Back from Bali

I've just arrived from a 2 day trip to Bali, and I have to say that it was OK. It had so much potential to be great, but the weather was horrible. On the first day, it pretty much rained all day, so we couldn't really walk around and truly explore or enjoy the place. We purchased a travel package which included a car all to ourselves and a tour guide. They took us to see Batik making, Balinese paintings, wood carvings, gold and silver smiths, which were all pretty much sales trips where they showed us a little bit about how they make their products and then proceed to try and sell us said products. Bleh.

The rest of the day improved a bit when they took us to see some rice terraces, which was a gorgeous sight. We finished the day by watching a fire dance which was quite mesmerizing.

Lunch was also included in the package, and we went up to a mountain to a restaurant that was supposed to have a view of the lake and an active volcano, but it was foggy, so we couldn't see ANYTHING. :(

The second day was a lot better though, because it didn't rain at all, except the sky was overcast. I'm grateful that the weather improved though because we at least got to do some beach hopping - no swimming though cause the water was quite dirty; we just did a lot of sight seeing.

The first beach we went to was Kuta Beach, which is the most popular beach in Bali. It is very touristy and quite crowded, nothing too special, just the usual vendors trying to sell stuff by the beach.

Next stop was a beach where all the water sports were. Since we already did a lot of water sports in the Philippines, we opted for a trip to Turtle Island to see and touch some turtles.

Next we visited the Bvlgari resort, which was magnificent!

We went on an elevator ride down the mountain towards the ocean. It was fun, breathtaking, and just a tad bit scary! :)

Look how steep it is! :O

Next, we went to Padang Padang Beach which is a little bit more secluded..

This is the passageway into the beach..

Getting there..

Check out that overcast sky.. bit of a preparation for Seattle I suppose.. ;)

After that, we finished the day with a romantic sunset dinner by the beach.

It was gorgeous. :)

Overall, the trip could definitely have been a lot better because of the weather, but we didn't really have a choice since we're going back to the States soon and wanted to see Bali before we leave.

Next stops are Ko Samui and Ko Tao in the south of Thailand. Hopefully these trips will be a lot more enjoyable!