Hi friends!
It has sadly been too long since my last post, but up until I left for Bali things were quite ordinary and I was just settling into my apartment and worklife in Surry Hills.
From April 9-19 I was fortunate enough to visit my best friend Alex in Bali, Indonesia. Alex has been travelling Asia and Africa this year and I needed to see her on this side of the world before she galavanted off to Kenya!
The week spent in Bali was nothing less than amazing. Alex was a great hostess and tour guide as she was a complete local in her town of Ubud. We rented motorbikes for the week and were able to see so much of the Indonesian island through this mode of transportation. Save for one nasty bike crash, driving the motorbike was so fun and exhilarating!
A few highlights of the week in Bali:
-spending the day on White Sandy beach (a small beach in eastern Bali that is "off the map")
-worshiping in the holy water of Temple Tirta Empul
-biking to Lake and Mount Batur, an incredibly scenic region in northeast Bali which includes an active volcano!
-summiting Mount Agung, Bali's highest mountain (another volcano) at 10,500 feet
-2 hour massage and spa for only $15!
-haggling in the markets and shops in Ubud
-experiencing Animist Hinduism everywhere we went in Bali
-watching a traditional religious Kecak dance where Balinese chant and dance to reenact scenes from the Ramayana
-being with Alex and her Balinese and expat friends of course!
Please feel free to check out my facebook album of Bali here!
I am happy to be back in Sydney (hot showers, air con, no fear of tropical diseases, etc) but am really missing the cheap great food and amazing Indonesian Rupiah and how far it took me.
Today is ANZAC Day, Australia and New Zealand's "Yom Hazikaron" or "Memorial Day." Today all Australians mourn the loss of their members of the armed forces but with a twist. They have a somber ceremony in the morning but then proceed to the pubs and get drunk while playing Two Up. Two Up is a gambling game which is prohibited 364 days of the year but today it is legal as it was the most popular game of Australian soldiers during WWI. Should be an interesting day of mourning to say the least...!
Again, apologies about the lack of blog posts. Lots of things are coming up here so more to come!
