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Sunday, January 13, 2008

Lembogan





After spending a few days in Kuta I decided that it was time to see something different and take a break from all the craziness in Kuta. I went to Lembogan island for a couple nights. The shuttle bus and the ferry tickets together cost $10 and once I arrived on the island I was taken to beach front bungalows. The price per night was more expensive than in Kuta but well worth the extra $3. I was in a bungalow with an ocean view, a huge clean bed and maybe 20m away from the beach. It was a lot quieter on Lembogan, which was really nice. After I settled into my place I went the the beach and layed in the sun for a bit and then went swimming. After that I sat a restaurant while having a coke and reading my book and enjoying the sunset. After the sunset I cleaned up and went to find a restaurant for diner. I had a delicious curry and rice dish. After diner I walked along the beach back to my place and did some more reading until the power went out. The rain was setting in along with thunder and lightening storm. The next morning the rain was gone and after breakfast in front of the beach I went snorkeling. I ended up going with an older Dutch woman. The snorkeling was really beautiful and after that our boat driver took us to another beach on the island where we could have lunch and enjoy the beach for 2 hours. Unfortunatly after that the rain set in. When the weather is bad there isn't much to do, especially on Lembogan. I think I spent the rest of the evening reading. Actually, after spending too much time indoors I went to a restaurant for dessert and tea and I met some other travellers on Lembogan. Two of the people were studying in Japan and two other were from Vancouver Island, so it was kind of weird to meet 2 different sets of people whom i had that common ground with.
The next morning I left to catch a boat back to Kuta. Once we arrived on Bali the rain set in and it was a torrential downpour that took about 4 days to finally stop.

Thursday, January 03, 2008

Bali pt.1







































Over the Christmas holiday 2007 I spent 10days in Bali, Indonesia. I was nervous about going on the trip because I went alone. As luck would have it, I met a guy on the plane from White Rock and he also lives 30min away from me in Japan. He had been to Bali before so it he was helpful in showing me around. Anyways, once I got to Kuta I had to search around for a place to stay. I went to the guesthouse that Kelsey had suggested to me, however they were asking more than she told me so I kept looking. Two doors down I found a place for $5 a night. It looked quite nice from the outside (the picture with the pool), however the inside, espcially the bathroom, was another story. I had to borrow the green mosquito (in the picture) from Todd, the guy from the plane, because I was eaten alive my first night. The hotel wasn't the nicest but I went to Bali for the beaches not the hotel rooms, so it was ok with me. Also, there was a free breakfast in the mornings. On my first day I went to Kuta Beach and rented a surfboard. I had tried surfing in Japan before but I was never very successful because I was using a shortboard and it was hard for me to stand up as a beginner. I tried a bigger board in Bali my first day but I was still unsuccessful, so the next day I took a lesson with an instructor and a proper longboard and had success within the first few waves. After being at the beach for a few hours I wandered the streets back to my place. Along the way I was called darling by men and women hoping that I would come and buy something from them. The constant "hello darling, good price for you" was a little annoying but i later figured out that they weren't so bad if you finally took a look in their shops, however some would follow me around as if i was about to steal something. Kuta has a lot of energy and activity however I wanted to escape that for more peaceful surroundings. So I went to Lembogdan Island......to be continued