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Published: August 22nd 2006
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Hello From Bali. It's been a while since the last Blog update; this is mainly due to the great amounts of time we have spent doing things (especially lying by a pool!) but also due to the speed of the internet!
Firstly, a quick update of the last day in Cairns, when we went on a tour of Atherton Tablelands with "Gus The Bus, Elmo & Uncle Bart" - certainly an experience! We visited some amazing waterfalls; firstly Josephine falls (took a pic!) where we could slide down rocks into the pool (pretty cold), and then Milla Milla falls which is where a certain shampoo advert was filmed (no brands here!) & is one of Oz's most popular sites. Again had a swim here (even colder), before we went to see some turtles. Finally we went platapuss spotting - allegedly saw 2, but could just have easily been sticks in the water! The bus ride all day was bizarre at the least - lots of singing and dancing & musical instruments (must say I was pretty useful on the old tamborine!).
We arrived in Kuta (Bali) late on the 10th Aug, and the next morning thought we'd take a
gentle stroll to and along the beach - the number of people trying to sell you things is pretty overwhelming, and after a few hours (which included some shopping/bartering!) we decided to chill by the pool. The next morning we moved hotels, so that we could meet up with Donal & Ted - who we met in NZ, and planned to go the Gili Islands with. After declining numerous offers of "cheap room" we eventually found the place; though nearly got lost in Kuta's back streets, and were even closer to getting run down by mopeds - absolutely crazy! An early start the following day as we went & did some watersports: jet skiing, banana boat and parasailing! Despite the banana boat being a little slow, the rest was brillliant - got some really good speed up on the jet ski, and the view from the parasailing was awesome (though not sure how much of it Zoe took in with all the screaming that was going on!). The parasailing landing system (on the beach) consisted of you wearing 2 different colour gloves, and them holding a coloured flag telling you which rope to pull on! Miraculously we both survived!
We then had a morning chill out before the 6 of us (including Ciaron & Dave, fellow Irish of Ted/Donal) headed to Gili Trawangan - a small island off the coast on Lombok - where Donal's brother owns a bar. After a 30 minute flight & a 1 hr taxi across Lombok we were (eventually) met at the "port" (ie. beach) by a speed boat which took us over to the island (very James Bond?). That night we had some drinks & food at the bar before bed. The island is one of three islands that make up the Gili Islands, and is the most popular & tourist orientated of the three. Despite this, there are (blissfully) no motorbikes or cars here, and the only transport is Cidomel (horse-drawn carts) or push bikes! There's also a lot less touts here, and it feels a million miles away from Kuta.
Zoe and I signed up to do our PADI Open water course, to learn how to Scuba dive. Well, Zoe signed up, and with the promise of seeing sharks & turtles I couldn't let her go alone!! This took up most of our time on the island, as we had a 200 page book to read, 3 pool sessions followed by 4 open water dives. There were also knowledge reviews & a final test - Zoe blitzed this & got 96%, whilst I got a pitiful 92% 😞
The pool sessions, in which we learnt skills like mask clearing/removal & air replacement, all went swimmingly (!), however I was still very nervous on the boat to our first open water dive (only a 10 min ride). As soon as we got in with our instructor, Jordy, all 4 of us in the group felt the current; this did nothing to help my nerves! We then went down via a line (rope) and let the current take us at about 12m depth. The best thing we saw on this dive was a Devil Ray (aparently quite rare there). I used up my air far quicker than anyone else, and soon it was time to come up - at which point I began to feel a bit ill & was unsure about completing any more dives. Zoe, on the other hand, loved it & couldn't wait to get back in!
After a spot of lunch & a power nap (amazing what that can cure!) I was willing to get back under water. This dive was a much more tranquil affair, and we saw turtles and a sea-snake. Thankfully, we worked out at lunch that I may be getting sea-sick whilst under the water, and the tablet certainly helped in all the remaining dives. On the other 2 dives we snuck to 21m depth, practiced our skills, and saw black & white tipped reef sharks (how cool?!), many more turtles and a school of baby squid. Unfortunately we also encountered some stingers (jelly fish!) which were not quite so welcome! However, with Jordy's help we completed the course, and are now certified divers!!
Each night on the island was spent at Conrad's bar (Donal's brother), but the tab built up by me & Zoe was miniscule compared to the Irish lads, who went through the whole cocktail list practically everynight! We managed to catch the Premiership kick-off on the last day, and watched Arsenal draw, followed on my part by staying up till 2am to watch Spurs lose! I want my money back!
Following another speedboat & plane trip, we're now back in Bali & have made our way up to Ubud, the arts capital & a lot less hectic than Kuta.
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Beksters
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Arrgghh i'm so jealous!
Damn you both, did you know it's raining here? Crap crap crap! I swear it's done nothing but rain since I got back from Corfu! You are doing so many fantastic things! I'm so jealous, it all sounds absolutely fantastic! Steve Irwin as well - that's funny! Poor Dan, seasick underwater?! I didn't even know that could happen! Power naps are the key to life!!! Forgot to say, Jon managed to get blisters on his throat while we were in Corfu - he had to keep going back to the docs to have this brown stuff dabbed on the blisters - he passed out the first time from the pain! Hmm I bet you really wanted to know that! Keep up the blogs! Love Bex xxxxxxxx