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.

 

Gili T

Gili T is a chilled out island where backpackers and domestic tourists come to SCUBA dive, lay on the beach, snorkel, and party, no cars or motorbikes are allowed on the island so transport is by horse drawn carriage or bicycle, there are no police on any of the Gili Islands either.

"Magic" mushrooms are legal in Indonesia and are readily available, 2 packets of shrooms (10-15 per packet) in a pot of tea were $6 and tasted immensely better than shakes I've had previously. Weed is also readily available on Gilli T but is illegal and punishments are harsh.

The high wasn't as intense as Thai shrooms the euphoria was there but the enhanced visual experience wasn't.

A few quotes from the night:
"If there was a professor of flashing lights, it would be me"
"Pat the horse it's so furry, I wonder if they are all like this.... Let's find out"
"Do you think the staff are trained to screw with people on shrooms?"

Update: If you have more shrooms they are just as good as Thailand if not better.

Here is an amazing sunrise on Gili Trawangan:

Other available items $20
Dinner at food market $5.5 water, fried chicken, fried noodle, spicy chicken curry, two satay sticks.
Lunch at a restaurant coffee, water, nasi goreng $6
Bike hire $3 for the day
Shrooms $6
Beers, spirits, etc (enough to be happily drunk) $23

Bali to Gili T

Left Bedbunkers Hostel in Bali at 7:00am, overall a friendly clean and cheap place with very cheap room rates.

 

After leaving the traffic and chaos of the Kuta end of Bali we enjoyed scenic views of rice terraces, volcano's, and lush greenery on the way to Padang Bai, roughly a 2 hour journey.

 

After breakfast and some waiting around we board the fast boat and are treated to volcano's more lush greenery and rice terraces before getting soaked on the roof if the ferry and retreating below deck.

 

Gunung Agung rimmed by cloud

 

 

Arriving in Lombok we pick up a few more passengers and 10 minutes later arrive in paradise (Gilli Trawangan).

 

The remainder of the day is spent lounging on beanbags on the beach, at the amazing café below:

 

 

Fast boat one way $22 (some people were paying triple this by ordering online)

Breakfast omelette and coffee $3
Room on Gilli T basic with 2 fans Queen bed, western toilet and shower $25

 

I stayed at No Name Homestay and highly recommend it, its just off the main road if you turn at the Yoga and Freediving place. Agus the manager is awesome on the guitar and can also source cheap mushrooms for you and makes an incredible shroom tea.

Dinner at market BBQ squid, chicken wing, stay chicken skewer, fried noodles, small Bintang (beer), small water $6.5
2 x large water $1

$57.5 for the day

Sydney to Bali

When somewhere has as many tourists as locals you know that your not going to take much away from the experience.

It has flashing lights, drinking, scams, sex trade, all the usual suspects are here. I fail to see the attraction for more than 3 nights. Prices are high, tourists are obnoxious and a lot of locals just want your money. I wish I was here 15 years ago. My advice head out of the Kuta, Legion, and Seminyak area ASAP.

Today's spend:
$35 on VIP airport clearance run by of duty airport guards. Definitely beat lining up for 1 hour.

$10 on a taxi that usually costs $5 but avoided a huge queue.

Lunch $1.90 chicken curry with rice and not enough chicken, free tea and salad.

5 Bintang beers $10

12 5 shot Roman candle fireworks $18 and 25 minutes of haggling.

$25 boat from Bali to Gilli Trawangan

Dinner $15 (ate in Kuta) BBQ shrimp and nasi goreng.

Considering breakfast and the taxi too the airport in Sydney cost $47 I did $150? For the day but have transport to Gilli T, breakfast in Sydney and NYE fireworks sorted I think I did OK.

Regards,
Ben
Sorry for the short message this was sent from my mobile.