We checked out of Su’s Cottages.  We packed everything up.

Ivan got a taxi for us.  We went to the Dynasty Hotel.  We stored our luggage there for the day.  We just said we’re checking in later and that we’ll be back in a few hours.

We walked to Oceans 27.  It was empty as usual.  We were all hungry and decided to order lunch. I had a noodle dish with bananas. Ivan and Jen both got the Nasi Goreng.  We also ordered shakes – banana for me and Ivan, strawberry for Jen.  My noodle dish was alright.  The Nasi Goreng was really plain – just regular rice with raisins. 

Thank goodness there was a tomato sauce that came with the bread.  They added the sauce to the Nasi Goreng and it tasted better. It was a really expensive Nasi Goreng, but then I guess that’s what you would expect from a fancy beach club.

We chilled at Oceans 27.  It’s great sitting there since you’re in the shade (from the umbrella).  You just have to order $5 per person to use their pool.  Ivan and Jen went in the pool.  They were reading the magazines they had bought yesterday.

Ivan tried to fly the dragon kite again.  There was a man selling kites.  He said that the head of the kite was making it difficult to fly. 

I guess we should have gotten a plain kite.  It did go in the air, but not  for very long.  It really was a kewl kite though.

We walked to Queens of India for dinner.  Ivan and Jennifer ordered the masala papadums to start off with.  The papadums come with three sauces.  This time the sauces weren’t just in the small tin container, but in the sauces were in a bag.  Ivan asked why he had to pour the sauces into the container.  The server said that somebody complained that it wasn’t hygienic.  He was basically saying that the restaurant could have re-used the sauces.  That’s just stupid!  Restaurants wouldn’t do that.  I don’t think they will continue putting it in the packets.  It’s an inconvenience to the customers.  I got the awesome mint bananas.  Ivan and Jen shared the mint chicken and the kashmiri chicken curry.  It was great food like last time.

We got our backpacks from the Dynasty Hotel.  We hopped into a taxi headed towards the airport.  We were flying to Kuala Lumpur (KL).  The flight was delayed an hour.  We arrived close to midnight. 

When we got there, we were thermally scanned for the swine flu.  They asked Ivan and Jennifer for a mobile phone number or a number back home.  They said they don’t have one.  What would it matter if they gave a home number.  It’s not like they can contact them anytime soon since we’re traveling for awhile.  Ivan and Jen wrote down an e-mail address.

We took a taxi to the hotel.  We checked in to the Swiss Inn.  It was time for some food.  Ivan and Jen grabbed a cup of noodles for each of them at a store nearby.  I had two bananas.  Soon after, we got some rest.

Ivan, Jennifer and I slept in on July 31, 2009. 

We had lunch at Nando’s.  Ivan got the angry Mango chicken sandwich with 3 bean salad and peri fries.  Jennifer got the chicken pita with peri corn.  I got the banana and chicken sandwich with peri bananas.  They have great sauces that goes well with the food.  We love the garlic one.

We got a taxi to Sungei Wang mall.  We shopped for new clothes – well, Jen and Ivan, I don’t wear any clothes since I’m a monkey and monkeys are okay with being naked all the time.  We all used the internet in a cafe.

We walked to the Pavilion Mall.  We were meeting couchsurfers for a meetup.  We arrived around 7 pm. 

There was about 40 people total there.  We couldn’t believe that so many people showed up!  Our buddy, Dimas from Bandung was there.  Also, a girl we met from Singapore was there as well.  We met her with Ily at a bar.  It was time for dinner.  At 8 pm, we walked to a restaurant.

Everybody sat down in a room toward the back in the Nagasari Curry House.  The menu had Indian and Asian foods.  Ivan ordered the Pad Thai. 

Jennifer got the Spicy Chicken and Rice.  I got the Rice with Bananas.  Considering that about 35 people ordered, the food came pretty fast.  We had our dishes 30 minutes after we ordered it.  The food tasted great too!

Some of the couchsurfers wanted to go chill at a bar.  Only a few people made it to a bar nearby.  I can’t remember what the name was.  It was really smoky in there though.  That’s annoying!  Ivan and Jen each had a glass of red wine.  We met a guy who is a media activist.  Ivan and Jen weren’t sure what that was and asked him to explain.  He handed his business card to them.  It says

“Building capability for the use of electronic media technologies by southeast Asia independent media and civil society organizations towards the enhancement of press freedom, democracy and human rights”

Ivan and Jen got even more confused by that.  I’m sure the glass of red wine didn’t help!  The guy Sean said that he teaches people how to overthrow the government.  Jennifer said Couldn’t you get arrested from that?  Sean said that he couldn’t go to Vietnam.  Wow, it’s not everyday that you meet a media activist.  We chilled for awhile talking to people.  Then, we got a taxi back to the Swiss Inn.

