First few days in Bali

I started the Indonesia part of the journey in Bali, a typical holiday maker and newlywed stopover. I stayed in Ubud, a part of Bali that is fairly central. It is on high ground, has mountains and volcanoes in the vicinity and was advertised as a quiet, area with local artists inhabiting the area. It is in actual fact quite a busy town, fairly well set up for the tourists and newlyweds. Despite the much larger number of people than anticipated, Ubud is quite a cool place. The vibe around the town was good and the Balinese people are on the whole very friendly.

Through Bali the large numbers of tourists does mean that there are a lot of locals who are trying to make some money from them. Taxi drivers tout for business along all the main streets - not just cars but mopeds also; in the markets and shops the owners and staff are trying to persuade you purchase; at the tourist attractions there are people peddling their wares. I had a sarong thrown at me to persuade me to buy it. Not exactly subtle.

It's been a real eye opener in terms of the things that I still take for granted - the amount of money that any of us spend on ourselves on a night out, is a comparatively large amount compared what these Balinese people might survive on for a month or even longer. Compared to the poverty that I saw in Mauritius, the poverty here is even greater. As I have been in the country my realization of the money and opportunity I have had to do this traveling lark am more grateful - the average Indonesian has nearly no chance of ever leaving the country. The flight costs are prohibitive enough, but then there are apparently lots of 'other taxes and cost' for them to pay. The departure tax for Indonesians to leave is a million rupiah.

The funniest thing that happened was at a temple. At the temple there were monkeys. I was enjoying the walk from the top of the temple, when one of the monkeys whipped my prescription sunglasses from my head, and promptly started to play with them - roughly. It then started to dismantle them, chewing off the end. A 'park ranger' then retrieved the glasses, handed them to me, with monkey saliva on then and asked for a tip. I handed him the smallest note I could - difficult because the denominations start at 1000, then onto 5000, 10000, 20000, 50000, 100000. I handed him a 20000 - about one pound twenty. On closer examination of the glasses I discovered the parts of the glasses that sit on the nose where gone, and the plastic on the arms totally stretched and teeth marks. The arms were bent out of shape as well. I felt the monkey saliva, which I wasn't too keen on, so I held the glasses between the lenses, only with a minute to have them snatched out of my hand again, and to see the monkey running off with them. This time his mate was acting as bodyguard. When anyone tried to get near him, the mate bared his teeth. I was resigned to losing them. The 'park ranger' retrieved them again, and I said a reluctant thank you as he handed them back to me. I looked at the mangled remains of my once valuable glasses and decided not to keep them. The arms were even more tooth ravaged and I would need to have a head the shape of a badly formed potato to put it on. On the photo's page is a picture of the charming little 'monkey' that stole my glasses with the glasses.

At the hostel I met some good people, and spent a couple of days hanging out with an Irish girl living Birmingham called Michelle - hello Michelle - who was also travelling alone. It was good to spend a bit of time with someone else who was travelling alone, as there are so many people who are in couples. It allows you to enjoy something a little bit more.

As I only stayed in Bali for about 5 days I had to do quite a rushed superficial over of the place - places I've been and things I've done are as follows

Seeing Kintaman Volcano and then ridden down it with a bike that didn't have brakes. All was good until the last part of the hill which was almost vertical. How I didn't fall and break a bone I don't know.

Seen incredibly poor communities, fairly up close and personal.

Tasted cat ingested coffee beans - apparently a delicacy, costs 40 dollars a cup….

Been to lots of Balinese Hindu temples - they are everywhere.

Been to a reggae night - they seem to love Bob Marley in Bali

And regained my tan...

I decided not to stay in Bali too long. I weighed up a few options. One option was to go west into Java - but I really wanted to see the Flores Islands, based on conversations with a fellow traveller whilst in New Zealand.

Alternatively I could have gone to do a tour directly to the Flores Island by boat - however on checking out the Perama tours (from my Lonely Planet) I decided that this wasn't for me - I've had enough of tours - even though I got them booked later on. As I'm travelling alone, I'd have also had to pay a single person supplement.

Instead I decided to fly east to Kupang, the capital of Nusa Tenggara. I went there with very little knowledge of what I would find - but it was cheap for the flight (£40) and accommodation (£2.50 per night). I had a vague plan for getting to Flores Island, but wasn't sure how that would pan out.