Fiji – Jimbaran
Halo selamat sore, (hi and good afternoon) to everyone. 17/4/16 – 21/4/16Well we finally arrived Bali in the wee hours to a temperature of 30’c with massive humidity and haggling a taxi driver price down after he came rushing up to us in the arrival lounge, was pretty hard work. Eventually after almost everyone else had got their taxis and left we agreed a price and was soon at our hotel, the Srikandi Hotel in Jimbaren. When we woke a few hours later, we were blessed with having the hotel pool directly outside our room, (which had gone unnoticed on arrival). It was 9am and the sky was as blue as I’ve ever seen so far on our trip with not a single cloud in sight. The temp was around 32’c however the humidity was not as bad. We are staying a few hundred meters from the beach so went out in search for it. Jimbaran is a traditional, local fishing village with views across the ocean as far as the eye can see. Many traditional Balinese stalls are crunched in together along the beachfront selling their recently caught fish, all in traditional attire, from their homemade grass baskets. A beautiful sight even though the smell was appalling. If you want to see the real cultural sights of Bali, I recommend a visit here.
After a hearty breakfast of curried fried noodles and fried chicken, (I think that’s what the translation was!!), we strolled along the beach, as we paddled in the glorious blue ocean, with the waves breaking at our feet. Until we came across a gap in the many beachside restaurants, and strolled along the very busy but impressive main road. Hundreds and hundreds of scooters drove by, some with 3/4 people on them, some with a years worth of groceries on them. All at a fast pace, this is truly what I expected Bali to be.
We caught a taxi to Kuta, and spent the afternoon strolling round the streets, until we came across its beach and low and behold a massively packed beach with tourists from every country. In between the loungers were the locals selling everything from bangles to sarongs, and there was as many locals as there were tourists, all haggling prices. Before we sat down we were surrounded by locals. Tina bought a few bits of jewellery before we realized we were sat with tourists drinking beers. It wasn’t long before we were doing the same thing and found we were sat at a make shift bar called g’day bar! An Australian selling beers! How inventive, resourceful and welcoming.
On our return to the hotel we were exhausted, so at around 6pm we decided to have an hours nap, (it’s very tiring is our lifestyle now you know), to eventually wake up at 7.30am the following day.
Day 2
Another stroll along this wonderful beach and we headed further into the village and come across a local Bali spa. In we went and after a few hours of glorious prodding, poking, muscle stretching, cleansing and scrubbing we came out 10 years younger. We only had a pedicure each but it was luxurious in every way. All for a few NZ $. Blissful and ready to take whatever came our way. Later that day we went further up the coast via taxi, (the only way to travel), and was soon at Le Meridian Hotel, where we sat at their rooftop garden bar, with cocktails, (many of them), in hand watching the sun set across the horizon. Sky ever changing colours from the deep blue cloudless sky, through burnt oranges to the black of the night. Lovely. Then staggering to the lift we left this prestigious 5 star hotel, walked across the road for a bite to eat. The surrounding restaurants from the roadside were not much to look at, however once decided which one to eat at, the staff escorted us through the building until we reached the beach, which was covered in tables all adorned with freshly cut flowers, white linen and the best table lighting I have ever seen. Not only this but every restaurant had their own patch of beach all again with beautiful dimly lit tables as far as the eye could see. The aura and ambience was truly magnificent, we were in awe of the astounding beauty. Very romantic.
Day 3
This morning after breaky we decided to walk further. What I thought was a tiny fishing village, has now sprawled into a town with streets leading in every direction – it’s massive. Later on we took a cab to Uluwatu Temple, right at the very bottom of Bali. To say this place was stunning is an understatement, especially as we were there for the sunset. Last night’s sunset was amazing tonight’s was even more stunning. We were presented with all the colours of the rainbow, from the bluest of skies through to yellows, golds, reds, violets, purples and onto the blackest sky ever. Even more impressive was that there was no light pollution so the stars shone and twinkled like diamonds in the finest jewellery shops. Very, very romantic. When we arrived back to Jimbaren, we remembered how to go a few streets inland from the beach to find the most authentic Balinese restaurants. Not much to look at (at all), but the smiles that greeted us was very welcoming. Thank goodness this place had photos on their menus as they were all written in Indonesian! Never-the-less we tucked into a hearty supper. We even watched the chefs prepare and cook our delights in front of us. The sights and smells of that place will remain locked in my memory forever.
Day 4
Today we moved to Legian for 2 nights, which is about 30 minutes up the coast.
In all the cities in the western world, we have finally discovered UBER TAXIS here in Bali. We have found these the cheapest, cleanest and most reliable taxis ever. We did however have a few hiccups at the beginning, but now we can officially call ourselves Ubers. If like us you haven’t discovered them, just download their app. It’s great, you order on line, get a price, an estimated time of arrival, and pay before the cab arrives if using plastic. The cars are modern, clean and very comfortable. Its the way to go from now on.