Bali - Day 11, 12, 13 - Seminyak, Kuta & Jimbaran

Volcano views on the boat ride back

We checked out of the hotel and headed for our fastboat back to Bali. It was HOT and dragging all of our stuff down there was again, not much fun. We had to wait about an hour for the boat, which was running late. The kids from the hotel we’d ditched were there waiting for new guests to arrive, we shiftily avoided eye contact as much as we could in fear of, well im not sure what – maybe them pushing us into the sea? Alas, it was fine and we scrambled aboard breathing a bit of a sigh of relief to be out of the heat and en route back to the mainland… or so I thought.

The gale force winds of yesterday had not subsided, and were whipping up some pretty hefty swells. We got onboard and noticed the floor was much wetter than it had been on the way out – then one of the crew asked us all if anyone got seasick – then made a hand gesture signifying we’d be going up and down a lot. Given I don’t really have my sea legs this didn’t fill me with confidence, and sure enough as soon as we’d left the harbor at Lombok and hit the open water it was horrendous. I spammed my face as near to the window as I could and concentrated on the horizon as it dipped in and out of view behind the spray and waves, Lisa was asleep within minutes so offered no moral support. It was a difficult hour or so but fortunately I didn’t make a mess of myself or see breakfast again, and soon we were back aboard a shuttle people carrier to Seminyak.

Balangan beach

New ride

We were travelling with a couple from Melbourne heading to Kuta – they were friendly enough and had also just been to the Gili’s and Ubud so we had a bit to chat about. As we got into Kuta to drop them off first we were immediately relieved we weren’t staying there – it was HECTIC. So much more traffic than Ubud, or anywhere else we’d seen whilst scooting around on Lucille. After getting lost briefly, our driver found our apartment – a cool two floor ‘studio’ with a loft bedroom, lounge and bathroom with a shared kitchen and courtyard. It reminded us of a Cuban hacienda and despite being pretty close to the main road in Seminyak was really quiet.

Staying classy

We headed for an explore and to see the beach – both forgetting how far it looked on the map and how HOT it was outside! After 45 minutes we made it down to the sea – the beach is HUGE, stretching as far as the eye can see in both directions (south to Kuta and north to Chapelle’s local).We had a beer and a snack at a beach warung, then strolled back to shower and chill out a little, taking advantage of the decent and free wifi (to download some True Blood, Dexter and Breaking Bad!).

On the way we were getting harassed by the usual amount of hawkers at each shopfront – but were now fairly used to ignoring them or brushing them off. Then we passed a local woman carrying her shopping with a couple of young kids. The little girl (about 3 or 4) clocked Lisa and immediately about faced to follow us, tapped her on the arm and then put hand to mouth in a ‘im hungry, feed me’ kinda way and then extended it in hope of some money. Usually not that out of the ordinary but she had a banana in the other hand!! After an hour or so of wandering the streets slightly lost, very hot and very tired Lisa simply thrust her open palm in the kid’s face and walked off! It was stone cold, but pretty funny and did the trick!!

That night we sought out a well reviewed Mexican (Beach Taco Grill) joint and had some of the best food we’d eaten on the island - the place was full of the local hipsters (Aussie ex-pats) and run by a Californian dude (with obligatory Balinese wife). After a couple of Margheritas and a large Bintang we were ready for bed, and turned in by about 9:30 just as the party kids were heading out and watched some TV under the mosquito net.

Jimbaran Sunset

The next day we decided to head out for another explore of Seminyak and went out for breakfast at a place called the Tuck Shop which was pretty much directly out of Australia both in terms of menu and clientele. It was a most welcome treat of awesome coffee and food we were used to! After that we wandered the streets window shopping and generally getting hot and bothered. The afternoon of sweating around the streets the day before had convinced us to hire a scooter for the remaining time there and we were glad we did!

The streets in and around Seminyak were proving fairly easy going to we ventured further afield and headed towards Uluwatu and a beach off the beaten track  (Balangan) which was meant to be one of the best in Bali. Unfortunately it seemed word had gotten out and it was busier than expected, and also there was no sand! The tide was waaaaaay out and just left coral and rocks everywhere, so we had some food and a drink and watched the surfers enjoying the endless swells before heading off to Jimbaran which we were both keen to see.

Amazing

Apparently it is famous for it’s sunset fresh fish BBQs and draws crowds from all around. By the time we got there it was almost sun set and, having been back in Bali without getting wet for over 24 hours we pretty much sprinted into the sea to cool off! Unfortunately I overdid lunch so we headed back to have dinner late in Seminyak, then once again retired for some more TV and another early night!

For our final day we headed north to find the Bali Buddah café in Kerobokan and check out some of the cool homewares stores out of the main drag. We managed to get completely lost for about an hour though and had pretty much given up hope and were heading back before accidentally stumbling upon it! Afterwards we decided to go for a dip at the local beach at Seminyak as it was close and we’d not been in the sea there yet – but we got down there and the sea was horrendous! 5-6 feet waves breaking right on the shore and completely blown out meaning the entire stretch was closed as far as the eye could see.

Wistful lovers

Completely demoralised and unbelievably hot we headed back to Jimbaran which was a sheltered bay and would be open for swimming – and also BBQ fish! Unfortunately, the Monday traffic was about 8 times worse than it had been yesterday and it took forever – plus there was a religious festival going on and loads of roads were either closed or jam packed with people heading to the temples.

Best. Fish. Ever.

Fortunately a dip in the ocean and some amazing snapper whilst sat on the beach watching the sunset reminded us why we went there and we enjoyed a couple of hours reminiscing about Bali. It was an awesome way to end our trip there!