I got back yesterday from another trip to Bali. The depression is still dragging on, especially after a long and tiring first day back at work.
But Bali was brilliant.
Here is my report:
After a very long journey from the Channel Islands (Guernsey - Gatwick - Heathrow - Kuala Lumpur - Bali), we arrived in beautiful Bali. We were tired (who wouldn't be after a 24 hour journey?) but setting foot on that soil and inhaling that special smell always seems to wake me up and give me that extra bit of energy.
I was traveling with my friend Gemma and my dad. The three of us had come out to Bali for three weeks to meet up with my Aunt and her friend, who have been traveling around the world for the last few months. We knew that they were staying on Poppies Lane 1 so we jumped in a taxi and checked into La Walon Bungalows. Since staying in this hotel with Gemma for 3 months on and off last year (between other travels around Indonesia) it has become a favourite of mine; the staff are friendly and the hotel is designed with character. For 150,000rp a night you get a nice clean fan room with fresh towels everyday and hot water.
We quickly went to find my Aunt and her friend, who were looking particularly brown after being in Asia since March (had to make a mental note to get some tanning time in to catch up quick). After chatting for a while, we all headed down to the beach for a bintang to see the first sunset of the trip. As usual, we went to Suyit's bar in front of the Inna Kuta Beach hotel and everyone was there - Suyit, his son Heri, Rudy, Jimmy, Micheal, Bobby - it was like we had never left.
The next few days were spent relaxing by the pool and at the beach, eating a lot of yummy meals at various places along Poppies 1. A beach warung a bit further along from Inna Kuta Beach provided us with a lot of tasty lunches of mie goreng, nasi goreng and nasi campur - Gemma swore it was the best mie goreng she ever had in Bali, and all for a mere 5,000rp including a plastic spoon. The sunsets were spent drinking bintang and chatting to local friends on the beach. And the nights were spent in various bars, generally watching the worldcup. We all bought England shirts on the street and watched the first England game in the Secret Garden, which had a great atmosphere. It was great to just slip back into doing all of these things and enjoy being back in Bali.
Bali was quiet, but not as quiet as I have seen it (for example after the first bomb). It is much quieter than this time last year, but things are picking up. Bounty nightclub is absolutely packed out; Bamboo Corner on Poppies 1 is still brimming with tourists and it is hard to get a seat outside. Still, the beach has far more locals than tourists, and the numbers of domestic tourists far outweigh the number of westerners.
After a few days, we all set off to the paradise island of Gili Trawangan, one of my favourite places in the world. I couldn't wait.
To be continued....