We then flew to Denpasar, Bali, while Len & Michaela decided to brave the 20 hour bus ride. We spent the afternoon on the beach watching the surfers gracefully riding the 2 meter waves. Because of the massive waves and resulting undertow, it was nearly impossible to go into the water to wash the sand off our bodies.
A few days later, Len & Irene rented a motorbike and went south to the Ula Watu to watch the surfers doing their graceful (and sometimes not-so-graceful) handling of the 3+ meter waves. We turned right, when we should have turned left, and ended up at Bengin Beach. The paved road narrowed into a paved lane, which narrowed into a dirt lane, which narrowed into a dirt path, which suddenly ended in a maze of walled houses. We parked the bike in someone's yard and took the path that said “To Beach”. It very quickly turned into rugged steps twisting and turning down, down and down, obviously between buildings, as there was either walls or jungle flanking us. When we popped out of labyrinth of steps we were inside a quaint beach front restaurant. As we were hungry and it was nearly lunch time, we could not resist the ambiance and decided to have some delicious Nasi Goreng.
We then climbed the 154 steps and headed off to Ula Watu. Although there were surfers at Bengin Beach, the surf at Ula Watu is much higher. Some of the surfers were hundreds of meters out to sea, waiting for the perfect wave. Most of them were closer to shore, giving us a good show of their agile abilities.
When we got back to Kuta we went to a couple of teak furniture shops, as Ed and Irene are considering buying some new furniture. Beautiful teak chairs are a fraction of what you would pay in Canada. Len & Michaela are considering buying most (or all) of the furniture they will need to set up house in Canada when they finish this Big Trip II, and would be getting a cargo container. We would simply add our furniture in with theirs, thereby cutting the cost of shipping. If anyone out there is interested in getting some inexpensive teak furniture, as well, let us know.
Ubud next....
Places to stay:
Jakarta: Atlantic Hotel 290,000 rupiah (8800 Rp/$1)
Jogjakarta: Monica Hotel 127,500
Dewi Homestay 100,000
Kuta (Denpasar): Beneyasa II 120,000
Sensen Beach Inn 60,000
