So I have started a course of heavy duty poop pills the doctors have prescribed to me back home. Thank god for Western medicine, it looks like world war 3 is over. On that note it was time to leave the Gillis and onwards to Lombok. Our 6 day streak of sunshine ended with some knarly weather this morning so we were discussing amongst ourselves whether to abort mission for the boat ride to Lombok. The water looked sketchy and with each passing minute the waves got choppier and more foul. We paid for a shuttle boat which was pretty much the same as a public minus the life vest, they boarded first. Like a bad sitcom pilot we watch the first boat leave and it was getting tossed like a rag doll. At times it ... read more
3 Gillis in a pod... The Gillis consist of 3 island - Gillis T, Gillis Mino, Gillis Air (short form). We arrived at Gillis T. Now there really isn't a harbor, you pretty much have to catwalk along the side of the boat by holding on to the rails to get from the back to the front and if you miss the rail you are going under and say good by to your camera and electronic equipments.... I would recommend not taking any boats if the weather is bad....you risk cap sizing and most likely getting everything wet.. The Gillis are all pretty small so you can island hop. You can rent a bike or walk around the island in just over an hour. The bikes have seen better days, most are rusted to the point ... read more
We arrived in PadongBai by taxi from Sunar - $12. Padongdai is a pretty small village and from what I can see their main economy is fishing and tourism mainly boat transport to the Gilis and snorkeling/diving trips. Apparently there is pretty good snorkeling in this area. We only stayed here one night and spent most of the day planning and exploring. We did stumble onto a Bali funeral from our balcony where we saw a 100 people marching by our hostel to the ceremony up the hill. They were carrying the body and the mood was happy almost festive. Bali funerals are different because it is a celebration of life, so everyone was smiling and no tears were shed. We spent most of the night trying to figure out transport to the Gillis Island. There ... 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
It was hard to leave Uluwatu...especially when you find a decen break to surf. We took a cab to Sanur which was 45 minutes away. Sanur is a very interesting place, I would say it is a cross between Nusa Dua and Kuta. The main strip is littered with restaurants and hostels...most of the big resorts of course were on the beach. Of course the first thing I do upon arrival at every new destination is order a watermelon shake and ask the locals where the surf breaks are.... I have been doing some research on the Internet and a few locals have confirmed there is one break call the Hyatt which happens to be in front of the Hyatt hotel. I ended up negotiating with one of the fisherman to take me out to the ... read more
It was hard leaving Nusa Dua because we were so spoiled at Sagara. I can see myself living in one of these apartments. I have been talking to a few land owner here and it seems they actually do not own the land but rather only a 40 year lease. In some cases $7500 a year can get you a hostel with 3 BR along the beach. Sure beats Vancouver real estate. Average local rent here is $80/month. I think $200 a month will get you a pretty decent place. We eventually made it back to the West side to Uluwatu because apparently there are some surf breaks there. We made our way near Bunin beach and stayed at this hostel literally right on the beach. Our room was located on the top floor and the ... read more
Nusa Dua is 17 kms from Katu and cost about 100K rupee ($10) but we paid $15 because we are tourist and love to get ripped off. My recommendation is to skip all the prepaid transport and go with meter taxi. Unlike Vancouver, taxi's here are super cheap. Most of them are metered so if they refuse I would move on. Nusa Dua reminds me of Tarmindo in Costa Rica. It is very touristy and full of gated hotel compound where some are 5 stars charging $800 a night. The sun finally came out and it was hot and humid so it made hostel hunting a problem. The first place we looked at was average and the bed did not pass my ass test. If the pillows smell like ass walk away. It was too hot ... read more
Kuta - Day 2 The breakfast at Un's is really good. Try their banana pancakes and fruit salad. Indonesian coffee is very strong, even more so than Starbucks in my opinion and it has a great full bodied taste. The best thing about breakfast was that it was complimentary. So far the cocktails are a bust in bali - they don't really know how to make proper drinks. But I must say the frozen margaritas was pretty good at Un's but they give you less than an hour of booze. So we went off searching for some cheap local Tequila and Vodka and free poured it ourself. Both tasted nasty by itself but in the margarita it was pretty good. We decided to rent a scooter to explore the town - $5/day. It's been awhile since ... read more
It just occured to me that this trip resembles Julie Roberts Eat, Prey, Love minus Italy. Yes, I watched it but I won't admit to liking it. The flight from HK to Bali was only 5 hours. I'm glad we split up the travel time or it may have been a 17 hour flight from Canada.. Bali aiport is small and word to the wise when you get off the plane go directly to the visa on arrival to purchase your ticket. There is another area also called visa on arrival but that is customs. Not sure why they didn't just call it customs, Iguess that would be too easy. I can take anywhere from 1 hour to 3 hours to get through the airport. Think of it as game of chance. If it happens you ... read more
Hong Kong is a very interesting place. There is something for everyone. You can see most of HK in 3-4 days without rushing. Accommodation is expensive...budget travelers can expect to spend on average $60-$80 a night but don't expect much value. Inflation in China has raised the price on most goods in HK. Food was good but to be honest Vancouver still has some of the best seafood in the world and cheap. We stayed at a hotel in Wanchai district which only takes a couple of MTR stations to get everywhere else. The MTR system is world class and puts Vancouver skytrain to shame. It seems every time it rains somewhere else in the world, sky train stops working. You have to purchase an Octopus card when you are here. It will take you anywhere...heck ... read more
