Having arrived in Bali, we decided to leave Scot Free in the care of the marina and explore the island... We had been on board for more than seventy days and were beginning to fantasise about certain 'norms' of life, like a big white bed and fluffy towels, so we thought we deserved a treat...

First to Kuta - beach, bars and shopping
Kuta is a surfers beach with eye boggling shopping and bars. We splashed out and stayed in Villa de Daun, one of those lush villas with private pools & garden, complementary spa treatment, foot message and rose petal bath. They brought breakfast to our private outdoor dining/kitchen in the morning. The mini bar was complementary (something all hotels should learn to do!) so it got raided pretty quickly. David and I were in seventh heaven. Air-conditioned and hot water - just imagine such luxuries!!
We walked around in something of a daze, enjoying the touristy nonsense. We also saw the site that was bombed on Jalan Legian, adjacent to it was a huge memorial for the victims. It definitely was a somber experience being there. You can tell that the lives of every single Balinese person has been effected by the loss of earnings and security.

Ubud - art and culture
A lot of the Balinese suggested to go to Ubud so we thought we'd have a look. We hired an old Suzuki jeep (international hire-car?) and headed inland. Nearing Ubud, the street was lined with all sorts of art and craft, such as wood carving, painting, art furniture, glass sculptures, batik, galleries, etc - all the things that make Bali so famous. We took our chance on accommodation, not booking before we set off. How lucky we were as we found, off a quite little street of Ubud centre, a Balinese cottage complete with a private front porch and a balcony with a view of a valley of rooftops. It was made of intricately carved volcanic stone, with a bamboo roof. The mahogany door was a work of art in itself (see behind DH in the photo). There is a magic to Ubud where art and creativity oozes everywhere, on roof tiles, garden landscape, lighting, religious decorations and even on the presentation of food on a plate. The climate is cool and slightly damp, giving everything a slight covering of moss, that reminds David of old Scottish villages. This inspired us to buy a couple of sketch books and sketched away - I haven't done this for years, and I'm an architect! We also visited breathtakingly beautiful terraced padi fields filling a valley. We sketched from the opposite side of the valley sitting in a restaurant with seating under a palm roof patio.

Penelokan - volcano and high level lake
We drove on north east to the mountains. (The whole of Bali is in effect a single family of volcanoes that slope down to the sea on all sides). It had been David's dream to see a volcano. We didn't spend much time in the main town Penelokan, as soon as we parked the car we were swamped by sellers who then tailed us around, tugging at our bags and clothes... argh! Again you can feel the desperation caused by the lack of tourists. So we drove down a very steep road into the bottom of this huge crater. The crater is so large that it contains a lake 5km wide by 9km long. There are several villages hanging on to a dangerous existence, including evidence of where some were wiped out in the 1960s. We stayed in a modest cottage right by the lake called Danau Batur. The water in the lake is feed by hot springs, and the locals go there every day for a communal wash. We caused quite a stir by coming to join them at dusk, but we didn't go in. In the middle of this enormous crater, is - well another mountain formed by more recent eruptions. We climbed up to see the three recent craters - 1912, 1964 and 1999 (with a guide) starting at 4am, armed with mere trainers and not a lot of hiking gear. The aim was to catch the sunrise and have breakfast on the peak. After 2 hours of hiking I checked my heart rate - it had never been this high! I had a lot of help from the guide, taking my hand and giving a pull whenever there were big steps up the black volcanic mud. Upon reaching the peak I sat in a hut, trying to catch my breath (and dignity!). Behind us came along a Balinese lady who sold tea to tourist/hikers. With a cheery 'Good Morning!' greeting she walked straight passed us without a pant, having hiked up in FLIP-FLOPS with a full jerry can of water ON HER HEAD. For breakfast our guide cooked eggs and banana from the steam heat expelled from the ground... how cool was that!