Blue Lagoon, Vang Vieng, Laos

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Despite tubing being somewhat more relaxed than in previous years (see my other post here: http://travelmenace.blogspot.com/2013/04/tubing-in-vang-vieng-april-2013.html) there are still plenty of other activities to keep you entertained in Vang Vieng.

A trip (7km, 50,000kip/$6 each) to the Blue Lagoon (10,000kip/$1.20 Entrance fee), is well worth it, this includes entrance to the cave (10,000kip to hire a headlamp is greatly recommended), a rope swing as well as jumping from a tree into clear blue, cool water is a great way to relax and sun yourself (bikini's are OK around the blue lagoon, but not in the town).

Inside the cave at the Blue Lagoon, well worth the 5min walk.

Blue Lagoon from the jumping tree:

Prices for accommodation are 20,000kip for a hostel, or 50,000 for a room with various combinations of beds suitable for up to 3 people, food starts at 20,000 for most of the usual dishes you would expect, and beers at 10,000 for a small beer at a bar, or 7000 at a shop.

Tubing in Vang Vieng (April 2013)

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Tubing was stopped in Vang Vieng due to petitioning by a parent who's son died by being irresponsible, this means the once insane party town of Vang Vieng is now much more chilled out than it was both of the previous times I have been here, costing some locals their livelihood.

Luckily though tubing is once again running but in a much safer, and less wild way, tubing has been running again for a few weeks and is slowly starting to build up, with a third bar opening two days ago, if you have been before you will notice the absence of swings/slides/etc, and no structures built on the actual water. It is now more about the scenery than dancing to top 30 charts on bamboo platforms. Despite this it is still a great deal of fun and an awesome way to meet people.

The two times I went we had close to 200 backpackers on the river, and with a number of other activities in Vang Vieng there is still a good backpacker stopover on the way to Luang Prabang or a destination in itself.

Check out the other things to do in Vang Vieng:
The Blue Lagoon: http://travelmenace.blogspot.com/2013/04/vang-vieng-laos.html

Siem Reap to Sihanoukville

There are at least three companies that do a Siem Reap to Sihanoukville route but from talking with other travelers the best one is the $12 night sleeper.

This bus had air con, WiFi, nobody sitting (lying) next to me so I could stretch out. We did stop once for food and a smoke which helped me sleep till we arrived in Sihanoukville, a $4 tuk tuk (3 people) and we were at sea horse hostel. $10 for a fan room which is often subject to power outages but otherwise in a good spot with friendly staff.

Bokator (Muay Thai) in Siem Reap

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After having an awesome day training in Ao Nang (near Krabi, Thailand) I decided to do some training in Siem Reap, Muay Thai was the Thai interpretation of the original Khmer fighting styles, but became famous due to the Khmer Rouge under Pol Pot banning any forms of entertainment and killing many of the fighters.

I found a Bokator gym and got a Tuk Tuk there and back $4 and he waited for the 90minutes or so, and $5 for the training, the Tuk Tuk could have been cheaper but I think $4 is a fair price.

The training was vastly different to Muay Thai and definitely more deadly, some of the guys training here were doing backflips kicks from the walls, incredible to watch.

Thailand to Cambodia

Fly.

Simple, for the sake of saving $30 and taking the overland route, you will have to deal with 30+ hour bus and train rides, on poor roads in possibly cramped conditions.

Book a week ahead and you can fly and enjoy an extra day. You might have to fly through KL but this is still better than wasting a full day and being uncomfortable, when looking for flights you will have to do individual searches on Air Asia, as they don't do combination flights.

Krabi Beach (Ao Nang)

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Krabi doesn't really have a beach, unless you are into mangroves, but for a 50THB on the public tuk tuk (white with Ao Nang - Krabi - Etc - Etc) written on the side you can head to Ao Nang.

This would have once been an amazing beach but the constant stream of long tail boas kind of ruins the serenity (I am picky when it comes to beaches), it is also a 200THB round trip to Railay beach and jumping off point for a multitude of rock climbing adventures.

The far end of the beach (away from the longtail boats) also has some monkeys that you can feed, always be careful around wild animals.

While the other end is a bit noisier and crowded.

