Three days in Ubud turned into a nice getaway from the heat and nightmare place that is Kuta. It was by far the most i have been hassled by touts anywhere on my trip and after a month in australia with none of that it was a shock to the system.
Ubud is a pleasant enough town situated in the volcanic foothills of Bali, set amongst what seems like endless scenic rice terraces. It is also the artistic centre of Bali attracting many artists from all around Indonesia. My real problem at this point in time is space, i have very little of it and there is increasingly less ways i can rearrange my bags to fit within baggage restrictions. This trip has revealed my intense weakness for buying art and i should have realised in retrospect that Ubud wasn't the best place to go in my position. In three days i wrestled with my conciense and in a way i successfully escaped with only one more painting to squeeze in. There are some seriously impressive pieces on show and for between 10-100 quid a pop it is seriously hard to resist.
With only ten days to spend on Bali i had to move on and the next port of call was Toya Bungkah a small town inside the crater of Gunung Batur. This is the second highest point of Bali and is truly stunning. The road and several villages rest precariously on the rim of the volcano and down below lies the town of Toya and the beautiful lake. Then within this crater is another volcano which is the summit. I headed here eager to get some more hiking in before returning home and a steamy active volcano seemed just the ticket. Before this i had another slightly more unwelcome challenge to overcome. I had rented a scooter to get around Bali as the island is pretty small, but this brought me face to face with the islands incredibly corrupt and such a pain in the ass police force. Knowing full well that tourists don't have the correct paperwork they seem to have taken it on themselves to dent Balis image and extort money. So as i approach the crater rim my heart fell as a police road block waves we over. Shit shit shit. I had spoken to some people in Ubud who had been had for 100 quid which was not an option for me or even within remotely reasonable realms so i awaited what they said. Predictably they say you do not have an international license which is true (the uk one does not count in Indonesia) so i just keep saying, no my license is fine over and over again like a stuck record hoping they will just let me go. Not to be outdone he calls the boss over and same story is repeated to him, then an unexpected turn he asks what is is in the tube i am carrying. I explain it is a painting, then he says you are an art student, yep i reply not knowing where it is going. Then prove i am a student i pull out the bedraggled and long since expired card i carry all the while trying to hide the money just taken from the ATM earlier. I think the student ploy was good as they said so you are poor and yes that is now very much true thanks to Australia and with a smile that seemed to say you are not going to be so lucky next time he let me go. So so happy but it just meant that i had to ride looking out for police more than anything else and although twice more i was waved at i just floored it with the plan of playing ignorant and they never pursued. It really is annoying though, in Vietnam despite being there for a month and breaking so many road rules we didn't have a single issue. But Indonesia as a whole is not quite as welcoming or accommodating as some of the other places i have been to.
When you do a trip like mine you cant always be in a country during the dry season and so it is with Indonesia. January is the wettest month and up until Gunung Batur no rain although this was unlikely to last. I took the initiative and climbed while the weather was fine and it was a great hike up through the pine forest and over the lava fields to the summit. I had been given an egg by the lady at the home stay but after putting it in a steaming vent to cook i dropped it over the edge as it was a lot hotter than expected. Not too big a disappointment as i would rather the egg than me. There really wasn't much else to do in the crater apart from drive up and down the windy road pretending to be Valentino Rossi and even that after a while lost its thrill. So off to do some snorkeling in Amed.
The weather by now had turned and in torrential rain i headed off for the three hour drive over two volcanoes to the coast. On the way i stopped off at the Besakih temple complex the holiest site on Bali which was full of worshipers as it was the full moon that day. The rain meant i couldn't really hang around but fortunately by the time i reached Amed the sun was out and wow what a place. The beach is black sand and due to the time of year pretty much deserted making for some tasty deals on beach front bungalows. I really enjoyed it snorkeling on the amazing reef in the bay with all sorts of colourful fish and then an early morning fishing trip. I managed to extend my run of never having caught anything ever and instead had to make do with watching a school of dolphins swimming around us and then jumping ahead of the boat. Amazing stuff. The guy who took me fishing i think felt pitty and gave me some fish he had caught which the lady at the bungalows turned into the most incredible fish lunch i have ever had. Indonesian food might have little variety but if you like fish there is no better.
