Round the World

Once back in Krabi from Koh Phi Phi we stayed the night to explore Krabi town proper. Found the outdoor food market where Guido tried the strangest looking concoction on display and spent considerable time picking his way through the minute bones that pervaded throughout the whole dish. Curious as to what he'd eaten - he asks..."frog" replies the vendor, mimicking the amphibian kind using his hand in bunny hopping fashion. We stroll along the pier marveling at the karst cliffs & mangroves that predominate the krabi area - a stunning backdrop indeed. We felt like having a big night since beer is so cheap here (compared to Koh Phi Phi at least) but were surprisingly denied at the pub - King's Birthday, the whole country is on dry. The next morning we head to the pier to catch a long tail boat out to Railay, waiting for a while for the boat to fill up with people going the same way. As it turns out most of our crew were rock climbers anyway (surprise, surprise), all heading past Railay for the next bay over, Ton Sai Bay. Apparently more mellow, less crowded and still only a few minute walk to the other Railay bays and Phra Nang - we're easy ...and sold.

Around the bay we go, subsequently passing East Railay, Phra Nang and West Railay bay, people scattered everywhere along the beaches, palm fringed shores, lush jungle inland, small islands dotting the sea...and Ton Sai - a little gem in the midst with bamboo shacks reaching out from among the palm trees. We dump our packs and explore - encountering a troop of gorgeous tree dwelling black fluffy gibbons. As we explore the inland dirt track slowly a community unravels. Back to basics and thoroughly welcomed - an enclave of rock climbers and chillers embracing the much slower pace of life, lounging on axe pillows and rattan mats...to lie on, read and drink the days away - we avidly adapt to this new way of life for the foreseeable future.

Hammocks, swings, the inevitable climbers balancing on slack lines, learning fire dancing amid the white sandy beach that is surrounded by mammoth vertical limestone cliffs... we have to come back just for the climbing! We find the perfect bungalow right at the beach @ the Chill out bar. Another Bob Marley outfit (its hard to escape Bob Marley and pancakes on these islands) but with the perfect bamboo chill out platforms. Our bungalow is a mere 2x2 meters and only just fits a futon, a bedside table, light and a power plug next to a small window that overlooks the greenery out the back. Simplistic but equally brilliant. The bar is made of bamboo and driftwood and in fact so is everything else, with empty beer bottles as garden walls. Even the communal showers and toilets are richly decorated with sea shells. You must get very innovative when you're living on a secluded bay with all the time in the world. The shower is a through used to pour water over yourself. We relax on our stranded boat that has since been converted into a lounge platform - a spot we spend much of our time on over the next week. After all, once you've found paradise, why move?

At night the beach bars come alive with lanterns and small beach fires lighting the way to entice you in. We have some Changs at various bars and eventually settle at the Chill Out bar, where we meet Mattias and Monica - bold travelers from cold Sweden. Keen to do some climbing we agree to meet up the following day. Up early and feeling the Changover, we head inland to buffet brekkie. Delicious waffles drenched in chocolate and condensed milk, fresh fruit, omelets...the list goes on and on...we made a pretty good effort at it =) but obviously way overdid it as we couldn't lift a finger until noon. M & M drag us off to the cliffs @ east Railay. Stunning crags looking out over the bays, darn popular too! On our last climb, the sun had already set and so had to find our way back to Ton Sai in the pitch black via a steep jungle track. Not entirely uneventful if one of your team has a severe snake phobia and all vines look like exactly that in total darkness. Finally we scramble home for a much deserved dinner and sink our teeth in a delicious Massaman (Muslim) curry.

The all you can eat brekkie becomes sort of a routine - it's just too good and M & M decide to join in. This is always followed by a near coma on our lounge boat near the beach until lunchtime and every second day we move. M & M meet for some further exploration - we clamber over the the rocks to West Railay then East Railay and climb up to the viewpoint, which looks out over both bays. Heading down the cliffs to the lagoon with Mattias as our probe - the lagoon turns empty and we all save our efforts. Phra Nang beach - apparently the best stretch of sand in the area surrounded by even more limestone cliffs (where do they all come from?) and home to the Princess cave. Swimming in crystal clear water, drinking fruit shakes from the longtail boats which, for the occasion, have been turned into mobile cafes - excellent!. Later we meet for more beers - it's great to have drinking buddies again =). By 1.30am we're ready for a true beach party...but the only place open is Viking Bar, which is having an ipod party..how random.

