When leaving New Zealand to go back to south east Asia I didn't care where I went to I just wanted the first cheap flight out of there. Bali was the one that came up, since I still had my Indonesia guidebook it seemed a good a place as any. The flight over the Australian outback after changing planes in Brisbane was a great view out of the window.
After going through passport control I was pulled over by two men when going to collect my rucksack. Expecting a bag search (I seem to get loads) I followed them but they took me about 20 paces round the corner to a money changer. I told them I didn't need a money changer as I had already been to the ATM. They then both held out their hands demanding "tips". I instantly snatched my bags out of their hands telling them I would rather flush my money down the toilet than give it to them.
I had seen some low attempts by people to get money out of tourists in my time but this was going to take some beating. Someone had tried to extort money out of me before I had even walked through customs hardly the best welcome to a new place. I knew full well however that even if 99% of people did what I did these men would make a good living out of the other 1%. Within 12 hours I met someone who had given them 10 USD....enough said.
First stop was Kuta beach, the day after sleeping off the jetlag I went out to explore. Walking down the main road the hassle factor was unreal. Every 5-10 paces I was being pestered to buy something or having someone shout "TRANSPORT" in my direction.
I had a more upmarket place to stay (by my standards!!!) which included all the main news channels that I had not seen for over a month. I spent more time in myroom catching up on world news during the daytime because I just couldn't stand being constantly pestered outside.
I did go out a couple of times at night, nearly everyone I spoke to was from Australia. It was easy to get talking to people which was good. Maybe if I had got in with a group and seen some of the areas good nightlife I would have probably enjoyed it more but Kuta was not for me so I headed off after a couple of days.
I went to the memorial of the Bali bombing which was only a couple of minutes walk down the road from where I was staying.
Ubud was only a short bus ride away and seemed to be the next logical stop. The atmosphere was very different from Kuta checked out the monkey forest.
Despite the number of tourists it seemed very quiet at night which was a bit strange. Did find a bar with a live band on.........
On the second full day I went on a daytrip round the island which included several temples, an area full of monkeys and bats and some of the countryside.
A lot of the trip involved being herded around market stalls set up for the tourists. While this happens a lot in Asia to get to the final point on this trip you had to walk through miles of it!!!!!!!
Finally we ended up at Tanah lot temple to watch the sunset. About 10 minutes before the sun actually set it went behind a load of clouds.
Had a chill out day after that before heading in the direction of Lombok.
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