Hello Kuta (Lombok) – A step back in time!

What a difference! 35 minutes on an aircraft, a quick hop across to a different island (Lombok), a 30-minute drive to the southern edge (away from touristy Sengiggi) and as Kylie sang, we have stepped back in time and a completely different geography from Bali. Kuta (Lombok) is a small fishing village, set in a bay surrounded by hills and mountains, on very dry land. Gone is the lush vegetation of Bali, gone is the rushing water, gone are the rice paddies. As we explored the village, we realised it is nothing what we expected! This is how life used to be on an island, before the Western world changed life for everyone, willingly or unwillingly, before Starbucks arrived, before McDonald and all other chains. As we walked the one main street, we passed families living in a couple of basic wooden structures, with thatched roofs, and woven bamboo as walls, on dry and dusty soil, with chickens, goats and cows roaming the compound. The occasional shop selling basic goods, a little workshop here and there. The beach, or better the bay (as beach recalls more an image of Westerners plonking their lazy asses on the sand) is full of fishing boats and huts filled with nets and farmed seaweed. The kids were taking over the sleeping boats and loving it as their playgrounds. The roads are dirt tracks, the bitumen long worn away. There is tourism here, there are lots of warungs (restaurants), we saw two ATM booths, there are maybe three hotels (one of which we are staying in) and lots of homestay accommodation. Along the main road, parallel to the shore, there are small huts either side, selling all type of merchandise for the tourists: wooden masks, items of clothing, cosmetics, and drinks. The setting is rustic, very rustic and the shops are very basic. We are not the only tourists, but the masses we were used to in Bali are nowhere to be found. We are in the minority here, the locals still rule village life. We are thrilled to be here and all comforts we are used to are on offer, never-the-less, it does feel like we have stepped into a functioning fishing community and we are intruding in their lives. The predominant religion here is Muslim and the calls to prayer cannot be missed. For the first time in all our previous travels, be it Egypt or India, we are feeling what must be culture shock and are needing to adjust. After discussing it at length, we concluded that the extremely short trip from Bali to here and the huge difference between the two lifestyles has been very sudden and we need a day or two to adjust to it. This is a trip for the memory books!

Chapter one: Kerobokan

We have now had three weeks on this amazing island, making Kerobokan our home. We have had amazing times of relaxation by the sea, either in style by staying at a beach club or just renting a day bed on the black volcanic sand, days of absolute dolce far niente and days of just going for a stroll. We have dined at sophisticated venues, at funky set-ups and at local warungs. We have sourced our food at local markets, in line with "km zero" ideals of freshness and eco-responsability. We have explored some of the sights by venturing out of our immediate surroundings, and our expactations were surpassed each time. We are bronzer, trimmer, healthier than on day one. We have stayed on target with a healthy life style of light and tasty meals, good dose of exercise and rare adventures into the world of sweets. This truly is an adventure like no other! We enjoy each day, not really knowing what it will bring, just loving the fact of being here in the company of the man of our dreams, and keeping our eyes open for every little aspect of life that might make us stop in our tracks and determine our next step. Thank you Bali, it is now time for chapter two: Kuta on the island of Lombok (not to be confused with Kuta on the island of Bali).

A day of logistics

Getting ready for our trip to Lombok, items to purchase, transport to be arranged, bags to be packed

Another day of dolce far niente

The most exhausting activity has been walking along the beach, plonking our hot derrieres at a new watering hole, the Woobar at the Hotel W, enjoying two refreshing non alcoholic drinks and watching the amazing spectacle the ocean was providing. The surf was tundering ashore, with waves colliding and creating amazingly tall water castles, shooting high into the air and lasting only a matter of seconds before collapsing again into the bubbling surface of the ocean. Such a hard life!

An afternoon in Sanur

It was time for another excursion, out of our familiar territory. A straight trip across the island, through Denpasar, takes you to Sanur. The trip itself was an experience, giving us our first glimpses of Denpasar and what a surprise! Our road leads directly into the capital of Bali, and slowly transforms from a suburban road into a beautiful tree lined boulevard to the heart of this city. Government buildings appear and disappear either side, parks come and go, shopping malls galore, beautiful family compounds (homes) with the most ornate temples at their entrances, just spectacular. To top it all off, the amazing monument to the struggle of the Balinese made us have an impromptu stop. It is an impressive structure, rising high above any building, with its intricate stone work all the way to the very top, narrowing into a point, as if touching the sky. It is a delicate and beautiful art work despite its sheer size, set in the centre of a large park, full of people enjoying a walk, kids running and youth playing soccer. Half an hour later, we arrived at the beach town of Sanur. The set-up in its principle is the same: beach, followed by the main road with shops, cafés and restaurants, hotels everywhere. The big difference is in the vibe! The beach is white, instead of the volcanic black sand we have over here; calm waters, instead of crushing waves, as the island provides the perfect wind break; gently rocking fishing boats anchored just meters offshore; peace and tranquillity instead of a beach full of tourists and sellers. A beautiful paved walk follows the narrow beach, and we enjoyed it immensely, as it took us through perfectly manicured high-end resorts with their guests sunning themselves on their “guest only” beach, glimpses of beautiful private villas with spectacular gardens overlooking the ocean, past fishing boats drying on the sand and lots of empty stretches of sand. So much so, we just had to jump into the calm blue waters and enjoy the serenity. We expected a different beach, we found a different world.

