Beachin' it in Bali . . . in awe of the surfers!

Hi everyone!

Sorry for the huge delay in keeping my blog up to date! We’ve been travelling around quite a bit and haven’t had much luck finding fast internet places!

We arrived in Kuta, Bali on Sunday, May 6th after a long day of flights and airports!
On Monday, May 7th, Jill and I spent the day on the beach, in complete awe of the surfers! It was so amazing to watch them on the water. Kuta is kinda touristy, but really nice.
On Tuesday, May 8th, we spent a few hours on the beach in Kuta . . . it was really hot! And then, we hired a taxi to take us to Uluwatu; a monkey temple high on a cliff overlooking the sea. At sunset, there was a cultural dance; where men made music with their bodies and voices.
We took a shuttle van up to Ubud on Wednesday, May 9th. It rained, but we wandered around the cutest shops. There were many beautiful jewellery stores along the way. Leah’s creations would sell like crazy here!
On Thursday, May 10th, Jill and I took a 3 hour silversmithing course . . . it was SO great to be creative! Jill and I both made pendants. I now have such a better appreciation for what Leah does! After dinner, we hired a taxi to take us up to Lovina, on the north coast of Bali.
We headed to the beach early on Friday, May 11th. The beach was quite the sight – black sand! We were the only tourists around, so we were prime targets for the vendors . . . They use your name continuously: a sly sales tactic! It was quite quiet around the town, some vendors said they hadn’t made sales for weeks! It was pretty funny because when we passed someone, they would offer “transport”, and when we declined, they would offer other things . . . “tattoo, water, snorkeling, etc” It seems like every man is a “transport driver”, and his wife sells sarongs or fruit! While watching the sunset, these 4 young Balinese girls approached us to practice speaking English. They were so sweet.
On Saturday, May 12th, we went on a snorkeling trip out to Menjangan Island. It was a great day! We saw so many amazing fish. I brought along an underwater camera, and the pics turned out pretty well!
We were up at 1:30am on Sunday, May 13th to take a van at 2am for 2 hours to Mount Batur – an active volcano with 4 craters! It took 2 hours to climb to the top (1717m) for sunrise. It was a beautiful sight.
We had another early start on Monday, May 14th. We were up for 6am to go on a dolphin tour. Our guide, Adek was great! We saw so many dolphins and they were very playful – jumping in the distance. It was kinda sad – so many tour boats out on the ocean (I can’t even imagine what it’s like during high season!). Adek was really patient, and didn’t chase the dolphins. At around 10, he took us snorkeling, which was great because he came into the water and showed us so much! He even caught an octopus! It was the craziest sight! He took it home for his family for dinner!
On Tuesday, May 15th, we took a shuttlebus from Lovina back down to Kuta.
On Wednesday, May 16th, we spent the day on the beach. I’m getting quite dark – I was told I look Balinese!
Thursday, May 17th was spent travelling. And it was such a hectic day! We had to take 3 flights, and we only had 1 hour/20 minutes between each flight! And my backpack didn’t make it on to the final flight! (Thankfully, it was the last flight, and not the FIRST!) So, we arrived in Phuket (southern Thailand) and went to our guesthouse for the night.
On Friday, May 18th, Jill’s friend, Alex (from Wpg), met us at the guesthouse, and then we took a taxi down to Krabi. We then took a long boat to Railay Beach.

Railay Beach is my favorite place in Thailand. And the weather is fantastic! We were so worried, because the weather forecast was predicting rain! We are splurging on the accommodations (stay for 5 nights, pay for 3 . . . couldn’t pass up THAT deal!) So far, we’ve been taking it easy and just enjoying the weather, the beach, and the pool!

Can’t believe I’m coming home in 9 days! REALLY looking forward to seeing everyone!