Surfer's Paradise

Friday 7 March

Today we followed Leilani to the yoga class she teaches at “Mu” resort. Mu was awesome…a modern resort with classical Balinese touches nestled right on the cliff overlooking the ocean. It was a bit pricey for us (about $120 a night for the cheapest room), but I’d highly recommend checking it out for anyone interested in Bali.

The yoga class was in an open air pavilion. It was 9am, but I think it was the most I’ve ever sweated :P I’ve never taken a ‘hot’ yoga class, but I imagine it goes something like that. People were projectile sweating. Hehe. Leilani was an awesome teacher and a fantastic yogi. I nearly did a split in the class, but I think I was just so limber from being so hot.

We got breakfast afterwards at Jiwa Juice…super cheap!! 2xCoffee,2xJuice, egg sandwich and an omelet with toast for $6. TOTAL. We love Bali :D

Go here

We drove down to super crowded Padang Padang Beach.
Some militaristic older man with a cigarette hanging from his mouth DEMANDED 2000 rupiah for parking (about 20 cents…but seems like more because it’s paper money ;) ). The walk down to the beach was SO narrow that only one person could fit through at a time.

Preston surfed while I baked on the hot, rocky, sticky sand. I didn’t feel like I could get in the water because a) the beach was full of people of all nationalities, stray dogs that had CLEARLY just given birth, monkeys, food and clothing stalls, people walking around selling stuff, so I didn’t feel comfortable leaving my things b) the tide was moving up the beach at an incredible rate, so all these people/animals were slowly retreating together to the same small patch of sand c) the ocean was full of floating trash and debris anyway.

Not to be a downer here, but the beaches where we are staying are just kind of eh. I’m sure the expensive resorts with private beaches are much nicer, but the beaches open to the public are not so great for lying in the sun and reading. It’s just too crowded and dirty or rocky with little beach. The pool at our hotel is just so much more peaceful.

Better

Eh

They are watching the monkeys go through people's stuff

Sorry Dog :-/

I was so grateful when Preston came back within an hour. I think he knew I was uncomfortable. So, he took me back to the hotel and then returned to the beach, because he was having the time of his life surfing.

Goodbye beach 

I hung out at the pool with Leilani for a bit. I can’t get over how HOT the sun is here. You just drip with sweat.

Pres and I got dinner at Yeye’s Warung (warung=small, usually family owned shop/café). The food was good and the location was nice sitting out under the stars.

Fanta Soda Water!!

We got caught up on The Walking Dead back at the hotel. I just love that you can watch ANYTHING for free online.

Saturday 8 March

Go figure, but I woke up today with a bit of a cold. We took a moped ride around the area…it was a pretty short, but nice ride.

We had breakfast at The Mango Tree Café, which was kind of gross. I wouldn’t recommend it.

I spent the day relaxing and trying to knock out my cold with lots of rest and water.

We decided to venture to Jimbaran for dinner. A few people had recommended this town to us, where you can order a seafood feast served right to you on the beach.

Leilani gave us the best directions that anyone has given us in Bali and we were off. This was our first venture on the moped outside of the peaceful little area where we are staying. It was a bit nerve wracking, because there was so much traffic and dust in our eyes, but Preston did a GREAT job and we made it safely to the beach.

Jimbaran was a madhouse. The beach was just crawling with tons of tourists and ‘hawkers’ (people trying to sell you stuff). Dozens of restaurants serve basically the same deal, but we went to the one Leilani recommended (I think we did EVERYTHING she told us to do in Bali. Hehe).

We were seated at a wooden table facing the ocean at sunset. We ordered a beer each and our seafood feast. The feast included 2 whole fish (with bones, tails, and face), 2 squid skewers, 3 oysters, 4 shrimp, sautéed spinach with garlic, rice, and water EACH for $30 total. Crazy. It was kind of difficult to see exactly what we were eating, because the sun had set by this point. We ended up picking a lot of bone out of our teeth ;) but the candlelight setting was great and the food was awesome.

Catching our dinner?

YUM

Our ride home was even more terrifying than our ride to Jimbaran. More people were out on the roads and it was a crazy mess of honking, lights, and people. Preston did another awesome job of navigating the craziness. You can see videos here and here. Ps…I giggle uncontrollably when I’m scared :D and sorry about the brief language (Preston!!)

Sunday 9 March

We took Leilani’s class again today. I’m still not feeling great, so it was a bit of a struggle for me. We hit up Jiwa Juice again and then Preston surfed while I recuperated at the pool.

Fitting right in

Preston returned and we were joined by Leilani and her friend Brian. Preston and Brian hit it off right away and it turns out they have the same birthday. We had a great afternoon chatting by the pool and drinking beer.

Tonight was our last night in Padang Padang, so we decided to return to Single Fin to enjoy our last sunset. We followed Leilani and Brian there and met up with some of Leilani’s high school friends (from California) that were on holiday in Bali. Funnily enough, I had spoken to one of the girls while waiting for our bags at the airport!! What a funny small world!!

Our seats weren’t as good, so we didn’t see as much of the sunset, but it was still a cool spot with good music.

We watched “Wolf of Wall Street” tonight. Did I mention you can buy great quality new release movies here for less than a dollar?!

As we were watching the movie...the doors and windows gave a little shake that kept vibrating from the floor. Earthquake!! It was a 5.0 on the next island over and pretty deep in the earth, but how funny!! 

We are so bummed to be leaving tomorrow. We’ve had such a good time here in the Bukit, but are excited to see what Ubud will bring :D