Seminyak & Ubud

13th March- 5am alarm call to leave for the airport. Car and guide waiting for us. First time we've seen the roads a little bit quiet. Got caught up in a funeral procession on the main road! The guide explained that it was a Chinese funeral, he could tell from the type of vehicle, a highly adorned open back truck that was packed with people. A lady sat on the back throwing pieces of paper into the road (like they need any more litter). This signified a tradition of throwing 100 dollar bills into the street. They had to stop throwing real dollars because children were getting hurt running into the street to collect the money! The reason they were on the road so early was because they were probably driving 100-200 kilometers to the burial site. Chinese are buried, Cambodian are cremated. The majority of Cambodians are of Chinese descent now and a Chinese Cambodian is not allowed to marry a true Cambodian.

Flight to KL was uneventful but didnt realise that there are now 2 terminals at KL. We were checked straight through to Bali so no messing about with collecting luggage and checking in again which was nice. Luckily Derek had some 15 year old Malaysian currency, some of which was no longer valid, but at least we were able to eat at KL airport to fill in some of the four hour wait. Derek also took the opportunity to contact an old colleague by text. Flight to Bali took off bang on time and we landed at 7.30pm. We are now 8 hours ahead of the UK.

Met by our guide a very friendly lady called Anjani who we also suspect wants to sell us a load of excursions!

The Courtyard Marriott hotel in Seminyak is very security conscious. The car was inspected and all our luggage was scanned before we could get to reception. Nice touch was immediately being handed cold towels and a drink while we checked in. The good news about the room is that we have a balcony, pool view and no one either side of us. The bad news is that it's closest to the restaurant so we get a bit of kitchen noise. It shuts at 10pm so not a huge problem. Fantastic bathroom with huge walk-in rain shower. I want one of these at home! Noisy air conditioning though so ear plugs will be needed..

14th March - Wandered down to the beach this morning before breakfast and it's only a 5 minute walk. Within that time we were accosted by 3 time share touts on mopeds - we had been warned that they're a pain around here.

Morning at the pool, declined aqua aerobics but will probably get roped in before the end of our stay (not Derek, he'll just watch and laugh). Met the guide at midday and have booked a full day sightseeing trip for Thursday- it will be good to see more of the island.

The clouds came over so we walked into town and got wet in the

warm rain. Sheltered in a Vegan cafe which had an amazing menu of drinks and smoothies that could allegedly fix any mood or ailment! We tried the chocolate mousse cupcake and it was really good, perhaps they taste better because they're guilt free? There is a small shopping mall with some high end shops, lovely clothes, handbags and shoes (although everyone just wears flip flops here). Walked back along the waters edge of the beach, the sea is warm however some of the "Run-Off" into the sea leaves you wondering where it's coming from.

Dinner tonight was at Kultur ( thanks again Trip Advisor), small restaurant away from the main restaurant area. We walked and it was a good thirty minutes from the hotel. Two mains, a large beer and a coke was just over £10 and the food was great. Two more drinks on the way back to the hotel in different bars cost more than dinner! One bar had women's Australian rules football on the TV and it was really good once Derek had explained the rules to me.

15th March - Woke up to beautiful weather so it's another day at the pool with kindles and watching the world go by.

The clouds came over at 4pm followed by the rain, only lasted about an hour. Happy hour starts at 5pm so we thought we'd better give the bar our business and tried the frozen mojitos.

Dinner at Lacalaca Mexican and the food was great. Had to be washed down with tequila of course.

Walked a different route back to the hotel and noticed a lot of other restaurants, there's certainly loads of choice here in Seminyak although most on the main drag aren't brilliant.

16th March - Brilliant day sightseeing! Picked up at 8am by Gede (pronounced G'day as in the Australian) our guide, and Rudi the driver.

First stop was a traditional Balinese house compound lived in by Mum, Dad, three children and one set of grandparents. The house follows a similar concept to Feng Shui and must be built to enable seeing both the sun and the mountains. The entrance to the compound is a narrow doorway in the outer wall and has a low wall built behind, this is to discourage and deflect evil spirits from entering. The next area is the buildings which are separated into a kitchen block, a sleeping block and two open pavilions one of which is used for festival days (and also has a day bed for sleeping on non festival days) and the other for general usage and includes the TV on the wall. There is also a very deep well for their water and the family shrine. We were told that there are four different types of shrine - family, village, region and national.