The jewel lost its shine

Nook? Warung Cobek more like it! After our experience at Nook, a most enjoyable dining experience, we felt more comfortable trying a typical warung (the Indonesian “diner”), typically run by a family who cook a selection of dishes which are ready by 11am and then kept for the rest of the day at room temperature, for the enjoyment of family members and customers alike. The usual dishes are: boiled curry egg, various delicious vegetables, deep fried crispy fish, curry chicken, tuna, and the most famous beef rendang, with a selection of white and brown rice. These are all kept in a glass display cabinet (at a market these are probably more open then at warungs targeting the Western clientele). There is one of these warungs on our way to the beach, overlooking rice paddies. After a lazy sleep in, we decided it was time to try it. We were the only customers, and the owners were delighted in having us and answering all our questions as to what each dish was. We tried the boiled eggs, the spinach, the potatoes with chicken hearth, the corn fritters, the crispy deep fried fish (of which you eat bone and all), the home cooked chilli sauce (not for the Swiss lad) and we tell you, the food was OUT OF THIS WORLD! It was a taste extravaganza! Dishes we have had before in Australia and elsewhere, but here they tasted so authentic, so astronomically delicious! And the cost of both our meals? A$5.50 total for both meals! Once again, following our instinct and taking the risk of experiencing the local food, at a local venue, has provided us with another experience of a life time! Thank you Warung Cobek, our Indonesia Food Safari just got better!

We found a new jewel in tropical paradise – Nook!

We had been told by our tour guide of the new excitement among the local foodies: a quaint location serving traditional Indonesian cuisine. This was confirmed by friends from back home we bumped into, early one morning on the beach (small world). Our moment had come! We waited till the sun had just waved us all farewell, and off we went, riding in the dim light of the early evening, down the all familiar road to the coast, and turned at the tiny sign, hardly visible, that we passed so many times, all it reads is: Nook. The instant we took the turn, we found ourselves on a magical, windy, single lane road, elevated over lush green rice paddies either side of us, and a cluster of lights in the distance, our destination! We arrived at the entrance of this little building, in the midst of vivid green rice plants. No walls to lock us out of these magical surroundings, no cars suffocating us with their exhaust fumes, only open windows allowing us to take advantage of the cleverly positioned flood lights cutting the darkness to reveal the serenity of the rice paddies. We chose to sit at a corner bench, on the edge of the building; it felt as if we were right in the fields themselves (luckily we had covered ourselves in plenty of mosquito repellent). The menu did present a couple of amusing surprises: Zurich Geschnetzeltes, Austrian Schmarren and a few other central European oddities. Don’t ask us who these dishes found their way here!? We chose the appropriate dishes: Nasi Kampur (selection of meats and veggie dishes with rice) and Ayam Betutu (Indonesian spiced chicken). Nothing short of amazing. After enjoying this feast we just had to order deserts, as darkness settled in in the distance, with only the lights from our magical castle giving some colour over the fields, crickets and frogs providing the right background music. We had Dadar Gulung, Indonesia’s favourite desert, which is warm pandan flavoured crepe, filled with fresh shredded coconut, sweetened with palm sugar syrup: decadent! This is a must for anyone who is on an Indonesian food safari, as these two lads are! We left with full bellies, departing the magical island and returning to the hustle of the main street, as if it all were a dream. We know we’ll find our way back again!

We found our “groove”

It has been 2 weeks since our arrival and it feels to us as if we have been here over a month. We have our routine: waking up with the sun rise and the roosters, working out by the beach, healthy Asian breakfast or cheesy omelette or just plain toast, deciding which beach to go to, exploring our surroundings, and just enjoying being here. Our neck pains, interrupted sleeps and very early rises… all gone! We are enjoying every minute of it and look forward to every minute to come.

“If anyone slaps you on the cheek, turn to them the other cheek also…” – don’t think so!?

