Trip to Uluwata

 30/03/2013
 It took over an hour to get connected to the internet to just check our emails….there weren’t any. Then to try and send this blog proved a task too far  and it’s sitting inside the shiny thing waiting to be posted, along with some photos!!
Bali seems to be the place many Australians come to ,to get their medical requirements done on the cheap, like dentistry, new joints and other surgery. Today we jumped on the bandwagon and Jane now has a new pair of prescription glasses on order for less than a  third of what she paid in the UK. I have my name down for a lot of replacement parts starting with  ears.
 After another superb dinner for about £2 per head we came back to tackle the bloody shiny thing as we reckoned we would be the only ones trying to go on line.  40 minutes later we finally got the blog away, two good results in one day, amazing!

 31/03/2013
 Our afternoon trip to the coast  with Indy was postponed until tomorrow as they decided to bury his village headman’s father. Apparently he died over a week ago but they were waiting for an auspicious day to hold the funeral. Today was a Karma sort of day, it seems, same as any other day we thought. As it turned out we have found another super restaurant for future reference, one we may not have found had we gone for a tour.

 01/04/2013
  Easter Monday and another miracle has occurred, our shiny thing has risen from the (almost) dead to rude health. We actually got into email within 30 minutes ( there weren’t any) and got the photos away without too much hassle  ,     we are stunned and amazed! Why it should start to behave itself we have no idea, long may it continue.
 Indy pitched up at 3pm to take us to the south of Bali to visit the temple and monkeys at Uluwata. On entry it is compulsory to wear a sarong which are issued to you as you pay your £1 50 entrance fee. You hand it back when you finish your tour.
 The temple is perched on top of high cliffs overlooking the Indian Ocean with spectacular views. It was built in the eleventh century and it is difficult to imagine how it was done as the only access then was by sea. Even now the going is rough with many uneven steps and steep slopes. The monkeys are said to be a real nuisance stealing sunglasses, cameras and anything not secured properly. We didn’t have a problem with them, our trouble was dodging the hordes of Japanese who seem to have no spacial awareness and find it necessary to photograph  everything and everyone.
 Uluwata temple is a must visit if only for it’s location and though it is a much revered holy place we found it difficult to get any spiritual feeling, probably because of the number of tourists milling about. There was just one small group at prayers.
 Just along the coast is one of Balis top surfing beaches only accessible by steep steps through a gap in the limestone rock mountainside, another photo stop.
 We later decided to blow the budget at a beach restaurant where you choose your own fish, lobster, prawns and clams from holding tanks and wait for them to be cooked over coals. Our table on the beach looked west and we saw our best sunset so far in Bali. We were serenaded by a group of wandering musicians who were very good playing anything from rock, pop to tradition Indonesian songs. We were also entertained by Balinese dancers on a stage to the side of the restaurant. The food was excellent too, Jane had over half a kilo of prawns grilled with garlic and chilli and spices on the side. Indy and I had Red Snapper, about 2kg and I also tried a couple of clams. There was rice, spinach, dips and sauces. We had a couple of beers apiece and a mixed fruit dessert. The total bill for the three of us….just over £50!

  02/04/2013
 All that excitement yesterday was plenty to be going on with and so a day of rest was called for, it’s been a glorious day for sitting by the pool reading. We later wandered into town where I had a £3 50 haircut and we found another new restaurant where the special of the house was crispy duck. We are accumulating lots of must go back to eating houses, may have to stay here a bit longer.

 03/04/2013
 The euphoria of Mondays success with the internet was blown out today when it took nearly two hours to connect with email (there weren’t any) and when we were connected it refused to send the one we had written. The option left was to close it all down and hope the message was saved to draft (it wouldn’t tell us if it was or not).
 Once we re-booted, it finally got away and I had a look around the news and fb. Nearly 5 hours wasted. Later we stopped for a pre dinner beer at a bar where there were pigeons in cages. Maybe that’s how they communicate here in Bali!