Break 3 Days 1-3 Legian, South Bali

We arrived in Bali on Saturday evening and hired a taxi to get us to our hotel in Legian. Jayakarta is one of the larger hotels here and so finding it was no problem. It was a hazy evening and approach in the dark was all the more alluring.

It is a large complex of buildings, and we were in the apartment style rooms with a bedroom, kitchenette (not used or needed at all), and living room where Kyle slept on the bed sofa. None of the buildings are taller than about 5 stories, so the skyline is kept quite clean. We were on the 4th floor, so by avoiding the elevator and taking the stairs, we at least forced a little bit of exercise upon ourselves.

Driving in Bali introduced us to a whole new style of driving! We quite wisely did not drive, but learned from observing. Although there are lines on the road, they are mostly for show. Cars, bicycles and an abundance of motorcycles share the space very effectively without the use of lines. It seems chaotic at first, but the courteous, random method of driving seems to work quite well for those who are accustomed to it. The speeds in town are much lower than we would normally use, and even on the larger roads, no one is in too much of a hurry. Honking here does not mean 'get out of the way', rather 'just to let you know I'm here' as you pass someone. We were quite happy to leave the driving to others.

Along the roadside there were 'gas stations' for those in need of a quick fillup. Rather unorthodox by our standards - liquor bottles full of petrol! There are proper stations out on the main roads also, but these roadside stops are what you get in the crowded streets. And as previously mentioned, there are numerous motorcycles which are used to transport anything or anyone - from singles to whole families, or even large loads of materials!

The grounds at Jayakarta were well kept and very peaceful. Sorry, but no photos around the pool since Mike was too busy just relaxing - although you can see one of the pools behind Kyle & I at the breakfast table here. There were 3 main pools - lap pool, one with swim up bar, waterfalls and Kyle & I enjoyed the large poolside chess game also.

We walked around the neighbourhood which is primarily shops and restaurants. But everywhere there are statues, carvings and cultural icons. Offerings are made once or more often twice a day - from simple offerings at entry ways to more elaborate offerings at the temples. I'll talk more about them in future postings.

Breakfast was included with our hotel room, but for lunch and dinner we went off site to check out the many restaurants. We enjoyed Thai as well as Balinese but tended to avoid the 'western' food and preferred to experience the local fare. Beer was a very cheap and enjoyable drink. It was very low alcohol content by our judgement. The bottle says 5 % - but that is not very likely given that I could drink 3 large bottles and not even feel it! So given the lack of a drinking age, even Kyle enjoyed the odd 'cold one' with dinner when he tired of plain water or cola.

Dogs and cats are very common here. Although kept as 'pets', they are not integrated into the household. They are left to fend for themselves, and not really coddled or petted. They just sort of have a place to lay their head. Our dinner this night was accompanied by a family of kittens looking to fill their bellies - and we could not help but oblige with our leftovers.

The second day in Bali was my birthday. We had agreed not to 'celebrate' given that we were in Bali which was enough of a celebration on its own. But it still had its marking event! There was a very funny fiasco of birthday cake swapping. We arrived back in our room after some shopping (I did order a custom leather handbag as my gift despite not celebrating :-) to find a cake addressed to Mrs. Thompson. Not sure if this was really meant for me we asked the staff who, equally confused, took it away. We returned later to find another cake - this time addressed to Mr. Montgomery. Deciding this one was meant for me, we went ahead and ate this one. Although very decorative and the cake itself quite nice, we all found the icing to be inedible since it was pure lard!!!

And so after the first couple of days of lounging and browsing the shops and restaurants and relaxing poolside, we were winding down and slowing our pace and stretching our stomachs!