Hello Bali

Monday 11th January 2010:

Isobel and I arrived in Denpasar, Bali. We made our way to the bustling backpacker area of Kuta- quite a lot to take in when you're tired and looking for somewhere to stay, but I got used to it in no time and loved it! We found ourselves some cheap acommodation to do us for the next ten days. Turns out our German friends were also in Bali; people we had met in Kuala Lumpur and then again in Singapore, were now in Kuta. So we met up with them for the evening, had a bit of catch up and then got ourselves some well-earned rest. Pretty sure I shared my next few 'restful' evenings with a cosy group of bedbugs, but it's all part of it. Ha.

Isobel and I soon got into the swing of things, making ourselves completely at home in Kuta, adopting a regular breakfast stop at a cafe across the street- the freshest fruit you will ever have for breakfast. I could get used to this, and so cheap! The plan to save money is certainly working. Well until I hit the markets that is. So it's currently the rainy season in Bali; you tend to get a bit of a downpour and then the sun shines for the rest of the day. We had a few rainy days to start with, but after that it cleared up and we had some beautiful weather! I do love Bali; it is such a fantastic place, a really 'easy' pace of life. By easy I probably mean lazy; everybody sinks into a sort of slumberous lethargy here, but in a good way. It's just a beach environment: surfers, bikins and board shorts. What's not to love! Isobel and I were determined to get our surf practice in, so we hit Kuta beach and hired ourselves a board each. We did barter for them, but apparantly we still got ripped off! Oh well, still pretty cheap! So it turns out the waves are much stronger and bigger out here- hence it being a great place for surfers, just maybe not so much for the beginners. So we ended up battling with the waves more often than riding them. But I will persevere with it! Got the bruises to prove the determination ha. It's a shame that Kuta beach is not very clean; a lot of rubbish finds it's way over when the tides shift, which makes it quite unpleasant to swim in the waters here. So we shall venture out to a neighbouring beach in the coming days..

Saturday 16th January 2010:

Isobel and I decided to hire a scooter today, so we could see some of the surrounding beaches. Everyone gets around by scooter over here, and in Southeast Asia more generally; seems a pretty good way to beat the congestion anyway! So Izzy drove, and I must admit I felt a bit uneasy because these bikes are more powerful than you expect them to be! After a close call with a van, we found ourselves on our way to 'Dreamland' beach. It was much prettier and cleaner than Kuta beach, which was nice. Turns out the waves were far too big that day, so no surfing for us! An 'interesting' turn of events ensued after our pleasant afternoon at the beach. I decided to have a go on the scooter, thought I'd drive us back. Anyway, I revved too hard on the damn thing, didn't realise it was quite so powerful, lost complete control and ended up falling off the bike and skinning my leg across the pavement! Lovely. I was gutted when I realised that I wouldn't be able to surf now. Was not worth the drama at all. Isobel got us back safely, and we made our way to the clinic to get my leg sorted out! I ended up on a course of antibiotics, with my leg bandaged for the remainder of our stay! Great conversation starter, but not so fun when you are on a beautiful island and you cannot enter the water! Don't even get me started on showers- awkward to say the least. A tad foolish on my part.

We met some great people in Bali, lots of surfers surprisingly enough! Turns out one of the lads we met was in our year at Sheffield uni with us! Love the coincidences. We spent an evening down at the beach watching the sunset, the most beautiful sunset I have ever seen. I have never taken quite so many photos of a sunset either ha ha. Tourist. Also got completely hounded at the beach by women selling bracelets, and sarongs, and jewellery. And anything you can think of really! Extremely persistent people, to the point of annoyance actually. I understand that this is how they make a living, but what if I don't want any more bracelets?!



Friday 22nd January 2010:

Having spent a heavily relaxed ten days in Bali, and completely fallen in love with the place, we said our reluctant goodbyes. Definitely going back to Bali, may give the scooter ride a miss next time.