Bali, Indonesia

Thursday, November 26. Happy Thanksgiving! After some breakfast, Keith, Rachel and I set out on the 3-4 hour drive to Menjangan – a remote area in the north west corner of Bali – the “other side of Bali.” The drive took us up and down mountains and by lakes and rice fields. At times the roads were very windy and narrow which left me feeling quite nauseous. Along the way we stopped at a temple situated on the bank of a lake. There were beautiful flowers and gardens and it was very picturesque. I was particularly happy to just get out of the car and walk around for a little bit. After another hour or two we finally arrived at the resort. There was just one sign for the resort on the side of the road with a dirt path heading into the woods. We drove down the dirt path, a little uncertain that we were even in the right place and if we were in the right place, what were we in for. It was supposed to be a very “nature-friendly” woodsy type place. We finally arrived at reception – still a little unsure. We were in the right place and we checked into our rooms. Keith and I were staying at the Lodge, by reception and the pool and Rachel was staying down in a bungalow on the mangroves. Our room was beautiful – a nice mix of modern amenities and nature. After checking in we headed down to where Rachel was staying – about 1 1/2-2 km away or a 10 minute ride along bumpy dirt paths. The resort itself was very spread out over acres of woods. Fortunately there was a shuttle or an SUV to take you wherever in the resort you wanted to go. Along the way you would see monkeys, deer, wild chickens and monitor lizards. The resort only had a few guests at the time so it felt like we had the place to ourselves. We had a late lunch at the resort's only restaurant - Bali Tower. It was five stories high, making it one of the tallest buildings in Bali. It provided spectacular views of the area and there were gigantic trees growing right through the restaurant. After lunch Keith and I relaxed by the pool for a bit and tried to plan our activities for the following day. We had a late dinner at, of course, Bali Tower and called it a night.

Friday, November 27. We had decided to go diving/snorkeling for the day. I had a bit of a cold, so I was forced to go snorkeling, while Rachel and Keith had opted to go diving (I have to admit I was a bit jealous). After breakfast we headed down to the boat. The boat was a bit rustic but the crew seemed nice and we met a very pleasant French couple who were also snorkeling. We took a slow ride over to Menjangan Island – a small island off the coast that doesn't have much on it besides a temple. I and the other snorkelers got off on the beach there while Rachel and Keith headed offshore to go diving. Unfortunately they had given me a mask that was way to big. After 20 minutes or so struggling with the mask, I sadly gave up. From what little I had seen, the fish were beautiful. Keith and Rachel on the other hand had great success. They dove down about 20 meters (approximately 60 feet), by far the deepest Keith had ever gone, along a sea wall. They saw sea turtles and lots of different kinds of tropical fish. The boat eventually came back to retrieve me and the other snorkelers. Next was lunch. Lunch was interesting. I had opted for the chicken while Rachel and Keith had gone for the fish. My chicken was a tiny bony drumstick, but that looked delicious compared to the fish. The fish was dark brown and looked like it had been petrified or perhaps cooked on the roof of the boat for about 3 days. Fortunately they gave us some rice, so we all had rice for lunch. After lunch we went around to another side of Menjangan Island to do our second snorkel/dive. Fortunately I got a new mask and the snorkeling was quite good. I saw big sea cucumbers, blue star fish and lots of colorful parrot fish. Keith and Rachel went down about 25 meters (approximately 75 feet) again along the wall. They saw moray eels, huge puffer fish, grouper, more sea turtles and wide a array of coral and sea fans. Keith was excited to have drove so far down since this was only his fourth dive ever and he really shouldn't have been down that deep. Fortunately Rachel was pro and she took very good care of him. We took a slow ride back to the mainland. Keith and I wandered along the beach for a bit and then headed back to our room to go for a swim. Rachel met us for an early dinner, as none of us had had a sufficient lunch. We went for dip in the pool after dinner and then called it a night.