If you ever go to Ubud, book this place in advance.  It always gets booked up.  I was sad we were leaving Ubud.  But, I told my monkey friends I would keep in touch and send them postcards.

Ivan got smoked marlin sandwiches for him and Jen from Casa Luna .  I got a banana and chicken sandwich.  We had our sandwiches in the taxi on our way to Legian.  It took us an hour to arrive.

We checked in to Su’s Cottages in Legian.  Legian is right near Seminyak.  Ivan rented a motorbike from the cottages. 

We drove to Legian Beach.  Ivan and Jennifer wanted to get a drink.  We sat at a bar and had a nice view of the sunset.

Ivan drove us to an internet cafe.  We all used it for awhile.

We got ready for dinner.  We drove to Eat Street for dinner.  It’s a street in Semiyak filled with lots of restaurant.  We chose Chandi to eat in.  

Ivan and Jennifer shared the tasty watermelon gazpacho and the fried tofu for a starter.  Ivan ordered the tuna.  Jennifer got the slowly roasted chicken.  I had the chicken stuffed with bananas.  The food was alright but nothing too exciting.  Ivan and Jennifer still had room for dessert. 

They ordered the delicious chocolate fondant with strawberry ice cream. 

We drove to Seminyak.  We wanted to see live music at La Vida Loca. An employee said the band would be on at 10:30 pm.  We waited but nobody showed up and it was so quiet it didn’t look like any band would be on that night. Ivan thought we should just head back to the cottages.  Maybe tomorrow we’d be able to dance and see some live music.

Ivan, Jennifer and I woke up on July 29, 2009 and used the internet at the cafe down the street. 

We got a taxi to Cafe Warisan. 

For appetizers, Ivan and Jen shared the cold grilled vegetable lasagna and a tart with goats cheese and onions and pine nuts and frisee salad.  The dishes tasted pretty good.  Ivan got the grilled tuna steak with basilic pesto and tomato confit sandwich. 

Jennifer got the artichoke ravioli with basil lemon sauce.  I had bananas in a light buttery sauce.  The food was quite good.   Jen’s raviolis were light and delectable.

We went to Legian Beach to chill.  It’s always nice to relax right on the beach.  Ivan and Jennifer went in the water for a little while.  The waves are big there. 

Ivan tried to fly the dragon kite he bought in Ubud.  But, there wasn’t much wind.

There are guys selling cheap magazines on the street right behind Legian Beach.  They have FHM UK, Essentials UK, Cosmopolitan, etc.  The prices were similar to what they sell them for in the UK or US which is great considering they were mostly the latest editions. Ivan and Jennifer bought a couple magazines.

We went to a Moroccan restaurant called Khaima, which is located on Eat Street.  Ivan and Jennifer started off with hummus.  It tasted really bland, and nothing like how hummus usually tastes.

Ivan got the chicken mechoui couscous.  Jennifer got the chicken tagine.  I got a pita with chicken, bananas and hummus.  The food was alright.  There were belly dancers performing. 

One of the women was really good at it.  How do they move their stomach like that?

We went back to the Cottages  and Ivan and Jennifer took a little walk. 

We got a taxi to Seminyak.  The bars and clubs were really quiet there.  A lady in La Vida Loca said Kuta would probably be busier. 

We got a taxi to Kuta.  Bounty was quiet for awhile – but then it got busier.  We danced the night away. 

It was lots of fun.  We heard I Got a Feeling by The Black Eyed Peas three times.  It’s great at the Bounty Nightclub because it’s free and good music upstairs. 

We got a taxi to Seminyak.  There was a great band on at La Vida Loca.  We danced a little. 

The waitresses were passing around foccacia bread on their trays.  It’s very tasted according to Ivan and Jen. 

We had a good night dancing in Kuta and Seminyak.

Ivan and Jennifer had lunch at a French restaurant on the Main Road.  They both can’t remember the name.  It’s owned by a French man and his Indonesian wife.  Ivan got a mushroom soup while Jennifer got a French Onion soup. 

Ivan ordered a dish with bread with vegetables and cheese on top.  Jennifer got a vegetables crepe.  The food was quite good.

Jennifer wanted to get a tattoo.  She thought that maybe somebody could draw a design for her.  The guy at the tattoo parlor didn’t even know what anime was.  She printed a picture from the internet to give him an idea.  He called the tattoo artist to come.  He didn’t even make a new design he just traced it.  Plus he didn’t know what a backpack was.  It took forever and Jennifer was pissed that they had wasted hours on it.  She’s going to seek an actual artist to make her a tattoo design.

