Hey Everyone,

Its been a while since the last update but I have spent the last 16/17 days in Bali. After after arriving in at the airport i headed to Kuta (the most popular area for backpackers) and with in 2 minutes of getting out of the taxi i met a group of people who sent me in the direction of a cheap hostel. The 3 guys Damien (24), Rob (26) and Jureugn (26) i ended up staying with for the whole duration of Bali, with the adition of James (30) towards the end. The weather in Kuta was around 35-40'C most days, however, as it was at the end of the rainy season there were a few clouds around most days.

After the first couple of days on the beach I got one of the local surfers to give me and hour lesson and I was standing up and surfing straight away. So for the days that followed i was surfing almost everyday and really getting the hang of it. When we wern't surfing we made day trips to Uluwatu and found a secluded beach called Padang Pandand, and saw how the pro's/locals surfed on 3 metre high waves.

After the first week we decided to go to the Gilli Islands. The Gilli's are tiny paradise islands just off the coast of Lombok. When we arrived we found some very basic accomodation and chilled out all day on the perfect white beaches. It was a great change going to the Gilli's, as Kuta is quite full on with the constant hassel by street vendors and the big nights out. Snorkling in the Gilli's was far better than Kho Tao as you can see over 25m and we had the great experience of swimming with turtles.

After a full day getting back from the Gilli's we upgraded to a nicer hostel with a swimming pool (which was still only $6 each per night) and relaxed by the pool for the final few days.

After catching the plane back to Bangkok I headed to Sydney where I met up with Jav to the very english weather!!

We are currently on manly beach where the weather is still 'english' (showers and overcast) however, the forecast is meant to get much better as the week goes on. The plan for the next week is to head to Bandi for a night after Manly, then head up the coast to Byron Bay.

Haydn and Jav