Saturday, November 28. Travel day again – destination Kuta. After breakfast we got back in the car to head to Kuta – our third and final stop in Bali. It was about a 4-5 hour drive again through the mountains and by the lakes and rice fields. I took two Dramamine before we left just to be on the safe side. They worked well and though I was a bit sleepy, I didn't feel nauseous at all. We stopped to see a waterfall along the way. It was a short downward hike through the jungle to the waterfall. It was a pretty waterfall and the air was nice and cool. The climb back up the hill kind of sucked. We drove for another little bit. We hit some rain and thick fog at the top of one of the mountain – the rainy season starts in just a couple of days. Our driver was very nice and he pointed out many good spots to take pictures. He took us to a local restaurant for lunch. I passed on lunch – Rachel and Keith were more adventurous. Keith was particularly tired of dinning on Pringles and Oreos. Our driver had to translate the menu and I wondered how clean the dishes were. The kitchen was nothing more than a one room shack with a wooden chopping block and hacked up chicken. Lunch was very cheap, though I'm not sure how much Keith or Rachel enjoyed it. Back in the car we went for another hour or so. Driving into Kuta it became clear that we were at the opposite end of the spectrum from Menjangan. Lots of people, lots of traffic and tons of shopping. Kuta was were the nightclub bombings were in 2002. There was a Starbucks, McDonanalds and KFC. After driving down a very narrow street with motorbikes and people going in every which direction, we found where Rachel was staying. Unfortunately where Rachel was staying had been all booked, so Keith and I were staying at a Holiday Inn about 10 minutes away. We finally made it to our hotel about 6 hours after our day had started. The resort was very nice - on the beach with a big pool. Our room was nice as well, but a little small. After checking out the resort a bit, we showered and headed out to meet Rachel for dinner. We were happy to discover a boardwalk that ran all along beach and was lined with fancy resorts, beautiful restaurants and cool bars. It was about a 35 minute walk from our place to where Rachel was staying. We headed south to Jimbaran for dinner where they have a number of sea food restaurants on the beach. We all had, of course, sea food for dinner. Keith and I had red snapper while Rachel had the prawns. Squid or calamari for the table. Similar to the restaurants in Gili T you pick out you food and they cook it right there for you. Dinner was yummy and we all ate way too much. We walked along the beach for a bit after dinner. There were lots of little crabs that scurried to the water as we drew near. We headed back into the traffic of Kuta. After bidding Rachel goodnight Keith and I strolled back along the beach, stopping a huge shopping mall along the way. We then called it a night.

Sunday, November 29. It was a lazy start to the day. Keith and I had a huge breakfast at the restaurant's buffet (it was included in the price of our room) and then headed back to bed for a bit. The next few hours were spent lounging along side the pool. We met up with Rachel late in the afternoon to go see sunset at Tanah Lot – a temple set out on a rock in the ocean that can only be reached at low tide. Our driver was a wonderfully friendly fellow. His pride and joy were his three children and in particular, his two daughters both of whom were studying at the university. Very few children in Indonesia are able to attend the university due to the high cost. He seemed to work extremely hard in order to pay for them to attend. It also was nice to see that he was so proud of his daughters – especially in a society where women are treated as second class citizens. He seemed very fond of Keith and we had many many laughs. We did a little shopping at the market leading into Tanah Lot and Keith and I purchased a painting. Sunset at Tanah Lot was beautiful and we all enjoyed a cocktail while we watched the sun set. On the way out, Keith paid 10,000 Rp to hold a Burmese python, which turned out to be incredibly strong. Next we had decided to have dinner at Ku De Ta – supposedly one of the best restaurants in all of Bali where all the “beautiful” people go. It did not disappoint. It was a large restaurant on the ocean that was more reminiscent of the Delano in South Beach than Southeast Asia. There were lots of beautiful candlelit seating areas along the ocean. We all enjoyed a few fabulous cocktails and an superb sushi dinner. It was one of the best, if not the best, meal we've had in all of Southeast Asia and it was even better than many of the sushi restaurants I've eaten at in Manhattan. After a delicious dinner and many cocktails we called it a night – but not before our driver wished us a lifetime of good karma and harmony.

Monday, November 30. The morning was a lazy one. After breakfast Keith and I headed to pool to lounge about for an hour or two. Around 1:00 pm we checked out of our hotel and headed to the hotel a few blocks away where we would be spending the night. After checking in, we were off to meet Rachel for a late lunch. We had a yummy lunch and then wandered down to the Art Market where they sold everything from wood carvings to flip flops. We bid Rachel farewell - she was headed to Kuala Lumpur a day before us. Keith and I walked back to hotel and went for a dip in the pool. Keith finally found a pool that was cold enough for him (as an aside, most of the pools in Southeast Asia are like bath water – though they are the perfect temperature for me, they aren't nearly refreshing enough for too cold for Keith). The hotel had a small dipping pool that had ice cold water (and truth be told I actually think it was even a little too cold for him). We showered and headed out for the evening. We wandered around town and ate dinner at funky restaurant where we had a front row seat to some excellent people watching. We saw the memorial that had been erected where the bombed nightclub had once stood. It was a very sad sight. We then headed out to hear a reggae band and then wandered back to our hotel to call it a night.

Tuesday, December 1. Again it was a bit of a lazy and uneventful day. After breakfast I set out to do a little shopping. By 10:00 am I had finished and Keith and I headed out to the pool for a few hours. We checked out of our hotel around 1:00 pm and grabbed some lunch. We walked back to our hotel along the beach, where I stopped to get a manicure and pedicure under the swaying palm trees. We relaxed for another hour by the pool and then headed to the airport – destination Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Some parting thoughts on Bali. Bali was a wonderful spot. We went to three different areas, each one of them very different from the other and all of them offering wonderful things. The people here are very friendly and they love to laugh. Not surprisingly Bali was probably the most westernized of all the places we've been to in Southeast Asia – with the exception of Bangkok. It's a beautiful country with beaches, jungles and volcanoes. It's definitely a place I wouldn't mind visiting again.