Bali - Kuta

Ah Bali. Surfers paradise. Heather and I have been looking forward to coming here for a long time and its finally here! Its our last destination and we go 3 weeks to explore the small island. First we started out in Kuta, in the south side of the island where most backpackers begin here. There's so many people, mopeds, surf shops, and absolute madness. Definitely a change of pace from the pristine museum-like compound that is Singapore. But we like it...

Surfer chick

Since I was recovering from food poisoning, I kept the food simple when going to lunch on the first day. I was really disappointed because I heard the Balinese food is supposed to be amazing. I wanted to be safe though, no more trips to the hospital for me! After our first lunch in Kuta, we go to the famous Kuta beach! The surf is about 4-6 feet and has several breaks down the entire stretch of beach. Heather and I lay out our towel, apply some sunscreen, and soak up the sun in what's our first trip south of the equator. After a while, Heather rented a surf board and was out in the water for about 2 hours. I didn't rent a board because I've only had one meal in 3 days and my body was still sore. I managed to get a couple waves in while Miss Smith was taking a break, so it was awesome to get some surf action! And of course Heather couldn't be happier to finally be surfing after 6 week sabbatical.

Kuta is famous for it's recent nightclub bombings in 2002 which killed 202 people and again in 2008. Aware of our surroundings, we got ready to complete the last phase of TSD (tan, shower, drink) and bar hopped along Jalan Legian, the main road in Kuta. We managed to go into several bars where the guy to girl ratio was pretty sweet. It's like fishing with dynamite. Lol. The next thing we know, it's 4am and it's definitely bedtime!

Australians are not natural dancers... case in point

As you can imagine, we were in no state to rise and shine early, so we woke up at noon. Since we missed our free breakfast, we jetted off to the beach after lunch around the corner. The waves were really spectacular in the evening so we had a surf session. Once the sun starts going down at about 6pm, everyone flocks to the beach for one of the most beautiful sunsets on the planet. We sat on the beach at Blue's Bar and were joined by some New Zealanders who bought us a couple rounds of the local brew: Bintang. The vibe of new kiwi friends and an awesome sunset really put us in a good mood. The kiwi guys even invited us to a Rip Curl party that night.... Score!

At the Rip Curl Part with Shaun from New Zealand

That evening, Heather and I went to the best restaurant in all of Kuta called Dog Dragon. We passed by it earlier that day and the menu looked phenomenal. And it was. It was the most epic meal of my trip so far. I had the butterfish with creamy pesto sauce, chive mashed potatoes and veggies. Be jealous... So once our bellies are delightfully full, we met up with the kiwis at Brewers for the Rip Curl party. There's a couple pro surfers there, and they played a few short surf clips, but the best part was that there was free beer. Jackpot! Every backpacker loves free.... Especially booze! Then the after party moves to a bar called Eikon. More free drinks. Then guess what? It's 4am again and it's time for bed.

We slept in again (surprise, surprise) and put our towels down on Kuta Beach. We were pretty partied out that day and decided to keep the Sunday night mellow.  We had dinner at Sky Garden cause they had an all you can eat sushi bar for 50,000 rupiah, or about $5. Heather and I went to town! Following our Japanese feast, we found a hookah bar next to our hotel and smoked some sheesha for the next couple hours, reflecting about the weekend and planning our next destination to Ubud.

I wouldn't say I went to bed early, but it definitely was significantly earlier then the past nights we've gone out. Consequently, Heather and I were able to wake up early and go for a run on Kuta beach. Because were all sweaty, we jumped in the pool to cool off and also waited for Pete and Sophie (whom we met in Malaysia) to arrive.

Pete and Sophie got a room at our hotel, Sayang Mahayana Mertha (as per our request) so it was easy to meet up with them. We took them on a short walking tour and had lunch at an Aussi cafe. They told us about their remaining time in the Perhentian islands and KL while we talked out my hospital visit in Singapore. It was great to see them again because they are honestly the cutest couple and so fun to hang out with.

Many beautiful Kuta sunsets

After grubbing, I had to go to the internet cafe to take care of some business i.e. Apply for my Australian Visa, look for flights, tell my CONCERNED parents that I plan on moving to Australia, etc. Meanwhile, Heather met up with the kiwis for a surf session. We met up later at Blue's Bar to enjoy the sunset.

Pete and Sophie suggested we get dinner together too and we of course obliged. We were craving some good, cheap seafood so we took them to our fav restaurant: Dog Dragon. Yay! They fell instantly in love just as we did.

Heather, me and Sophie enjoying some free drinks at Sky Garden

It was perfect timing to be finished with dinner because Sky Garden has free drinks and appetizers every night  from 10-11. Ohhhh yeah. So the group heads to the top floor which overlooks all of Kuta. We get our buzz going and in typical fashion, we stayed up till 4:30am. What happened? I dunno....

Due to the fact we all had a late night munchie binge, I wasn't hungry the next day. So we went to the beach to surf but there were no waves. So instead we tanned and enjoyed the sunshine. That evening, Heather and I had a very romantic meal at a seafood restaurant in Jimbarun Bay. Here you pick out your own fresh fish and the grill it for you as you watch the sunset over the Indian Ocean. We shared a red snapper and some prawns. It was good, but not that good, and definitely not worth the extortionate price. All these seafood restaurants clearly cater to and consequently rip off western tourists. I prefer Dog Dragon for about 1/5 the price.

Romantic dinner at Jimbarun Bay

Sweet Balinese dancers

On our final night in Kuta, we met up with Pete and Sophie for a cocktail and some snacks. Nothing crazy... We wanted to recover from the previous night. We ended up talking about the night before and also meeting up in the Gili Islands, off the west coast of Lombock in a week.

So that wraps up Kuta. It's a madhouse of tourists from all over the world but it's fun... But only if you're 20 something and down to just party and surf. We anticipate seeing the "real" Balinese culture when we head to Ubud and the east coast of the island.