Bali, You've got to love it

There are many "must do's" when you are talking about Bali.

Some of them are:

1. A day trip to Ullawatu, have a massage on the beach and walk up to the temple to see the monkeys and a great view of the sunset.

2. A dat trip to Gitgit Waterfalling, stopping along the way at the Temple on the Lake, Lovina Hot Springs and the small villages along the way.

3. Take a day trip to Kintamani Volcano and on the way stop and watch a traditional Barong Dance at Batubulan, stop at rice terraces in the countryside and stop at Ubud and visit the Royal Temple.

4. Spend the day on Kuta Beach, having massages and swimming.

5. A day trip to Lembongan Island to go diving, snorkelling and seeing the locals.

6. Partying hard in the many Clubs and Bars and dining out every night.

7. Shopping to your hearts content. Ordering hand tailored clothes and shoes and the prices are bargins.

Quick Tips:

Don't drink the tap water or eat salads or any food that you feel has been washed under the tap or you'll end up with Bali Belly. That goes for brushing your teeth. ALWAYS USE BOTTLED WATER.

If you wish to escape the flocks of people who hound you on the streets to buy their wares then head to the apartment shops and markets, or better still go to the beach. These people are not allowed on or in these areas and that goes for the masseurs as well. If you want a massage on the beach you have to invite one of the masseurs down.

Always eat where you see the locals are eating, they should know where the foods good and where it's not.

Best Way To Get Around:

As we were a group of six people we found the best way to get around the island was to hire a minivan for the day (sorry there is a name for these services, but I can't recall it at the moment). These vans can be found outside most of the popular resorts and hotels.

The best thing is to negotiate a price, for the day, with the driver before you get in and start of on the days adventure. Everything is negotiable in Bali.

The taxis are pretty cheap, and if you're not going far, they are the best way to get around. This is how we go from Kuta to Jimbaran for dinner.

The above price is in Australian Dollars.

This Hotel was fantastic, you didn't even have to leave if you wanted to just hang around for the day.

There are two pools, one large which is near the main entry and one smaller one further around the back. Each pool had it's own poolside bar where you can either have your drinks served to you while you sit in the pool or at a table around the pool.

The Bounty has a great restaurant that is open all day for breakfast, lunch, dinner and any snacks you feel like in between.

The Bounty has it's own Massuers which are reasonably priced, a hair stylist and there are facilities here for changing your currency.

Different rooms are available at different prices. We had 2 rooms, one triple room for the girls and one double room for the boys. The rooms are decked out with carved wooden, balinese style furniture and have bathrooms and a TV.

We had never been here before, but had heard about these small seafood restaurants at Jimbaran through friends who had.

We weren't sure where we were going so we all piled into 2 taxis to take us there. When we arrived we were told to walk down to the beach front and we would find the restaurants right there on the beach front.

We were seated at a large wooden table at the first restaurant we came to, which was positioned on the sand and while we studied the menu we watched the sun go down, what a start to a great evening that had plenty of good food and good company.

We all ordered something different from the menu as we weren't sure how the food would be cooked and what it was we were actually ordering half the time, so we figured that at lest that way we were bound to like something.

We had no need to worry about that though because the food was absolutely delicious. I had ordered a squid dish, Sharon had ordered a fish dish, both came with spicey sauces, and with that we were served with two large bowls of rice and side salads or veges.

We topped that off with bottled beer, water and fruit juices and we went back to the hotel, at the end of the evening, happy with extremely full bellies.

Kuta has a great nightlife and the Sari Club and Studibakers are just a couple of the many clubs and bars that line the streets of Kuta.

The drinks are cheap, there is no cover charge and both clubs are always busy.

While we were there Studibakers had a few competitions going on different nights, where you could win day trips, free drinks and other prizes. One of the compettions was a horizontal bungy competition, always funny to watch.

Studibakers has a drinking and socialising bar downstairs, then up stairs there is a large dance floor, another bar and a Deejays box. The music is the latest chart music in Australia and they take requests.

The Sari Club is very busy and gets a lot of Americans going there. The music is once again the latest chart music, but the dance floor is smaller and therefore more packed. It has a large bar that also gets very busy.

On our first day trip we throught we would head out to Kintamani Volcano and stop at various sites on the way there and back.

The night before we went, we went outside our hotel and negotiated a reasonable price with a driver of a minivan to escort us around the island for the day.

The price ended up costing each one of us (there were 5 of us) approximately $20 (Aust) for the days outing.

We boarded the minivan the next day not knowing where we were going to go as we only gave him one definite place we wanted to go and that was to Kintamani. The rest of the trip we wanted to remain as a surprise, so that it was like a tour bus.

The drivers usually have their favorite shops and stops they like to take people to and at some stops they receive a small precentage of the profits made from any purchases, which was fine with us as the trip was cheap.

The day started of with a stop a Batubulan where we entered a enclosed seating area and watched a performance of the traditional Barong Dance.

After leaving here we were taken to a large jewery shop/manufacturer where we browsed around and Sharon and I bought a couple of bracelets each.

Not far from here we were taken to a small family owned carving business, where we were given a guided tour of the premises and met the family, including the pets. This was a nice touch and made this stop more interesting than the previous place. We were then taken to have a look at the beautifully carved pieces and after purchasing a couple climbed back on the bus.