The race turned out quite fun.  I finished 30th out of 50 monkeys.  Not too shabby!  At least I did win a prize of two bananas.  So, I guess it wasn’t a bad day.  I always have fun with my monkey friends.  That night, the monkeys had a big feast prepared for me.  It was my last night in Ubud.  I was really sad.  But, we danced and ate lots of great banana dishes and fruits.

Ivan and Jennifer went to a Kecak Fire and Trance show.  It was only $7.  They got their seats.  There were a lot of people there.  Some people ended up sitting around the show area in a semi-circle. 

About a hundred Balinese men come out and start making a circle.  They make “cak” sounds that sound like a train coming.  They do chant some Balinese words. 

There’s a big tree in the middle filled with candles lit.  Jennifer said it was quite hypnotizing since it was kind of repetitive.  There was also some Balinese dancing.  There was guys dressed up with masks and they fought and killed somebody.  At the end, there’s a guy who’s supposedly in a trance from the “cak” sounds and the singing.  They put a big bonfire in the middle.  The guy was in a trance and started the fire all over.  Thank goodness, Ivan and Jen weren’t sitting in the front row.  They were surprised nobody got scared and screamed.  He kept doing it a couple times.  There were two men who kept sweeping the fire back into the middle.  At the end of the show, a guy asked since the fire is still there, Did anybody want to try?  Nobody did.  Ivan said it’s Mind over Matter walking on fire. The show was okay. 

Ivan and Jennifer went to Nomad’s for dinner.  They ordered the same tapas – chicken sisit, chicken satay and grilled fish pepes.  Ivan ordered the tuna while Jennifer got the pumpkin ravioli. 

It was delicious.

They went to the Laughing Buddha Bar.  The Bali Blues Brothers were playing there, which were the same band we had heard at the Jazz Cafe. It was free to watch them and they sounded really great again!  Ivan and Jennifer each had a drink and then went back afterwards.

It was time to head to the Bali Bird Park.  Ivan hired a guy to take us there and back.  It took about 30 minutes to get there.

We got tickets and went inside.  A guy was letting people take pictures with two birds.  It was really funny since he put a bird on Jennifer’s head. 

The park has some cages, but there are lots of birds out in the open.  We went to check out some of the birds. 

It was nice that we could hold them.  One bird was doing spins on a branch. 

He was quite good at it – the showoff- obviously all the practice had paid off!

We walked to another bird area.  Ivan wanted to feed the lorries.  We couldn’t find the feeding at first.  Ivan did find the guy so we could feed them.  Jennifer doesn’t like the birds flying at her so we just watched Ivan feed them.  The food was corn and peanuts in the shell. 

The lorries were a lot bigger than the lorries Ivan fed in the KL Bird Park.  The employee who gave us food to feed the birds was really friendly.  He asked Ivan and Jennifer if they wanted to feed pelicans.  They said yes and he said it would be a couple minutes. 

We walked to the pelican area.  The pelicans are a lot bigger than I imagined.  Jennifer had to stand on a bench near the pelicans.  She had a fish in her hand.  The guy said to swing it around. 

Jennifer was scared because they were following the fish and looked like they would take off her hand along with the fish.  The pelicans have really big beaks.She just threw the fish without looking.  Ivan wasn’t so scared when he did it. 

The guy got all the pelicans into the pond.  It was much better feeding the pelicans while they were in the water.  Jennifer fed them lots of fish.  I threw a couple as well.  It was fun. 

Ivan posed with one of his new pelican friends.

It was time for lunch.  We walked to the park’s restaurant.  Ivan and Jennifer ordered Nasi Goreng with chicken.  I ordered the same, but with bananas. 

It was definitely a good Nasi Goreng.

After lunch, we went to check out more birds.  Ivan and Jen got to hold an owl.  They had to wear a glove since they have sharp claws.

We saw one komodo dragon.  It was called the Komodo Dragon Experience – it was only one lonely komodo dragon in a big room next to a bridge.

We had a great, fun time at the Bali Bird Park.  We walked out and  Jennifer noticed the Reptile Park.  We stopped in there. 

There were crocodiles, iguanas and snakes.  We saw another komodo dragon in there. 

We decided it was time to head back to Ubud.

I got dropped off at the Monkey Forest.  I had one more day to train for the Monkey Race.  I was hoping that I could build up some speed.

Ivan and Jennifer had dinner at Nomad again.  They love it there! 

