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Two Chicks & a Climber Reach New Heights
After a peculiar flight on an empty plane with Australian Airlines, we started to get paranoid that people cancelled their flight to Bali due to the October bombings till we were reassured that we took the extra flight.
Arrived at the airport, within minutes Andre panicked that he had his wallet stolen till he discovered it was in his bag along. Felt like I was rich when I first withdrawal money out of the bank, 1,000,000 rupiah equivalent to about 70 pounds. First night, we accommodated in Puri Gopa Hotel in Sanur, a traditional Balinese hospitality. The hotel was surrounded by authentic Balinese architecture, lush tropical gardens with spacious air-conditioned and en-suite rooms, all for 7 quid a night.
Bali is small on a map, but even smaller on planning, which means it takes an hour by car to get from anywhere to anywhere. The drivers aren't merely suicidal here, but often completely psychotic. A two-lane road might somehow still have room for three motorbikes, your taxi, all side-by-side, as a Starsky-and-Hutch-car-rolling-kablam variety of doom lurks just inches away. And never mind the three motorbikes and two bicycles coming in the other direction.
The Kuta region was overwhelmingly commercialized and touristy, but you have to see it for contrast and perspective. If you have a taste for a busy surf scene, shopping and nightlife, you'll probably have a great time here! We stayed at AP Inn recommended by Jessie&Co, AP Inn was total comfort in the heart of Kuta!
One immediate observation of the streets is the Hindu shrines and floral offerings to the spirits contained in leaf vessels outside of shops by the pedestrian walk. Most shops in this vicinity are specialty shops of branded goods, mostly apparels. Further away from the beach branded shops are replaced by those selling local handicrafts and wooden carvings. On occasion I discover shops with identical signs selling the same range of goods within a block of one another. An indication of competitiveness.
We explored Bali in true style with Owen from MBA to see numerous aspects of Balinese life. Started off by watching a dance, Barong & Kris performance, the most famous & colourful dance in Bali which signifies an eternal fight between good & evil spirit at Batubulan. Followed by Tohpati, the center of Balinese hard-weaving and hand-made process. It became a shopping spree that day by visiting various places such as the 'cultural, arty-crafty centre' - Ubud, the traditional & modern oil painting at Batuan and the temple, fine wood carvings at Mas that we were spoilt for choice. It was about then that we realised the wonder of shopping in Bali, and quite how far our money could go.
We passed superb views of terraced rice fields in various brilliant shades of green in Tegal Lalang. Perfectly landscaped backdrops that combine efficiency and beauty. We went directly to Kintamani, a mountain village that lies at 1400 meters above sea level. We situated at Puri Dewata restaurant with breathtaking views of the still active volcano and Lake Batur. Minutes later, it poured with rain that Mount Batur was no longer in sight with foggy clouds blocking the view. Stayed overnight in Lovina with black volcanic sandy beach and tranquil calm water.
Lovina's special tourist attraction is dolphin watching that Semhar and I got up at 5.15am to see dancing dolphins, welcoming the morning sun. The sea was polluted in some areas, especially when a plastic bag got caught up in the motor fan that we were distance away from the dolphins in order for the driver to tear the plastic bag apart. Just before returning to our hotel, we stopped at a clear spot for snorkelling, a great way to start the day.
We proceeded to Air Panas Banjar village to soak ourselves in hot springs, beautifully landscaped with lush tropical plants. Continuing the trip, we left North Bali, with a brief stop for refreshing bath at Munduk (Git Git) Waterfalls. The highest and the most beautiful waterfall on the island sitaued in a serene place among coffee and clove. Walking there was beautiful. A postcard walk. Andre climbed the slippery aside waterfalls, Andre and I attempted to go under the waterfall, believe me, the water hastening down was powerful that I could barely open my eyes.
Another stop at Puncak to explore the Jungle of Monkey, the only friendly monkey forest in Bali but they certainly greedy by snatching nuts off us to scoff themselves quickly, ignoring the smaller monkeys who hadn't had any. To finish off the day, we visited the most enchanting Buddhist temple on the island of Bali. Perched on a large volcanic rock on the beach, the temple can be completely surrounded by water at high-tide and the waves in this area can be very large. We were in awe of the surfers riding the full-size waves.
Returned to Kuta for a relaxing week ahead of us. Andre finally made use of his surfboard by checking out the waves almost every day. The Kuta beach breaks tend to have their own character and can get very good. Seeing that I'm inexperienced with surfing and the ocean, had their first contact with me and I had fun being out in the water on my long board which I tried to stand up but failed. In no time, heavy downpour started and lightening occurred meant bigger waves but strangely, while you are out there in the water, it looked exquisite.
Last days were spent watching countless DVDs, which cost like 50p to buy a good-quality dvd. Even though it's cheap out here, still need to save money for other places in the Far East. Having therapeutic Balinese massages became a habit for us. Bali is a great cultural place to start the Far East travels.
Bali is the gem of Indonesia. Balinese rely almost totally on tourism to live and there are not many tourists, low-season here - they are hoping for a good Christmas and that people will come back to this beautiful island (they should).
In conclusion, Bali - Still a beauty and a bargain.
Aman
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