Hi all,
After I posted last night, Julia arrived and we got our transfer to our hotel all good. Julia has been living and teaching in Melbourne for two years but is originally from Toronto.
We arrived at the hotel and it is beautiful. Friendly staff, modern and clean. I'm sharing a room with a girl from New Mexico called Reyann, and Julia is sharing with a Scottish girl also called Claire.
I had a good sleep and then Reyann and I got up to get some money. The exchange rate here is 1 Australian dollar = 10,000 Indonesian Rupiah, so we very quickly became millionaires!!
We enjoyed the included buffet breakfast where we met a few of our tour mates. Everyone seems really nice! For the first time ever on a tour I am the only Australian (except for our guide - but he's not a passenger!). We've got people from England, Scotland, Norway, Germany, Switzerland, Canada and the USA.
Reyann and I went for a quick walk to Kuta Beach and then walked back to meet the group. We had a quick meeting to discuss what we would be doing for the next week and then set off in our bus. It was huge and very comfortable! The journey to our destination was about an hour and a half. Along the way, Ryan (our guide) told us that today and the next two days are public holidays as we are currently in the middle of what is the Hindu equivalent of Christmas. As a result there are beautiful decorations hanging in the streets.
We arrived at our destination, Tanah Lot Temple. In the 15th century a Javanese Hindu priest called Dang Huang Ngurah (probably spelling that wrong!!!) brought Hinduism to Bali. He slept on this little island and in the morning the local fisherman brought him food and gifts. He told them this was a special place and that they should build a temple. The name 'Tanah Lot' translates to 'water land', which makes sense because the temple is on a small island a short distance from the shore. Apparently there are seven of these sea temples in Bali. We will see another later on the trip.
Walking down to the temple we saw a Luwak Cat. Apparently these are famous for chewing coffee beans and pooing them out, it's the most expensive coffee in the world! They're related to ferrets, they looked a bit creepy to me!!
The temple was really beautiful. We couldn't walk out to it because a) we aren't Hindu and b) it was high tide so the waves were crashing in. But we admired it from afar. We walked up quite close and then went up to a cliff top. There was a guy up here holding huge snakes - yuck!!!
Our lunch stop was at a local restaurant and I had some delicious Mee Goreng noodles and papaya juice.
On the journey back we were meant to be dropped at Seminyak Beach to go swimming and walk back, but the weather is quite grey and cloudy today so we got dropped at our hotel in Kuta (further south) instead. If the weather is better once I'm back next week I'll head to Seminyak alone. It's the tail end of wet season at the moment and so far we've copped a little bit of rain. Hopefully the sun makes an appearance at some point, but it's pretty hot and humid without it anyway!
After arriving back at the hotel, Claire, Julia, Eleanor, Luke and I decided to go and get a massage. We walked down the street in the direction of a place our guide Ryan had recommended. We couldn't find it and ended up at a little place that looked OK. When we got inside we got weird dungeony vibes and all had a bit of a giggle but went along with it anyway. Luke decided to head back. The remaining four of us all had massages. At times it was relaxing, but at other times just plain painful!! She pulled my hair at one point which I hated. The mat was a bit gritty too. When we left the massage parlour we all had a good laugh!! It's a funny story to tell and hey, for $8 Australian for an hour I can't really complain!! Overall it was good.
I came back and had a shower (the oil and grit on me was gross!!) then Julia and I walked down to Kuta beach to try and see the sunset. Unfortunately it was quite cloudy on the horizon, but the lighting was still quite nice. We still have a fair few more opportunities for sunsets so fingers crossed. Kuta Beach had lots of rubbish on it but the Gili Islands are meant to be amazing. Walking back was crazy as we hit a big patch of motor bikes weaving in and out!
In an hour we are heading out for dinner and then some drinks. So far I'm having a really good time! Hopefully the weather picks up a little bit so we can have some good beach days too.
Love to all
Claire
Xoxox
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