We had 5 people in a hotel room for 400THB each, some cheap street food can be found, and there is a small collection of bar's in a plaza that is opposite the beach, no where near as wild as Koh Phanang, or Ko Phi Phi (see my other posts) it is enough for a night out and a few drinks.

Koh Phi Phi

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So your looking for a picture perfect beach to relax on with cool water. Unfortunately Koh Phi Phi Don is no longer the greatest spot for this, there are some nice beaches at Long Beach (15 min walk from the main area) but the main beach is shallow, filled with rubbish and sewerage.

We did find a nice secluded beach just before long beach that had clear water, and plenty of corals that were still alive.

If you do an island hopping trip then you will find some amazing beaches, snorkel with sharks (small harmless reef sharks), see coral, caves, and incredible sunsets.

Incredible fish and sharks can be found at some of the islands.

As can incredible beaches:

If you came for the party's then you are definitely in the right spot, this place has everything, fancy fighting a friend or random drunk person in the Reggae bar for a free bucket of booze, Phi Phi has that.

Maybe dancing drinking and smoking all night at one of many beach bars, or relaxing with a smoke at Banana Bar's rooftop lounge area (great by day and night).

We stayed at Flower Hostel in the dorm room for 300THB per night, the crowd in this hostel was incredible with cheap beers at the hostel we made some great friends here and partied all night.
Thailand also has easy access to prescription drugs which have been known to be used to increase your energy for those who really want to take partying to the next level, of course drugs are dangerous so I do not recommend you take them.

Buckets start at around 200THB, up to 400 depending on what and where you buy them. Beers are 40 for a small Chang and 65 for a large. Tiger and Singa are about 20THB more.

Ao Nang to Koh Phi Phi

A 2 hour ferry can easily be organised from Krabi at any of the travel agents for 300THB, if leaving from Ao Nang a public Tuk Tuk (will likely beep if your with your bags and has Ao Nang - Krabi written on the side) should set you back 50THB but drops you away from the pier so either organise in advance to pay extra or negotiate a taxi for 100THB.

If you get there early enough I would recommend getting on the roof and relaxing, like this:

Rock climbing Krabi

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One of the world's best rock climbing destinations, free climbing (no rope) is an incredible experience falling into the ocean when your body is too fatigued or jumping from the top of a climb 20m into the water below is an exhilarating experience.

We paid 1000thb each for a yacht to take us out to two climbing spots, lunch, water and a few smokes included, others we spoke to paid the same for a long tail boat (see boat in pic above) which is way crowded and nowhere near as pleasant as sailing.

We booked through Ao Nang Climber, run my a German woman sorted is out with our boat and legendary captain Luang who I would definitely recommend, for the same price you get a yacht with music, water, food, and an incredible captain or you can find him in the afternoon at Railay beach, as he lives on the yacht (pictured above).

 A stop was also made for a little bit of snorkeling and exploring a cave on a secluded beach. This was easily one of the most memorable days of my trip and an incredible workout with most muscles aching today, we had 2 experienced climbers but the rest of us were novices but still had fun and made a few fun climbs.

Muay Thai training at Ao Nang Stadium, Krabi

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A 15 min walk or cheap tuk tuk from Ao Nang beach is the Ao Nang Stadium with Ao Nang gym on the right hand side (pictured)

400Thb for an hour long lesson (ended up being 90 minutes), this is one of those things that most people will be scared of doing but is well worth it, they also had group classes every morning and afternoon.

Beginners get a good work out and learn some basic punching drills, I had done some training previously in Australia (only 2 months) and the trainer here was so much better than any I had in Australia and incredibly friendly also.

Me practicing my kicks.

Warming up before some technique work:

Koh Phanang to Krabi

For 700 THB ($25) through our hotel in Koh Phanang, we booked a:
Taxi 11:00
Ferry 12:30
Bus 14:00
Arriving Krabi 18:30

The actual trip involved 4 taxi's, 2 buses, 1 ferry, and arrived in Krabi at 21:00, with numerous stops along the way to change modes of transport at various noodle shops (none of which were very good) and also so we could swap our ticket for a coloured sticker that lets the operators know where you are going, once we even swapped red stickers for white ones with Krabi written on them, and others swapped blue for white with BKK written on them.

