Bali and the Gilies

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Trip Start Mar 06, 2012 Previous
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  Bali, Indonesia
Friday, April 6, 2012

We crossed over to Bali by Ferry, the bus then drove us a few more km before they literally dumped us at a junctiuon in the middle of nowhere with the comment " minibus will pick you up in 10 min or so...". O f course that minibus never turned up. By now it was 10pm. But Fortuna was with us. We found a lovely man who drove us four - Freya, myself, Vincent from France and his dutch girlfriend Jet - to a village along the coast on the northern side of Bali. We found a decent guesthouse - almost midnight by now -  and even got a basic dinner. phew that was lucky..
The next morning we walked along the beach to find a place for breakfast and guess what..? By accident we stumble in this 5star resort, absolutely stunning. We have a superb breki right on the beach and after not much ado -  despite being 5 star and super luxurious it only costs 40 British pounds for the 2 of us together, wouh - we booked ourselves into a most beautiful bungalow for the next 2 days/nights. After this horrendous journey the last couple of days we decide to have a "chilin" day at the beach and the pool, with the complementary cocktail of course. :-)
The next morning - I lost complete track of time -  we hired two motorbikes and made our way into the mountains to a couple of waterfalls and some hot springs. The waterfalls are hidden in some lush mountainous nature resort where we end up hiking for over two hours. and although the shower under the fall was very tempting none of us was brave enough..
After a late start with an extended breakfast, some snorkling and a last visit to the beach we hired a taxi to take us four to Ubud, the cultural centre in the Heart of Bali. The rest of today we just stroll around, with a chat here and there, a beer here and there and a lovely dinner at the end with our new friends. Day 2 in Ubud: walking is on the agenda today. The travel guide suggests a 4 hour tour through the town and the surrounding hills. And yes it turns out to be very pretty all the contrasts between city and lush greenery, rolling hills and rice paddies , modern houses and old temples etc but it was also very tiring (The temperature is always close to 40 degrees). After a lunch and a taxi ride - -safed about another 30 min walking - we get to the sacred monkey forest. because it is shady and cool its a welcome change to the earlier walk in the sun .. and its beautiful. With monkeys everywhere, amazing ancient trees and forests and a few old Hindu temples dotted around it is the highlight of the day. After a break at the poolside and a last supper with Vincent and Jet it is finally"good-bye".. We are all sad but will hopefully see each other later this year either in GB or in NL.
Right, of to the Famous Gili islands. Early morning bus and speedboat and before eleven o'clock we are there. The Gili isles consist of three small islands of the west coast of Lombok : G. Trawangan, G. Meno and Gili Air. All of them are  - so says the "lonely planet" - a divers paradise, very remote, scarcely populated very scenic and free of cars and pooches (dogs).
We find accommodation at "Woodstock" a very alternative, very friendly site owned and run by Karin, and old hippie from Cologne. Here the doors have no locks, the bathroom is open air (with a fence around of course) and the breakfast is brought to your veranda with a smile - great!!
SO after I suffered the last three days from a most terrible cold it is now Freya's turn and OMG can women suffer..The next morning as she wants to have a lay- in, I decide to have a scuba iver discovery day. Guess what. I liked it so much, in fact I got addicted even during my first dive that I/we diced I would extend it to a proper "open water course", which allows me to dive anywhere in the world. Such a shame that Freya is ill, but in a sense it works out well as she just needs some time to sleep it off and relax plus she tried diving before and didn't like it... which I of course can absolutely not understand... The next three days are long days full of studying, practicing skills in the pool and in the sea, above and under water. But they are also my first dives. what an amazing new world. All these creatures great and small and the feeling of complete freedom -  I loved every minute of  it. Anyway three days later I am the proud owner of an open water dive certificate - oceans here I come.. :-)

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and the inside	a drink with friends	we weren't brave enough to take that shower..	stone masons at work, note the level of H & S
at the sacret monkey forrest...	one of the inhabitants	one of the low class beaches..	the turtle sanctuary on the Gilies

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