These 2 lads are good Roman Catholic boys, even if the Roman Curia may not agree with our sexual orientation. Our growing up has been the usual Sunday church attendance and a healthy upbringing by our parents, with a good dose of Roman Catholic ideals. Part of this upbringing is not to lower yourself to the level of your enemies, rise above them. “Eye for eye, tooth for tooth…” being wrong and “… if anyone slaps you on the cheek, turn to them the other cheek also…” being the right behaviour as a good Catholic. That may be a very honourable ideal, but in a changed, overpopulated world, if you follow these beliefs by the letter, every day, you may end up at the end of the queue. Again, it may help that the teachings say: “…the first will be last and the last will be first…” but we say no! Not always is this the appropriate reaction! There are times when one has to make a stand. Never was this more appropriate then today. These 2 lads had a most relaxing day, partaking in some essential retail therapy, followed by a late afternoon visit to our old friend, the Mozaic Beach Club. Being Sunday, all the expats were in attendance, with their kiddies of all ages. The club was busy as never seen before. Not to worry, these two lads found themselves two sunbeds by the pool and enjoyed two Bintang beers, whilst jumping into the water to refresh. Later in the afternoon, we were asked if we wished to move to the front daybeds, facing the beach, and accepted to do so, as our area was being invaded by more and more expat families. During our process of assembling our belongings, three teenage boys on the way to the upstairs restaurant needed to get passed these 2 most attractive gay lads, and the smirk on their faces clearly reflected their retarded thinking. The passage way was obviously not wide enough for 5 people, hence either the 3 boys or the 2 lads needed to move. This Swiss lads is placid and docile as a calm hippo, headstrong as a mule, and oh so dangerous as an angry hippo, and will most certainly not move when our person or character is being challenged. The juveniles moved into a single file, once they felt their challenge was going to end in defeat. Their smirk of course unchanged. Water over a duck’s back for the Swiss lad, but fuel to the fire of the hot blooded Latino lad. The move to the front row daybeds was otherwise uneventful, except for the head turns caused as these two stunning lads glided effortlessly and full of style towards the top spot in the club, in their stunning shorts and fashionable sunglasses. The Latino lad was still fuming and the steam was clearly visible rising from his ears and nostrils. The diplomatic Swiss quickly ordered two more Bintang beers and redirected the conversation to the most stunning sun, lowering itself into the ocean. But a glance towards the 3 boys made the hippo turn! Their glare and smirk towards these 2 lads had not changed and they were oozing juvenile ignorance and disrespect. A hippo is as quick out of water as it is in it, and just as fierce once made angry. Sunglasses back on, suck that tummy in to look just as stunning and super ripped as possible, the Swiss hippo made the attack towards the unassuming boys. Upon reaching them it stopped right in front of them and uttered: “If you boys have a problem, you tell it to my face directly.” And placidly returned to its partner, as the parents uttered some questions towards their young ones. The two lads were quite happy having stood their ground and having made it clear that we shall not be rolled over or brushed aside. The Bintang tasted better than ever. Shortly thereafter, the mother of one of the boys, arrived, boys in tow, apologising for her juvenile delinquent’s actions and that they were not raised to act in such manner. The teenage boys were asked to utter an apology to these two lads! Victory never tasted sweeter, thinking at how they must have felt, hormones and all pumping through their bodies, being dragged by their mother to do so and having to apologies at a public place. Oh how we love not turning the other cheek all the time!

