2 Nights on Nusa Lembongan

We spent two nights on this quirky little island. We quickly found the best restaurant on the beach and made friends with the staff there. I ate a Hot Tuna Salad the other night which was absolutely delicious. The locals here were very friendly and of course full of smiles. There is nothing quite like a Balinese smile, maybe you can see that in the pics I post.



We stayed at a surfer's guest house on the beach. We even met a surfer called Duncan who was kind enough to offer us a surfing lesson after our dives yesterday but unfortunately he found out that he had to get back to Kuta and left one hour before our lesson would have started. :(



The dives were great! The dive shop World Diving is run by an English couple, John and Sue. The coral amazing and the fish too. The best adventure was getting a boat back to Bali. We paid $5 each and the boat was a tiny (tiny and thin) a sailing canoe which we shared with the captain, his wife and three French travelers! Ummm... have one pic - the only one I managed to take before I had to put my camera away in my waterproof bag!



It was fun. Tomorrow we leave for Gili Trawangan. I'm taking the cheap (long) travel option as I need to go to a bank in Senggigi Beach. I should be there in time for the sunset. ...Looking forward to it!

The big Plan ....!!

Well here we are ..still in Ubud (just about) but we leave tonight for Seminyak ...just one more night in party town and then we will head out to Nasu Lembongan. The diving there is great, the island is not too far away and it apparently offers an immediate 'off the beaten track' feel. We can't wait!



We've done the pamparing - boy was it good, we've had some more organic food and today we were lucky enough to witness the cremation of a Balinese. Well it wasn't just luck, we were told that the funeral will be taking place so we decided to stay another night. The woman cremated belonged to the Lempad family, a famous local artist. Luckily this family can afford the funeral and therefore the body was cremated 10 days after her death. Some families are not so lucky and we've heard stories of the body being kept on the top floor of a house (closer to the Gods) for 10 years until enough funds were saved up for the funeral. !!! This cremation was carried out in style.












If you look hard enough, you will see her knee, hand and skull, it was pretty horrible to watch the flesh burn.

I've been so lucky, my friend Dom has been here and stayed for months so he's passed on some great tips, thanks Dom!! And yes, I think i will be stopping on Komodo – Ive got a lot of islands on my plan and only until the 16th June to see them all. BTW Dom where did you head off on your Visa runs? I'd like to do a visa run in Sabah, Borneo however Im not sure how possible that is and if so, whether it would be viable. Do you know? (thinking: the boat to Sulawesi and then another to Sabah)



In the meantime my the plan is: Travel to N L with Natalie, then on Tues we will carry onto the Gilli islands. After that I plan to head out to Sumbawa, Komodo, Flores and Sumba and then back to Flores where I'd like to head out to Sulawesi and hopefully onto Sabah. Once I get to Sabah, I will enjoy Sipadan and the near by jungles and then head back to Sulawesi. I really would love to explore Sulawesi's islands and make my way to Banda, Kei's and maybe Papa New Guinea before returning to Bali and flying to Oz in July.



Dom if you happen to have tips on the above I would really appreciate it! :))



Right that's me done for today. I know that the internet is about on the islands but it won't be everywhere so I may have to update the blog on my return but don't worry it will be done. I'm excited about this next adventure. It really will be off the beaten track.

JoAnna - as promised, my Indonesian mobile number is +62 819 164 87365.



Take care everyone – Tash xx

A Tribute

This is a VERY long over due and well deserved Tribute and THANK YOU to my very dear friend Helen.

Helen Thank You SO MUCH for your comments on this blog - they have brought me many a smile and encouraged me to continue writing - I've never had so many compliments - made me blush!!

I would also love to welcome Aloisia to the site!!

Please, y'all keep 'em coming!! :)

So great to hear from you Al!! Please send me pics of the hustle and bustle of Egypt. And Yes of course you can join me on my next visit. Definitely. And to answer your Q, the chap I'm sitting next to in the pic you mentioned is Gernot, Austrian, he is a very sweet (and very young) guy who was a lot of fun and a little brother type. :)

Funny though, as when I posted the shot I did happen to notice something. It looks like my arm around his shoulders but on closer inspection I recognised Marianne's bracelets, Marianne, your arms are really long!!! Haha, funny the things one notices!

Miss you all - it's that time of year... :( time for a long weekend on a boat in Gozo :(

Speak to all soon!
T xx

Oh Bali Bali Bali ...!

Natalie and I flew into Bali on the same day, just three days after having left 'Paradise'. She flew in from Singapore and I from Kuala Lumpur. Marianne sometimes threatens to join us but unfortunately she has not yet shown up - thus she must still be in 'Paradise' ...who can blame her!



BUT Bali is beautiful. You have it all here; the beach, the surf, the parties, the architecture, the fantastic smiley Balinese and the lush green countryside. At first we thought we may never get to see the surfers, they get up at 6am but lucikly photographic evidence will prove otherwise! (Mind you I only got to see surf school and didn't take my camera to Dreamland - more surfer shots to come - another time)



Saskia, also from Holland is with us. She met Natalie at the airport. We spent the first four nights in Seminyak, a surfer's beach. We went out a couple of times and had a great time. Liza, we went the Ku De Ta (very nice!) We also spent a great day at Dreamland, beautiful beach.



Since then we headed up to the north shore and saw some of Lovina and Munduk. The countryside is so lush and green, it's beautiful. Today I write to you from Ubud, we have fallen in love with the place. We're moving quite fast. Natalie can't wait to get to the Gillies and I will go along too but only spend three days there before heading further east to Flores and Sumba. After that we hope to meet again. It is going to be fun, an adventure and we know the diving will be great. We leave tomorrow or on Sunday depending on our moods and then the adventure will begin.



Indonesia is beautiful, I always had the feeling that I will enjoy it even more than other parts of Asia I have visited and Bali is doing just that... oh boy I didn't tell you of the shopping! Now that was the most dangerous adventure to date... blew our budgets time and time again.... it is certainly time for the wilderness!



A Bientôt Mes Amis!
T xx

A Very Special Place

Imagine this: a remote island with no roads, all traveling is done by boat taxi. The internet service is slow, extremely slow, not to mention expensive and there is no mobile phone reception. Landlines do not exist. This special location is based over three beautiful adjoining beaches.



The first beach being the smallest. It has no restaurant and no bars hidden in its lush beachfront jungle, just a few very basic bamboo bungalows and one Yoga platform on the hill that gently slopes down to the beach. All of which have fabulous views of the turquoise sea below. The sea is clean and the sand is white.



On the next beach is a Spa. The accommodation here varies from the luxurious open house tropical villas to a cute dorm. There is a restaurant and a detox spa and a few parties organised once a week. The sea also turquoise and the sand also white.



The next and last beach is slightly more populated. There are more bungalow options and a couple of restaurants but they have still managed not to overcrowd the beach's natural beauty and beautiful it is, this is where we swim everyday. And yet I still haven't told you about the most beautiful things here, the people I met and the restaurant we all hung out at: let's call it the Bamboo Hut.



This is a place you come to detox from life as you know it. People come here to do Yoga, Detox or a number of other courses. I opted for the Detox and the Yoga and I have a feeling that this may become a 'once a year' thing for me. The food at the Spa and the Bamboo Hut is the freshest and most tasty organic food I've ever had. The fresh juices, Pineapple and Mint - you should try this - are so naturally sweet - it really is paradise. I came here for 4 days, I stayed for 18.



I'd like to think that one or two of the friends I made here, will become friends for life. We were such a good group. So many different people, all of whom had open minds and healthy bodies (even if for some, it was temporary!)