After counting down the days till Bali, the time finally arrived. It was time to begin our 25 hour trip! First we had to fly from Edinburgh to London Heathrow. Keeping in with our tradition of nothing going exactly to plan, we were delayed for an hour as the left engine would not start – now this wouldn’t be such an issue if we hadn’t booked our connecting flight relatively close with only a few hours to spare. Luckily we were able to get up and flying. Our flight to Malaysia was, well, bumpy to say the least. At times it was like being on a roller coaster 30 thousand feet in the air! One great thing about Malaysian Airlines is they feed you like a king (as good as a king can be fed on an economy flight) and the selection of movies are endless! The flight from London to Malaysia is just over twelve hours so it was good to have a large choice of entertainment. We flew over the international date line about half way into our flight. It was such an odd experience – one minute its an midday sunlight shining into your face and then within 10 minutes it’s night time!
With swine flu spreading across the world, certain countries have increased health security at their airports. Malaysian International is one of these airports. They had a massive inferred gun-like scanner to measure the body temperature of new arrival passengers. Thankfully we were all clean and as healthy as horses.
We arrived in Bali around midday and worked our that we had been pretty much awake for nearly 30 hours straight! After getting through customs in record time and paying our US$20 for our visa we headed straight for our hotel in Legian. A cheap cab (fixed priced of 60 000 Rupee – approx £4) we arrived at our hotel Kumala Pantai.
After dropping off our gear, we straight to the beach – after all, since living in Scotland, a solid days sunshine is a rarity! Our jetlag kicked in pretty hard and by 6pm we decided to relax with a bath. Before we knew it, we had fallen asleep in the bath and woke up with wrinkly nanna skin! We slept through the entire night and only woke the next morning when the cleaners were banging on our door so they could clean our room.
The next few days we just relaxed on the beach. It was awesome to be able to just chill out on a beach again. We knew we had the next two and half weeks to go exploring when my family arrived so we decided to mellow out in the days leading up to the mass arrival to the 50+ family and friends that were arriving.
Saturday 27th June – the arrival of most the family!
We headed out to the airport to surprise Dad and everyone else at the arrival terminal. We made up a massive ‘TREASURE’ sign which towered over all the tiny signs the tour operators were holding. Before we knew it, there were a steady flow of very familiar faces streaming out of the arrival terminal. I must admit, it was a tear-jerking moment for me. It had been over a year since I last saw my Dad, uncles, aunties, nanna’s, grandpa, cousins, brother, sisters and mates. After more hugs than Michael Jackson was handing out at his Neverland ranch we all headed to the Hotel.
It was great to be finally spending time with my family again. And I could not think of a better place than Bali to catch up. Bali has so much to offer – from amazingly cheap food and drink, markets you can shop at till you drop to cultural places and beaches with some of the best surf that you’ll find anywhere in the world.
Getting around
For a small under developed place, Bali has an enormous amount of traffic. So instead of burning money on taxis (even though they average around 30,000 RP or £2), the amount of time you waste is more of a pain then anything. So what to do you say? Get a scooter! For an average of 30,000RP a day (£30 over three weeks) and a full tank for under a quid – you just can’t go wrong!
However, with everything good there is always a downside. When it comes to riding scooters in Bali the biggest danger on the roads is … a tourist! Tourist are the biggest hazzard to watch out for. If you want to stay safe, stay behind a local on the road. A westerner just can’t handle the roads and at times will panick where as a local will remain calm and will avoid any danderous situation.
Nothing like enjoying a good muck around with some pics on a busy highway … However, shortly after this photo was taken my little sister and I lost control on my scooter on some loose gravel. I was lucky enough to skid across the road on my shoulder but young Kat took the majority of the hit with the full weight of the bike landing on her leg.
She was lucky the car behind us didn’t run her over. But being the trooper she is, she didn’t let anything ruin her holiday and even after the accident still managed to go surfing and night clubbing until it was time to head home to reality.
Monkey Forest
Most of the crew headed out to the Monkey Forest for an outing on one of the days. The Monkey Forest did not disappoint – those little critters were jumping on everyone that looked at them sideways. Most of them were very friendly and were just happy to eat the green goodness that forest handlers were giving out to people to feed them. We got some great photos especially of Theresa who got a little nervous when it came to huge monkeys jumping all over her – the one below would have to be my favourite one!
We came across a cheeky monkey after most the group had left – this little fella was so lazy that he would move from his lounge-style sitting position to take the food from your hand!
Becs 21st
Becs 21st kicked off with everyone dressing as they were told – BLACK and WHITE. And no one was allowed to bend the rules, not even Dad who was going to wear his dark blue shorts with his white T-shirt but was made to fall into line and go and buy a black pair.
