Kuta Kuta Kuta and leaving Bali

Spent the last two nights at Puri Eikna - the same hotel in Legion we stayed a couple weeks ago - hanging out in Legion/Seminyak/Kuta and enjoying the last few days of Bali. My flight home was to originally depart yesterday but had a change of plans and will be heading to Thailand with Gabe tomorrow to stay in Phuket at the Le Meridian (thank you Starwood points) and then to Ko Phi Phi to meet with Gabe's friends - should be another fun crew in another land...

Yesterday shipped home all my extra belongings and I was mighty sad to see my pirate outfit from Halloween amongst all other souvineers and extra clothes gone. The post office is a little different over here. First you have to find it, then you weigh your package and a nice little man brings out a box that is about 500% too large for your items and then cuts it and tapes the box to the perfect size for shipment. He then wraps the box in rice paper and sews the package closed. The box is being shipped to Mom and Dad's place and with a sly grin the postal employee said one month, MAYBE, but should get there by three months time. So everyone at home, your souveenirs are officially in the mail (or rather in a cargo ship container waiting to fill for the voyage through Indian Ocean and then across the Pacific). I forgot to mention he was smoking a cigarette behind the counter - so very un-American....

Since the last post, surfed fun head high plus Ulu Watu and had plenty of good waves. I was finnaly understanding the break and now have to leave. No waves here in Kuta town but sure is nice to sit on the beach and have a Bintang with sunset. The past couple nights we had dinner with Natasha and Yohan and the rest of the French ex-pats and they are a really great group of interesting people. Yohan seems to be the Paris Hilton of Paris and has run many clubs that Kayne West, etc frequent - fun guy to go out with.

Friday went to my favorite bar in town - Black Dog - and was pregamed with a dinner on the row in Seminyak (at Ultimo) and pool at Rumors. I have not written about Rumors but we have been going to this spot everynight in town as a midgame between dinner and going out to Kuta (can't go to Kuta before midnight) - great spot with a good DJ that plays my tunes and free pool. Thursday night we visited after a few days in Ulu Watu to a hearty welcome and handshakes and bows from all the employees...

Last night went to a party at the SOS bar - a new rooftop venue for my friend Jade's model agency and had a really fun time although these people need to learn about air-con in fancy bars..

This afternoon I went to the tourist market in Denpasar where all the vendors in Kuta town get their merchandise - all the Bali bottle openers and likes you could possible desire for sooooo cheap. I had a little difficulty explaining the difference between a child large and adult large shirt to no avail - was pretty funny as they were POSITIVE the child large should fit me - not a chance.

Just a few minutes ago parted ways with my surfboard and with that I am ready to return to Thailand but a very sad farewell to Bali and I know I will be back (maybe in two weeks?)...

A sad farewell and the Ulu Watu sunset dance

Just returned from the airport to drop Josh for his flight home - sad to see part of the Bali crew leaving.  Todays going away dinner marked the culmination of three straight nights of "Josh's Last Night In Kuta" but was more like a siesta as we were all too tired from the previous nights to even talk....  Josh and I made plans to reconvene in Costa Rica at Josh's restaurant and bar for New Years and I have a feeling this is not the last time we will wander foreign lands.

Last night in town Josh and I ran into our Swedish friends Mia and Sandra that were with us for the Nusa Lembongan surprise ceremony and they joined us for a day in the pool and the beach in Puri Ulu Watu today.  

For sunset our the girls, Gabe and I (and other guests from Puri) went to see the Kecak Ramayana and Fire Dance at the Ulu Watu temple.  Unbeknownst to us, shockingly, there is another once a year ceremony at the temple and the place is filled with the Balineese locals in sarongs and festival garb.  Something about the Sweedes and surprise ceremonies.... Ulu Watu temple is one of the four holy sites on Bali and is on the very tip of the Bukit peninsula high atop a cliff.  Very impressive views of the swells coming in from Antarctica.  Unfortunately I didn't run into any monkeys but we were on the look-out for sure.

The Fire Dance takes place during sunset and the views are astounding from the dance theater (more like bleachers on a cliff with a five hundred foot drop straight to the water).  The dance was impressive and put the viewer in an almost trance like state with the uniformed chanting of the performers throughout the event.   We were all impressed with the show (which is very rare as I am bored with most of these tourist shows)...

I am scheduled to depart in only four days but am likely going to return to Thailand with Gabe and finish touring the western gulf and return to Koh Tao to dive with a buddies shop...

I uploaded additional pics in the posts below but here is another monkey for ya (nice little guy from the Monkey Forest in Ubud)!!

Pics - Gilli Trawangan

Again in no particular order (I will get the hang of putting these in order eventually)...

On way back to Bali after the Gilli experience we had the whole cabin to ourselves and I brought out my iPod speakers much to the delight of the crew who then turned into a little dance party...  That is Josh on left and Gabe on right...

