After the long flights, lots of stress over Eric's passport, and a little bit of confusion with some hotels, we finally made it to Bali. It was quite the adventure, so read on if you like. And if you ever head that way yourself... let us know, we've got some great secrets for travelers.
Kuta: We landed at noon and took a nap. Jet lag. We finally got settled and walked out into town and hung out at the beach. Madness everywhere. Scooters gallore- i have not seen so many scooters in my life! and people selling things all along the streets, bombarding you. It was a bit of a headache after the long flights. So we grabbed some dinner and called it a day. I wouldn't really recommend spending much time in Kuta unless your Australian and like to party.
Nusa Dua: The next day we headed to a beautiful part of the island that was meant for the ritzy. The beach was covered with fancy hotels for miles. So we found our own spot and camped out. We walked down the beach to a "waterblow" which was a really cool way to get drenched by the ocean, and wandered around some temples. Then headed out to Uluwatu, a sacred temple on the cliffs. You have to wear a sarong anytime you enter the temples, so we had to purchase one for Eric. Our first encounter with monkeys was out there. They just do their thing and if you bother them, they will let you know. The sunset was amazing there.
Ubud: The next day we headed out to Ubud. A little touristy, but so beautiful up in the jungle part of the island. We wandered around the markets for a few hours and then went to our hotel. Let me just tell you- the hotels in Bali are awesome!! Cheap, fancy, awesome service, and all include nice breakfasts and luxurious pools. You will not be disappointed if you end up in any Bali hotel.We spent a few days in Ubud and went on a little hike through some rice fields, went to some Balinese dances, and then went on an elephant ride. We really like the elephant ride. They took good care of the animals and we were really impressed with the way they ran the park. We also met up with Eric's high school friend and her family living in Ubud. It was cool to hang out with them for the evening and they shared a little bit more about the way of living there. We also walked through Monkey Forest. Dense jungle with tons of monkeys roaming around.
Candi Dasa: Beach time. We planned a few days out on the beach and booked a hotel right along the shore. We had a sweet little bungalow with a shower outside and a pool over looking the ocean. We were lazy there. I read three books. We went snorkeling, found "White Sands Beach" and drank from a coconut. mmmm. One morning Eric and I went running. Not only did we get chased by millions of dogs, buy we got to our turning point and found a cluster of monkeys. We didn't think they'd bother us too much, so we started to walk amongst them. Bad idea. They attacked. We were now being surrounded by hissing, sharp dagger teeth monkeys. Eric kicked one when it advanced. Then we booked it. I have never ran so fast in my life!!! We decided we do not like monkeys. period.
Lake Batan: The last part of our adventure was definitely the most authentic. We headed to the mountains next to the lake where they get their "holy water". It was real there. We were in a small village where they don't really like tourists and we got to peek inside the real culture. It was pretty neat to learn so much about their history and experience some authentic meals. (um yeah, i totally ate that piranha-like fish on that plate. I was proud of myself :)) We also went biking (where i had to wear a sarong again... not fun) and canoeing on the holy lake. We also met the only Americans from our entire trip, and in our tour group. Americans just do not go to Bali... so we all got along really well, and it was actually kind-of sad to say goodbye.
Singapore: We planned our last day in Singapore. We were pretty tired so we decided to just walk around and see the city at our own pace. We had a Subway sandwich- the best i've ever had. :) Singapore is really fun. Big city, lots to do, clean, friendly, and very rich! They had a free concert out on the water that night so we hung out for awhile. It was quite a treat after the long 2 weeks staying in a somewhat 3rd world country.
The flight home was brutal. I didn't sleep, got sick with some kind of bug, and had serious jet lag when we got home. To work the next day and Eric started school. It was a good week before I fully recovered.
*Special cheers go to Eric's dad (for driving us to and from the airport), Chuck (for all his Bali wisdom) banana grams (for entertaining us for hours) Bali airport (for your sweet foot massage) and Subway (for that delicious sandwich in Singapore!)
