Back to Bali and Da Bay
Trip Start
Jul 21, 2010
1
10
Trip End
Aug 26, 2010
Legian, Bali, Indonesia
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Nips and I reunited one final time with the Frenchies. We rented motorbikes and cruised down to Bali's southern most tip, the Buhkit Peninsula. I opted to not drive, seeing as how I was challenged to remember how to ride a bike on Gilli, haha. Instead, I hopped on the back of one of the Frenchie's bikes and let them maneuver through the madness. For the first hour I had to squeeze my eyes shut, hold on tight and cringe several times as we whizzed through congested, narrow streets, passed cars and other bikes and played chicken with oncoming traffic. Fortunately, we all made it safely to our destination and back. Phew!
We checked out a beautiful Balinese temple teetering on the edge of a cliff. Though the temple is closed to only those performing sacred rituals, we were free to roam the grounds, as were the monkeys - who revel in the visitors and like to steal sunglasses, pee in public and do the nasty for gaping audiences. Looking down over the steep cliffs, the deep blue and turquoise waters crash on to a rocky shore below and your tummy tumbles and does somersaults. We took some amazing pictures and headed to our next destination - Uluwatu!
Known for its daring surf spots, Uluwatu is heaven to surfers and clearly every surfer on Indonesia had made the pilgrimage to Uluwatu the day we visited. We hiked down a steep cliff, in and out caves to a small, rocky beach with crystal clear water that you could easily wade into up to your hips well beyond the shore. Huge rocks beneath the surface made for ideal stools to watch the surfers ride a wave, which was truly fantastic. I have a new appreciation for the precision, strength and gusto these guys have - it looked like an intense adrenaline rush...and terribly tiring. I was getting winded just watching them, haha. A few of the more experienced surfers looked like a snapshot right out of a magazine - crouched steadily beneath a teal blue wave, its crest curling over their heads until it swallows them alive. Enthralling.
We said our farewells to the Frenchies a few days ago and since then, Nippies has been super sick. I've been occupying my time lounging by the pool, shopping and of course getting massages. We leave Bali today to fly back to Jakarta and onward to SFO. It's been an incredible journey and I am so thankful I had Jules to share it with - we're already discussing our next destination! Thanks everyone for taking this journey with me and encouraging me to blog - it's a fantastic way for me to document my memories and indulge in my passion for writing as well! See you all soon!
Tania