They started off with the Thai Salad and the Smoked Marlin Salad.  Ivan got the chicken curry while Jennifer ordered the tuna.  They wanted dessert.  It was the delicious chocolate mouse cake with strawberry sauce and a scoop of vanilla ice cream.  It was another wonderful meal at Nomads.

Ivan bought tuna and corn sandwiches for the boat.  I bought a chicken and banana sandwich. 

We walked to the boat area.  I stepped on the boat with Ivan and Jennifer to find a good seat.  There wasn’t many people on the boat.  Some people decided to sit on the roof.  I don’t think that would be wise since we were riding a speed boat back to mainland Bali.

We got free water, a pear (I got a banana since I’m a monkey.. how nice!) and a soda if we wanted it.  The ride was bumpy.  Jennifer and I wanted to sleep, but it was a bit bumpy.  Jennifer gets a bit seasick.  Ivan was reading his book.  Jennifer finally closed her eyes for awhile.  Then, the boat ride got really bumpy.  Ivan couldn’t eat since there were too many big waves.  We finally landed on Bali.  The boat ride was 2 hours and 15 minutes.

It was good to be on land again.  Jennifer felt a bit nauseous, but thankfully didn’t throw up.  We got a car going towards Ubud. The trip was a short hour long ride.

The car dropped us off at the top of Monkey Forest Road.  Jennifer went to get a wax.  It was cheap for only $5 for upper lip and eyebrow.  Although, it wasn’t good because she got burned from the wax.  Ivan and I went to find a place to stay.

We checked in to Jeti 3 Bungalows nearby.  It was a double room with A/C for 200,000 IDR ($20).  We put our backpacks inside the room.

Ivan rented a motorbike from a man at the bungalows. 

I was set to meet my monkey friends at 6 pm.  I decided to go surprise them early at the Monkey Forest.  I couldn’t wait to see them!

Ivan and Jen drove to Bali Botanica Spa.  Unfortunately, it was all booked up there.  They drove to Sedona Spa.  Sedona isn’t listed in Tripadvisor like Bali Botanica, so it’s not as popular.  But, the surroundings are really nice, the staff are friendly and the spa offers reasonably priced services.  They signed up for a Seawood Sensational package.  It’s a massage then a seaweed scrub.  Next, they put a seawood cream on top. 

The massage were really relaxing.  After the scrub and cream, Ivan and Jennifer showered.  Then, they sat in the flower bath. 

They were served fresh fruit and ginger tea.  This package cost $15 per person.  What a bargain!

Ivan and Jennifer drove around the town.  They were happy to be back in artsy Ubud.

I had a good day with the monkeys.  They were so excited to see me! There was lots of preparations going on for the party tonight.  Wow, all for little ol’ monkey me!   We played in the forest.  I heard that there was a Monkey Race happening on July 27th.  I started training for it.  I signed up for the race.  I hope I do good because the grand prize is a month’s supply of bananas!  I could certainly use that – but I might eat it all in one week!  That night, there was a big party for my Homecoming.  There was an abundance of food like watermelon, Nasi Goreng with Bananas, banana soup, bananas, papayas, bananas, banana wine and good banana desserts.  It was awesome!  There was a dance going on called the Monkey Dance.  The other monkeys were showing me the moves to the dance.

Ivan and Jennifer went to Pizza Bagus for dinner.  They were both really hungry.  Ivan and Jennifer ordered a tomato and a mushroom soup.  Jennifer liked the tomato soup better.  Ivan ordered a pizza with tomato, mozzarella, tuna fish, onion and oregano.  Jennifer got a pizza with tomato, mozzarella, egg plant, basil and Parmesan and she added artichoke to it. 

The pizza took awhile to come.  The pizzas tasted alright.  Jennifer’s was a lot better than Ivan’s.

Ivan, Jennifer and I checked out of Jeti 3 Bungalows on July 25, 2009.  Ivan found out that there was a cancellation at Honeymoon Guesthouse.  He booked it for three nights.  Ivan and Jennifer were happy about that.  They really do have great surroundings, an awesome breakfast and friendly staff.  The rooms are great as well.  I love how they put flowers on the bed and in the bathroom.

We checked in to the Honeymoon Guesthouse. 

I went to the Monkey Forest to train more.  I had to practice my monkey skills moving around the trees.  There were really fast monkeys practicing.  My chances seemed a bit slim.  The prize was still motivating me to win though.  I think I’m a bit out of shape though.

Ivan and Jennifer went to Kafe for lunch.  They shared the tasty spiced pumpkin soup.

Ivan got a grilled tofu pita which was the special of the day.  Jennifer got a Pesto Chicken Sandwich on multi-grain bread.  The food was alright.

