Ubud was great! We both really liked it here, very much more the 'real' Bali, with the traditional culture and lifestyle, but still with quite a bit of tourism and plenty to do.

Our first afternoon we just spent chilling out by the pool in our pad. We stayed in a really nice place called 'Nick's Pension' which was surrounded by rice paddies and tropical gardens which felt more like a jungle! It felt a little cooler than Sanur and the coast and this is mainly due to its position in the centre of Bali at the foot of the jungle clad mountains.

Its a very cultural place, lots of book shops, art and paintings for sale and lots of handmade statues and woodcarvings. We went to a local traditional Balinese 'dance' performance which was awesome! It was a Kecak fire trance dance. Lots of guys singing and chanting with male and female dancers performing a story in dance, with a finale of a guy walking through a fire pit of burning coconut husks - we were so close it was really hot so I hid behind the video camera so as not to singe my eyebrows! Plus it was raining cats and dogs which kinda enhanced the experience. We will try and put some video up on the site.

We also visited the Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary which as I'm sure you can guess was inhabited by lots of monkeys; grey-haired and greedy long tailed Balinese macaques. They were very tame and inquisitive. The sanctuary is in the middle of a jungle and it feels like you're in an Indiana Jones movie! Cool! There are sacred temples and stone figures throughout, with literally hundreds of monkeys. We bought some bananas to feed them and they were very persistent in trying to grab them. At one point I had one run up my legs onto my arm to grab the whole bunch! Wayne had 2 on his back and I had one on my head!!!! Luckily they didn't pee on us - apparently others hadn't been so lucky! Check out the pics for a good laugh at us! Again, will try and put some vids up. We spent the rest of the day exploring on a moped the local villages and surrounding area. The people seem to live a very simple life away from the tourist areas. They cook food for the whole day early in the morning and give religious offerings in the form of flowers, incense sticks, fruit and rice.

On friday morning we booked a half day cooking class. This was run by the Casa Luna Cooking School and covered Balinese cooking techniques, ingredients, cultural background and recipes for dishes. We all helped to cook our lunch of Rujak (sweet and sour salad with chilli and fruit), Nasi Goreng (fried rice and probably Indonesia's most famous dish), Sate Ayam (chicken satay), Peanut sauce (yummy) and Kolak which is fruits in coconut milk. All very yummy and we are looking forward to giving them a try when we get back! After all that food we just chilled out in the afternoon and then went for a traditional Balinese massage. Very relaxing and a real treat for 55,000 Rp, just over 3 quid!

That brings us to Sat am. We left very early for our bus and boat trip to Lombok. We left Ubud in Bali at 6.30 am and arrived in the coastal resort of Senggigi in Lombok at 3.30pm after taking a 5 hour ferry ride. Lombok seems a lovely island, less touristy than Bali and the people are again very friendly. Its a small island famous for its big surf, volcanoes and diving and snorkeling. We went for a beer when we arrived at this little bar called 'Berrys'. It was very quiet with just a few locals playing pool. Then this guy with red hair, almost bald down the middle (think of Stephen King's 'IT' and you won't be far off!) and with a big grin and an ill-fitting sarong appeared and introduced himself as 'Berry' which he pronounced 'Barry'. He was possibly the most entertaining person ever! Wayne says think of a male, camp, Balinese version of Rusty Lee!!!! He proceeded to talk ten to the dozen and guffaw with laughter every few seconds! He told us lots of funny stories and tales, doing daft impressions of English accents and being very animated! He had us in stitches. We will try and take a photo of him tonight! What a crazy funny guy!

So thats pretty much it for now. Its Sunday arvo now and we have been in Indonesia a week. We leave Senggigi tomorrow am to head for the Gili Islands just off the northwestern coast of Lombok. These are a trio of coral-fringed islands which are great for diving and snorkeling. We are thinking of maybe doing a PADI dive course there and staying for a few days to a week before heading back to Bali. Will keep you posted...