Amazing sights V. tourism of the masses

Our journey to Bali is to build and share memories of a lifetime, experience this amazing island and its climate, try and befriend some locals and of course, visit some of the beautiful sights. Making friends with the locals is proving a bit more difficult, due to the language barrier and us, despite our best efforts, moving in touristy areas. Never-the-less, we happened to befriend what turned out to be a local tour guide and have finally had the opportunity to visit Tanah Lot, an important temple for the locals further up the coast, and Uluwatu, another important temple, further down the coast. The temples here are nothing what a European is used to, i.e. huge dome, bell tower or cathedral. The temples here are delicate open structures, with beautiful thatched roofs, the most intricate and colourful wood and stone carvings and rainbows of flags and umbrellas. The whole temple is an open-air setting, with multiple little structures spread over a small or large area. Each little temple is walled in, the entrance guarded by an intricate stone gate that seems to remind the non-faithfuls not to step any further. The temple of Tanah-Lot overlooks a most amazing rocky coastline, and its various temples are spread along the cliffs. Every little temple is simply breathtakingly beautiful! The waves below were huge during our visit, and crashing against the rocks, creating the most unique spectacle, pounding the foundations of each temple. The main temple is sitting on a rock, about 50m out from the mainland and is accessible most times, except when the ocean is going wild, as during our visit. Our guide Katut, indicated the building of a bridge had been attempted over the decades, but the ocean keeps taking it way. The faithfuls believe it is the Gods way to make the journey to the temple more difficult and therefore requesting more faith and conviction. The temple of Uluwatu is just as amazing, sitting high, high up on top of some spectacular cliffs, making it hard to believe how these incredible structures could have been constructed in the 11th century, using all but raw manpower. The view out over the ocean, from this height, is absolutely mind blowing! We imagined going back 100 years, seeing these temples as they were back then and what an amazing aura of spirituality there must have been, with nothing but the lush vegetation and the pounding of the waves. You can still feel there is something special at these locations, but regrettably, we tourists love coming to see sights we do not have at home, and the crowds grow and grow and grow. We were shocked and horrified, and ashamed at what we, Western tourists, have done to these temples. Both temples welcome you with huge parking lots. The compound of the Tanah-Lot temple has shop owners selling anything, and we mean anything, along the picturesque paths, now beautifully brick paved so that, God forbid, our Adidas and Gucci footwear are not harmed in any way… And the crowds arrive by the bus load, stomping along, chatting, laughing, kids going wild, silently fighting for the best spot for a picture with the right background, a quick drink and a toilet visit, and back onto the bus. How many actually stop to admire the temple grounds as a whole? How many walk its path respecting what it represents to the faithfuls? At least at the temple grounds of Uluwatu the visitors are requested to wear a sarong or at least a yellow cloth strapped around their waists (yellow and white being the holy colours) and no shops are to be found within its walls. Sunset are the preferred times to see either temple, with the sun bidding farewell out in the ocean and colouring the temples in a golden yellow, making it an amazing spectacle. We declined to stay for the sunset, knowing it would be sheer madness, as tourists flood each square inch for a picture and trample all over what is an important sacred site for the locals. Shame on us! As we left Uluwatu, about 1 hour before sunset, making the 2-hour journey back home, driving along the tiny road, the busses, mini-busses and taxis created a never ending metal snake of possibly 5 to 8 km length, making its way up the mountain and clogging traffic to a complete standstill, whilst engines are silently pumping out exhaust fumes allowing the occupants to sit in air-con comfort. What is the alternative? Limit development and tourism to certain areas? Have a character screening for tourists and only let in who respects the local culture? Charge higher prices, taking into account the pollution we create? We don’t have the answer, all we can do is try and be respectful of the local culture, customs and habits, and leave as little a footprint of our visit as possible, trying to leave just a faint shadow of our visit, so that others like us can come to enjoy and respect these amazing sights! Thank God there was no bright Coke or McDonald sign on any of the temples!

The beach, the fish, the community

It was a beautiful, calm, sun filled day, hence no other thing to do than getting our bums to the beach, rent ourselves a day bed by the water, sit back and let the day go by. And it looked like all other tourists / visitors to the island had the exact same thought. How could you not, given the sun and beach at hand! As we settled into our daybeds, and let the sun caress our bodies, we only had one activity in mind: look out into the ocean, watch tourists waddle by, and observe the world getting on with its day. It soon becomes apparent that once you remove the layer of tourists from the scene, there is a whole different world! For one, the sandy beach is home to thousands of miniature crabs, digging their little holes in the sand, running out with a little ball of sand in their claws and placing it at the edges of an ever growing field of sand balls around their newly built home and in doing so, creating a wonderful artistic pattern, till an oblivious tourist’s footsteps sends the crabs running for their tiny home and their wonderful work is flattened by each step. When cooling off in the water, suddenly schools of fish appeared in the breaking surf, their bodies glistening as the sun rays hit their silvery bodies, a spectacle for us, a feast for the local birds, as they hover above the ocean and take a skilled plunge into the waves to emerge with their catch. Two of these feathery creatures came to rest in front of our daybeds to what looked like a quick chat about their respective luck in catching fish, and flew off in unison, one to the left, the other to the right: “You take the left side, I go to the right, see you at home!” Maybe the birds are the local’s “fish prospectors” or they just know when to fish, either way, a lone fisherman was knee deep in the water, looking for schools of fish and throwing his net now and then, which opens into a full circle and sinks into the water in matters of seconds. He wasn’t a lucky fisherman. An older local suddenly appeared and started rolling up a long invisible line that went who knows how far into the ocean, till suddenly a net appeared and fish entangled in it. At the sight of the first fish, the local boys, managing their little stretch of beach with the rental of daybeds and providing us tourists with ice-cooled drinks, started running up to the old man, helping with pulling in the net with ever more fish coming into sight. They all walked off following the old man and his net, laughing and chatting. Not soon thereafter, the old man re-appeared, his net neatly folded up, and a young surf-life saver with surf board, walking with him. The net was passed onto the surfer, who swam out into the ocean, whilst the old man unrolled his invisible line for the next fish to catch. It was a delight to see that despite the over-commercialisation of their beach to accommodate us tourists in our hunt for sun, the local tradition of fishing and community spirit seems to still exist, as we guess the locals adapt to having to hook the tourists onto their daybeds and the fish into their nets.

