Indonesia

Oh India, it was fun while it lasted, but now I've moved on with my life.

Welcome to Indonesia.

I flew into Bali just over a week ago and this place oozes with ease! The exact opposite of India, and just what I needed. I went into extreme culture shock for the first 24 hrs from when I landed in Kuta. It felt more like I touched down in Cali, not Bali. Surfers everywhere, tourists galore, big massive shopping complexes, 24 hr convenience stores....even McDonalds delivered on motorbikes. I spent the last 3 months trying to cover as much skin from showing as possible and here everyone walks around completely naked. I couldn't even figure out what to wear my first day! Initially, I wanted to get out of dodge as soon as possible but slowly I remembered how nice it was to have all these amenities at my finger tips, like....COFFEE!!!!

I stayed in Kuta for about 2 days and the novelty actually wore off pretty quickly. At sunset, it was tough to find a square foot of space on a beach that went on as far as the eye could see. Time for something a little more private. First stop: Nusa Lembogan.

Nusa Lembogan, 2 hour boat ride from Bali, population 5000 people. Tourist are usually of the surfing or diving kind. Not much else there, except for seaweed farming. I met 2 great surfers from LA on the boat over and ended up spending a few days hanging with these guys who kept me highly entertained and also taught me the basics of learning to surf (just to clarify we did these lessons at the bar over beers, not actually on a surfboard in the water).

I went on 2 dives, the first of which was one I will not soon forget. We hopped in a boat and were in about 15 metres in the deep blue by 8am. The dive site was called Manta Point. I spent about 60 minutes hovering in the same general area with massive mantarays swimming over and under and beside me. No fear. They were completely unphased by the divers and carried on with their life. It was amazing. I could have kicked a fin and been close enough to stroke one. When they swam above me, it was a clear blue day and the mantas were so big they would block the sun and a huge dark shadow would swim over me. What an experience!

The next dive was fun, but nothing in comparison to swimming with massive mantarays. Such a great start to diving a part of the world that is famous for its underwater life. Since the only reason I came to Nusa Lembogan was to dive, and that mission was accomplished, I caught a fast boat out the next day to make my way to the Gili Islands, just off Lombok.

Next stop...PARADISE! The only thing missing from this picture, to make it complete is Garry. xoxox my love ;)