Ivan and Jennifer drove around town.  They went shopping for souvenirs. 

I had a nice dinner with the monkeys.  It was great being with them.  They really treat me like family.  Balinese monkeys are very gracious hosts.  The food is always good with lots of bananas, fruits and tasty banana desserts.

Ivan and Jennifer went to Nomad for dinner.  It’s their favorite place in Ubud.  They shared three tapas – chicken sisit, grilled fish pepes and chicken satay. 

Ivan ordered the tuna steak while Jennifer got the pumpkin ravioli.  They enjoyed their meal with a bottle of Hatten Rose.

Ivan and Jen wanted to hear some live music.  Ivan drove them to the Jazz Cafe.  There was a good band playing called the Bali Blues Brothers.  The band played lots of great songs like Roadhouse Blues by The Doors, I Saw Her Standing There by The Beatles, and I Feel Good.  They started playing blues towards the end.  Some people were dancing.  One older guy was really good at dancing.  You can see him wearing a vest and rocking out in the picture. 

Ivan and Jen decided to call it a night and head back.

Gili T is really nice because there’s no cars or motorbikes.  You can walk, rent a bike or a ride on a horse and cart.  We walked to the internet cafe.  We used the internet for a little while.

We stopped to get gelato.  I had a banana gelato.  Ivan and Jen each got a chocolate one.  It was tasty!

We had lunch at the Irish bar and restaurant Tir Na Nog.  Ivan ordered the roasted vegetables and hummus sandwich on ciabatta.  I had the banana and honey sandwich on ciabatta. Jennifer had the tuna and corn on ciabatta.  It only took a short time to get the food for once.  The food was really good.

We sat down at Rudy’s Bar to get a drink.  I had a banana and strawberry juice.  Ivan got a Bintang while Jennifer got a vodka sunrise (it was supposed to be an Arak Sunrise but they were out of Arak).  It was nice to relax. It was humid out today though. 

We chilled in the room for a short while.

It was time for dinner.  We went to Scallywags.  We ordered the same food as last night.  I got the tasty chicken and banana kebab.  Ivan got the snapper dish and Jennifer got the chicken kebab.  Ivan and Jennifer ordered the brownie again.  They were out of the mint ice cream though.  They got vanilla instead.  It tasted good but it was way better with the mint ice cream.

We walked to the only ATM on the island.  It’s located right near Villa Ombak.  The band was playing at Ombak restaurant. 

They’re really good.  We listened to them for a a couple minutes.  There’s a big chess board at the Villa Ombak.

We headed back to the resort.  We watched an episode of Son of the Beach and then it was time for sleep.

We walked to Blue Marlin.  We were going to a snorkeling trip.  It was supposed to leave at 10:30 am, but it left about 10:45 am.

We boarded the boat and got a good seat.  It was a glass bottom boat.  I could see the fish in the water.  It was really cool!

Our first stop, Ivan and Jennifer went snorkeling.  It was off the coast of Gili Menos.  They saw some fish, but not really that many.  The water is always cold when you get in, but you get used to it.  Jennifer got stung by some jellyfish.  I just stayed on the boat and watched the fish in the glass.  It’s great to be able to see into the water without actually going snorkeling or diving.

The next stop was Turtle Island.  Ivan and Jen snorkeled off the coast of that island.  The current was really strong.  So, Ivan and Jennifer strayed from the boat and they had to swim back to the boat.  This time they were following one of the guides so they could see the turtles.  Ivan and Jennifer saw two turtles in the water. They were really big!

We went to Gili Air.  Jennifer was too tired to go snorkeling.  Ivan went into the water.  He saw lots more fish this time.  He also saw clams while following the guide.  Ivan came back on the boat.  We drove to Gili Air to get some lunch.

Ivan and Jennifer both ordered Fried Rice.  I got the same but with bananas.  It was good. 

We went back to Gili T.  We arrived around 3:30 pm.

We got some gelato from Gili Gelato.  Ivan and Jennifer both got Mixed Berry.  I got a Banana Gelato on a cone.  It was tasty.

We chilled in the hotel for awhile.

We had dinner at Tir Na Nog.  Jennifer wanted pizza for dinner.  The restaurant was packed.  Ivan and Jennifer ordered pizzas – Ivan got the tuna while Jennifer got the chicken.  I decided on the banana pizza.  We started watching the rest of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.  The pizza had still not come after 45 minutes.  Ivan was going to leave if it didn’t come soon.  It arrived a minute before 50 minutes had passed. 

