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| heading for the hills |
i arrived at the airport in Bali at around 8pm and went through immigration and collected my luggage. very happy to see my bike box waiting for me sitting by herself in a quite corner. then went through customs and was out on the streets of Bali before i knew it. the sounds and smells along with the humid climate felt great. Ahhh, back in Asia! i found a peaceful place to reassemble the bike and organize my luggage.then i was off cruising in the direction of Kuta beach. the famous party town in Bali. it was more or less exactly how i had imagined it to be. busy streets lined with clubs, restaurants and trendy surf shops selling cheap beach ware. i had no real idea where i was going, was just riding along until i found some suitable accommodation for the night. after stopping at a couple places i finally found a cozy hotel hidden down a dark ally just off the main road. the next morning i woke up and had a solid breakfast at the hotel and then went back out on the streets to ride up to Ubud (the cultural capital of Bali). it only took me about 3 hours to get to Ubud from Kuta. got lost a couple times trying to navigate the countless intersections. as i rode through Denpasar i was blown away by the amount of traffic lining the streets and the manner of driving. the style of driving in Indonesia is crazy and nonsensical, similar to Nepal and India but even looser with hardly any regulation. a anything goes driving style.it seems to work in some ways but not very efficient and also quite dangerous. i spent nearly a week living in Ubud exploring the streets and temples, eating fantastic food and simply lounging around in my hammock. i liked Ubud a lot but it was yet another place that i would have liked to have visited 30 years ago before it was 'discovered' and highlighted in every guidebook one could find. it was a bit too busy and touristy for my taste. after a week i was ready to leave so i rode out of town and over to the opposite side of the Island to Lovina beach. to get there i had to climb over the volcanic mountains of central Bali. it took me two days to get to Lovina. one day to get to the top of the mountains and then a short day going down the other side. i then found a peaceful bungalow on the beach and spent 3 nights there. this was a place i was sad too leave, it was the perfect spot to relax and enjoy the ocean. i only have a one month visa for Indonesia and want to leave some time to see Java so i then rode to the port town Gillimanuk and crossed over to Java on the ferry.
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| view from Lovina cottage |
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| hotel balcony Ubud |
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| can you see the dolphin? |
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| good bye bali |
