Day 1 ~ Hi Everyone.....We're Back & have Lots to Share with YOU!

Oh my did we have a  w o n d e r f u l  time in Bali/Lombok!
It was the greatest!  Gosh where do we begin???  We returned this morning (Wednesday) back into Java at 6:10 am ~ yes that was a very early wake-up call! ha!

OK ~ I am so excited to share with you all!  Nick & I decided to just bring our backpacks with us and not lug our laptop with us~ I must say I missed not going on it - I was so excited to share it all with you and then NOT to be able to do so...- well you could imagine how hard that was for Ellen...right?

Well let me begin ~ we woke up Saturday morning (22nd of Feb) at 3 am - we wide awake...of course!  We had ordered a taxi the day before to come and pick us up at our house at 4:15am and guess what?  He didn't show! Yikes!!! So we started to walk...and it was already humid out there...even this early and still dark out there too!  We walked a bit anxiously because our shuttle bus would be leaving at 5:00am in town!  Oh my with our backpacks we hustled and then when we got up to the main street - the taxi driver called us - he was looking for our street and couldn't find it?  We told him to meet us at the convenience store on the main road...and there he was waiting for us....OH WELL! We quickly got in and headed toward the bus departure place and Lo & Behold the little shuttle bus had just arrived....so we were thankful not to have missed it all together...although they knew we were coming.  Got on the bus with 3 other ladies that too were heading to Yogjakarta - a 2 hour ride.  

 On the seat was a water bottle (which we really needed - (we were HOT & STICKY!) and a little snack - how nice! 

 We headed towards a town called Boyolali and then through this little town called Klatan...and there we had a very very bumpy ride because this little town was FULL of  POT HOLES!!! FULL!!!  

My tummy felt it - (I had eaten something a few days before that had not settled well with me!)


We finally came into to Yogjakarta Airport and we were so surprised how busy it was already at 7:00 am...where is everyone going...also to Bali???  All kinds of places: Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, back to Java, Sumatra....wow!

 We were glad to stand on 'solid' ground if you know what I mean..ha! It was good to just relax and wait on the plane that would be departing at 8:35am.  We really felt like we were on 'vacation' again...going somewhere new...exciting!

We walked outside and we boarded a bus..and headed towards the airplane that was parked up ahead somewhere!


Thankful we had both decided to only bring our backpacks so there was no check-in of suitcases NICE! And yes, Ellen brought "way too much again!" Why do I always do that???? I forget that here in Salatiga it is not proper to wear shorts (I brought several knee-high pants with me!) but in Bali - a vacation resort - not a problem - and that is all I wore all those beautiful days- shorts! And I only packed one pair from the States!

 There it is Nico - Air Asia!  Whoopee!!!  On the road again.....

 We arrived into Bali - Denpasar and it was gorgeous weather...OH MY...pinch me!  We were so happy that it was...because gosh being on vacation - to such a special trip like this - you GOTTA have the  SUN! Right?  
The airport was a busy one - people arriving from all over the world!  We grabbed out stuff and headed out and found a taxi driver to take us to our homestay, D'joemah Nadya that Elisha & Beppie had recommended for us in the town of Sunar.  We were glad to have a destination to go to!   It was down a little alley way and it was run by a mother/daughter team - 12 rooms only so a cozy place.  The homestay was about 3 blocks from the beachfront - which was great and the price was GREATER still! 

 Walking into the pavilion there was a small courtyard that had a wading pool. 

The room was simple but nice and clean and we had TV again...after many months - not bad! 
First things FIRST...head toward the  


            ............BEACH!

 We saw lots of motorbikes - it seemed really busy - but not so!

           It was 11:30 by this time!  And yes Saturday morning!

 Lots of food stands "warung's" along the beach front.  Also lots of  tourist items: hats, summer clothes, T-shirts..it was there....lots of stuff!

I was expecting the water to be a very aqua-blue - but not so...nevertheless it was a pretty sight! Maybe in other areas...yes?

 Fishermen wading out there.


And this guy has his net out and the other one in the tube is looking down into the water to see if he might have a catch




...oh there he goes!  Look at his feet! 

The town of Sanur .......

Sanur Bali CLICK ON THIS LINK TO READ MORE!

 There was a very pleasant walk-way all along the beach so we wandered along and came to many many hotels all lined up on the beach!  We found a cute open pavilion and by this time .... we were cooking!  Salatiga is at 2100 feet elevation & we forget that sometimes - when we come down to the lower elevations again....so much A whole lot hotter here in Bali and the weather was just beautiful!  Oh my I was so glad!  90-95 degrees at least if not more! 

 I went into the bathroom to take off my t-shirt-  and with a cold refreshing drink...and a great lunch (fresh salmon!) we just soaked-in all this beauty.....and were ever so' pleased, happy and very thankful to be there!

Nick...Nick are we really truly in Bali???  Yes????

Such a pretty sight - just sit back and take it all in!


After a while we started to get a bit tired....so we headed back to the room and
CRASHED - we took this long nap and woke up around 3 pm!

My - why so tired?  Maybe because we had already been up so long? 

 After our nappy-pooh we got dressed again and headed back to the beach...and a band was singing ole' country songs - would you believe it?  They did a really good job too!  With the slang the best they could..ha!

 Shall we stop here Nick? 


Oh it was a good place to have dinner - don't you think?  Great music and a nice breeze...and hungry again!We ordered Gado-Gado (steamed veggies with a peanut sauce & nasi goreng (fried rice) Oh my how good it was!  With lots of Sambal - of course!  The waiter/waitresses always smile - because we "light-colored" like the hot stuff! Yes - we say...HOT/Padas!

We heard the 2 couples at next table talking and oh yes!  It was Dutchies!  How nice...we wandered over to say Hello!  They invited us to sit down and so we enjoyed a nice talk with them!  They were with a big group that come to Bali every year from Holland.  Some stay as long as 7-8 weeks at a time!  Oh my...talk about relaxing!  They shared with us that this group has been doing this for quite a long time.....some 18 years already..they organize it - and then rent the whole hotel - I guess!  The couples were very nice...and chuckled to hear we had sold everything and that we are traveling like we do...nothing organized...nothing planned!

Well it has been a long day...Nick and I were ready to go back to the room again and probably go to sleep - early...yes? 10:30 for us is EARLY!  Well we have been up since 3 am you know!