We landed!
Thursday, October 27th, 2005We made it! After a loooong trip out that included a 24 hour delay in L.A. we made it to Bali via Hong Kong. Terra and I were a little nervous about the 15 hour flight to Hong Kong followed closely by the 4 hour flight to Denpasar but it wasn’t as bad as we expected. Cathay Pacific was a very good airline with…hold on to your hat…good food. I know, we were shocked as well. They provided us with a travellers pouch which contained a toothbrush, toothpaste and the ever popular pair of tan socks. Of course, Terra’s feet were cold so she used them. perfect.
The first thing I noticed when we landed in Hong Kong was a (here is comes Andy) Starbucks. Never too far from home. We had to stop and get the mandatory latte. We did pass on the sausage roll however. Hong Kong’s airport is quite possibly the nicest I’ve seen. Very clean lots of vegetation and a very dramatic view out the massive windows. We are excited to return to HK as it looks beautiful.
So, onto Bali. The guest house we have been staying in is absolutely wonderful. It is called Flashbacks and is in Sanur, a town on the southern part of the island. I will add the link to Flashbacks later but let me just say that I can’t imagine a better place to stay on the island for the price. In fact, I’m not sure there is a better place to stay regardless of price. The owners (Jan and Peter) are a delightful Oz couple and we have had the pleasure to meet several other guests from various spots around the world including Holland and even a couple from Seattle.
We have spent the last few days getting acclimated and relaxing by the pool/beach. It is very easy to do as our guesthouse is only a 5 minute walk to the beach. The beach in Sanur is nice. There are many eateries, bars and vendors that line the boardwalk along the beach. We have noticed that the “vendors” who are selling massages, hairbraiding, watches, carvings, tours etc seem to be quite…persistent. We are not sure if this persistency is related to the recent bombing and subsequent economic downturn but it has been a little much for us. Most of the time we can simply smile and say “no thank you” but several vendors don’t seem to understand and will stop you or even walk with you until they are sure that you meant NO. Oh well, small price to pay.
The weather has been great. Of course, quite hot. the humidity will take some getting used to. I’ve got for a jog the last two days and have found my lungs are not used to the thick air.
Just a taste of our first few days.
Weiser Wander