The final area is the garden and animal area where the cow, pigs and chickens are kept. The cow is for helping the farmer toil the land it's not kept for milk. They also grow bananas and other fruits here.

We went into the kitchen which was sparse to say the least, just a few pots and utensils and a fire to cook on plus a small gas bottle fed two ring stove top.

We sat in one of the open pavilions and were given Balinese coffee and tea with Balinese cake which is made of sticky and wet rice. I can only liken the texture to very solid blancmange. Wouldn't say we'd rush to have more..

The second stop was Beratan Lake and we were taken in a kayak across the water to see Ulan Danu Temple which is dedicated to the water goddess Dewi Danu. This temple is often seen on promotional advertising for Bali and is a big tourist attraction. The lake is a popular day out for locals with speed boat rides etc. There's also a large mosque so they get a lot of Muslim visitors too.

Next we drove up the mountain to the stunning view of the twin lakes Buyan and Tamblingan. From here you view the North and South sides of the island only we couldn't see the North side due to the cloud. On the way up we had stopped roadside at Wanagiri Monkey

Forest to say hello to the monkeys and saw some cute babies.

Final stop before lunch was to a waterfall - it wasn't the one we were meant to see as that one is inaccessible at the moment due to the landslides caused by the unusual amount of rain Bali had a few weeks ago. The walk down to it was fine and it was well worth the effort but the walk up was tough in the heat!

Lunch was three courses at a place that resembled little more than a shack overlooking the lake. We climbed steep wooden steps and the 'restaurant' was wooden tables and stools with an open view and that was it, absolutely nothing else in the room. We were the only customers (Gede and Rudi ate separately as they said they preferred their food spicy)! No menu, we were just brought food - freshly made deep fried spring rolls with dip, stir fry pork topped with boiled potato wedges and deep fried banana in a crispy coating with chocolate sauce. Everything was delicious. Drinks were watermelon and passion fruit but the pips kept going up the straw!

After lunch we drove to the rice field terraces which is an area now UNESCO protected. Absolutely beautiful and so peaceful. Gede explained about the different types of rice they grow and how it's grown. They do export some of it but mostly they need it for their own consumption - sometimes they even have to import it if their crop is spoiled due to weather conditions.

Finally we visited a place where they grow coffee, spices and fruit and the coffee making process explained. We saw the beans in their different stages and an old man was roasting the washed and dried coffee beans in a flat pan over an open fire. There were caged palm civets which are the animals that eat and defecate coffee beans to make the very expensive luwak coffee.

Next we got to taste about ten different teas and coffees in the tasting area which was good fun if only the girl making them hadn't looked quite so bored throughout the whole thing! She only livened up once it was time to take us to the shop 'in case we wanted to buy some tea or coffee!' We couldn't resist actually and bought Balinese coffee for Derek which is strong and bitter and some Lemongrass tea for me as it was my favourite of all we got to taste.

It was about an hours drive back to the hotel and Gede gave us lots more information about Balinese culture and it's fascinating. The Balinese adapt themselves to the situation so if you're tired sleep and if you're hungry eat, doesn't matter what the time is or what anyone else is doing- sounds great to me. He explained the offerings and sacrifice symbols that you see everywhere in Bali, on the

pavements, car dashboards, in front of shrines etc. Normally a small container made from palm leaves and always containing flowers and a food item such as some rice or a small biscuit. The ones on the pavements all get trodden of course but it doesn't matter as long as they are not stamped on or kicked maliciously.
He also explained about the Day of Silence on 28th March, the day before the Hindu New Year. This is a day of silence, fasting and self reflection so no cooking, working, entertainment etc. Thank heavens we miss that one!

17th March - Day at the beach! The hotel has a private area at Double Six beach which is only a short walk from the hotel. We were the only guests there and made a nice change from the pool with it's loud Aussies and kids. The sea was so warm and had big waves so we had great fun. It's a great place to watch the would-be surfers and there was a lot of them! It was cloudy in the morning but really warm,

the sun appeared in the afternoon and we got complimentary fruit lollies to cool us down. Nice touch.

Went to the Moonlite rooftop bar (which is where Rebecca is staying when in Seminyak) for sundown drinks and the sky was stunning although it was too cloudy for a sunset. Went to another Australian bar for dinner called Lucky Day as they had a really good live band.

