hi everyone.

Sorry its been a while, ive had a couple of 'issues' that have consumed too much of my time effort and money!

right then where to begin. The last few days of thailand were pretty uneventful. we were all preparing for the next destination so nothing too outrageous except ben edwards financial indiscipline.

I was the first to leave, my midday flight meant i had to be up and early. surprisingly everything went smoothly, no problem with the baggage or tickets or losing anything! the flights were boring. i was hoping that i wopuld be seated next to someone i could chat to but as it happened i got placed next to a married couple of about 50 who i think were from albania judging by the eagle on the passport. i doubted that we would be conversing with philosophic riddles so i settled down and watched some blackadder.

The next flight (from singapore to bali) i was put next to a young french couple who lets face it, were one step away from indecent exposure. It was quite awkward to pull them away from another so i didnt try.

I arrived at roughly midnight and got my first taste of the friendly locals...a porter tried to lift my bag up, i said no, then expected a tip! i told him exactly where to go! i then had to barter for my hotel and taxi fare but these guys are more resilient than in thailand so i didnt end up saving much.

The first few days were quite lonesome. i was happy to be sat by the beach again watching the surfers and more amusingly watching the attempted surfers getting nailed by an 8ft wave. Kuta beach is awesome for waves. All day theres large ones crrashing in and the occassional one which gives a tube.

My accommodation, is costing me 6 quid a night and i get a double bed, own toilet, shower, porch with chairs and tables and access to a well nice pool.

ive met up with 2 cool guys, 1 irishman and a canadian. the one thing we have in common is double d bar which is a cool place. bar staff are friendly etc and they have espn on so you can watch the footy or rugger. Speaking of which what is goin gon in the world of sport?! Wales basically winning the six nations, chelsea and man u both out of the cup!

theres a weird club that weve been to a couple of times now called 'bounty'. the top floor is the deck of a pirate ship! no idea why but its a decent venue. I got to witness an unofficial breakdancing contest yesterday, i was attempting to chat up a nice russian bird and then right next to me these two guys just start pulling out all these crazy moves! i was going to join in but the old knees were playing up so was unable to contribute to the fun.

Right, onto that night! i was hurrying back to my hotel from bounty as i thought i had lost my card. I was within 30m of my hotel when 2 hookers on a scooter stopped and one got off. After politely telling her no she still wouldnt listen. She was grabbing everywhere and then she got down on her knees to imitate what she would like to do. still saying no she seemed to just get up quickly and hurried back to the scooter and was gone. it seems so obvious now but after a few drinks i was just relieved she had gone. so when i get back to the room and find my card and go to ring my dad back guess whats been taken! after speaking to the canadian guy he apparently suffered a similar fate but with his wallet. it seems the getting down on your knees is a well known technique round these areas.

The day after all this happens is hindu new year so everything closes down and im not allowed out on the street let alone to a police station so i have to sit and bide my time. i then get to the tourist police station where they refuse to take up my case unless i pay them, even then all they will do is cofirm with the insurance people that they are looking for the phone still. its all nice and politically correct here as you can clearly tell!

the weather is very nice here, its very humid as well though so its difficult to sleep at nights but ive found my version of sleeping tablets...bintang! the random thunderstorms are also a hassle when your trying to rest but it does bring with it a certain freshness to the air so its not all so bad.

My impressions of bali so far very mixed. the people are very nice but same in thailand they dont look at westerners as people, they see you as a big bundle of $ but when your only earning 600,000 rupiah a month which equates to roughly 40 quid you can understand why. Kuta beach is stunning but then theres people constantly trying to sell you items. theyd try and sell you seawater if they could.

Hopefully i should be heading to ubud in the next few days, which is central bali so i can have a look at the monkey sanctuary and also a few temples and get a bit of culture in me.

I shall write more when ive topped up my tan. Take care all x