[quote=“Loretta”]The waitlisting turned out to be a bit of optimism. They eventually decided I wasn’t even allowed to wait.
Still, I got Bali for a mere NT$12000 and I haven’t been there for years. Waaaarm!! Yeah![/quote]
Good deal Loretta. Well done. I am writing from the north coast of Bali. It is hot, but not as hot as you would be in Thailand or other destinations in the northern hemisphere. I didn’t factor this in and as a result, we are mired in the beginning of rainy season here.
Kuta is rife with aggressive salesmen. The worst I’ve seen. You may want to get outta there ASAP. And whatever you do, don’t fill out any surveys. They result in a 7:30 AM call to your hotel room inviting you to a time-share pitch. Arrrgggghhhhh.
I did get some great deals on DVDs however. The best deal I found was: buy 10, get 3 free. Don’t pay more than 10,000 Rp per DVD.
Yesterday, we went to the NE coast (Amed) to snorkel a japanese wreck. They said it was a sub, but it was completely corraled. Hard to even tell it was a wreck.
Today we are in Lovina. My g/f is taking her open water course and I, well, I am forumosing. Woohooooo.
We are going to have a very sunny day today, but it will probably get overcast around 2:00PM.
Now, if you really want to party when you get here, I am here with over 20 Taipei expats. Not one of them is a forumosan oddly enough. The partying ranges from rave-extreme to hung over mumbly grunties. They are all staying in this swanky villas right on the shore. We are in a hotel right next to them. Currently, we are the only ones in the hotel (bungalows with 24/7 hot water and electricity) and it will probably remain that way. It cost’s 150,000 Rp a day and it is paradise. My only gripe is that the actual sea is a far cry from the turquoise (?) bays of Thailand. Just open sea, black water, no beach to speak of as the sea butts right up against the seawall. Still, we are treated to the most spectacular lightning storms each night.
To be quite frank, this will be my last trip to Bali. It is a far cry from the paradise that Southern Thailand is. The people are incredible. The culture is rich. But I demand natural eye candy and this place just don’t cut it. That said, Sunday I will be diving at Menjangan Island. This is reputedly, the best spot on tap. I will share my discoveries with y’all once I’ve experienced it.
Surfers, the swells at Dreamland and Kuta disappointed the surfer crowd inour party, but the sea picked up last night and they sounded pretty excited about the potential.
Okay, gotta see what else has been happening around these here parts.
From Lovina Beach, Bali
Gump out.