Bali

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So...Bali...the "island of Gods” This description definitely describes certain parts of Bali...which are full of ancient ruins, beautiful temples and awe. However, the island, which is still suffering from the effects of the Bali bombings a few years ago, is completely focused on the tourist industry. Which makes certain areas a little too commercial, especially around Kuta, where you can't walk more than two yards without being grabbed or shouted at for requests of "you want transport?" Or "massage mate?" The smells emanating from the streets of Kuta are a mixture of exhaust fumes, incense sticks and drains! The nights differ slightly in Kuta...when most of the bars are filled white European males on "business!" waving their cash about in the hope that some young Indonesian girl will be persuaded to have a drink and maybe more!

After this fast paced introduction to Kuta...I decided my time would be best spent traveling the rest of the island. I soon found out that the best way to get around the island is to get talking to a local and pay him to drive you around, as the signs are not up to much and they drive like maniacs. So I met Nyoman who lived just north of Kuta in Denpasar, and for the duration my name became Mr. Jake. Over the next few days I visited Uluwatu Temple and stayed to watch a Kecak and fire dance at sunset, which was a real treat. I also visited Denpasar, Ubud (the arty area of the island, which I went to on a scooter...for four hours in total!...also was a monkey sanctuary I visited) also just outside of Ubud I visited a place called Gunung Kawi which is a group of large stone memorials which were cut into the cliffs in the 11th century and are very impressive, Jimbaran where I ate fresh snapper on the beach, Padangbai where I did some surfing... I even managed to stand up a few times! Last but not least was Tulamben, where I did some snorkeling over the wreck of the US Liberty, and a few other places along the way, but not wanting to bore anyone I’ll leave out. The massages and reflexology available in Bali are very cheap only 2 quid for an hour...and are very good...so I indulged a few times when I had had an exceptionally stressful day!

Although Kuta wasn’t the nicest place I have been to, I stayed here for most of my stay and simply used it as a base to get around the island. The hotel was nice enough and had lots of cats walking around the ground and an amusing manager who thought it was hilarious to sing morning has broken at 8am everyday!

Overall the locals were very nice...wanting to talk for ages...mainly about Manchester United, although some had heard of Sheffield Wednesday and loved Chris Waddle! the food was good...the main dish being Nasi Goreng, basically rice, chicken and vegetables with an egg on top and the local beer was Bintang which was a lovely little drop! Oh yeah...the Indonesians seem to love Mr. Bean...it was on in sooo many restaurants I went in! Bali was a good introduction to Indonesia and was very cheap which made a refreshing change from Australia...so I decided I would go on and visit Java as well.

Not many photos...the computers are quite slow here!

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