"To be Wi-Fied, or not to be Wi-Fied" - that is the question!

"To be, or not to be", might have been the question in the past, "to be Wi-Fied, or not to be Wi-Fied" is definitely the question of today! This blog would not be possible if it were not for free to air internet connection. Paying for it!? Are you mad!? We are budget travellers and could most certainly not afford to visit an internet cafe'... "Internet cafe"... Probably as much a dinosaur as smoking on commercial airlines, except if you live in Perth, were the term "free Wi-Fi" does not seem to have reached its shores yet, but that is another story? Frustration? Regrettably earlier this week, on our way to the beach, we saw a leaning telecom pole at the corner of our street, and on our return to our headquarters discovered the disaster: bye bye internet! Not to worry, on all our previous trips to Bali we were astonished at the ease of finding free Wi-Fi everywhere, from the swanky and fancy hotel, to the most decrepit cafe', even to our beach bar/cafe' on the sand! Wonderful for the budget traveller! Hence we adapted in the last couple of days, as we are waiting for the connection to be re-established on "Bali time", and have visited beach clubs or our most favourite cafe' on Jalan Double-Six, sipping a cup of most delicious Bali coffee, whilst using their free internet. Yesterday the routine was going to be the same, i.e. a cup of cofee, catching up on news and goss from home, updating our blog and off to the beach. But: Shock! Horror! Someone else was sitting at OUR spot!! Impossible!? Should we ask them to leave!? No, surely we will find another suitable location. Alas we defected on our friends. Off we went, hunting for another cafe' with the right combination of atmosphere, good coffee and of course the hottely desired free Wi-Fi! We found one, sat down to order two drinks and asked the usual question: "Could we have your Wi-Fi password?" It was a disaster! The internet connection slower than the drying up from the Biblical flood! The coffee was awful too! Yes, we paid the ultimate price! We ran back to the "old faithful", founding our spot waiting for us to be claimed, and so we did! Peace at last! This made us aware of how much these fantastic modern technologies have also become a dreaded nuisance! Really? Running around town so we can hook onto the internet?! Whilst in tropical paradise? We think as long as the right balance is struck between gluing ourselves on a three to ten inch monitor and real life, it is ok. For these two lads a bit of internet browsing, whilst next to eachother, is also allowing us to have our OWN time for a bit, before we giggle and chat again, whilst gazing into eachother's eyes! Having said that, we always have great fun observing and commenting on all these couples, friends and families, at a dinner table, or on a daybed perfectly located to be looking out onto the ocean: Do they talk? Do they admire the view? Oh no! All glued onto their screens! Madness! We had a row of daybeds in front of us, at this most wonderful beach club The Mozaic, and every single couple was on a device! So, once you finish reading this sentence, find your loved one, take their hand, look them in the eye, and talk!

Another day in the sun

When one wakes up to the sound of farm animals, goes working out by the beach, has healthy breakfasts and the day warms up nicely, the sky is blue; should one stay indoors or head straight down to the beach? Our answer will always be to head straight for the sand! And we did just that: A full day at the beach, relaxing, chatting, laughing and loving every minute of it!

The curse of the coq (a story suitable to childern of all ages)

