Bali

I was in two minds about how I really felt about Bali, I guess when I first arrived I didn't have much luck with the locals and struggled at times. To be honest I never felt safe on my own, but then again I was staying in Kuta which is like the Newquay/Blackpool of Bali !! a great place if you want to go shopping and party hard. Lots of internet cafes, bars, clubs etc. with lots of Aussie families on package holidays you can spot these by the henna tattoos, sunburn and braided hair. After having two days here I headed to Seminyak which is a very chilled and laidback village about 20 minutes away. I never felt hassled of under pressure here and I met a great bunch of friends staying at my hotel. We took a trip to Ubud this is the centre of the art movement in Bali and is up in the hills. I got to visit traditional batik, silver, wood carving and painting workshops as well as taking in the sight of rice fields and temples.

I decide to soak up the culture of Bali by a cycle tour. We started in view of Mt Batur Volcano and cycled through 26km of lush valleys, rice paddies and local balinese villages. We visited Balinese people in their homes and played games with their children, it was a great way to learn about the history, culture & people of Bali . As we was cycling through the villages it surprised me how friendly everyone was, the locals went out of their way to say hello to us and the children would stop and drag us off our bikes to get us to play with them ...this really made my trip to Bali special. We finished the tour at an Elephant Safari park, we had lunch over looking the elephants bathing in the lake, it was nice to see how well the elephants were treated.