Dreamland

Kuta could well be described as the "it" spot on Bali given the mass of travelers and tourists. But that really depends on what you are looking for. Kuta is a sprawling town packed with shops, restaurants, guesthouses, inns and plenty of bars and nightclubs. It's also heaving with people, mopeds and taxis. With the tiny little streets and no sidewalks at times it's almost a battle just to walk down the street or to avoid being accosted the locals trying to sell you their 'fares'. We would often head back to our inn which was tucked away on a little street to get a respite from the madness in it's quiet gardens.

To be honest although we enjoyed out time and the variety of things Kuta offered, this hectic place was not really what myself an William were looking for. Even though you seem to get trapped in the rythm of life there, after four days of sensory overload, we decided to head further south to the quieter Bukit peninsula and a little place called Padang Padang.

Comparing here to Kuta would be like comparing apples and oranges. Where Kuta seems to be all about the wild nightlife, The peninsula is all about the surf. We have come to what is often called surfers paradise or dreamland as one beach is aptly named. And in prime surf season such as now this place has a real chill vibe. Filled with those who visit only for the allure of the waves and the possibility to surf in just their board shorts, unlike many other surfing hotshots across the globe, it's the perfect place to sit back relax and take it all in.

These famous indian ocean swells bring people from Brazil to Japan, and notable surfers can be seen hitting the waves on a daily basis. As it would happen we have come at the perfect time to see some amazing surfing. Ripcurl (a notable surfing brand) is holding their yearly 'Ultimate tubing contest' here in Padang Padang, famous for creating the perfect barrel wave. Given the fickle nature of the wave Ripcurl sets aside a 5 week holding period for the contest where they will await the best waves then hold the whole contest in one day. Although they have been waiting for a while we were lucky to see a day of trials for the competition. It was a perfect blue sky day and the waves were pretty impressive too. All in all something I'm thankful I got to be apart of, the beach was almost like hitting a music festival.


This is also a very spiritual area for the local belinese people, and the community has done amazingly well to keep development to a minimum with no branded resorts only locally owned villas and guesthouses. If you could experience this place with it's rolling rural landscape, towering cliffs, soft white sandy beaches and clear water bays you would understand why. Exploring some of the roads off the beaten track on our moped we have come across some truly charming little places, with villas and cobbled walls, the dry heat and wandering cattle this place is reminiscent of rural untouched Spain. Even trying to get to some of the more well known beaches is like a little adventure, following dirt tracks and the occasional cardboard sign. The beaches are tucked in little coves under the cliffs so most require a steep climb down to get to. From the very top all you see is across the ocean, but as you begin to decend through little trodden tracks a village begins to emerge and the steps weave you through thatched villas and inns and warungs (local restaurants) most with a balconies offering a fantastic view of the surf.

One day on one of our moped adventures we went off to find the local temple in Uluwatu which is famous for its unique position located high on a cliff top at the edge of a plateau 250 feet above the waves of the Indian Ocean, offering an amazing vantage point to view the surrounding surf. According to locals this temple is a directional temple (facing SW) which guards Bali from evil spirits. Those cheeky monkeys that Jason was talking about in his last post also inhabit this temple and are known to steal all varieties of things from unbeknownst tourists including sunglasses, hats and cameras! They also smell any food from a mile of...so open crisp/chip packets at your own risk! All in all a pretty awesome place to stroll around for a hour or two.



We have watched the magnificant sunset here at all three of the local beaches. The Warungs or small restaurants that i spoke of perched on the cliffs offer a comfortable spot to survey the vast Indian Ocean beyond and with panorama on three sides you are bound to see some good surf as the waves pick up at low tide. This for me is just paridise to sit and dangle my feet over the edge, with a chilled Bintang in hand (or the occasional Mojito if i want to splash out) and feel the last rays of sunshine on my face as i watch some incredible surfers. And afterwards there are tons of places to find fresh grilled seafood!


Although we feel like we could stay here forever there is so much to see in Indonesia. We will be sad to leave tomorrow but we are hopeful that Indonesia will bring more wonders along the way. Initially we had planned to go to Lombok and the infamous Gilly islands, but after difficulty finding transport and the price per head starting at about 75$ oneway, we decided to take the less well trodden path to Nusa Lombongan!

Thats all for now
- Lauren