We began writing our last post while awaiting boarding our flight to Bali. We were quite skeptical with how this paradise location would turn out, after checking the pure thunderstorm forecast. That said, we are happy to say that we had beautiful sunny weather the entire week, with the exception of the last stormy day. Blessed with great weather, we indulged in a true vacation from our travels. We woke up each day and walked down the hall to our delicious and extensive breakfast buffet. We knew we did not need three plates of food for breakfast, but we were happy to stuff ourselves with the endless good food. Next we needed to lay down in our room for a half hour to digest the feast we just enjoyed. The view of the surf from our breakfast buffet beckoned us to surf after breakfast each morning. The water was amazingly warm (88 F) and the surf was awesome every day. After shredding some gnar we lounged at the most amazing pool we had ever been to. It was a rooftop infinity pool with views of Katu beach below. Tanning, drinking beers, and floating around in the pool were all a welcome change from the hectic traveling we had been doing the past three and a half months.
If we had to find a fault with Bali it would probably be the overpriced dining around our hotel and the lack of local cuisine. Our first night dining out we went to a few restaurants and were appalled at the $13 pasta and $6 beer. Although these prices are comparable with the prices we pay every weekend when dining out a home, it was far more expensive from the prices of Southeast Asia we have been accustomed to over the past couple of months. Last week we posted about our 22 cent beer in Vietnam, and Thailand brought forth countless delicious meals for under $2. Although we were unable to find inexpensive local cuisine, we were surprised at how much we missed a good Western meal. Chris was able to eat his very first veggie burger. He enjoyed it so much, we returned later on in the week. It looks like the vegetarian lifestyles will stick forever!
Overall, this week in Bali has been extremely relaxing. After traveling for three and a half months already, there is an exhausting aspect of finding sites to see every day. Having one week, excursion free, is something we truly enjoyed. However, we are more than ready to get back on our site seeing journey and cannot express our excitement for the next leg of the trip. New Zealand brings with in something we have missed all along, the freedom to lead our own day by means of personal transportation. As we have rented a Jucy van for the next 3 weeks, we are excited to cruise the coast and stop at every single vista point desired, most likely all.
Cheers!
