Uluwatu and Ubud

So our plans changed a little bit...
We didn't make it to the remote island, but let me back up a little.

We jetted through Malaysia and into Singapore, where we spent two days. The differences between Singapore and the rest of south-east Asia are myriad. It is an extremely modern and wealthy country and city. A single US dollar buys only 1.25 Singapore dollars, and the prices for things were very near those back home. This causes a little bit of shell shock coming from cheap Malaysia. We each paid 20 Singapore dollars a night to stay in a dorm room with about 15 other people. Usually our budget is about $25 for a whole day! Besides the expense Singapore was a nice change, a well organized train system, traffic that stops at stop signs, a much cleaner environment and air conditioning! We spent one of our days there enjoying their fantastic zoo and the other marvelling at the futuristic architecture of the city. Garrett and I caught our plain from Singapore to Bali bright and early, with Alex to follow a couple of hours later that same day.

We eventually (through the winding alleys packed with crazed motorbike driver in the blistering heat) made it to the prearranged guest house where Alex would later meet us. We spent two glorious days in Kuta, the backpacker friendly/ tourist trap area near the airport. Kuta's main attraction is the large, rather dirty beach that has fantastic surfing waves. The area is also infested with Australian travellers (surfers).The boys rented some boards and tried their hand at surfing. The result: varied success, board burn, a good sunburn and an increased enthusiasm for surfing! I attempted some body surfing on our first day there (too much fun!) but my ear was very clogged so avoided the water the next day. As Garrett said, we then planned to head to a smaller island were I would get SCUBA certified, but the morning we were to leave there was a torrential down pour of rain (which made the prospect of an open ferry ride a bit unpleasant) and I officially had an ear infection. So, instead of going to the island we decided to explore more of the island of Bali.We caught a ride south to the Uluwatu area where we stayed two nights.

We checked out the beaches, which are famed for surfing. Uluwatu has a truly dramatic coastline. Sheer, rocky cliffs surrounded by jungle and peppered with cafes and hotels, drop down to massively impressive surf. Definitely not for the novice surfer. From the cliff cafes we watched skilled surfers ride the huge waves for what seemed like miles. We explored a cliff temple which was covered in monkeys and had spectacular views and concluded our time there with a decadent (and not really budget fitting) seafood meal where we were served at our table literally right on the sandy white beach.

From Uluwatu we moved north and inland to Ubud. We scored  a fantastic room. Big, clean, private bathroom and it has a pool! Classy digs for the likes of us. So far in Ubud we have explored the town a little bit and visited the monkey forest sanctuary. The sanctuary is home to about 540 monkeys, none of which seem to be the least bit timid about jumping on the passing people and trying to dig in bags for treats. The forest is beautiful. Thick jungle that is threaded with paved paths for walkers and dotted with ancient, dark stone temples. Tomorrow we plan on renting a couple of motorbikes and heading to volcanic craters that are near Ubud.

My ear infection is clearing up nicely, but just a couple of hours ago Garrett gashed open his shin in the swimming pool. It doesn't need stitches luckily, but its was close. At this rate Alex is next for some sort of health problem! So we will continue to dubiously bumble along, enjoying ourselves immensely!

Until next time!
Ashley