It finally came and we asked the guy what took so long.  He said I should have told you it can take awhile.  He said what do you want it for free?  Jennifer said yes, it should be.  He said you would have to talk to my manager.  Ivan and Jen said Alright then.  We wolfed down our pizzas – since we were so hungry and tired of waiting for so long.  The server came back and said that the pizzas were free.  We were happy about that.  When we were leaving, the server said there’s a free tuna for you tomorrow night. 

We walked around the island to get some exercise.  Then, we used the internet for awhile.  Then, it was back to the hotel for some rest.

Ivan, Jennifer and I had lunch at the Horizontal Bar and Restaurant on July 22, 2009.  Ivan ordered the Thai Noodles while Jennifer got the Indonesian noodles. 

I had the Nasi Goreng with Bananas.  The dishes were small but tasted alright.

We chilled on the lounge cushions on the beach.  Ivan and Jennifer  read their books.  I took a nice monkey nap.  They went into the water.  The waves were calmer than the other day. 

It was really hot out.  It was more bearable when the sun was hidden from the clouds.

Ivan was getting hungry.  We went to Illy’s for tea. 

They have a mama cat with four newborn kittens there.  They’re so cute!  Ivan ordered an Early Grey tea.  I had a banana tea.  Jennifer got the Jasmine Green Tea.  Ivan got a muesli with yogurt and fruit.  Jennifer got a spicy marlin salad, which wasn’t spicy at all.  The food was good.

We used the internet at the cafe for awhile.

We decided to have dinner at Scallywags Resort.  They have the BBQ dishes available with rice, french fries or baked potato available.  It also comes with the free salad bar as well just like the Beach House Resort.  Ivan ordered the BBQ Snapper.  Jennifer got the BBQ chicken kebab. 

I got a BBQ chicken and banana kebab.  The food tasted great with lots of flavor.  The salad bar had cous cous, salad with red onions and artichokes and bread.  Ivan and Jennifer were still a little hungry – so they decided to get dessert.  They went with the brownie with mint ice cream.  They loved it. 

It was the best brownie they’ve ever had – moist in the inside and crunchy on top.  The mint ice cream went perfectly with the brownie. 

We walked around the island to get some exercise.  There was a really good band playing at Ombak Resort.  We only heard a couple songs.  They stopped playing at 10 pm.  The band plays from 7-10 pm.  We walked back to the hotel to catch some Z’s.

We got picked up by the van a couple minutes after 6 am.  Jennifer fell asleep in the van.  It took a little over an hour to reach the pier. 

Ivan traded the voucher for tickets for the boat.  We wanted to get some breakfast before we headed out at 8:30 am.  Ivan got a hard boiled egg with toast while Jennifer got a plain omelet.  I had some of Jennifer’s toast with banana.

We boarded the speedboat.  We got our seats.  We all took a nap during our trip.  It took a little over and hour and a half to arrive at Gili Trawangan, one of the Gili Islands in Bali.

Ivan talked to a girl who said where the cheap and more expensive rooms are.  We headed towards to the more expensive rooms since they might have openings there, and would most likely be nicer rooms.

Ivan found a room at the Unique Hotel.  We checked in there.  We put our backpacks in the room.   The room is nice with cool artwork on the walls.

We walked around and sat down to eat at Tir Na Nog, an Irish bar and restaurant.  We had a nice view of the water.

Ivan and Jennifer started off with grilled sardines.  I ordered a banana and chicken ciabatta sandwich.  Ivan got the roasted vegetables and hummus on ciabatta bread. 

Jennifer got a salad with goats cheese and pumpkin.  The food took awhile to come.  It tasted really good though.

After lunch, I worked on the blog and emailed some of my monkey friends back home. They seemed quite jealous of the fact that I was staying on this beautifull paradise island, that has no cars or motorbikes, just horses and cart for transport.

Ivan and Jennifer used the internet at the internet cafe.

We went to the Pesona Resort for their Indian Restaurant.  We decided to wait on ordering food.  Ivan and Jennifer ordered a Mint Sheesha to smoke.  They smoked it while they watched part of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. 

Ivan and Jennifer ordered masala papadum for a starter.  It was good but not as good as the one at Queens of Inda in Kuta.  I ordered a banana and chicken tikka. 

Ivan and Jen shared chicken tikka, chicken saag curry and garlic naan.  It was really tasty food – but a bit expensive.

Ivan and Jennifer had the free breakfast at the hotel on July 20, 2009.  They got banana pancakes, fruit and tea.  I had some of Jennifer’s banana pancake and her banana.  It was tasty!