Josh reading the LP (lonely planet) on the way to Gilli from Nusa...

Gilli main beach

Dinner first night on Gilli...

Bromantic sunset stroll with Josh and I to the far end of the island.  There is a surf break to the left in front of Ombak hotel but was too small to paddle out for...

Sunset..

Beach in front of our hotel with Gilli Meno in background.  The channel in between is great snorkeling with a wall that drops about 70 feet right where the light water turns blue (only about 30 feet from shore)....  I saw a couple turtles right out here...

Sweet pose on boat to Gilli...

In Nusa ready to leave - but was one hour late and about half the size of the boat we signed up with - and took one hour longer to get the Gillis - boat did have the captain that participated in the ceremony to erase any other short comings..

Nusa about ready to leave.

More Pics - Nusa Lembongans

Some pics from Nusa Lembongan in no particular order....

Beach cafe Bintangs before we ran into the "ceremony"...

Walked a mile on the beach for dinner and I sweat about six gallons and had to rehydrate with water and the "Mexican" - egg, milk, banana, cream, coconut and other ingredients to be drank before sport (which sport is only referring to Bintang'in I assumed).  This is dinner before our run-in with the "ceremony"..

These people harvest seaweed on the island and this is there fleet...

Our hotel lobby..

DISCO DISCO GOOD GOOD BARGE!!

Sunset from our hotel...

Magnum ice cream bars and Bintangs...  MMmmmm - that is Sandra and Mia between Maria and myself from Sweden.  We ran into them again last night in Kuta and they joined us in Ulu Watu today...

Our hotel with Mr. Nails - he ran the show and was constantly trying to get us to buy excursions, transport - anything he could sell - for two days.  He had the longest finger nails I have ever seen on a man.

Sunset from hotel...

On the way to Nusa - trying to stay standing.  To travel to Nusa you have to pass through channel from Bali that has very dangerous currents and we saw whirlpools and waves from the colliding currents - and a little dolphin and flying fish too...

More pics - temple tanah lot

These are some pics from Temple Tanah Lot from a couple weeks ago....  This temple sits on a rock about one hour outside of Kuta / Seminyak area.  The drive was beautiful through rice fields and coastline and back through the sunset.  We only got lost about four times and had a great vegan meal (Josh is a vegan) at Bali Budda Cafe on the way home.  Josh and I made the trip on our scooters while Maria stayed at the villa in Seminyak...

One funny note was the "holy snake" in the "holy cave" - which was a tiny foot long snack stuck in a small sand castle that looked have dead in a tiny cave which, of course, cost us 1,000 rupia (10 cents) to see.  I thought the worm was dead but the "holy snake tamer" assured us it was alive by poking at it to no movement.  This was so bad it was unphoto worthy.

pics pics pics

So I finally figured this thing out....  Some pics from the past couple weeks....

That is a grumpy little monkey to the left, the mini horse carriages in the Gilli's, sunset at Ulu Watu, the Puri Ulu Watu villa and my traveling companions (Gabe, Josh, myself and Maria)

Halloweenin' in Seminyak' and back to Puri Ulu Watu

Spent the last few days at a villa in Seminyak and then back now at the Puri Ulu Watu hotel for a couple days of surfing.  Tonight is the last night in Bali for Josh as he leaves back to Costa Rica via Santa Monica tomorrow night - we are planning a nice little farewell in town to celebrate.  

The days and nights in Seminyak was spent hanging out on the beach - no waves.  Friday night went to a spot called Black Dog which had a crowd very similar to Venice Beach, except all were Aussies and Europeans.  Met a bunch of new friends and had a really good time and ended up going to a late night bar that is only open every five or so weeks called Home and then went to our new friends homes and villas later on.

Halloween was an event here in Bali - we went to a party called "Shake Break Bounce" beach fest in Changu beach just outside of Seminyak.  We got our costumes sorted earlier in the day at a little store near the villa - I was a pirate, Josh an Indian, Gabe wore a swimsuit and floaties and Mariah was a Korean tourist.   The part was held on the beach in front of a hotel with an American DJ and band from San Francisco - Crown City Rockers and J. Boogie.  Was a really fun night and ran into a bunch of friends at the party - almost felt like home as I have been traveling with people for so long.  The Balineese could not laugh at our costumes enough and thought so funny that people dress and behave like us on October 31...

The day after was spent again on the beach and more sunsets at Ku De Tah with more new friends and a couple excursions to the disco centers of Kuta.  

Back here at Puri Ulu Watu the waves are starting to build through tomorrow.  The surf was a couple feet overhead this afternoon but the tide was low low low - I witnessed the effects of the reef on a Brazilian that surfaced after a set came through with considerably less skin on his back (this same fellow dropped-in on me a couple waves before so I had a little kick out of this karma).  After final wave I turned to paddle back out and noticed I was paddling in about six inches of water with a nice size wave coming forward and decided enough for today and walked across the reef to shore with all my skin intact....