Dragons and whales and power cuts - oh my!

ok so Cath and I were in Padang Bai the last time we spoke - a nice little quiet harbour town where we were to spend a nice little quiet night before getting the ferry over to the Gili Islands.  You may have already guessed that that plan went somewhat awry due to a lack of dinner and an overbundence of arak cocktails.  An enjoyable night was spent in the reggae bar in town, but we paid dearly for it the next morning.  Arak is most definitely off the menu for the rest of our trip.

Moving swiftly on, the Gili Islands were lovely.  We stayed on Trawangan, which is known as 'party island' although Cath and I did the exact opposite; after our little episode back in padang bai we felt the need to detox.  The Gilis are tiny islands off the coast of Lombok where water (if there is a tap and if it is working, it will have seawater coming out of it) and electricity are scarce commodities but their setting makes up for any minor inconvenience.  [sidenote: in our detox efforts, we decided to watch films at night instead of hitting the bars.  Due to power cuts, we have no idea how the film Vicky, Christina, Barcelona ends so any information much appreciated!].   We went snorkelling (when one is on a Gili island, one must snorkel) and saw big turtles, which were amazing. 

After a few nights on Trawangan we found out about a boat trip that would take us to Flores via Komodo, which was where we were planning to head anyway so we decided to tag along.  There were supposed to be a minimum of 10 people (max 18) before the trip could go, but some people dropped out at the last minute so there were seven of us (not counting the crew).  The boat was described as 'traditional', a word which can be replaced with 'lacking in most basic facilities but you're in Indonesia now, so just deal with it'. The trip took 4 days /3 nights (all of which were spent on the boat).   We slept above the engine under a canvas on a "matresses"on a wooden floor (like being in a low tent) and the rest of the time was spent either snorkelling or sitting on the only other deck.  We moored the boat overmight for two of the nights but the second night was spent travelling - complete with a storm or three so we were tossed around while the little boat contended with massive waves and whirlpools.

The highlight of the past few days was definitely that boat trip.  Despite four days at sea where the only shower was a dip in the sea and the toilet was an interesting rocking squat right by the 'kitchen' it was great fun.  We saw a whale one morning and lots of flying fish accompanied us.  Apparently there were dolphins but I missed them as I was trying (and failing) to get some sleep...  Last but not least we went to Rinca and saw Komodo dragons.  Amazing things - walking through the island (closely following our stick bearing guide) and seeing them wandering around was a real Jurassic Park moment!


We are having serious technical difficulties so I can't upload photos just yet....I will as soon as I can though

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CATHY!!!

If you're anywhere near South East Asia, you may hear the distant cry: "It's my birthday!!!!!!".  Yes, Cathy is officially as old as me today so she can't give me any more grief about being younger than me!

We're stopping over night in Padang Bai before heading to the Gilis for some white sandy beaches and snorkelling.   Since we last spoke, I have been mostly recuperating and snorkelling and travelling in buses and generally enjoying myself.

Oh - and, we did see dolphins - lots of them.  Yay!

ps: Andrew Duffy - I am impresssed.  Cat has a big goofy grin on her face.  Boy done good x

Birthday #2

Attempt #2 at having a birthday day to remember involved Cath and I heading to the local waterpark in Kuta.  Cheesy, but it had to be done and an excellent day was had by us both.  We managed to go down every slide despite feeling rather nervous while waiting for a couple of them...I feel a new addiction coming on.  Nice to feel like a kid again!

Currently in Lovina on the North Coast of Bali - we left Kuta a few days ago and spent three nights in Ubud, where contrary to all the pamphlets scattered around the town, we did not find spiritual enlightenment.   Cath tried to kill me by dragging me on a 6 hour walk in the midday sun but that was my favourite Ubud experience as we were out of the town and in the country.  I went on a cookery course so can now make nasi goreng, satay and the lovely peanut sauce we've been eating over here.  Since we were in the mood for courses, we decided to do a Balinese dance course.   The dance teacher was elegance personified....Cath and I were like the 'before' in an anti-perspirant ad.  Nice.  Very complicated dancing though, in our defence - everything from toes to eyeballs has to move in the right way.

Right I'm off for a little lie down now....we managed to have our second big night out in Indonesia last night on our first day in Lovina - swimming in the pool at 3.30am.  Classy....

Off to find some dolphins tomorrow, I'll let you know how we get on.

ps: mum don't worry, I managed to pick up a decent-ish pair of boots in Kuta, which I'll try and hold on to this time....

It's my birthday!!

Felt quite unwell this morning and not just because of the descent into old age....  We're staying in Kuta in Bali (like Benidorm for the Aussies) and decided to embrace the cheesy club for my last night as a relative youngster.   Started off quite decently with a nice meal in a swankier than we've been used to restaurant but quickly descended into mayhem.  We ended up at a club called Bounty (huge place complete with its own pretend pirate boat) and amused ourselves until 4am discovating the night away and listening to some quite terrible karaoke.  This morning was a bit (lot) painful, but a few hours in a spa (massages, body scrubs and flower petal bath) and a bit of pizza and I'm right as rain.

Thanks to you all for your birthday wishes - wish you were all here!!!

xxxx

I can't keep count of weeks any more

I'm getting too old for all this week counting shenanigans, so you'll just have to work with me here...

I left you in Yogya, where Cath and I enjoyed a nice few days playing at arts and crafts.   From Yogya, we moved on to Mount Bromo and Ijen Crater, which involved a 12 hour bus journey that I wasn't looking forward to but it wasn't actually that bad in the end.  Mount Bromo is amazing - it's a (relatively) new crater that has grown in the crater of a huge volcano that erupted many moons ago.   It's quite other-wordly and lunar.  After a sunrise from a viewpoint higher than Bromo, we were dropped at the base of the volcano itself and left to make our way up.  After a tiring wander up through the sand, we were faced with 400 steps, which was knackering to just look at!  Made it up though  and back down again all before 9am!  We went back to our hotel for breakfast, which turned out to be boiled egg and jam sandwiches (mmmm).

After Bromo, it was another 5 - 6 hours to get to Ijen Crater.  The last couple of hours were on pretty bad roads - at one point Cath and I had to jump out and find rocks to put behind the wheels of the jeep to stop it slipping back down the track....  We did eventually make it safe and sound to our home for the night, where the dinner options were "noodles or noodles soup".   I was feeling less adventurous so went for the noodles....

We had a slightly later start for Ijen - breakfast at 4.30am this morning....then it was off to walk 3km up the mountain.  I say 'up' but I'm not sure that quite describes exactly how steep it was!  I left Cath the mountain goat to run up there and took it slow and steady.  Amazingly, the local guys make that trip twice a day every day to collect sulphur from the volcanic lake at the top and come down with baskets over their shoulders sometimes carrying 70 or 80 kilos in weight.  Incredible!

From  Ijen, it was a short trip to the ferry to....BALI!!  (Cath and I very excited).  Our first attempts to find accommodation here were met with "NO ROOM" signs, but we managed to get ourselves a lovely room in a hotel with a swim up bar all for about a tenner a night between us....not bad.  We've decided Bali is a well deserved spot of R&R and we're taking full advantage!  Next few days will hopefully involve a bit of discovating, some beachside temple sunsets, more shopping and possibly a waterpark.

Highlight of the past few days was a personal challenge one of actually making it up to the top of Ijen..although realising I then had to make it back down the slippery slope very nearly took the shine off this achievement!

Challenge has been me being a muppet and leaving my good boots on a bemo (local bus) here in Bali.  Need to get some replacements so that I can go on more early morning treks and climbs  (Hang on.....there's a whisper of a plan whirling round my brain here.....)