The last Bit of Bali....Island Hopping and Southern (Bukit) Peninsula

Hello Everybody (Good Morning Vietnam!!),

I'm in Saigon and I have found a Broadband speed internet connection as well as an up to date computer...I'm even looking at a 19 inch Samsung Flatscreen right now, amazing isn't it?

I'm going to separate this blog update into 3 seperate posts...try to resist reading them all at once and then when you check back for more updates you can just read the other posts....as we all have noticed this blog does not get updated as regularly as you would like to read it.

Here is the last bit of Bali.....at my last post, we were in Lmbok heading to Gili Island Trawangan. Gili Trawangan was a neat place....no motorbiikes, no cars, and no Menji (main-jee?) Bali Dogs either. It is a top destination for Diving and Snorkelling. Katie and I considered getting our Diving Certificate here, but we decided against it in the end. Snorkelling here was a lot of fun, for about $8.50 CAD each we went snorkelling on a boat that made 3 different stops around the different Gili Islands. This price included rental of mask/snorkel, but no fins...(not a big deal). We saw quite a bit of coral and tons of colorful fish. There was even a turtle that some people in our group caught a glimpse of, Katie included, but I wasn't so fortunate. Still a great trip, I hope some of the shots from my underwater camera turn out. Another thrill of our snorkel trip is the ride back to Gili Trawangan from Gili Air. You are riding a long boat, probably40 feet long and its powered by a motor you'd find on the back of a chumdinger back in Canada. As i aquired my sea legs growing up, riding the high seas was no problem for me, it was even fun, but I could see looks of anxiety on a few pepoples faces as we went up off one wave and crashed through another soaking the entire boat in some instances.

Also, in Gili there is a bar called Beautiful Life where they show N. American movies every night on a big screen and everyone sits on the floor in front on these giant vynil pillows/cushions. We watched a couple of movies here over our stay in Gili. It really felt like home watching these english movies on a big screen, as though we were all hanging out at a friends place watching movies....then the gecko walks across the middle of the movie screen and you remember you are in the Island Paradise of Bali.

The party scene in Gili is pretty big too, and one night Katie and I had some fun dancing the night away with other tourists and the locals...At one point a circle was formed on the dance floor, all of the locals were showing off their stuff, and I just couldn't seem to help myself. Those who know me can only just imagine what transpired when Canada hit the dance floor...I was told by one local "I was like, Wow, I didn't know Dave could dance like that".....good times.

In Gili we stayed in a place called Rudy's ($12CAD/night) for the first little bit, but it started feeling really sketchy (I do not recommend it) and so we moved to a very nice and peaceful place called Twin Garden ($15 CAD/night). Places in Bali always include breakfast, Banana Pancakes everywhere!!

Last note about Gili Island, there is a look out point for watching the sunset, and it is the most amazing sunset I have seen so far on our trip, probably even in my life. From the look out on Gili you see the sun going down over Bali, and the enormous Volcano of Ganung Agung is sillouetted against the pink/orange sky right beside the sun as it disappears over the horizon. It is very beautiful and words wil not describe it....I'll try to put some photos on Facebook before I leave Saigon. I dont even know if the pictures truly capture it's magic though.

After Gili Trawangan we went to another Island called Lusa Lembongan (as per Danny's recommendation, good Beginner/Intermediate Surf). We stayed at Lembongan a few days, however while the surf was impressive, there wasn't a whole bunch else to do and everythying was a little more expensive being that this place is a little island and verything has to be brought over by boat. Still all around cheap though. I went surfing at a break called Lacerations (inviting, isn't it?) and there is 2 othe breaks off Lembongan, one called Playground, a very easy beginner break and one called Shipwreck. Shipwreck was very intense and I chose only to watch it longingly from shore (thinking to myself...One day....), an experience surfer would have loved it I am sure, it was a very large right hander....Some amazing Sunbathing beaches on Lembongan too, just ask around.

Lembongan was also the firt time we rented a scooter in Indonesia. It was great fun and it really beat walking around (by this point we had walked too far to count, and a lolt of it while carrying our backpacks). Scootring was a nice change from walking, and it is very easy to ride a scooter for those considering trying. Katie rode it on her own, but she did not like doubling.....no speeding tickets on one of those either....I think it probably maxes out at 70 kph, although i never put it to the test.

Our last bit of Bali was spent in the Bukit Peninsula (South Bali) where we watched, and tried to ride, waves. We arived in Padang Padang planning to stay there only to find that there is a movie (Eat Love Pray) being shot there for the exact few days we had left to spend in Bali. The movie filled up hostels and drove up prices where there was vacancy. Katie and I didn't know what we would do, we were litterally standing on the side of the road outside of a restaurant not knowing what to do (all the cabs were charging rip off prices) when a man approached me and asked if we needed a room, 100K/night (about $12 CAD). I was a little skeptical, but I was desperate, so i said sure. This man's name is John and his homestay is called Surfer Cave (surfercave@hotmail.com). I recommend to anyone staying at Bali for a period of time to check out John's place, it was amazing. Him and his family are very friendly, they serve very good food at bargain prices (fried rice, more than you eat, $1-$2) and he is very helpful with planning day trips or simply giving directions and making recommendations. We rented a scooter from John ($6 CAD/day) and we explored all the famous beaches and breaks along the Peninsula....Ulu Watu, Dreamland, Padang Padang and a low key one called Palagan. I tried my hand at surfing dreamland but it was a little crowded and my board was a little short for my skill level. I was close a couple of times but never fully had it. I would later redeem myself back in Kuta....

End of trip, back to Kuta....We decided to spend the end of our trip back in Kuta for a few days to see Danny again and so I could try my hand at the most beginner spot we had seen to date. Kuta beach is great for learning surfing. Baord rentals can be found anywhere from $20 CAD/week off the beach or $5/day on the beach. All of the rental places allow to change out your board for different lengths. After spedning 3 days straight surfing in Kuta, starting with a boat of a board and working my way down, Using this method standing up always very easy. The waves at Kuta crash very fast after forming so it is diffult to do much more than just stand and ride. On the 4th day however I caught a wave and was able to ride for 5 or 6 carves before it started crashing over me. It felt amazing and I know I will do a lot more surfing throughout our trip. Katie also was able to stand up a couple times on her board, which was a foam one...foam boards are always step one to becoming pro surfer.

That was about it for Bali. In the end, I havent averaged out our speding for the entire trip, but I am certain that we were able to keep everything in our stay to under $30 CAD/day each, in fact I am sure it is even lower than that, but i have to go back to my notes and see.

All in all, Bali is amazing and everyone should try gpoing there at least once...it has eveything from backpacker style, somewhat dirty places with cold water only to Nice hotels with sprung mattresses and hot/cold water. The food is all over the board as well but Katie and I usually kept our meals between 10K and 40K (about $1-$5 CAD) each. Food is also normal and not hard to eat with Chicken fried Noodles (Mie Goreng Ayam) and Chicken Fried Rice (Nasi Gopreng Ayam) being pretty standard items on almost every menu.

Thanks for reading everyone. I was going to write about Singapore and Vietnam next, but Katie is awake and we are going to go and eat some breakfast. Vietnam is even better than Bali for food and accomodation. I think i will have a cheese and Egg bagette and coffee for breakfast. It will cost me 15K Dong, thats a little less than $1 CAD.....gotta love it. Talk to you later everyone. Check back tomorrow for more updates on Singapore and Vietnam...so much to say...I hope you enjoyed reading...