Bangkok to Bali

After having spent a couple of nights on the island of Ko Chang (close to the Cambodian border) I headed back to Bangkok for my flight to Bali. This was memorable only for the fact I got a bad bug or food poisoning the day before which resulted in me being up all night vomiting. How I made it via ferry and minibus on the 9 hour journey the next day I'm not too sure. Sweating and aching all over I managed to drag myself to a guesthouse once we arrived in Bangkok and find a pharmacy (there's a Boots on Khao San Rd) before an early night. I did see evidence in Bangkok of the preparations ( see picture) against the floods that have plagued Thailand for the last 6-8 weeks or so but little water in the parts of the city I passed through. In other areas it has been a different story, however (see picture below).

So Bali, Indonesia, was my next stop.
Here are some things you may not know about Indonesia:
It has a population of 240 million, the 4th biggest in the world
One of its islands, Java, houses half of it's population making it both the most populated island in the world as well as the most crowded.
As a country it has the biggest Muslim population in the world, making up 88% of the total.
It is made up of 17000 islands, making it the largest archipelago in the world.
It has the most active volcanoes (129) in the world.
It has the worlds biggest lizard, the Komodo dragon, which I'm hoping to see on this trip.
It has the worlds biggest flower.
It has the worlds biggest snake, the reticulated python.
It is the most biologically diverse country in the world with one if its islands alone having twice as many plant species as the whole if Africa!
And despite its huge landscape diversity, it is predominantly underwater!


Bali is the most popular tourist destination in Indonesia. It is frantic and brash in certain areas with hotels aplenty for every budget. I wanted to avoid the most hectic and built up area, Kuta, and opted instead for one a little quieter, Sanur. Prices here were a little high for my backpacker budget but I ended up finding a room with a balcony in a traditional Balinese house or 'homestay' as they are known. It's location just off the main street was anything but quiet!

Balinese dancing

Balinese dancing

To date, however, a combination of the after effects of the bug and some pretty poor weather (yes, the monsoon is here big time! ) I did very little the first couple of days. I did manage a gentle bike ride along the beachfront ( the first in Bali) and came across a Hindu ceremony ( Bali is predominantly Hindu) which involved a blessing for a recently deceased priest. This was to eventually involve sending his ashes out to sea in coconut shells. The men and women were dressed in white as the pictures show. I have also included a couple of pictures of some traditional Balinese dancing I stumbled across on the beachfront in Sanur.

A Hindu ceremony

After a couple of days recovering in Sanur (my budget couldn't take it any more either!) I decided to move on to Ubud. This is the other side of Bali, away from the beaches towards the mountains, it is a tourist town with plenty to offer to people on all budgets. Here I managed to find fantastic and cheap accommodation at Gandra House. A thermos of green tea was permanently on the table outside your room and the breakfast banana and coconut pancake one of the best I've tasted. And even better, breakfast was included in the price of the room!

The rice fields from the Sungai Ayung

Ubud celebrates Balinese culture through its hundreds of traditional craft shops and popular dance and music shows. You can do courses on anything, ranging from meditation and art to woodwork and cookery. It is in a beautiful setting, famous for its steeped paddy fields and coconut trees. It is home to numerous chilled out restaurants , bars and cafes and was the perfect place to spend a few days walking, cycling and generally wandering the streets, cafe hopping and shopping. One of the best places I ate was the Warung (traditional Balinese restaurant often on the streets) Dewa which served a delicious aubergine curry and mint and lime juice and after dinner ginger tea for a little over 20,000 rupiah (2 USD). Wonderful food at wonderful prices!

Next stop: Lombok