We had lunch at Tir Na Nog again.  It was really empty in the restaurant.  Ivan and Jennifer both ordered the Roasted Vegetables and Hummus on Ciabatta bread.  I had the banana and chicken ciabatta sandwich again.  It took about 30 minutes to arrive.  I’m not sure why the service is so slow here.  We read our books while we waited for the food to come.  We’re just glad that the food is good.

Ivan and Jennifer used the internet.

We walked to Beach House Resort for dinner. 

Ivan had the bbq tuna.  Jennifer got two bbq prawn kebabs.  I had the bbq chicken and banana.  We got access to the free salad bar with our meal.  You can get salad, baked potatoes and bread.  I made a banana salad.  The food was alright here.

We went to the Beautiful Life to catch the free movie.  You do have to spend 20,000 IDR ($2 USD) per person to watch the movie though.  Ivan and Jennifer each got a glass of red wine to drink.  The movie was In the Wild based on a true story.  It was a good movie but a little slow at times.

Jennifer used the internet. 

We had a late lunch at Bamboo Corner.  Ivan had a mushroom soup and a tuna sandwich with fries.  I had a pita with bananas and chicken.  Jennifer had the chicken sandwich with fries. 

We drove to Oceans 27 to relax for the day.  Ivan and I each ordered a banana shake while Jennifer got a strawberry shake.  The shakes are yummy here.  Ivan and Jen went into the pool for awhile. 

We saw the lovely sunset.  Ivan and Jennifer each had a strawberry mojito.  It was good.  We had a good, relaxing time at Oceans 27.

Everybody was getting hungry.  Ivan drove us to Queens of India.  Ivan and Jennifer shared the tasty masala papadums.  I ordered the banana tandoori for my main course.  It was really good.  Ivan and

Jen shared the mint chicken tandoori, chicken kashmiri curry and pashwari naan.  They loved the food!

We went to Paddy’s to check out the Snow Party.  It’s like a Foam party.  It was really sad though.  The Snow was too watery so it came out like suds when you’re taking a bubble bath.  Only a few people were playing around in it.  Ivan found it funny.  Jennifer thought it wasn’t very good.

We checked out Bounty as well.  We only danced a bit.  Jennifer was stopped because the bouncers thought she was Indonesian.  She doesn’t look Indonesian at all in my opinion.  Indonesians have to pay to enter these clubs, but foreigners are allowed in for free.

We got a taxi to Seminyak.  It’s only about 10 minutes away by car.  We were dropped off on Double 6 Road.  We heard a good band playing at La Vida Loca.  They were playing covers.  Ivan and Jennifer each had a drink.  The band finished.  There was going to be another band in a few minutes.

Ivan wanted to go dancing at 66 Nightclub.  Jennifer wasn’t in the mood for dancing.  We hopped on two motorbikes back to Kuta.  Ivan walked us back.  Jennifer and I went back to the room.  Jennifer used the laptop for a little while.  I went to bed.  Shortly after, Jennifer went to bed. 

Ivan went back to Bounty and danced for awhile.  He got a chicken panini at ESC.  It’s a place that’s hidden from the street so it’s always slow in there.  He went back to the hotel to get some sleep.

Ivan and Jennifer had the free breakfast in the hotel.  I had a nice banana to eat.

We went to the cooking class.  It was actually just a chef at the Ayu Beach Inn’s restaurant teaching some dishes to people.  So, it was only Ivan, Jennifer and me in the class.  We first cooked vegetable lumpia.  I added bananas to my lumpia to make it monkey-friendly.  It was pretty easy making it. 

We actually got to chop things up, put the vegetables in the wrappers and roll them up and cook the food.  Ivan and Jennifer made a chili sauce to dip the lumpia in.  It was spicy and tasted great. 

We made chicken curry next.  Chef Putu was using a packet of coconut based curry.  Ivan chopped up vegetables while Jen cut up the chicken.  Jennifer cooked it on the stove. 

The chicken curry looked nice but there wasn’t much gravy.  Ivan thought it was more of a stir fry dish.

I cooked my own version with bananas and vegetables in the curry.

Next, we made Jennifer’s favorite Indonesian dish Nasi Goreng.  It’s best made with day-old rice.  This recipe had chilis in it so Jennifer hoped it would be a nice spicy dish.  One of he cooks there, fried up the chicken satay and another cook made an omelet. 

I made banana satay and fried up the bananas in a pot. 

Ivan and Jennifer made the Green Tape.  It’s a traditional Balinese drink.  You use fermented rice in it.  The rice is bright green.  It was a very sweet drink.

It was time to eat the food we made.  There was lots of it!  We really loved the slightly spicy Nasi Goreng.  The chicken curry was average.  The lumpia tasted good but naughty since it’s fried.  We were so stuffed after eating so much.  I guess we should have skipped our breakfast! 

