted...no eating (Scott's in trouble) no talking (I'm in trouble) and no having fun (C'mon, it's our holiday). While primarily a Hindu Ritual, non-hindu residents and tourists are expected to, and do, observe the customs out of respect for the locals. When we discovered we would be in Sanur during this ... read more

I seem to have an internal clock that wakes me at 6:30 AM every day. I guess I am hardwired for Bloomberg. We stayed at the Prima Village cottage which I recommend - don't pay anymore than $50. Nice bungalows but the restaurant is terrible, I would recommend eating at Mona Lisa - very good restaurant. Zenning in - I am convince the monkeys fart.. Zenning out - At least that's what Jenni tells me... This morning I woke up and decided to get a massage before our transport takes us to PandangBai. I was on a tight schedule and only had an hour. I walked aimlessly along the strip and pass a shop that sold skate boards...I find it pretty funny some of the things they sell...the road is pretty bumpy even with a scooter ... read more

Hi Everyone, Thank you for all your comments - we enjoy reading them! We had one last day in Koh Phi Phi and luckily the sun shone!! We headed down to the beach and I put on my factor 50 and Anton decided to go for factor 30 on his brown bits and factor 10 on his white-vest imprint. Big mistake....we both ended up looking like lobsters and we only sunbathed for an hour or so as we had to catch our ferry after lunch. The ferry ride back to Phuket was a bit hairy and Anton suffered feeling nauseous but we made it back without seeing his lunch!!! We arrived back at Phuket and had already pre-booked the same hostel that we arrived to (without pre-knowledge that we didn't like it), so were dreading going ... read more

Efter vi endelig var kommet igennem kontrollen i Bali lufthavn, kom vi ud til hvad jeg bedst kan beskrive som kaos. Det var åbenbart almindeligt at blive hentet i personbiler i lufthavnen og derefter blive fragtet til ens hotel. Hvilket betød at der var én chauffør for hver person eller familie, som ankom til Bali. De stod alle sammen med et skilt i hånden og prøvede at fange deres næste passager. Efter at have kigget hele rækken igennem (100 stykker mindst) havde vi stadig ikke fundet vores chauffør. Men han havde bare ikke gidet at holde skiltet oppe og vi så ham først da vi gik ud fra stedet. Lettet over at have fundet ham, fik vi vores baggage ind i bilen og kørte afsted. Vi blev nu klar over at kaoset ikke kun var forbeholdt ... read more