I am hoping there was some method to the madness, but despite the absurdity of the whole affair we managed to get a good laugh out of it, and woke up to this view from the restaurant making it worth the trip:

Pine Bungalow for 600 THB a night between 2, is 30 minutes from Krabi and is the ultimate relax on the beach in a hammock location to wind down after Koh Phanang.

Hong Kong

Hong Kong for Chinese new year is an experience that I had too see.

With a spectacular footwork's display that lasts 26 minutes to a parade through the city with the most bizarre assortment of floats. Estonian roller skaters, people in Australian grasshopper outfits and of course 1 or two Chinese dragons. If you do not like crowds you should definitely look for somewhere else, this photo is taken at the fireworks display:

But I think the view is worth the crowd:

No Chinese New Year is complete without an Estonian rollerskating team:

An incredible floating dragon display during the CNY Parade:

  The bar district of Lang Kwai Fong parties every night with the hottest bar being outside the seven eleven drinking $15 HKD ($1.7 US) on the street.

 Accommodation is around $200 HKD ($22) staying in a "hotel" that is inside a residential apartment building that has been converted into as maze of hotels shops and some residences. The infamous Chungking mansions (see the Wikipedia article Here) is worthwhile staying here for a day just to explore the bizzare maze and continuous offers of "copy Rolex, copy handbag, hashish, marijuana, cocaine"  Food is cheap if you look for it for a meat dish with rice expect to pay $30, however there are a multitude of more expensive and sometimes (sometimes not) nicer options.

Langkawi

Langkawi is an island off the west coast of Malaysia, it was granted duty free status to promote tourism so cheap alcohol, gadgets, tobacco, etc are plentiful.

A 1L bottle of absolute vodka is around 40RM ($13). However the price in some bars is still expensive. Partying starts at Babylon, a reggae bar then moves south down to SunBar which party's all night. While this is nothing on some party spots in Thailand it's still sports nice beaches (not amazing) and a laid back vibe, it's also dry season when the east coast of Malaysia is typhoon season. Meeting people at Babylon:

  Gecko Guesthouse is my recommendation for a chilled out vibe and dorm from 18 RM, private room with own toilet 40RM or 30RM without, an excellent place to meet other travellers. Langkawi is also the fastest way to get to Koh Lipe in Thailand 50 min ferry if you want the amazing beach chilled out vibe and clear water. Note that crossing into Thailand via sea/land you only get a 15 day visa instead of the 30 at airports. 30-60 day visas can be obtained in Georgetown, Penang in 12 hours.

Full moon party Koh Phanang

To get to Koh Phanang, you can arrive in any of Thailands airports and a willing travel agent will be to organise the best route, the fastest would be fly to Koh Samui, get the fast boat. However people starting in Bangkok can get 12 hour trains, bus transfers and any number of ferry options.

 

I arrived in Surat Thani as this was the cheapest option, then paid 600THB ($20) for a maniac shuttle bus driver to get us to the roll on roll off ferry in record time for the 2.5 hour crossing.

 

Here is the view of Koh Phanang from the ferry. A taxi at the other end can be arranged for 100THB due to price fixing.

 

The full moon party on Koh Phanang, Thailand is world famous for possibly the wildest party's I've been too. This does however means the price is much higher than the rest of Thailand even if only for the week surrounding the actual full moon party, most hotels triple the price of accommodation.

 

Most hotels near the action fill up 3-4 days before the party but I would recommend arriving 5 days earlier as the lead up party's are often just as much fun. Jungle Experience is a trippy party held in the jungle, there is a wild Pool Party at Coral Bungalows, and of course Mellow Mountain for your mushrooms (highly recommended) and weed.

 

I paid 500 thb for a two bed air con room at Coral bungalows a week before the full moon but this goes to 1500thb from 5 days before and two days after the party, it's a 7 min walk from the beach and very convenient for the pool party's with a great view of the sunset.

 

All your local Thai food is from 50thb a dish, or triple if your near the beach, and beers are from 30-90 THB

 

No trip is complete with out drinking spirits from a bucket these start at 200-400 depending on location and quality of spirit.

