postcard perfection...

part 1 – 14.08.2010

i am officially in love with a place that serves as the bali people image, but never experience. let me paint you a picture. stretches of white sandy beaches, crystal clear blue water which enables you to see the coral underneath when meandering offshore in small fishing boats and small intimate restaurants on the beach serving ice cold bintangs and spicy bbq tuna. you have now arrived in nusa lembongan.

after departing from uluwatu we headed 17km east off the coast of sanur, bali to this sleepy little surfing and fishing village which is home to some 7000 locals. arriving on a public boat, aka a small local fishing boat with two huge stabilisers out the sides which counteract the rocking when crossing one of the worlds deepest parts of the ocean, we finally arrived at bungalow no 7.

there are two distinct times of day here, surfing time and seaweed time. when the tides high, its all about surfing and when its low, the locals head to their plots and cultivate their thriving seaweed industry. centuries old, the locals still happily spend their days maintaining and picking seaweed which is used all around the world to, wait for it, thicken ice-cream.

kurt was able to head out for a quick surf yesterday afternoon before the tide got to low and came back grinning and boasting that he had just had the best surf of his whole life. after one night in this tiny piece of postcard perfection, i know we are going to find it hard to leave in six days time. with bali’s largest volcano in the misty distance and the waves crashing at the foot of my sun bed, i am wishing i could share it with you all.

part 2 - 16.08.2010

yesterday i went for a wonder and found myself a little lost and the day ended with me being chased by a cow with a bell around its neck and getting nipped by a “cute little” puppy. lessoned learned; stay away from animals in indo. we also did a spot of snorkelling which ranked as the third best spot we have ever explored, after beach-comber in fiji and blue haven beach, whitsundays. jenna girl you would have loved it. today saw us hire a scooter and make our way around the island, which took approximately one hour.

if there is one thing i will take away from our bali experience, it is that the balinese are extremely resourceful. there is literally a market for everything here, from selling fruit and cutting it up on the beach, to selling coconuts to tired snorkellers or selling flags in a deserted hut on the side of the road. everyone is selling something or can sell you something for the right price.

pics. a few happy snaps from nusa lembongan