Bali Hai

Boards on Kuta beach
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We thought we'd ease ourselves back into backpackers accommodation gently having spent a few days in Vicky and Rich's luxurious apartment in Singapore, so we checked ourselves in to the classy Un's Resort near Kuta Beach. We got straight down to business and booked ourselves a surf lesson.                    Lesson no. 1: bikinis are not suitable attire for surfing on a family beach! Having exposed far more flesh than intended we popped in to town to purchase some proper gear, before making our way back down to the beach looking like seasoned surf dudes. Dan proved to be quite a pro, I on the other hand struggled a bit but eventually managed to stand up a few times, but only when Dan was looking the other way.

Surf dude
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The following day, feeling rather battered and bruised from yesterday's surfing, we booked ourselves a lazy sightseeing trip. We visited the clifftop Hindu temple of Ulu Watu, requiring all visitors to wear a temple sarong. Dan looked especially fetching in his mauve wrap around skirt with yellow sash detail. We watched a traditional Balinese dance accompanied by a chorus of 70 men chanting chak-u-chak-u-chak-u-chak constantly for an entire hour as the sun set over the temple. We were then dropped off at a nearby fishing village, Jimbaran Bay, where we ate red snapper on the beach to the sound of the crashing waves - how romantic. Unfortunately I was ill the following day. Without wishing to go into too much detail I reckon I must have been the first traveler in Asia ever to purchase laxatives! I inadvertently took a slight overdose and had to spend the following day within a 10 m radius of the bathroom - schoolboy error from a pair of pharmacists!

Dan looked fetching in his mauve wrap around skirt

Surf dudette
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Feeling much better we decided it was time for a spot of culture. We dropped in at a local village to watch another traditional dance, then did a tour of the art and craft villages around Ubud. Here we purchased our first piece of artwork - engagement surely can't be far off! We drove back through the beautiful rice terraces, stopping at another Hindu temple so Dan could put his skirt back on. He ended up investing in his own red and black version to wear on the beach as well as in the temples - David Beckham eat your heart out! The next few days were spent surfing and sunbathing, and generally having a really nice holiday.

Dan in a skirt
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For our final day in Bali we decided to scale the volcano, Mount Batur, to see the sunrise over the island. We were picked up at the ungodly hour of 2 am and driven the two hour journey to the base of the volcano where we began our ascent by torchlight. Led by our athletic guide Wodgie (or Wedgie or something), it was quite tough going but well worth the effort as we were the first ones to the summit, where we sat and huddled together waiting for the sunrise. It was a beautiful sight, and we were even joined by a troop of monkeys at the top. With the sun still low in the sky we continued our trek around the crater ridge to the volcanically active region where we cooked an egg in a hole for breakfast. The ridge was incredibly narrow at times with a shear drop on both sides - I think I cut off the circulation in the guide's fingers! Getting back down again was great fun, running and skidding down the ashen slopes. With our trainers full of volcano dust we returned to the hotel to collect our things and set off to the airport for our overnight flight to Oz. Bali was fantastic, we can't wait to go back one day x