 

 

 

Full Moon parties are dangerous, women shouldn't be left alone, belongings shouldn't be taken out you only need 2000THB for the night (2500 for the Jungle Party), jumping through a fire skipping rope may look fun, but I saw so many people with scars the next day from this. Be sensible and have a good night.

Boracay

Boracay is the most well known beach destination in the Philippines, the white sand beach is one of the best I've seen and the scuba diving is also incredible.

Most of the lower end hotels and hostels don't have websites and quite a few of the people I've met here booked through an agents website and ended up paying triple the walk in rate. I wouldn't recommend this during Chinese new year or Christmas and new year but I had no issue finding accommodation.

Penang to Langkawi

The ferry from Georgetown to Langkawi leaves at 8:15 (with stop Enroute) or 8:30 (direct). Cost is 60RM and takes around 2.5 hours.

 

The ferry is insanely cold so bring warm clothes or move to the upper deck outside which is very noisy.

 

Freezing on the ferry:

 

Upon arrival in Palau Langkawi you will likely want to move to Pantai Cenang (Cenang beach). The only option is taxi or hire car (light travelers can opt for a motorbike) taxi stand is outside and costs 26RM fixed price so find some fellow travelers to reduce the cost. Trip is only 20-30 minutes.

 

View of Langkawi from the ferry:

 

 

I can highly recommend Gecko Guesthouse for accommodation, dorm from 18RM, private room with ensuite and two beds for 60 RM.

Pre-drinking is technically not allowed, but is obviously much cheaper, when you head to Babylon the staff from Sub Bar often hand out free drink vouchers to girls, so stock up on these.

Kuala Lumpur to Penang via Rail

KL to Penang can be done via train, bus or plane.

I decided on rail as the six hour journey would be scenic (it was) airports are stressful (can't have that on my holiday) and the time from leaving the hotel to getting to Penang is only two hours more once check in, transit to the airport etc is factored in.

The train leaves KL Sentral, three times daily, morning, afternoon and a night sleeper train.

The six hour journey was brilliant and first class tickets for 59 RM ($20 US). Is incredible value. Second class was 30RM.

Upon arrival at Penang station a 2 minute walk to the ferry and 1.40 RM we were in Georgetown.

Unfortunately the taxi drivers in Georgetown have inflated prices. The backpacker district is less than 1km from the taxi's. Walk to the main road, turn left then take the second right, 200m and you will start to find an assortment of budget accommodation or you could pay the inflated 20RM fee, however I refuse on principal not cost.

Dorm rooms here are cheap, I found 18RM and 80 for a hotel room, this was art the end of Chinese new year however so might get cheaper.

Boracay

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Boracay is the most well known beach destination in the Philippines, the white sand beach is one of the best I've seen and the scuba diving is also incredible.

White Sand Beach:

Most of the lower end hotels and hostels don't have websites and quite a few of the people I've met here booked through an agents website and ended up paying triple the walk in rate. I wouldn't recommend this during Chinese new year or Christmas and new year but I had no issue finding accommodation.

My room is 1200 PHP a night a week before Chinese new year when prices are higher with no aircon or hot water.

Alcohol is incredibly cheap with a 375ml bottle of rum for 40php that's roughly $1. And double that for a 700ml. It's insanely cheap and doesn't taste too bad. Beers are around the same price.

Breakfast lunch and dinner can start at 100php for something basic or most of the restaurants do a buffet dinner or something similar from 250-600 php.

SCUBA diving for a boat dive was 1250PHP, here is a quick video of a sea turtle on a shipwreck I took on my first dive here.

Flying into Manila

Flying into Manila you have the option of Clark (low cost airlines like air Asia) or NAIA Clark is a two hour drive and the traffic can be bad the trip in a taxi was $3000 ($60 US roughly). So factor this into your ticket price. A bus was available but there was a two hour wait before it left but could be an option on a super tight budget.

A mixed room dorm for 450 a night at Where 2 Next hostel and amazing food downstairs. Lunch was 389 for crispy pata (fried pork) and cheap beers can be found everywhere from about $1 US.

Heading to Boracay today for Australia day and will definitely need to spend more time in Manila before I leave the Philippines.

A flight booked on the same day to Kalibo (90 min to Boracay) was $2000 PHP. There is a closer airport but prices for the next few days are around double so planning your trip a bit further in advance might have been a better option.

