Bali, baby!

After a couple of days spent with some friends in Singapore, I moved onto the beautiful and what I thought would be over hyped Bali. I was sure it was never going to live up to what everyone says about it...boy, was I dead wrong! It was beautiful, enchanting, serene and peaceful. I spent my first couple of days diving off the east coast and staying in Candidasa. We went to the USS Liberty Ship Wreck, diving through the caves that used to be the different compartments of the ship and checking out all the amazing aquatic life that now calls the ship wreck its home...beautiful. The next day we ventured over to "Shark Alley"...that's right I saw a number of sharks and one turtle that had to be the size of a small car. It was amazing...and I still have all of my limbs, fingers and toes! After Candidasa, I headed to Ubud. Ubud is known for its artists and Balinese handcrafts. The galleries, filled with local and international art work, were incredible. I stayed on a rice field pension overlooking the small river that runs through the town of Ubud. Each morning over breakfast, I would watch the rice field workers push the mud from one side to the other. After 5 months of rice paddies it's still unclear to me exactly what they are achieving by this task. When I was finished with the hippy artsy crew of Ubud, I moved south to the famous beaches of Bali. I spent my final days of my Southeast Asia Adventure relaxing on the beach watching the surfers make ever attempt had finding their perfect wave. I met some wonderful local surfers who tried so hard to convince me to take a lesson with them but I was happy sitting this one out. They then introduced me to this wonderful woman who made the most amazing Indonesian food and needless to say I had lunch and dinner at her stand everyday after that. When I would arrive at the beach I would stop to say good morning and she would tell me what specialities she cooked up for me for that day. On my final day, she made me a special dessert and had all my new Indonesian friends come over for a going away party...sooo sweet!! Bali is just as good as everyone says...if not BETTER!!

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