My flight left the next day so i split the journey back to Kuta with a stop over in Padang Bai. The town was pleasant enough for the evening but the road on the east coast of the island was phenomenal and the real draw. Like the great ocean roads of California and Australia but designed for bikes. Windy, up and down with amazing views so much fun. More than confirming my need for a bike license when i return. I had six hours to kill till my flight and there was a huge power outage so i headed to the airport just to get some air con and max out Starbucks free wifi. The heat in Kuta that day was like nothing i have ever felt before, so hot and humid you feel sick and cant breathe. Plus i had 23 kilos of luggage hanging off me. Cant wait to be rid of it soon.
Bali might not be my favourite of places and sometimes it is a bit of a tourist trap but i would recommend it if anyone wants a taste of Asia with all the trimmings. And the east coast is stunning and would be a highlight of any trip.
10 days in Bali down and then a flight to the north of Sulawesi and hopefully a bit more adventure. Touching down in Manado at midnight was a massive pain especially as all the hotels were full leaving me with the hotel Celebes. Not bad location i thought next to the harbour, that was until the morning fish market started at 5.30am. Great stuff. What took the cake is that i had to stay two nights as being a small christian enclave in Indonesia nothing runs on a Sunday. From Manado on many peoples recommendation i headed out to Pulau Bunakan which is rated as one of the top 10 places to dive in the world. And i can see why. Not being a diver i satisfied myself purely with snorkeling. Lorenzos bungalows was quality and had a great vibe and some really nice people with whom i shared a boat out onto the reef. It was such incredible snorkeling we stayed alot longer than i had planned and my back was thoroughly cooked by the time we returned. The disappointment of Australia was completely forgotten. The reef stretches 100m or so off shore before there is a deep sea dropoff that attracts barracuda, sharks and many other things besides. We saw so many turtles it was getting ridiculous. Two days of that was wonderful and im so glad i got over my slight fear of being swept away in the fairly strong currents and took the plunge. Again pushed for time as i always seem to be yesterday i grabbed a bus on a wild ride through the dark forest and mountains in the north of the island to Gorontalo to get the ferry to the Togian islands. This is something i have looked forward to for nearly a year. Its a tropical paradise national park, with wildlife teeming both onland and offshore and i cant wait to get back in the water. Never ever thought i would say that.
Thursday 27 January 2011
Saturday 15 January 2011
Australia - Melbourne to Brisvegas
Following on from our Christmas day on St Kilda beach, I had the opportunity to do something i had dreamed of doing for quite a while. Go to the ashes in Australia. This is basically one of the most important things i had in mind before i left home and was a fixed date in the calendar. I was a bit gutted that i didn't see any cricket in Perth but our change of plan was definitely the best decision. So boxing day, early doors we headed to the MCG with most of the other residents at the hostel and what seemed like half of Melbourne. 85,000 people at a cricket match is essentially unheard of and walking into the stadium you really did feel butterflies. And so much more was to come. By midday with the Australian batting line up in a complete shambles things couldn't be better. Never did i dream i would see their entire innings and see England bat all in one day. I have just been chatting to an Australian couple over dinner and its nice to be able to give someone else stick about their national team. All in all it was an excellent time to be a Pomme down under.
Next day was another must do for any self respecting English person and a trip to the neighbours night to meet the cast. Despite how corny i was expecting it to be it was kind of cool. We went with Tom and Paul two guys we met on Christmas day and it turned into a really fun evening of which i have very little recollection. I have the photo and signature evidence of meeting Dr. Karl Kennedy, and also the very lovely Sky Mangle. It turns out Dillon, Stingray and Boyd all live together so they were all there as well. Normally Karls band plays but for some reason he didn't that night which was a bit annoying but the rest of it was great although we definitely were cheated out of the trivia prize. Next day was a bit of a mission though trooping around Ramsay street and some other parts of the neighbours set with a massive hangover. It was ok but the street is nothing like i expected, its really small in real life and just a normal residential street. The tour was pretty short so we managed to get to the cricket again for midday and see us rub salt in the wounds and take another 7 Australian wickets. Immense
That was pretty much it for Melbourne apart from seeing the penguins in the harbour. Melbourne without a shadow of a doubt is the best city i have ever been to, no word of a lie although Sydney does run it close. If i don't end up back there someday i will be very disappointed.