Living in semi-rural surroundings is going to be fantastic, so peaceful and quiet, thought these two city lads… Well, this story actually begins in Australia. We live in an inner-city suburb, on a busy suburban street which quiets right down in the evening and for the night. We sleep on a single-coiled mattress, meaning not even either of us’ unintentional jumping and turning during the night, can disrupt our sleep. This till suddenly early one morning, a coq made his presence clear! Not that we mind a coq early in the morning… but definitely not the singing one! At first we thought we misheard this noisy coq, in inner-suburbia? Really? But as the mornings came and went, and our hearing more acute and attentive of that distinctive sound, it was clear: There is a coq somewhere near! These two lads are action men! We investigated and got proof that the local council/shire does not allow the keeping of coq in inner-suburbia. Perfect! Straight onto the phone and requesting to speak to the right person handling unwanted coqs! Regrettably we were unsure of the location, except it that it was within ear shot, and hoped we were not the only ones alerting them of this fact: NEGATIVE, we were the only ones, go figure?? Plan B needed to be thought of and fast! This meant either finding the location and/or more people that know the keeping of coqs in this area is unlawful. The Swiss lad decided to print a little piece of paper with the clear information that no coqs can be kept and the phone number to call, should one hear its call. Photocopies were made and off he went one late afternoon, walking the perimeter of the entire block and mail dropping this important information. Lady Luck struck the Swiss lad! Just as he approached a driveway with pamphlets in hand, a lady was getting out of her car. On the question if she knew of a coq in the area, the lady replied, with a most charming and accepting smile: “Of course, he lives right next door!” Pamphlets were quickly hidden, and a quick but friendly reply was muttered: “Oh how nice!” and off the Swiss lad went. The address was memorised and the mission now continued with renewed energy, making sure not to miss one single letterbox around the entire perimeter of this coq! Quick call to the Italo-Aussie lad: “Mission Accomplished! Coq located! Over and out!” The moment the headquarters were reached, the phone came out and the ranger was called, this time with exact coordinates. The days came and went, but each morning, this coq made his persistent presence known… Hmmm, heavier artillery was required. The RSPCA (animal protection agency) was called and advised of a poor coq and his female counterparts living at location Y, on premises that look fairly unkept, which raises the eternal question: “Is this coq clean?” The lady kindly advised it is law that coqs and his harem of females are to be cleaned every 24hrs! Between you and I, let me assure you that by the looks of the house, there is no way they are looked after every 24hours. Matters were left with them. These 2 lads thought once coming to our new quarters in Bali, surely, it will only be rice paddies and butterflies… On the first morning a chorus of coqs made their presence known at the late hour of 0600…, followed by barking dogs and the mooing of some very attractive if not somewhat large, brown cows! Oh well, the sun is shining, the sky is blue, we have wonderful food on our plates and these 2 lads just keep grinning at each other for the adventure of our lifetime! What-else does one want from life?

Bali Beach Clubs = absolute bliss

Imagine crisp blue water, funky music, relaxing on a body hugging daybed, and staff to attend to your every desire: Welcome to the beach clubs of Bali! The Italo-Aussie lad has sipped pineapple vodkas at a beach club in Aqaba in Jordan, whilst the Swiss lad beach club virginity has only just been taken by the Balinese clubs. Considering you can spend between A$5 to A$10 for 2 daybeds on the beach, under an umbrella, exposed to the wind, the occasional beach seller and especially you could be stuck next to an annoying, overly chatty family, breaking the peace and tranquility; why not spend nothing instead and be surrounded all day in absolute luxury? Cocoon, Potatoe Head and now Mozaic (our new favourite) charge nothing for you to plonk yourself onto one of their heavenly daybeds and drinks are anything between A$2.50 to A$4.00 (and for these prices you will get a freshly squeezed fruit juice, on top of any other drink) add another A$5.00 and you are starting to have beautiful snacks. As long as you keep an eye on how much you are ordering, these clubs can be done on a budget! Cocoon is in virginal white! The wave shaped pool is tiled in white, facing the beach, with white daybeds, white pillows, and yes, you guessed it, white umbrellas. It is located on Jalan Double-Six, Legian/Seminyak, still a fairly busy area and therefore you can get some escapees from Kuta finding their way here, dampening the mood if they get overly obnoxious. Also between the club and the beach is a fairly noisy local street, used by lots of people to drive or scoot by and you cannot walk to the beach in tranquility. But never-the-less, it is absolutely worthwhile going, as with its smaller set-up, it can have a super cool vibe. Potatoe Head on the other hand has an absolute beach location, bigger then Cocoon, two rows of daybeds in front of a big infinity pool overlooking the beach, lined with palm trees, and a pool bar for those wanting to feel like being in a resort. It is located in Seminyak and tends to be very relaxed during the daytime, but as the sun starts setting, it can get very crowded with all the tourists not wanting to miss the sunset on the beach, with a drink in hand. The club is able to accommodate a large crowd, having a huge lawn behind the daybeds and the two storey crescent shaped building is used at full capacity. Our new favourite spot is Mozaic! It is further north on Kerobokan beach, only a little path separating the club from the sand, beautiful daybeds facing the beach, behind them a pool with many interesting corners and nooks, and “cabanas” (daybeds under a little roof) along one side of the pool. The whole setting is uber-cool, it wasn’t crowded on both occasions we have been and they have a fabulous restaurant located at the back of the whole set-up, on a higher level, overlooking the whole pool and daybeds. Absolutely fabulous! We felt like kings for a day, relaxing by the pool, attended to by friendly staff and ordering a couple of drinks, whilst keeping an eye on our budget. Got a feeling we found our new best “friend”…

Lazy Sunday

Our Sunday morning started with our daily beach workout, but the sea presented itself rough, choppy and misty, leaving us to having to run way up on the soft part of the beach to avoid having an unwanted early morning bath! On our return journey home, rain showered us. On our arrival home, the skies opened and rain definitely set in for the rest of the morning. We had a lazy Sunday, exploring a temple we pass every day on the way into town (thank you Lonelyplanet) and sitting down for Bali coffee at our favourite spot (they have wifi and a TV showing Nat Geo). We spent the evening at a newish beach club, Mozaic, in front of which we run every morning. The setting is spectacular, with day beds nicely hidden away behind thin curtains, a lovely pool surrounded by a wooden deck and, of course, the beach view. We will come back to this place to enjoy it during daytime. We enjoyed a beer and a couple of nibblies, whilst watching the breaking surf shining in the moonlight. Our skin had a good rest from the sun these last two days, now we hope for blue skies for the new week.

