Amazing Bali - yes that's right - Bali

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I flew from Kota Kinabalu half stiff, and sore from climbing Mt. Kinabalu to the beautiful little island of Bali. This little paradise as discribed by many, is in fact a PARADISE!

Karen and I started at Kuta which is the heart of Bali, well the modern party-beach-crazy find whatever you like town. We lazed around on the beach for a couple of days, went out to some bars and clubs, and did some fashion shopping for dirt cheap!

From here we took a day trip to the southern tip of Bali to the most important and holy site for the Hindu island... of course a temple - located on the tip of the ocean on a cliff overlooking the inviting azure blue ocean.

After a couple of nights in Bali we moved on to Ubud which is the "cultural" center of Bali... a beautiful town amidst a lush green of vegetation that makes it look so picturesque you would think from the pictures that its fake. Every household has their own statues to bring daily offerings to the Hindu gods - Vishnu, Shiva, and the monkey Hanoman :-p

Here we met one Brit and one Swiss girl and we traveled together with them for a couple of days around the vicinity of Ubud to gorgeous rice terraces, an active volcano called Mt. Batur, and I had a great time doing jewelry shopping! You can find such well crafted local art that it is a must! Mom will for sure appreciate it!

We also met some local guys from Ubud and hung out with them for a couple of days... They took us out to a local club and we had a great time!

From Ubud I departed to Amed which is on the far eastern coast of Bali... This side of the island is much drier than the center and western parts. No jungles, just some brush... Here I met two Dutch girls and decided to join them to dive in Tulamban - a site where a US WWII ship wreck lies 30 meters below sea level on the ocean bed. It was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine sometime during the war.

I did three dives and was able to swim through the wreck which was an amazing experience... However, no treasures or skeletons... I couldn't find Captain Hook either. But the coral formations growing on the ship wreck were beautiful, and the multitude of fish surrounding me were amazing sites to experience. I even found myself swimming inside a school of jack fish (relative of the tuna) that were circling around me in a tornado like form.

In Bali you can dine and live like a king - and truly in paradise!

P.S. - sorry again for taking 6 months to write this blog... Check out all the pics and be jealous! (or go visit) :-)

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