It was a great party, with everyone getting into the theme and more than happy to drink Marks bar tab in record time! Bec arrived fashionable late wearing a dazzling red frock. She certainly stood out and above the rest! Mission achieved! Our gift of a magnum bottle of Moet champagne (we were happy to splurge for her special day) seemed to go down exceptionally well with Bec and Deb both enjoying a few glasses.
The party continued until the bar was dry, then we all headed into Kuta to party at the Espresso Bar (easily the best club in Kuta for live music!).We pretty much took over the bar with quite a few of the group joining in with the band. It was a huge night with everyone having a great time!
Jimbaran Bay
It was time for some seafood, so where better than Jimbaran Bay? Most of us took to the streets on our scooters for the 45 minute ride to Jimbaran Bay. The ride in itself was an adventure with Theresa and myself almost having an entrée of face concrete when we were cut off at high speed by a local taking a short cut and not looking!
We all made it in one piece (somehow), and it was time to check out the fish market. The fish market is an open market where fish sits out in the open all day every day. Needless to say the smell was quite strong! Plenty to choose from but we decided to leave the choosing of fish for the restaurant.
Theresa and I decided to feast – we figured why not go for it? How often are we going to be able to afford fresh lobster? So we did – we ordered everything we could think of, lobster, squid, crab, kind prawns and heaps more. Unfortunately, it was far from the delicious feast we had our hopes up for. The lobster and prawns were the stand out, so all in all next time we’ll order just a couple of things as the restaurants are not the cheapest places to eat – especially when your not 100% satisfied with the meal in the end.
White Water Rafting
After Dad telling me how good the white water rafting was when he was in Bali last time, I was extremely excited and keen to hit the rapids. And, without a doubt, white water rafting did not disappoint. In my opinion, it was the best fun I have had in Bali! There were so many of us who went that the river was filled with boats (four people plus one guide). And when we all came together it there was carnage! Was great fun! I would definitely recommend white water rafting to anyone visiting Bali! When we weren’t crashing into other boats or rocks in the middle of the river, we were able to soak up the amazing scenery. Truly breathtaking!
After we the rafting came to the end we had the arduous task of climbing over 300 steps to the hut for lunch and then the bus trip back. Unfortunately for Bec, she lost her footing and stepped into the slush to the side of the footpath. She sunk to above the knee and if the smell wasn’t bad enough before she fell in – it was almost unbearable after she dragged herself out.
One good thing about the massive walk up the mountain was the view we got over the river and rice fields.
Safari
With only a few days left in Bali, Robin organised for everyone to go to the zoo. It was a 1-2 hour drive from where we were staying. But it was nice to get away and see something different, rather then the usual relaxation on the beach. One of the main attractions was the Chimp, you paid something like $5 and you could have your photo taken with him. The zoo had a selection of animals out in which you could pay a get photos with it, I did get a little carried away and got my photo taken with them all. <insert photo of me chimp and maybe lion>
Oh, I almost forgot…. the Zebras, were quiet the entertaining sorts, as they weren’t shy and showed us there affection for each other by mating next to our safari bus. Anyway, it was pretty funny, and would had to have been there. The zoo was quiet big and was filled with all sorts of animals, it had much more than I thought it would have had. Even though Bali has made a great attraction, the tigers and lions where heavily drugged which was sad to see. Over all I had a great time, and enjoyed seeing somewhere different.
Party life
We had plenty of nights out – so many in-fact, that I had to create a separate folder on my Facebook just for ‘Bali nights out’. Plenty of great memories – or if we couldn’t remember at least we had a tonne of photos of the night! We got stuck into the local spirit ‘Jungle Juice’ … Man, that stuff is lethal! Two bottles of Jungle Juice is enough to keep you rocking all night! A few of the boys would get their Juice and then take it back saying it wasn’t strong enough. When the waitress returned with the topped up juice it was like drinking vodka (or petrol) straight!
Kuta was a never ending party night life – every night of the week! I would have to say the club of choice was the Espresso Bar where live music rocked the crowds that spewed out onto the streets every night without fail.
Most afternoons we headed to Frank’s Bar (or Jimmy’s Bar) for a few drinks and bongo playing. Frank’s job would have to have to have one of the easiest jobs – rock up, get sun chairs ready, go surfing, have a few beers and then play some bongos of didgeridoo (which he made himself from PVC piping). Top bloke Frank!
Eating out
There are so many restaurants to visit that serve amazing food. One of our favourite is Neo. Quite a fancy restaurant in the heart of Kuta with prices being similar to a fine dining experience in Australia. Quite pricey for Bali standards but as the old saying goes – you get what you pay for. Neo definitely delivers on the value for money. Delicious mains, tasty entrées and mouth watering deserts! Definitely recommended for anyone who wants a fine dining experience at an affordable price!
Ku da ta Restaurant in Semiyak served, hands down, the best breakfast in Bali. The most devine poached eggs that will set your taste buds on a love trip like none other. Nearly every hotel in Bali will include free breakfast with the accommodation but after a week of the same