Next up Sydney for the most iconic new years imaginable. For this special occasion Jon and I were joined by Jamie who had managed to leave the arctic conditions of the UK and join us for a couple of weeks. Sydney like Melbourne is great, and we were blessed with the most perfect weather you could hope for. Seeing the opera house and bridge were must do's of course but the real reason as i said before was the fireworks and new years party. Most places fill up fast and we kind of left it a little late but we joined Tom and Paul headed to the only free patch of ground in a tiny little park with about 1,000 others. Quite a few beers later the 10 hours or so of waiting went by fairly quickly and although it wasn't the best view it was definitely the best new years i have ever had. Nicely followed up the next day by a trip to the world famous Bondi beach to soak up some rays and sleep off the after effects from the night before. Bondi was rammed but the good feeling abounded and it was a really pleasant way to spend any day.
Three days in Sydney was pretty much it and saying goodbye far too quickly for what i would have liked we flew to Cairns in the north of Queensland. It was here that we had to amend our plans as the flooding had cut the roads between us and Brisbane as well as the access points to Fraser island. This was gutting to be completely honest as this was the number 1 thing everybody said to do in Australia. Not to be too downhearted we made the most of the north of Queensland heading up to Cape Tribulation and Daintree national park via Port Douglas. Despite the hundreds of slow down for Cassowary signs we saw hide nor hair of them or any other animal for that matter. Queensland's great and the beaches are truly spectacular but the signs everywhere warning of the crocodiles and jellyfish mean you cant go swimming. Its like being given the best dinner in the world and being told you cant eat it. Oh well there are plenty of other activities and happily for me at least the clouds stayed away long enough for me to tick off another of my things to do before you die and i did a skydive. The whole experience was immensely surreal as we kept being delayed and delayed, then it was all go go go and over in the space of five minutes. We freefalled 11,000 feet in 60 seconds before doing the final 3,000 parachuting down. Honestly it is hard to describe the rush, im glad i did it as a tandem as i am sure i would forget to open the schute while looking around. The feeling is incredible and pretty much all consuming so it is very difficult to concentrate on doing anything else. A real highlight and a big thanks for the amazing Christmas present to everyone who contributed.
From Cairns we had a long drive down to Airlie beach in order to take a trip to the Whitsunday islands and the great barrier reef. Having had to change all our plans at the last moment we had nothing booked but managed to do it the same morning we wanted to leave, so we had a mad rush to get the ferry to long island. The resort was pretty decent and made a nice change as it was only the second place where i have had a pool since ive been away, with the added bonus of a hot tub and turtles swimming just off the beach. One day on the island and one day on the reef was all we had time for. Im not going to lie the reef was a bit disappointing although I did see some cool fish and some anemones etc. The area of the reef they have their big pontoon on has had two typhoons recently which pretty much annihilated the coral. Still a good day out followed by a pub quiz at the resort which is a good way to end any day.
Unfortunately for us that concluded Australia. On flying into Brisbane we had intended to drive down to Byron bay but the weather/lack of accommodation rendered that pointless and left us with 4 days to kill in Brisbane. Its not the greatest of cities and when the weather is wet there is very little to do in Australia and even our trip to the cinema was cut short when they turned off the film and told everyone to leave before the city was cut off by the rising water. We did manage a trip to Australia zoo which descended into farce in the heaviest rain i have ever seen. Despite this we did manage to go and pay homage to Steve Irwin at the crocoseum and see his wife and kids do a show. It was good but it must have been awesome if he had been there. Looking around the zoo you realize what an amazing guy he actually was and how much he did for wildlife but also Australia as a global icon.
Due to the nightmare situation we found ourselves in Jon and Jamie bailed early so as not to waste any more of their holiday and headed for Hong Kong and fortunately for myself i managed to change my flights and left the next morning. Rumours abounded about public transport stopping and the airport being cut off, so with no desire to spend anymore time in Brisbane i took a cab and got the earliest flight i could and now i am here amongst the temples and rice terraces on the paradise island of Bali.
Hope everyone at home had a great Christmas and new years. All the best for the rest of the year!!!
