Bye bye Bali

On our last day in Bali we went for one last sunrise walk along the Legian strip

and remembered our wonderful week.

The sunrises

and sunsets

The flowers,

the animals

and people

Garry did a bit of maintenance work at Greg's place and asked at the building site next door for some tools.

This saw should do the trick

Looking ok

but the Balinese worker thinks he'll do a better job

Then there were funny signs

and caring signs

and Garry being Garry - the funniest of all

We had a great time and can't wait to take the kids back there at Christmas.

Until then...

Dragging ourselves away from Candi Dasa

I think we might have stayed at the Best Exotic Shangrila Hotel for another week if we could have.  Slow motion just seemed to be natural.

We wandered out for lunch one day and asked a taxi driver to take us to White Sand beach.  We didn't realise we'd be going four wheel driving to get there but we arrived in one piece!  It was well worth the effort. 

We had lunch at a restaurant on the beach

with a choice of freshly caught fish

Signs are deceptive

No toilets working here.  If you want to piss...go for a swim

The snorkelling's not bad either.  For $3.50 you can hire snorkel, mask and flippers

and there's even live music 

The next day we hired one of the hotel staff to take us for a walk up the mountain to see the sun rise.  We left at 5.45am and climbed a very steep ascent, arriving red faced to view the breathtaking sight of the sun rising in the east

The islands I've been photographing from the hotel look like small dots from this height

Just when I thought we'd finished our ascent, we just kept on climbing

and climbing

until we reached the holy temple at the top

and then there was only one way to go on the other side...down

and down

Dika, our guide, led us through the back laneways of his village.  What a beautifully peaceful way to live

even the monkeys are relaxed

eleven piglets born yesterday

Why leave Candi Dasa?

When you've found paradise - why leave?

We originally booked for two nights but have extended to four.  I've noticed that around here, we're not the only ones who just can't leave.  Quite a few people have been here for weeks; I can understand why.

We went snorkelling to Blue Lagoon yesterday.  The abundance of coral and fish was outstanding.  I can't begin to describe the colours and varieties of fish we spotted.  Unfortunately I didn't get any photos but I'll try and grab some photos from one of the other guests at the resort.

Here's Garry and me on our way to Blue Lagoon

What a magic morning which only got better when I returned to my room to find my bed made with a note from Petal

An afternoon of wandering through sleepy Candi Dasa was followed by an exotic fire dance dinner show

I'll be spending today sitting in a sun lounge reading my book - and maybe a bit of snorkelling.

Relaxing in Candi Dasa

What a beautiful and relaxing place this is.  I spent the morning taking photos of the same beach scene in front of our hotel as each time I looked at it, it seemed more beautiful,

The view from our breakfast table

Garry hired snorkelling gear for the day and just swam around in the beautiful clear water in front of our hotel

Then we discovered the rooftop deck above our room and took even more photos of the same scene!

I thought it was time to look at something else so we checked out the temple and water lily pond in the centre of town

Lunch at a restaurant by the sea - literally

Just having a cappuccino in my favourite sun lounge overlooking the beach

And have booked a snorkelling trip to blue lagoon tomorrow. I think I'll go and have a manicure shortly...