Apr 15, 2013 - On Our Way

Our stay in Bali is short but it's a great way to start our adventure, we left Perth on Monday 15/4 at about 9.30am and arrived in Bali at about 1.00pm. Our old Friend Ronald was there to pick us up and take us to our hotel. It's our first stay at the Casa Padma and we are pleasantly surprised at how nice it is for only $90/night. We caught up with Alan & Jane Luke from Perth last night for a couple of drinks and a meal, after dinner Jules and I headed for a foot massage before heading to bed. This morning we had breakfast and a bit of a...

Mar 4, 2013 - Medan/Lembongan Island/Home Sweet Home

5 Lovely days in Tuk Tuk (yippy – a name I don’t have to memorise, then forget, then mispronounce, then forget again). Had the motor bike for 3 days, inspecting the surrounding villages, local markets and waterfalls. I think the fact that there’s hardly any tourists at the moment (it’s the rainy season) makes things that much nicer. Since Palau Weh we’ve been alternately bonding/moving on/reconnecting with quite a few other backpackers which is also very nice. One day, after biking around, stopped at our regular drinking hole and ordered...

Oct 5, 2012 - Denpasar to Seminyak

Wiki Info Denpasar Legian Beach Bungalow I am amazed by how very friendly Indonesians are, willing to help by-in-large whenever asked and if they speak English, anxious to talk. But just as surprising is how ruthless the cabbies are in trying to rip off tourists. Several times now we have encountered drivers who offer fairs far higher than locals (we know from asking at hotels) and when Bon has answered back, 'No, No. Too high' and then responded with a suggested price half of what they have quoted - which is still higher than what locals...

Mar 20, 2012 - Bali

March 20 Bali We arrived in Bali and began "our holiday". After many months of moving every other day we were excited to stay in one place for awhile with little interest in sight seeing, only relaxation and sun! Unfortunately we were plagued the first couple of days with rain and then we found out about a little event called "Nyepi New Year". It turns out that once a year the Balinese people have a festival filled wih many events at the temples and parades symbolizing chasing demons away from the island. Turns out the day following is...

Nov 30, 2011 - Java to Bali - Day 19 & 20 - 26 hour bus ride from HELL

The bus ride was quickly off to a horrible start. We were seated in the front row, right next to the driver and 2 helpers, who quickly light up a cigarette each (right next to the no smoking sign clearly posted above their heads). The smoke was intoxicating, as the bus is air conditioned and it was not possible to open any of the windows. As we started to feel nauseous from the smoke and jerky driving, we moved to the back of the bus, hoping to escape the chain smokers. This helped a little. The rest of the bus ride consisted of a broken...

Sep 14, 2011 - Visiting school

Our usual routine each day was one hour of yoga, breakfast and then a day tour. We visited a local school and made a donation to the principal of school supplies. This is my last update as it takes quite a bit of time to select the photos and upload them. Tonight is our closing yoga session followed by a group dinner. Most everyone flies home tomorrow. I am staying one more day as I used Frequent Flier miles to get here and couldn't get on a flight until Wednesday. I will leave Ubud and transfer to Sanur as it is closer to the airport....

Sep 12, 2011 - More photos from Gaia Oasis

We were lucky to be in Bali during the full moon and Gaia Oasis arranged for us to go to the local temple for the Full Moon Ceremony. We also visited a local waterfall up in the mountains. The next day we did water yoga and tried to learn a simple Balinese dance - very difficult hand, eye and feet movements!

Sep 10, 2011 - On the way to Gaia Oasis

These photos are from our day of traveling to reach Gaia Oasis. Enroute we visited a temple and had lunch with a view of the mountain valley and volcano. We were glad to arrive at Gaia Oasis where we were met by smiling faces, flowers and a welcoming drink to help cool us off.

Sep 8, 2011 - First day in Bali

Wow - the Denpasar Airport was crowded! Long line to buy the Visa stamp and then stand in line to get it pasted into my passport. The clerk was VERY unhappy with my passport as it didn't have at least six unmarked pages. I only had three pages left. So I just smiled and smiled and said I was very sorry. After a scolding, he put the Visa stamp in my passport and sent me on my way! It is hot and humid here! Will take a few days to get acclimated. My roommate, Martha, arrived before I did. We also met up with Dee and Meggie and today is our...

Dec 26, 2009 - Bali Final Days

Our Last 2 days in Bali. We spend the day sleeping in, walling to town and swimming at the beach. The water was really warm, something like Key West. The sand was dark but not black, from the volcano. The weather was warm somewhere in the high 80's. We ate Christmas dinner at the Hyatt. It was a huge wonderful brunch..they had wrapped gifts on the table and the food included turkey and ham..not sure where they came from. Bali was the best for weather, prices and people. A real relaxing feel to the people (as long as you are in the back seat...

Dec 24, 2009 - Bali Northeast Route

Another great day with Arta. First thing we dropped off our landrary. The Hyatt does landrary for another "0" added at the end. Bali money is a bit confusing but we did all our landrary for the price of doing one piece. Next stop the Dance, than we proceeded up the mountain north east rather than north west. We stopped at the wood carver, than up the mountain to he largest lake in Bali and the volcano. We had lunch at a buffet and than went in To direction of Ubud. We stopped at a coffee plantation where I will end this entry in saying you...

Dec 23, 2009 - Bali North

Today I learned a bit more about posting pictures on this web site. This picture is the typical dish of Bali. Today we walked down our village street. Sanur is lined with shops and restaurants. At 4 we met Arta and proceeded to the Cliff Temple which is SW of where we are staying. As you will see the monkeys also live here. Arta has found a stick as to keep the monkeys back. They are more agressive in this area. We had to take off our sunglasses, hair ties and hold our carmera by the saftey strap. The monkeys like to take things. The Temple...