Next day was another must do for any self respecting English person and a trip to the neighbours night to meet the cast. Despite how corny i was expecting it to be it was kind of cool. We went with Tom and Paul two guys we met on Christmas day and it turned into a really fun evening of which i have very little recollection. I have the photo and signature evidence of meeting Dr. Karl Kennedy, and also the very lovely Sky Mangle. It turns out Dillon, Stingray and Boyd all live together so they were all there as well. Normally Karls band plays but for some reason he didn't that night which was a bit annoying but the rest of it was great although we definitely were cheated out of the trivia prize. Next day was a bit of a mission though trooping around Ramsay street and some other parts of the neighbours set with a massive hangover. It was ok but the street is nothing like i expected, its really small in real life and just a normal residential street. The tour was pretty short so we managed to get to the cricket again for midday and see us rub salt in the wounds and take another 7 Australian wickets. Immense
That was pretty much it for Melbourne apart from seeing the penguins in the harbour. Melbourne without a shadow of a doubt is the best city i have ever been to, no word of a lie although Sydney does run it close. If i don't end up back there someday i will be very disappointed.
Next up Sydney for the most iconic new years imaginable. For this special occasion Jon and I were joined by Jamie who had managed to leave the arctic conditions of the UK and join us for a couple of weeks. Sydney like Melbourne is great, and we were blessed with the most perfect weather you could hope for. Seeing the opera house and bridge were must do's of course but the real reason as i said before was the fireworks and new years party. Most places fill up fast and we kind of left it a little late but we joined Tom and Paul headed to the only free patch of ground in a tiny little park with about 1,000 others. Quite a few beers later the 10 hours or so of waiting went by fairly quickly and although it wasn't the best view it was definitely the best new years i have ever had. Nicely followed up the next day by a trip to the world famous Bondi beach to soak up some rays and sleep off the after effects from the night before. Bondi was rammed but the good feeling abounded and it was a really pleasant way to spend any day.
Three days in Sydney was pretty much it and saying goodbye far too quickly for what i would have liked we flew to Cairns in the north of Queensland. It was here that we had to amend our plans as the flooding had cut the roads between us and Brisbane as well as the access points to Fraser island. This was gutting to be completely honest as this was the number 1 thing everybody said to do in Australia. Not to be too downhearted we made the most of the north of Queensland heading up to Cape Tribulation and Daintree national park via Port Douglas. Despite the hundreds of slow down for Cassowary signs we saw hide nor hair of them or any other animal for that matter. Queensland's great and the beaches are truly spectacular but the signs everywhere warning of the crocodiles and jellyfish mean you cant go swimming. Its like being given the best dinner in the world and being told you cant eat it. Oh well there are plenty of other activities and happily for me at least the clouds stayed away long enough for me to tick off another of my things to do before you die and i did a skydive. The whole experience was immensely surreal as we kept being delayed and delayed, then it was all go go go and over in the space of five minutes. We freefalled 11,000 feet in 60 seconds before doing the final 3,000 parachuting down. Honestly it is hard to describe the rush, im glad i did it as a tandem as i am sure i would forget to open the schute while looking around. The feeling is incredible and pretty much all consuming so it is very difficult to concentrate on doing anything else. A real highlight and a big thanks for the amazing Christmas present to everyone who contributed.
From Cairns we had a long drive down to Airlie beach in order to take a trip to the Whitsunday islands and the great barrier reef. Having had to change all our plans at the last moment we had nothing booked but managed to do it the same morning we wanted to leave, so we had a mad rush to get the ferry to long island. The resort was pretty decent and made a nice change as it was only the second place where i have had a pool since ive been away, with the added bonus of a hot tub and turtles swimming just off the beach. One day on the island and one day on the reef was all we had time for. Im not going to lie the reef was a bit disappointing although I did see some cool fish and some anemones etc. The area of the reef they have their big pontoon on has had two typhoons recently which pretty much annihilated the coral. Still a good day out followed by a pub quiz at the resort which is a good way to end any day.
Unfortunately for us that concluded Australia. On flying into Brisbane we had intended to drive down to Byron bay but the weather/lack of accommodation rendered that pointless and left us with 4 days to kill in Brisbane. Its not the greatest of cities and when the weather is wet there is very little to do in Australia and even our trip to the cinema was cut short when they turned off the film and told everyone to leave before the city was cut off by the rising water. We did manage a trip to Australia zoo which descended into farce in the heaviest rain i have ever seen. Despite this we did manage to go and pay homage to Steve Irwin at the crocoseum and see his wife and kids do a show. It was good but it must have been awesome if he had been there. Looking around the zoo you realize what an amazing guy he actually was and how much he did for wildlife but also Australia as a global icon.
