Bali

Hello!

I am now in the Gili Islands (as recommended by Dee and Brian)! And they are spectacular. Unfortunately today has to be a bit of a 'homework day' because I have to do some stuff for my law firm and do crash revision for scuba diving which I'm starting tomorrow. The Gilis are quite famous for their diving so I'm really excited.

I arrived in Bali from Java last monday (a week ago) after a 20 hour bus journey. It's supposed to be about 16 hours but we had a burst tyre in the middle of the night and this meant we hit rush hour traffic when we got to Bali. I was traveling with Jon, an American guy I'd met in the homestay I stayed in in Yogyakarta, and I said to him 'I need a drink'. He replied 'I need the beach'.

Kuta beach in Bali is famed for being an Asian Costa del Sol and I wanted to avoid it at all costs but I'd heard of this other beach further north from someone in Fiji. Not even the taxi drivers had heard of it. I wasn't sure there were actually any hotels but Jon was up for an exploration so we set off with the taxi driver asking the locals for directions all the way. As we neared the resort we realised all the buildings were private villas so way out of our price range. Fortunately we found a cheaper cafe/bar on the beach and explained our predicament. The owner said she had a very basic room that we could have for Rp 100,000 per night (about 7 pounds). Bingo.

The place was amazing. Empty beach, water like bath water (though subject to deadly currents and rips if you weren't careful), cows and padi fields just behind it.

After two days it started to rain and we wanted to meet up with the German girls also from our homestay in Yogya, so we headed to Ubud in the centre of Bali made famous by the book and subsequent film 'Eat, Pray, Love.' As I had strongly suspected, although very beautiful (see pictures), Ubud is now very, very touristy. But it is still a good place for quiet padi field walks / motorbike rides. In fact I think last Thursday just cycling around padi fields was one of my favourite days of the whole trip.

I then headed with the German girls (Tanja and Ana) to Padangbai where all the boats go to the Gili Islands. Padang Bai is usually just a transport hub but actually has some very nice (and quiet) beaches of its own, with white sand and the most incredible turquoise water. We also found a local bar, painted bright turquoise, which served mean cocktails at a reasonable price.

Yesterday I took the long route to the Gili Islands (local ferry, long 'bus' ride (aka how many tourists can you cram into a mini-van) then another tiny boat ride. This took all day. I did it because I'm quite a subscriber to 'the journey is the destination' theory. Not this time. We kept having to wait in hotels conveniently owned by the organiser's friends where they encouraged us to buy drinks etc. Pretty grim. The fast boat (which costs twice as much) takes just over 1.5 hours. I'm treating myself on the way back!

And now I think I'm going to go for a snorkel...

F