A day of dolce far niente

Exploring our local markets

No beach workout for us after a night of debauchery. So perfect opportunity to go and explore our local two markets, which we pass every day on the way to the beach, before they pack up after the morning trade is over. The set-up is typical: straight off the street a parking lot full of scooters, big open market area under a large tin roof and stall after stall of goods, mostly vegetables and the occasional chicken or pig carcasses (and this meat is obviously not fit for Western consumption regrettably, as they are not being kept refrigerated). All sorts of unfamiliar fruit and vegetables are being sold, the smell can go from sweet and delicious to fairly “unpleasant” in matters of seconds, but it is all part of the amazing experience of going to a local market. Surrounding the roofed market area are little shops, selling everything from kitchen utensils, to mats, to containers, etc. Throughout there are little food stalls selling cooked food of all flavours! The market as a whole is equivalent to a Western shopping centre  The second market was pretty much the same, with a slight different set-up, but in essence selling the same produce. Well, one young girl either took a shine for the two Western lads or was a great sales woman (or both) and offered us sampling of all her fruit. First instinct was not to taste unwashed food, but thinking that the great UK chef Rick Stein travels throughout Asia and just chomps away at all sorts of fruit and food being offered to him, we gave in to temptation and tasted her delicious mango, snake fruit, guava and many more. Well, we just had to buy some, especially the snake fruit! Having gained confidence, we progressed further into the market, needing vegetables for our dinner (stir-fried veggies with German sausages… obviously the sausages purchased at an “approved” outlet). We ended at a little stall selling snake beans of 50-60cm length, from a lady speaking no English but waving across her friend to act as interpreter and we added to our purchase a couple of chillis, some local bok-choy, fresh corn, 1kg of tomatoes and some peanuts! After having spent the amazing amount of A$5 for 1 fresh mango, 500g of snake fruit and 4 limes, the veggies cost us an additional A$4. Was this slightly increased pricing for us Westerns? We will never know, but we slept very well knowing we spent money at a local market, we ate delicious fresh food and 12hrs later, no adverse food reaction has occurred, on the contrary, we are keen for more!!!

Celebrating our 16th monthiversary

Monthiversary [noun (mon-thi-ver-sa-ry); 1. The monthly recurring date of a past event, especially one of historical, national, or personal importance; 2. A celebration commemorating such a date.] We had a great start to our day, with another beach work-out and pushing our boundaries just enough to make it worthwhile! This is just an amazing way to start our day, today especially, as these two lads are celebrating their 16th monthiversary since we first met! Why celebrate on a monthly basis, you ask? One: because we keep pinching ourselves, thanking the God of Love for making us meet our respective soul mate; two: because we are old and wise enough to know life is full of surprises, hence why delay treating ourselves as a special “thank you” or “I love you” event? And last but not least, three: because one should use every excuse for a celebration! After our work-out and healthy, home cooked Asian breakfast, a day of sun was on the cards and we got just that! After 4 hours of bliss under the blue sky, we called it a day for a well deserved Balinese coffee on the way back to our quarters. A quick freshening up, and off we went for a most romantic beach-side dinner setting, the restaurant Gado-Gado in Seminyak. What a spot: wooden deck reaching out onto the beach path, lightly lit trees, the breaking surf, and the glistening lights of departing jets and Nusa Dua in the distance. As we are on a health-kick and on a budget, we opted for sharing our entrée which was absolutely delightful! After this very relaxed and enjoyable dinner, we progressed to a late evening coffee at Khaima Maroccan, to then end up at the local gay clubs for a late night boogie. The day ended late and we enjoyed every minute of it!

Oh dear! Obama is coming! Run, Run!!