Due to the nightmare situation we found ourselves in Jon and Jamie bailed early so as not to waste any more of their holiday and headed for Hong Kong and fortunately for myself i managed to change my flights and left the next morning. Rumours abounded about public transport stopping and the airport being cut off, so with no desire to spend anymore time in Brisbane i took a cab and got the earliest flight i could and now i am here amongst the temples and rice terraces on the paradise island of Bali.
Hope everyone at home had a great Christmas and new years. All the best for the rest of the year!!!
Thursday 13 January 2011
WA and Melbourne
I will first make my excuses as to why i haven't done a blog post in over a month. The problem with Australia is that it seems to be the only place on earth where providing easy and cheap internet access is not taken for granted. It does go to show how much we rely on it now.
Despite this the month in Australia with Jon and in the later stages Jamie was immense. I really really enjoyed it and if there is any city on earth that can claim to have the best quality of life it has to be Melbourne or Sydney. Not being much of a city person at the best of times i loved these two cities with Melbourne i think just slightly edging it.
Anyways we started off our ambitious plans with 6 days in western Australia. Originally we were going there to watch some of the cricket but the lack of anything else to do in Perth, plus the rave reviews we heard about the margaret river region meant we took the hire car for an extra day. Before taking the car we had a day in Fremantle where we met up with Josh who happened to be in town before heading to south africa for christmas. We took in the sights of the fremantle jail on a guided tour before grabbing some beers and heading to the beach to watch the sunset over the indian ocean. The quality of life in australia is ridiculous at no point if you live in a major city are you more than 1/2 hour from a beach that puts most places to shame. And these are the city beaches much better were to come.
Perth isn't bad by any means just very quiet and the main attraction in Western Australia is the lack of people and the completely unspoiled coastline. So we headed south and our first day in Margaret river took in the beautiful Meelup beach and the cape peninsula as well as wine tasting at one of the many vineyards in this very famous part of the world. We ended it on Hamlin bay swimming in the crystal clear waters off a 5km stretch of beach with literally no-one else. WA is the size of India with only 2 million people of which most live in Perth. Unfortunately you could spend months here and not see everything and we only had six days. So unlucky for Jon as he was the only one driving the next day we blitzed it south to Pendleton to climb the Gloucester tree which is the highest fire lookout in WA at 60m. A little bit hairy climbing up some spikes sticking out of the trunk but an awesome view from the top. After a quick walk in the bush we pushed on to Walpole where you can do a boardwalk through the forest canopy. It was pretty cool but a distinct lack of any wildlife to look at. To date only kookaburras and kangaroos to tick off in the i-spy guide.
That was pretty much it in WA, i would have liked to have a bit of time to see the dolphins in Bunburry where we stopped for the night but time did not permit as we had to drop the car off. Again as with so much of the trip i flew out of perth with the feeling of having so much unfinished business, only getting the very briefest of tastes.
Even briefer still was my stop in Adelaide as i could count the hours on one hand having had my flight delayed until the evening and then being picked up early as the next morning. Instead of flying to Melbourne straight from Perth we had booked onto a tour of the Grampians and the great ocean road leaving from Adelaide. Normally hating tours more than anything this was much better than expected. First day was a bit rubbish as it was mainly sitting in the bus but the next two involved a bit of hiking, some amazing views from the pinnacles at the top of the Grampian mountains as well as the coastline of the great ocean road. Good times and after this we arrived in Melbourne to get ready for the most un-christmasy Christmas of my life.