We break tradition and have yummy sticky rice drenched in coconut milk with mango for brekkie. Shortly followed by seafood pad thai, our staple diet it seems. Hiring a sit on top kayak we paddle out to Koh Poda island on the horizon. It looked close enough from the beach but its vicinity is cunningly deceptive, darn! The island is stunning though and surrounded by azure blue water the color of Bombay sapphire gin. There's even a longtail selling fruit shakes on the beach, how convenient. We also bump into M & M who, coincidentally, had the same plan (this becomes quite the recurring theme, stalkers!). Appreciating the scenery we paddle off to Chicken island next door for some insanely good snorkeling. Huge coral beds, brain coral, trumpet coral, small reef sharks... A large black spotted moray that scares the crap out of us, heaps of nemo's and his friends, parrot fish, butterfly fish and plenty more exotic species continually fight for our attention. Best off all - we seem to be the only ones enjoying it as there's no soul in sight. Lost in time we paddle back between the upcoming moon and the setting sun, in perfect alignment and light shimmering on the water...

Coming back we watch the locals deck out their beachfront with lights, banners, flags, lanterns and the like. Fat Freddy's Drop resonates through the bay and welcomes us back home. As it turns out they played a whole compilation of our favo Kiwi music - Black seeds, Salmonella dub, Unity Pacific and the good stuff goes on. Everyone's gearing up for a big one as it is full moon tonight and Full moon parties equal cheap drinks, fire shows and general craziness. We head to the Gypsy bar with M & M and Brendon (another climber we met) for their all night happy hour - 190 baht for the ever popular vodka buckets. We load up on vodka buckets as Mattias lays out the cards for a favorite drinking game of his "Circle of Death" hehehe, ain't it universal? Brendon asks for just a vodka bucket and literally gets just that: a bucket with pure vodka on the rocks - absolutely lethal. The very best thing is that you simply ask the waitress to make your potion stronger so they keep filling your bucket up with more and more booze at no extra cost. Needles to say we paid dearly for that the next day. With such paradise time really tends to slip between your fingers and after 8 days of good fun it's time to make a move....now to decide on our next destination.

Bali welcomed us on Friday 31st October 08, after our 11hr flight, with 30 degrees of hot humid heat. Matahari Bungalows sent us a driver to pick us up amid the chaos of people, signs, bikes, and noise. Off we went to settle in – and what better way to do so than by drinking cocktails at the pool bar... Lovely large pool, cheap cocktails, friendly helpful staff, serene water gardens, and frangipanis of every colour gracing our presence.

Hitting the streets of Kuta we were confronted by organised chaos - shops selling anything and everything; "hello gorgeous want some bling bling?". Bargain for a sale - walk away and they will come after you and lower the price! Delicious fruit smoothies for about $1.50 and hot chilli with every meal... a culinary delight! Smelly markets, cats doing the rounds in restaurants (to eat or be eaten?), man with a pet monkey and road officers who stop traffic so we can cross the busy one way street without getting run over by a million scooters and bikes and fancy cars. Guido sampling the local "chicken" dish for about $1.50 (I've never seen bones like that before!), Balinese music playing in the background, loud Aussies, polite Balinese, hawkers "special price for you, make me lucky!". Kuta beach - overrated as expected - no I don't want to buy a bow and arrow or get a tattoo! Baby peace turtle gone astray from the Bali Bombing 6th anniversary commemoration, cheap Bintang beer and yummy ikan dish wrapped in banana leaves. Gecko's, fruit bats, buddha, shrines, offerings to the gods put outside every shop and residence, incense burning every morning. All you can eat breakfast - chilli on nasi goreng with fresh papaya, pineapple, melon, watermelon and western food to complement. Sunburn, sunbathe, poolside bar, relaxing, unwinding, absorbing the vibrancy and colour of Kuta. We loved it for what it is - although very touristy it retains its charm and culture, a mix of old traditional architecture and modern life working in unison.

Ubud (7 days)

We shuttled to Ubud - instantly appreciating the calm and quiet that Ubud oozes. We got a room on Monkey forest rd for 110,000 rupiah (about $6.10 each for the 3 of us) - score! Starving, gorging, fruit smoothies, and we're ready to brave the legendary Ubud Market. It consumes us and we emerge exhausted, enriched - me and mum already fuelling a new addiction of bargaining on cheap goods. The sky falls on us in a huge downpour (a daily occurrence in the wet season) - running towards home we realise we have no clue where home is... what is it called? Where is it? Lost, laughing, soaking, found! We sit on the veranda listening to thunder storming, lightening, monkeys screeching from the forest next door, gecko's scuttling, traditional music playing, magical moments, lifetime of memories. Every day we venture into the madness of the market to haggle, bargain, and play the game in pursuit of yoga pants, dresses, fake Gucci watches, bags, jewellery… and so on.