We had told ourselves, prior to arriving to Bali, that we would establish a certain fitness routine and today we did exactly that. The sun woke us up by shining its morning rays onto our bed, a cuddle, a stretch and out of bed we jumped! A glass of soy milk and off we went to the beach. Got there by 7.15am, and did a 30-minute workout of running, push-ups and abdominal crunches: no rest for wicked, as they say! Back to our apartment and cooking a fantastic breakfast by frying some shallots, tomatoes, bok-choy, vacuum sealed chicken slices, add some condiments, add cooked Indonesian noodles to the wok, quickly whisk 2 eggs, add to the cooking extravaganza and stir. The eggs give a nice finishing texture to the dish. Most fantastic and healthy breakfast sitting in the sun and reaping the rewards of an early rise. As by this time it was only just 9.30am, too early for the beach for the crispy Swiss lad, we browsed the news, only to be reminded of what had completely slipped our mind: APEC summit in Bali, first week of October, with the confirmed attendance of the newly elected Prime Minister of Australia and of course, President Obama!!! We both looked at each other, knowing exactly what the other is thinking, as happens to us so often, that we could be twins: “Bali is going to be chaos!” Plan B needed to be thought of, and quickly! “Ubud?” Been there! “Lombok!”, we exclaimed in unison! Well, the Wi-Fi of our apartment is way too slow for an effective and efficient processing of our plan B, off onto our bikes and to the free Wi-Fi of Starbucks (our Italo-Aussie lad has a weakness for it!). Lonelyplanet at hand, Google at the fingertips and plan B was signed and delivered, and cha-ching, the credit card took the hit. We are off to Lombok, Kuta (South of the island), for 1 week, apparently still fairly undeveloped and the scenery is meant to be spectacular! Watch this space. As we were in town already, and seeing the persistent cloud cover, we decided to avoid the beach for the day and instead shop for dinner and breakfast. On the menu tonight is chicken burgers (frozen pack), and a fresh garden salad (Asian style). The evening will be spent watching some DVDs and just relaxing in our apartment. Interesting how a day starts in your head all planned out, but because of a tiny little unforeseen circumstance, it all changes in a flash! But the 2 seasoned travelling lads knew how to make the best of it!

Getting our bearings and “stocking up” on rays of sun

Our day 1 has been a day of discovery, getting our bearings on where our home is located in relation to familiar places. We are happy to report the selection of our “home” out of the hustle and bustle has been a fantastic choice! We are in what would be described a semi-rural area of Kerobokan, off the main road, down an unpaved road, past a couple of wood carving places and a wooden homes builder (looks like he builds them on site, dismantles them and locates to where-ever the buyer wants it... hmmm, we are sure he must know why this is the best way of doing it, but we must confess the most logical/practical reason escapes us…), and there you find our two storey house! We have tried moving around by foot, but it is not practical. Hence the decision to hire push bikes to move around. 10 minutes down the main road (no turns) is the beach, 15 minutes (turn at the only traffic light) takes us to Seminyak’s busy hub. We spent all of our first morning moving around and stocking up on essentials for breakfast and coffee! After that a visit to the beach was well overdue!! We stocked up on our first sun rays and invariably a slight sunburn was unavoidable, especially for the Swiss lad (slap on the hand!). Nothing a day of long sleeve attire for day 2 and a bit of aloe-vera can’t fix. Of course the highlight of the day has been, as every past trip to Bali has been, a visit to our favourite sun-set spot “La Plancha”! A most beautiful beach bar/café, straight on the beach, with rows after rows of bean bags making their way towards the water, and colourful Balinese umbrellas giving some shade. Bring on 2 cold Bintang beers, some fried squid to nibble on and sit back to the amazing fun and intriguing art of people watching (and a small dose of laughter).

The Arrival

After the many months of planning, pondering on what to take and what not to take (1 pair of long jeans or none? how many singlets? etc.), meticulously planning our departure (what to switch off at home? who to ask to water the garden? etc.), finally the long awaited morning of Monday 9th September arrived! Everything went as planned: last switching off of appliances at home and off to the airport for our flight! 3 ½ hours later, we arrived at 1730 to a most beautiful, balmy 28 degrees, traffic infested Bali! 30 minute drive and here we are, our home for the next 2 months! Beautiful apartment in Kerobokan, with our own outdoor kitchen and garden, the building has a swimming pool and little restaurant. Quick set-up of our new home: bleaching of bathroom area, spraying of insect repellant throughout, re-assemble the fan we brought from home (not using the air-con during these 2 months! doing our bit for the environment but especially for our health!), unpack the wok, turn on the burners, light the citronella and lemongrass incense sticks, heat our home cooked meal, open two beautifully chilled Bintangs, et voila’: we’re settled and ready to go, enjoying our first evening in Bali! Our adventure begins! Tip # 1 : for what-ever reason, who knows how or why, change your hard cash at Bali airport, as you get a fantastic exchange rate! Example, we got 10,100 Rupiah for every 1 Australian Dollar! You’re lucky to get 8500 in Australia…