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Bali, Indonesia |
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Additional pages My Surrey Border Films- Films I have made with other club members. misc and one off films Destinations where there is not enough film to have a page to itself, or individual events etc. |
We went to Bali in September 2002 just one month before the Kuta bomb. It is a fabulous place, and we would love to visit again. The people are very friendly, easy going and hospitable. It was also incredibly good value for money.There is still a large part of the island we haven't seen, and I'm sure we will get there again. | |
| It's
not often I am moved to get out my camera on the approach to somewhere,
but
this was definitely the occasion. Quite the most spectacular scenery of
volcanoes from the plane window. |
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We
stayed at the Grand
Bali
Beach Hotel, a well established hotel that had a main block
of multiple
stories, several 'garden wings', two story blocks, and many single
story
bungalows. We stayed in one of the garden wing rooms. The grounds were
attractively laid out, with covered passages between block, restaurants
and the
main wing, to avoid any possibility of getting drenched in a tropical
'shower'.
The gardens faced directly onto the beach, and there was a footpath
leading to
the beachside part of the town, full of shops and restaurants, and
where we ate
most evenings. The only small downside was the eagerness of the traders
to
invite you into their shops, we may have browsed more had they been
less
attentive. We did find a tailoress to make us trousers and shirts etc,
amazing
value and all done in 3 days. You could also hire boats to take you out
beyond
the reef to snorkel.
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At
night the place was buzzing, with stalls and restaurants, most of which
had
traditional cabaret, mostly children from the local school. The local
music, I
have to say, is probably an acquired taste, I have left it on the
videos at low
volume. we also made one trip to a floating restaurant, departing from
the Kuta
side of the island, with a beautifully served and prepared meal, though
the
accompanying saxophonist was perhaps not quite as accomplished as we
might have
hoped.
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We
made a shopping trip into Kuta, with both
conventional shops selling designer goods, and market stalls, and all
styles in
between. We visited the beach for a rest and a drink and watched the
surfers.
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In
order to see something of the rest of the island, we hired a vehicle
and
driver, and guide for the day, from an independent organisation that
had a
kiosk at the hotel shopping area, at a ridiculously low price, and were
able to
tailor our own tour, with some advice from the kiosk staff. 'Coach'
style tours
tend to take in too many temples, we were content with just the one. We
went to
the elephant sanctuary - elephants are not of course native to Bali,
but were
brought over to work - and a town where it is the place to have lunch
overlooking the volcano crater, on a balcony perched on the rim.
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| It is also interesting to take in one or more of the craft villages, each village has it's own speciality, wood carving, concrete, silver, and some even specialise with the item carved, one had nothing but long thin cats of various sizes. We chose to visit a wood carving co-op, and also filigree silver. | ||
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© 2004 Gillian Gatland |
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