Luxurious restaurant dining to sample Indonesia’s finest cuisine and beverages at giveaway prices (but why is there a tail coming out from under that painting?) Live reggae music, bintang and cocktails, charismatic bali boys singing all the gay anthems... Jazz and blues music with 2 for 1 Arak cocktails (Balinese Spirit). Off to “Canderi's” for our favourite sirsak juices, and the menu offers the company of a dog if you are lonely - they even bring the dog to your table and tie it to the table leg so you can pat it while you eat... haha The toothy little Balinese lady smiles at us with her 2 rows of teeth. “Aries Warung” for food and Arie - a funny character who is never short on stories, jokes, advice, magazines, maps, language lessons, and knowledge of all that is Ubud and Bali in general. He entertains us while our food cooks. A treasure and a storyteller who does the best Lumpia (spring rolls) and Nasi Campur (various vege, chicken, and tofu dishes all in one meal) in town and a sensational Smoked Duck that has been slow cooking in Balinese spices for 12hrs to perfection – it literally falls off the bone and melts in your mouth. Followed by the also famous black rice pudding with coconut milk – a sticky delight!

Entering the Monkey Forest I get suckered into buying a bunch of bananas – Macaque monkeys come at me from all directions so I throw the banana's as if they are grenades... and end up dropping the bunch in a mad panic... but the monkeys want more! Poor mum (already petrified) gets a big monkey tugging on her pants, another monkey runs up mum's shoulder, over her head, and down the other side... Guido is happily playing photographer, oblivious to our distress. We scuttle further into the forest to seek solitude at the temples amid a tropical downpour. 100's of monkeys swinging, eating, cleaning, and even guarding the gates to their nirvana... this is their palace. They even venture outside the forest – one sits on the roof at our Hotel Merthayasa sulking and eating when he’s lost a fight and the respect of his peers. Another eats the offerings and scraps from the trash to supplement its daily feeding.

Guido and I venture off the main drag to walk the Rice Paddy Loop Track – away from the tourists and hawkers and into the real Balinese world of quiet village life, tending the rice crops. We get stopped along the way by a guy who I think is trying to sell us buttons for our shirts – this seems plausible to me but I politely decline… Guido later advises me that he was trying to sell us drugs – I’m so naïve! We veer off the track and accidentally enter private property – a dog barks furiously at us so we turn back but another equally furious dog is blocking our exit – we’re trapped between the two dogs who are closing in on us and barking constantly. I’m petrified (a vicious dog attack as a child has left me scared of dogs at the best of times) to the point where I am about to scramble up the bank to escape when Guido tells me the only way out is to walk past one of the dogs… paralysis, shakes, uncontrollable (and totally rational) fear… I scramble up Guido’s back instead and he carries me to safety past the crazy dogs (his rabies immunity is way higher than mine anyway!). Unbitten, unbeaten, back on track we find a luxurious pagoda offering mango lassies overlooking the rice paddies… relaxing the nerves, resting the mind, healing the soul, watching butterflies dancing together.

Guido and I hire a scooter to escape town and head up to Mount Batur National Park. We pass many craft stalls, statues, rice paddies, and come to a road block – policemen force us off our bike and tell us we have a “big problem” because we don’t have an international license. Threatened with losing our bike and going to court, Guido plays the game “how can we solve this here and now?” (i.e. how much ?) Power hungry policeman asks for 300,000 Rupiah ($50) which is heaps to them. Guido negotiates the price down to 100,000 - now the cop is happy and willing to help us on our way (so corrupt!). It even costs money to drive through the national park – volcanoes, crater, lake. At the lakeside temple we get harassed once again to buy postcards, paintings etc but once we step inside the temple… serenity! No hawkers, no sound. A place of worship – respect. On the way home the policemen wave us through – they’ve made enough off us for one day!

Mum and I go to a Legong Trance Show by the Ubud Palace. A stunning live dance and music performance. The gamelan (orchestra) play – an ensemble of tuned percussion, consisting mainly of gongs, metallophones and drums. The instruments all intricately carved and painted. A spiritual journey – each act with different characters, costumes, stories. A cultural treat. One act tells the story of how in order to maintain the health of the village, the gods are invited down into the temple arena to help in the exorcism of evil. When the gods descend, they possess the two young girls, and incite them to perform a complicated duet with their eyes closed, in a trance, in unison. They never miss a beat. When the show wraps up, we walk out and see one of the cast speed past us on his scooter – still in costume. He winks at mum – a sign of good luck, surely.

Hiring bikes to cycle to Goa Gajah (the Elephant Cave) thought to have been a hermitage for 11th century Hindu Priests. Our new routine consists of banana pancakes, fruit and Balinese coffee in the morning, followed by a new pool to soak in, relax, read, talk, drink and enjoy this life of leisure, as we do daily. Off to market, then relax for 1hr with Balinese massages – full body for just under $10! Bliss.