Cruising along Bali's coastline

Waking up and heading to the terrace for breakfast was rather lovely. The breakfast was a little odd (a pastrami sandwich) but the fresh fruit and juice and coffee was wonderful. We took our time with breakfast and tried to plan our day. There was the choice of lying on the beach all day but we have a problem where we get bored easily. So instead we chose to visit various beaches. Bali isn't the nicest place to drive in but there was no other way of getting round (apart from back to Denpasar) other than taxis which are expensive for the long trips. We hired a bike for a few quid and hit the very busy road out of Kuta. We wanted to get to Uluwatu to see a temple and then drive back along the coast and stop at some beaches. There happened to be a Victoria Secret model (Candice Swanpoel) in Uluwatu this morning so I was hoping to spot her and become best friends with her. This all seemed lovely but the problem was getting there. The roads were hellishly packed but somehow we survived (Matt's driving was excellent as usual) and after around half an hour we hit more open roads to the temple. 

We parked up and collected a dashing purple sarong each to wrap around our lower half. The temple sat on the edge of a beautiful cliff with paths leading along the cliff top. The views were stunning out to sea and although we couldn't actually go in the tiny temple area we could walk round it, taking in the peacful feeling that seemed to exube from this cliff top. The only thing that distracted us from the tranquility were the monkeys. An announcement sounded every so often to warn visitors that the monkeys surrounding the temple would steal your stuff if you weren't careful. I held onto my belongings but witnessed one girl wearing a single flip flop and a large monkey sat a few metres away holding the other flip flop like he wanted to show off to everyone else and was obviously never giving it back. The girl didn't look happy but I found it hilarious. 

The temple car park had many stalls selling food so we stopped at one for lunch. We shared a chicken curry and mie goreng so we had a bit of variety. It was pretty cheap and tasted good (or maybe it tasted good because it was cheap). I think the hawker stalls have delivered some of my favourite food that I've had so far (apart from that curry in Chiang Mai that came from a restaurant). 

Back on the bike we headed up the coast to Panang Panang beach which was apparently hosting some surfing conpetition at the moment.  We thought this would be good to watch as we're pro surfers and all now but there wasn't a tournament today. Instead we parked our bike amongst many others and walked down through a cave like path to a small over crowded beach. Don't get me wrong, it was a lovely beach but the masses of people ruined it for us. We took it in turns to go for a swim and dried off before heading on.  

We stopped at a little shop for a drink and an ice cream (I had a feast) before biking further to Balang beach. By the time we got there it was around half 4 so was quiet a peaceful, the kind of beach we wanted to find today! However, we only stayed half an hour, sitting in the sand, as we wanted to get back before it was dark; driving in Bali in the dark didn't appeal to us. The drive back didn't turn out to be as bad though (I was still tense the whole journey) and we managed to give the bike back to the rental place at just gone 6pm. 

After showering we went for tea at a place just down the street that called itself Indonesian street food. We thought this would be cheap but it turned out to be the same price as everywhere else once all the taxes were added on. Taxes should be added to the price beforehand so everyone knows what they're paying. The stuff we ate wasn't great either. The best part was some green veg topped with satay sauce but I don't know how fresh it was. 

As we were in the party capital of Bali we decided to test the partying scene. We started by going to buy beer in a supermarket before realising it was the same price as in bars and restaurants. We then went to another place for some cocktail that was on offer but they were taking ages to come and take our order so instead we went to a club that was giving out free drinks. We didn't want to go to a club yet but who can refuse a free drink? Other people had done the same thing so it wasn't empty but we were able to sit down and the music wasn't too loud (I'm starting to sound old). As the drinks in this club were pretty cheap we stayed there for a few gin and lemonades before heading on to another that was offering a cheap drink. This cheap drink was vile but there were pool tables so after I beat Matt (he potted the black by accident) we both decided it was all rather tacky (there was terrible music and lots of screaming middle aged people) and so went to bed. It was nearing 1am so we weren't complete party failures.