Kuta, Bali

The pool at the resort and spa in Bali
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The take off from Darwin was interesting to say the least. It was pouring with rain and the lightening was close behind. After a 2 hour delay taking off in this weather was a dream lol. The lightening was so bad it lit up the plane but once through the clouds it was fine for the rest of the trip.

On landing in Kuta we were met by our pick up and taken to the hotel. As we had spent a month staying in dorms all the time up the coast in Aus we thought we deserved a little luxury so had booked a resort and spa. Since its Bali, the cheapest place we have been, it didn't cost much (about 12 quid each) a night. Our room was gorgeous with a huge bed, cable t.v, a jacuzzi in the bathroom and a massive pool outside with waterfall, I know not bad for a couple of backpackers lol. However we could only spend a couple of nights there before moving on to a much cheaper place where we were to meet Jacko, Hotel Sorga. So after 2 days of relaxing and swimming and generally being lazy we packed up and went.

The lightening was so bad it lit up the plane

Sunset at Seminyak Beach
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Hotel Sorga is a good hotel based on how cheap it was (5 quid) a night plus its got a pool so we were happy. We spent a couple of days relaxing in the pool walking around town and trying the local food which is really good. Kuta itself is a very touristy town with street touts constantly wrecking your head asking if you want transport for the hundredth time that day but since its so cheap we could afford to do just a tiny bit of shopping. Everything is "the real thing" as Kuta is full of big department stores and official surf shops. The number of times we said we wish we were there with a holiday budget and an empty suitcase was, well, loads lol. The beach isn't much to rave about and any relaxing that could be done is extinguished as soon as the touts selling stuff spot you. One night we decided to go to Seminyak which is a short taxi ride away and apparently more chilled. There's a famous bar called KuDeTa which looks like an Ibiza chill out bar on the photos.  Unfortunately the prices matched an Ibiza chill out bar, so we spent the evening sitting on the beach watching the sunset and enjoying not being hassled by the vendors.

Our luxurious room in Bali
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My advice on visiting Bali is go to Kuta for a couple of days shop drink and then get out to Ubud a much more cultural and relaxed little town in Bali.