18th March - Back at the beach as we enjoyed it so much yesterday. However, glad we got here early as there aren't many sun beds and they're all taken now - mind you it is getting on for lunchtime. It started to rain at about 4pm but by the time we had walked back to the hotel it had stopped so went to the pool for a while. And then another downpour! They don't last long.

Dinner at a cafe called Tamade, tiny place with 3 tables and no decor other that handwritten quotations on the walls. Mum and Dad did the cooking while the son was front of house. Very limited menu but it was an Indonesian and Chinese fusion. Sweet and sour chicken with fried egg on top (!) and Nasi Goreng plus a beer and soft drink came to just £11, excellent value for money. On to our favourite bar for more live music and it was a different band tonight, they were also really good. Tried to chat above the noise to an Aussie couple on the table next to us as they live on the east coast and they tried to give us tips for places to go when we get there but we couldn't really hear what they were saying.

Off to Ubud in the morning.

19th March - Picked up at noon by our guide and the driver. Traffic is heavy, lots of people taking advantage of it being Sunday to go out for the day. Ubud should have been about an hour on a good run but took us more than two but did include a stop at a craft centre that works with silver. We saw ladies working with the silver and the process was explained but again it seemed more about getting us into the shop to buy the finished product. There was such an overwhelming choice, but we're not interested in buying for the sake of it.

We arrived at the hotel....the wrong hotel! The guide had insisted he had been to the hotel many times but apparently couldn't recognise it as being the wrong one! I had said as we pulled into the driveway that it was not our hotel (ignored) and they gaily removed our luggage and said goodbye and have a nice holiday whilst I stood by the car saying over and over again that it was the wrong place. The staff very efficiently tried to check us in before the penny finally dropped and everyone agreed with me that it wasn't our hotel! Luggage back in the car and off we went again. Driver didn't seem

too pleased..

Finally at Wapa di Ume, the correct hotel and it's beautiful. So different to the Marriott in Seminyak, it's peaceful and situated in lush green landscape. It's luxurious rustic. Our terrace overlooks the forest as does the bathroom with the sunken bath. And there are fresh flowers dotted everywhere making the room smell gorgeous. We are invited to attend yoga at 8am...

It's quite a hike into town so we got the complementary shuttle to go and explore. Thank goodness we took umbrellas as the heavens opened and there was a tremendous downpour. It only lasted a few minutes but people got very wet.

The restaurant we chose looked deserted and we discovered courtesy of free WIFI in a nearby bar that it's closed on Sundays. Upon recommendation of another guest we ate back at the hotel restaurant and it was all delicious including the crumble and ice cream (needed a little reminder of home)! The restaurant setting has a lovely view - tonight it was of the thunder and lightning! Still good to be able to watch it sheltered outside in shorts and t-shirts drinking wine and keeping a wary eye on the frog just a few feet away. Got the courtesy golf buggy back to our room as it decided to rain heavily again just as we decided to leave the bar - we would have been drenched.

Mosquito nets in place around the massive bed, not been bitten yet thanks to religiously applying the spray (Derek bitten a few times because he forgets to apply!) but not taking any chances here as it's mosquito heaven with all the water and forestry surrounding us.

20th March - We slept so well because it's so quiet here. Lovely breakfast menu and all the staff greet you with a smile and a good morning.

Took the shuttle bus back to town and walked to a bridge over long drop to the river below. Back to the Market area to haggle over flip flops, bought two pairs for £3 each - the had started off at £16 each! It's very humid today so back to the pool to cool off.

Had a wonderful Balinese massage this afternoon at the hotel Spa,

and would happily have stayed for hours. There are only 33 rooms at the hotel so I think they are glad to see a customer and have something to do so they really spoil you.

Back to town tonight for dinner and found a street full of shops, restaurants and bars that we hadn't realised existed. It was quite a walk so sore feet now.

We thought about doing the 7am guided walk tomorrow morning through the rice fields and surrounding countryside but have decided against it on the basis that with our flight to Cairns not being until midnight it would make it a very long day.

21st March - Last day in Bali. Checkout is at noon so we packed up and went to the pool for the morning. They are so nice here, they've

offered us a room late afternoon free of charge so we can shower and change before being picked up at 7pm. We can also use all their facilities so we took the shuttle to town again mid afternoon to have a late lunch and buy yet more flip flops (Derek this time, love the bartering). Guide and driver very prompt and only took an hour to the airport so we are 4 hours early for the flight! Just as well really as Bali Airport check-in is a nightmare then a problem with Jan's visa to Australia which took ages to sort out..