Then it was on to our requested destination Kintamani Volcano. The beautiful scenic countryside views of the lake in the crater below and the surrounding hills is well worth the trip, away from the hectic kaos of Kuta.

After having lunch at the lookout Restaurant we started heading back towards Kuta, and more directly, to a place called Ubud. On the way we passed many rice terraces and asked if we could stop to take photos.

Then we carried on to a Batik roadside shop where they sold some beautiful Batik bed covers, in all sizes, and wall hangings.

On reaching Ubud we got of the minibus at the Royal Temple, where we were given a sash that we were told we had to wear while we were within the temples grounds. So obediently we put the sash on and went for a wander around the temple and it's many statues and buildings.

Then we were dropped of back at our Hotel in time for dinner and to go out for the evening.

After getting up early we got into 2 taxis and headed to the port to catch the cruise boat to Lembongan Island. We were ready for a day of water activities, relaxing, eating and doing the normal tourist things when visiting a new place.

The day was a sunny day with a few clouds scattered in the sky, which meant it was perfect for what we wanted to do. We headed out of port towards the island of Lembongan and on the way we were given a different perspective of the Balinese coastal houses.

As we neared Lembongan we noticed a pontoon anchoured not far of the island's coast, this is where our boat docked for the duration of the day.

From this pontoon you could get diving and snorkelling equipment and part-take in those waterbased activities. The water was crystal blue and quite deep, the reef was therefore a distance below the water surface. Diving lessons are provided for those who have never dived before.

There was also a glass wall and bottomed boat that ventured out on tours of the crystal blue water at various times during the day and there were Banana Boat rides that took off regularly and inflatable canoes.

From the pontoon you could also get a boat that would take you to the island so you could wander around, watch the local woman weave and cut coconuts, maybe purchase an item or two, see the locals putting seaweed out to dry and just roam around.

While all this is going on the boat staff have been busy serving morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea. On the way back we managed to find the helm and we all had a turn at sterring the boat.

This was our second day trip on Bali and again we negotiated a price with a driver of a minivan for him to escort us around. We ended up paying approximately $25 (Aust) each for the day.

We wanted to go to Gitgit Waterfall today and any other destinations that were in the area or on the way to that area.

While we were heading to the waterfall we passed through several small roadside villages. We stopped at a couple of them to have a quick look around and take some scenic photos of the countryside.

The driver also stopped, along the way, at a large temple complex that was situated on a lake in the area. The temple was a popular location and there were several buses stopped there as well. There was a childerns play area, lovely gardens and a walk way that took you around to the Pegoda style temple buildings and also further around the lake. We spent approximately 3/4 hour here just wandering around having a look.

The next port of call was the Gitgit Waterfall. After leaving the minibus it was a bit of a hike from the road, past rice fields and small shops, down a tack to the waterfall. Once we were there we took photos and sat on the rock and bathed our feet in the cool water. This was also a popular destination on the tourist route and plenty of people were milling around.

Back on the bus we then headed to the Lovina Hot Springs. These are a series of hot and warm pools that are supposed to be therapeutic, but the day was pretty warm and a hot bath just wasn't on the list of things to do. We decided to just have a look around and found a friendly little monkey that was kept as one of the locals pets.

By the time we got back on the bus the driver looked a bit anxious and kept going on that we were late, but we didn't know what for. He had wanted us to see Tanoh Lot Temple before it closed for the day. So he made a bit of a dash for the coast where the temple was constructed on a large rock near the ocean. Unfortunately we were a few minutes late, but we got out and wandered around the base of the rock to get a bit of a view. There are a tonne of cars here so we could just imagine how busy it would have been up at the temple. A trip here is at the top of our list for next time.

One day we got out of bed and wanted to do something different so we decided to go to Ullawatu for the day. So we went out to the main street and flagged down a passing taxi and asked them to take us there.

The taxi couldn't take us all the way to Ullawatu Beach so we had a bit of a hike once we got out of the taxi.

When we finally reached Ullawatu Beach there was a bit of a steep climb to get down to get to the beach below, but once we were down there we had a small area of sand and rocks to ourselves and a couple of masseurs that were sitting there waiting for customers. Since it was hightide, and the hole in the rock that you had to walk through to get to the main beach was impassible, two of us decided to get massages while we waited. Not a bad way to start the day I must say, very relaxing.

Once the tide had dropped far enough for us to go around to the main beach we did and for most of the day we had the beach to ourselves, bar a few walkers passing by, but no-body stopped. We spent the day swimming, looking for shells and sunbathing.

At approximately 3.00pm we decided to head back up to the shop at the top of the climb to the beach and get something to eat and drink before we headed to the Ullawatu Temple situated at the top of the coast cliff face that overlooked the beach. The taxi had waited for us as requested and he was able to take us there.

The temple was fantastic and is home to a large number of fairly tame monkeys. We walked along the temple walls that overlook the ocean and took in the great views, made even better due to the fact that the sun was setting.

Be warned, if you go here, do not wear any item of jewlery and expensive watches that can be removed easily, don't wear sunglasses or spectacles. The reason is that the monkeys can take them and you may never see them again or they may be returned to you damaged. When we were there we saw a monkey disappear with someones spectacles and next thing we know the monkey is sitting up a tree trying them on for size. Funny for us but not for the owner. Whatever you do don't harm the monkeys as they are considered scared in this temple.

And once again, when we get back to the carpark, our faithful taxi driver is awaiting our return to take us back to our hotel.