Singapore on the cheap

Singapore is notorious for being expensive, the price of alcohol is probably the highest I've seen in Asia but cheap nights out e possible.

 

 

Drinking at convenience stores where three large cans of Anchor can be purchased for under $10 or bringing a few bottles into the country with you is an even better option.

 

The food is super cheap at the hawker centers and is incredibly tasty too, $5 will get you an incredible feast.

 

I stayed in Boat Quay at the Prince Of Wales hotel and backpacker which for $25 Singapore a night for a 24 bed dorm isn't cheap but is clean and has a good bar downstairs however it might be a bit expensive for budget conscious travellers.

 

Most of the sights are free and the public transport is incredibly easy to use $3 for a ticket including a $1 deposit for the smart ticket to most destinations or if you don't mind the heat walking is also a good option.

 

A few days in Singapore is enough to see most sights but it was great to appease my sushi and western coffee cravings.

 

 

Sanur to Java

Lost 30,000 at the cock fighting.

Hotel was 125,000 with the use of a neighboring hotels pool and breakfast.

Booked a bus including ferry to Java (Probolinggo) for 200,000rp through the hotel I'm staying at leaving at 6pm allegedly arriving 6 hours later but I'm thinking more like 12. From there bus to Mount Bromo.

Breakfast free, lunch at Warung Made across the road for $5 and it was amazing. Highly recommended.

Regards,
Ben King
Apologies for the short reply this was sent from my mobile.

Ubud to Lovina

Booking with your hotel or any one of the travel agents that are around every former for around 110,000rp ($11) for the three hour drive north over a mountain with some more lush green views.

Arriving in Lovina you will be dropped at a hotel that pays commission right on the beach. Next door at Sartaya or any other number of places within easy walking distance offer cheaper rooms. Mine has hot water a fan and is of the nicer places I've stayed for 125,000. Dinner (see photo) for 100,000 was massive and delicious.

Booked a double dive tomorrow on Menjangan island for 800,000 which I think I could of organized for cheaper.

White water rafting in Ubud

White water rafting is offered in the rivers surrounding Ubud, but can be organised from Kuta (with a longer drive) usually 1 session in the morning around 9, and another in the afternoon around 1.

We negotiated a price of 205,000RP per person but 250,000 was the norm, unless you were booking through an expensive hotel.

A steep walk down on day 1 to find the river too swollen to go meant a steep walk back up, we tried again the following day and had a great time, at the end you obviously have to walk back out of the river, but this is an adventure sport so if you want to complain about a walk you should just get a massage instead.

Our guides were great at the end we had a nice buffet lunch, showers and dry towels waiting for us.

Kuta to Ubud

Bali to Ubud on a tourist shuttle bus is cheap at around 70,000RP per person, my bus had air con and 3 passengers I have heard of others being cramped with no air con. The trip was under 2 hours.

Upon arriving in Ubud in torrential rain we were offered a free lift to check out a homestay, Dewi Antara with hot water and a douve for 100,000 per night and within easy walking distance to the main street and monkey forrest.

A visit to the monkey temple 20,000 and some bananas 10,000

Dirty duck restaurant for the crispy fried duck while a little expensive was well worth it at 90,000

290,000 for the day or $29

Cheap night in Kuta Bali

You can have a pretty cheap night in Kuta if you take advantage of the club specials and move around.

 

I met a German who had perfected this with multiple iPhone alarms that he followed religiously. He claims to survive on 150,000RP a night ($15) which for the most heavily commercialised part of Indonesia and getting dinner and absurdly drunk is pretty good going.

 

Hotel with pool for 100,000RP can be found around the Poppies Lane 1 or 2 area so Ealing distance to the beach and bars with breakfast included (if you get up in time), massages by the pool for 50,000RP

 

Lunch is optional after breakfast but I usually had something small and coffee 30,000RP so I could save myself for the all you can eat BBQ buffet with free beers between 5-6pm 50,000rp. That's not a typo.

 

Free pours of alcohol at most bars happen around 8pm. So head to alleycats on Poppies 2 for 20,000 " double doubles" that's two shots of vodka and two of red bull. Be sure to collect some free tequila vouchers that are handed out usually for Eikon. Then head there before free pour times at either sky garden or bounty.

