Bali Beach Days

Pineapple on the Beach
see all photos »

Bali, Bali, Bali.  What a place.

We were lucky enough to cross paths with Brad and Leahs' friends Steve and Intan while we were in Australia.  Steve and Intan currently live in Bali, and had invited us to head down to the island to visit them.  Since we didn't want to be rude and turn down their offer, we decided to make haste and get the hell out of Bangkok almost as soon as we touched down.

Steve and Intan met us at the airport and took us immediately to the hotel they had booked for us.  It was quite a nice place.  Huge room, cable, two pools, right in the action of Kuta, but at a whopping $35 a night it was a bit out of our price range.  After a few nights in the Ritz there in Kuta we moved to a less popular part of town that was exactly the kind of place we loved.  We (Suz) haggled with a hotel owner of a not too shabby place and he ended up giving us a top story room with it's own bathroom and a balcony for $10 a night.  Ahh, Bali...

The Beach Fruit Lady
see all photos »

We set out immediately spending our extra money.  Since Bali is about the cheapest place we've ever been, we actually had some trouble spending our extra loot.  Meals at the local places cost about $3 a meal (for both of us), massages on the beach were $5 an hour, beer was $1 for a big bottle, and freshly carved pineapple on the beach was $1 each (we got ripped off according to Steve and Intan).  In addition, we were also buying DVD, brand new movies (not the best quality), for $1 each.  Needless to say, we were living Phat!

Our Beach View ($3 for chairs/umbrella per day)
see all photos »

Steve and Intan were awesome tour guides.  In addition to the best and most affordable restaurants in our area, they proceeded to give us the insiders tour of the area.  We went to amazing beaches, Steve's favorite surf spots, and a fish restaurant that was awesome!

The restaurant was set right on the beach.  You arrive just before sunset, hand pick your fish and prawns out of coolers that are holding fish that was caught only hours earlier, and sit down with a cold beer to watch the sun go down.  Just about the time the light dies, a water brings a candle and all of the food you picked out BBQed to perfection with salad, rice, chili sauces, and fresh fruit. The whole meal:  $22  I had to see it with my own eyes to believe it.

Hangin' on the Beach
see all photos »

This blog is getting excessively long.  In a nut shell, Bali is an awesome place.  We spend almost all day every day just sitting on the beach catching a tan and playing in the surf.  We are darker than we have ever been, and more rested than we could imagine.  We are stoked to be moving on to Thailand, and very excited to see Alex (Peter's brother) in a couple of weeks when he makes it over for our southern Thailand beach cruise.  Should be great!

Hope everyone is well.  Take care!