Despite it being the 23rd of December and making quite a few attempts to boost the Christmas spirit listening to the Glee rendition of numerous classics (Jons ipod not mine) being sat in the sunshine getting a tan seems to nullify all efforts. Despite this we went to the cathedral in the centre of Melbourne Christmas eve which seemed to be full of English people for the evening service, before standing in the main square watching carols by candlelight. Turned out to be pretty good in the end and it was a great atmosphere all around. For Christmas itself we signed up for the meal at the hostel which after a few initial reservations was pretty good. Being my first Christmas not at home it kind of helps being around other people who are also away from their families and are in the same position as yourself. The atmosphere was pretty good and the post Christmas lunch activities were one to remember as we all headed down to St. Kilda beach to play cricket (which my team won) and football (which i gave up on due to the dubiious leg breaking challenges that seemed to be dominating). After watching the complete misery at home over the winter i was not the slightest bit envious of not having a white Christmas and i reckon i could get used to sunbathing with some turkey sandwiches in the future.
TBC...
Despite this the month in Australia with Jon and in the later stages Jamie was immense. I really really enjoyed it and if there is any city on earth that can claim to have the best quality of life it has to be Melbourne or Sydney. Not being much of a city person at the best of times i loved these two cities with Melbourne i think just slightly edging it.
Anyways we started off our ambitious plans with 6 days in western Australia. Originally we were going there to watch some of the cricket but the lack of anything else to do in Perth, plus the rave reviews we heard about the margaret river region meant we took the hire car for an extra day. Before taking the car we had a day in Fremantle where we met up with Josh who happened to be in town before heading to south africa for christmas. We took in the sights of the fremantle jail on a guided tour before grabbing some beers and heading to the beach to watch the sunset over the indian ocean. The quality of life in australia is ridiculous at no point if you live in a major city are you more than 1/2 hour from a beach that puts most places to shame. And these are the city beaches much better were to come.
Perth isn't bad by any means just very quiet and the main attraction in Western Australia is the lack of people and the completely unspoiled coastline. So we headed south and our first day in Margaret river took in the beautiful Meelup beach and the cape peninsula as well as wine tasting at one of the many vineyards in this very famous part of the world. We ended it on Hamlin bay swimming in the crystal clear waters off a 5km stretch of beach with literally no-one else. WA is the size of India with only 2 million people of which most live in Perth. Unfortunately you could spend months here and not see everything and we only had six days. So unlucky for Jon as he was the only one driving the next day we blitzed it south to Pendleton to climb the Gloucester tree which is the highest fire lookout in WA at 60m. A little bit hairy climbing up some spikes sticking out of the trunk but an awesome view from the top. After a quick walk in the bush we pushed on to Walpole where you can do a boardwalk through the forest canopy. It was pretty cool but a distinct lack of any wildlife to look at. To date only kookaburras and kangaroos to tick off in the i-spy guide.
That was pretty much it in WA, i would have liked to have a bit of time to see the dolphins in Bunburry where we stopped for the night but time did not permit as we had to drop the car off. Again as with so much of the trip i flew out of perth with the feeling of having so much unfinished business, only getting the very briefest of tastes.
Even briefer still was my stop in Adelaide as i could count the hours on one hand having had my flight delayed until the evening and then being picked up early as the next morning. Instead of flying to Melbourne straight from Perth we had booked onto a tour of the Grampians and the great ocean road leaving from Adelaide. Normally hating tours more than anything this was much better than expected. First day was a bit rubbish as it was mainly sitting in the bus but the next two involved a bit of hiking, some amazing views from the pinnacles at the top of the Grampian mountains as well as the coastline of the great ocean road. Good times and after this we arrived in Melbourne to get ready for the most un-christmasy Christmas of my life.
Despite it being the 23rd of December and making quite a few attempts to boost the Christmas spirit listening to the Glee rendition of numerous classics (Jons ipod not mine) being sat in the sunshine getting a tan seems to nullify all efforts. Despite this we went to the cathedral in the centre of Melbourne Christmas eve which seemed to be full of English people for the evening service, before standing in the main square watching carols by candlelight. Turned out to be pretty good in the end and it was a great atmosphere all around. For Christmas itself we signed up for the meal at the hostel which after a few initial reservations was pretty good. Being my first Christmas not at home it kind of helps being around other people who are also away from their families and are in the same position as yourself. The atmosphere was pretty good and the post Christmas lunch activities were one to remember as we all headed down to St. Kilda beach to play cricket (which my team won) and football (which i gave up on due to the dubiious leg breaking challenges that seemed to be dominating). After watching the complete misery at home over the winter i was not the slightest bit envious of not having a white Christmas and i reckon i could get used to sunbathing with some turkey sandwiches in the future.
TBC...
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