Nusa Lembogen Island its all about the surf!

Finally Tammy has let go of the computer so I can update this blog thingy!

We have just spent 4 nights on Nusa Lembogen Island (1/2 hr boat ride from Bali) It is very different to Bali though as there are no cars and it has pristine tropical water and reefs. I spent most of the time either looking at the surf or surfing.

Here is the losmen we stayed in for $25 a night and it has a great pool right on the beach! It is a very chilled place and has a great vibe. The surf did not get epic but I did have some nice surfs out Shipwrecks and Playgrounds both reef breaks 1km padlle out so your arms are falling off by the time you get back to the beach.

We are currently in Seminyak as Tammy needed some chic time then we head up the west coast to Balian (yes another surf spot) I figure that I wont be surfing for a couple of months once we leave for Europe.

Salamat Paggi (Good morning in Indonesian)

Miles

Transport, transport, you want transport?????

Hi again. We're chilling out in Candidasa in East Bali. Our pool is as big as a lake and we swam with monkeys hanging in the branches of the frangiapani tree overhead this morning. Amazing. All morning, they run and chase, swing and munch mangos from the magnificent tree near our bungalow, reminding you exactly why they do call it monkey business.

Other things we have seen and observed:

*A platoon of tiny ninjas practicing martial arts on Seminyak beach, wearing their black karate outfits with little red sashes. Boys of just 6 or 8, they moved in lovely flowing unison following their instructor.

*A mother, three children and two sausage plump puppies, one black, one caramel, all squeezed onto one scooter for the ride home together from Petitengnet Temple.

*Dozens of fat, shockingly sunburnt senior citizens from Germany, Holland, England and Australia trawling Sanur beach and lying commatose on sunloungers or clutching their 5th cold Bintang beer of the morning. This is why we are doing the trip now and not waiting till we reach this Moby Dick phase of life : )

*Beautiful deer like cows perched on the hill so steep, you don't understand how they do not fall off, their cow bells tinkling softly with wooden chunkiness as they chew.

*Shit happens. And when it does it falls in a black sticky blob on the floor of your room from the fat gecko that lives on the straw ceiling. Tidak apa apa - this means no worries in Indonesian.

*And finally, we have seen and heard dozens of locals (always men smoking and with sunglasses) asking us if we want transport. Transport, transport to the temple, snorkelling, rainforest, beach, or their friend's extremely expensive craft shop. No we don't want transport, but thanks for asking us hundreds of times a day. It makes the day so much more pleasant.

Check out the video of our pool below. More soon : )

Singapore slinging of dirty socks

We are finally on our way after much scrubbing, cleaning, packing and repacking. The house in Sydney never looked so clean (note to new tenants - I bet you never saw a rental property so pristine before !!! : ) Here we are at our friends' house Nat and Damien's with our backpacks finally on, just before our trip to Sydney airport. Then it was a pleasant short stay with the Cashman clan (Miles' sister Sally and family for those not in loop : ) in Singapore before finally landing here in Bali (ahhhh....is 11am too early for a cold Bintang beer????) We will be stopping over in Singapore three times on our travels. To and from Bali and then on way home from Europe. They will be issued with clothes pegs for noses when we show up with our dirty laundry each time. Poor things! They say they like seeing us so much but we'll see how that enthusiasm lasts after the third time. Well, not much else to report. We have been to Bali 6 or 7 times, but that doesn't mean we won't discover something new here. Looking at things with fresh eyes with no work, no agenda and no expectations. There is a wedding on at the hotel where we are staying. Not sure we will be getting a lot of sleep tonight as it looks big. However, the garden overlooking the beach is a lovely spot to get married or remarried for anyone looking for a venue or thinking about getting hitched (Again? I suggested it once to Miles and being the true romantic he was less than enthusiastic) Men....hmmmm. Well I can't promise I'll get off the lounge chair often but will try to check in again soon. T.