 

 

Be careful for methanol in home made spirits and bogans/posers but otherwise a good cheap night.

 

Labuan Banjo to Ruteng

70,000RP for a bus to Ruteng in cyclonic weather (tropical cyclone Narelle was about 550km away) the 4 hour trip took 5 due to downed trees and washed out roads. There was supposed to be an onward journey to bajawa but that stretch of road was completely closed so a quick tour of Ruteng there is only really a few attractions and I'm heading back to Labuan Banjo.

I also neglected to ensure I had a memory card in my camera so no photos.... Massive Fail.

2 bus trips 70,000RP each
Lunch 40,000RP
Breakfast was included in my accommodation from the previous night
Dinner of swordfish carpaccio, iced coffee, water, creme brulee, and an entree was 220,000
Accommodation in the same place as last night was 100,000

$51 roughly for the day

Labuan Bajo

What do you do in Labuan Bajo when Tropical Cyclone Janelle causes rough seas and rain?

Go and visit mirror rock cave.

The Bemo (2000RP for locals, 5000RP for foreigners). Just ask the driver for "Batu" and they should be able to drop you close and point you in the right direction, they may want to wait for you, which will be more expensive.

Admission was 30,000RP, and came with hard hat (for falling rocks), and torches but I would recommend you bring your own. The lonely planet guide claims it should be 10,000RP, either way the guy wouldn't budge.

Our guide was hilarious, and the caves were worth it was our only real option for something to do regardless. We did spot a heap of bats (harmless fruit bats) a couple of spiders, and a few crickets.

Kuta Lombok to Labuan Bajo (Flores) the jumping off point for Komodo Island

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Due to my travelling companion's time constraints and my laziness we decided to fly (4 Hours, 1,400,000RP via DPS with Merpati) to Labuan Bajo instead of taking:

• Public ferry, See http://fourfootprints.com/2012/06/how-get-bali-labuan-bajo-flores-cheap-way/ and http://www.theeverydaymagic.com/2012/06/18/the-pelni-boat-getting-from-lombok-to-labuan-bajo/
• One of the tourist sightseeing boats which were allegedly all cancelled due to high seas but usually 3-4 days stopping at attractions on the way. Search for Parama Tours
• The overland option of ferry's and cars (400,000RP - 27 hours)

Labuan Bajo is a small village and the flight in had some spectacular photo's. A motor (car) to the centre of town was 40,000 for 3 people.

Accommodation options are plentiful from 50,000RP sharing a room up to some new monstrosity resorts with pools.

Organising trips to Komodo, and Rinca for 2 days with 1 night sleeping on the boat we negotiated it down to 600,000RP with all meals included, and sleeping on the deck, you should expect to pay a little bit more for a boat with a cabin, and substantially more if you want a dive boat.

Kuta Lombok

I imagine Kuta Bali would have been very similar to Kuta Lombok 20-30 years ago, the main attraction is surfing, or relaxing on the beach, its also a hot spot for domestic tourists and you can see why, white powder beaches:

Surrounded by lush green mountains and rice fields:

and even more greenery facing away from the beach:

The local sarong (50,000RP) salespeople, kids selling bracelets (10,000RP) and domestic tourists wanting to pose for a photo were the biggest concern and they were by no means a problem, "Tidak terima kasih" (No thankyou) was usually enough to get them to move on if you are not in the mood for buying anything.

We stayed at Ketapang Home Stay (100,000RP), which was basic but clean, the bathrooms had no basin and the water in the town was not very useful for cleaning anything but bottled water was 5000RP for a large cold bottle.

Ketapang is right on the beach but if you want to go surfing or enjoy some soft white sand you can rent a scooter (moto) for 50,000RP per day ($5) petrol is 5000RP a litre.

An incredible meal at Warung Bule (Foreigners Restaurant) is from 30,000-400,000 and is highly recommended. It's on the main road with signage at the T junction out of town, and is some of the best local food I have had (and an amazing chocolate milkshake).

Mushrooms here are cheaper than on Gili T at 20,000 per packet (currently in season) and can be found at some bars or the local bracelet selling children can get them for you, they are more expensive in a shake but obviously taste better.

$1-$2 for small Bintangs (local beer)