We really enjoyed our cooking class.

I worked on the blog in the room.  Ivan and Jen used the internet.  We chilled in the room for awhile.

We walked to the beach for the sunset.  There were hundreds of people on the beach. 

The sunset turned out alright.

We walked to Un’s Restaurant for dinner.  Ivan and Jennifer were given a small shot of Un’s Margarita for a welcome drink.  It tasted really good.  I wish I was older so I could drink a banana margarita. 

Ivan started off with the peppers soup.  Ivan ordered the Mahi Mahi.  I got the Banana Ravioli. 

Jennifer got the Un’s Ravioli’s which had chicken and Balinese herbs inside.  Ivan and Jennifer each ordered a Un’s Margarita.  The food turned out really good. 

There was a band playing.  They sounded great.  They moved to each table and asked for requests.  The band came to our table. 

They played Besame Mucho.  Jennifer asked them to play Can’t Take My Eyes Off You by Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.  The singing was good on that song but some of the guitar playing didn’t sound like the song.  Ivan asked for Hey Jude and it sounded great.  The band moved to the next table and played Pretty Woman, Hotel California and Unchained Melody.  We hoped that we could catch this band again whenever we came back to Kuta.  We walked back to the hotel since we had an early start tomorrow to take a ferry to the Gili Islands.

She was in a group of four people.  It was a Swedish couple and a Russian guy in her group.  The teacher showed them how to stand up on the board.  Everybody practiced on the surf board. 

The group walked to the beach.  First, they had to do exercises.  It was time to hit the waves.  Jennifer kept trying to stand up on the board, but it was really hard though.  The waves look really huge when you’re out there.  Jennifer kept trying to stand on the board.  It sucks because you swallow the salt water and then your throat burns.  Jennifer was wearing her contacts.  The salt water was burning her eyes.  Ivan and I went to watch her for a little while.  Jennifer kept falling into the water.  Jennifer stood on the board one time.

The group took a short water break.  Then, it was back into the water.  Jennifer stood on the board 2 more times. 

She changed back near the lockers.  Jennifer saw the pictures of her surfing.  Most of them were her falling down.  Ivan was there to pick her up.  They walked back to the hotel.

Once back at the hotel Jennifer ordered the free breakfast.  She got an omelet and toast.  Ivan and I had eaten breakfast earlier.  Jen was really tired from surfing and lack of sleep – so she took a nap. 

Ivan and I used the internet.

We walked to the Bamboo Corner for lunch.  It’s very cheap there.  Ivan had mushroom soup and a tuna sandwich.  Jennifer got the Nasi Goreng Super for 10,000 IDR ($1 USD).  I had Mie Goreng with bananas.  The food was pretty good.

I worked on the blog and then went to the beach to chill out.  Jennifer used the internet.  Ivan went to relax at the Boardwalk right on the beach.

We drove to Queens of India for dinner. 

Ivan and Jennifer ordered the very spicy masala papadums to start off with.  I ordered a banana and chicken in a tomato curry. 

Ivan and Jennifer shared the Chicken Tandoori, Chicken Jalfrazie and the Garlic Naan.  The food tastes wonderful here!

We went to check out the clubs again.  We walked around Bounty nightclub.  The drinks were 2 for 1 before midnight at Paddy’s.  Paddy’s was playing good music. 

We danced for a long time there.

Ivan, Jennifer and I had the free breakfast in the hotel on July 16, 2009.  Jen woke up with a headache and she ached.  Her thighs and arms hurt.  Surfing gives you a work-out.

We chilled in the hotel for a little while.

We drove to Beras Merah.  We were meeting Jennifer’s friend Dody’s brother.  He lives in Jimbaran.  We got there around 12:30 pm.  We were supposed to meet at 12:30 pm.  We decided to wait for Ricky to arrive.  He arrived at almost 1 pm.  He said he was sorry but he had a meeting that ran late.  We ordered our food. 

Ivan ordered ikan pepes (grilled fish wrapped in a banana leaf).  I got the noodles with chicken and bananas.  Jennifer got the Nasi Goreng.  The food  was good.  Jen’s Nasi Goreng was really big.  They talked awhile with Ricky about Bali and his job as a manager at a villa in Seminyak.  Ricky very kindly paid for the meal.  Ivan said he would have ordered more expensive dishes if he had known the meal was going to be a freebie! It turns out Ricky knows the owner of the restaurant.  He told us he had another meeting to go.  We said goodbye to Ricky. 

We walked across the street to the Discovery Mall.  Jennifer bought a few souvenirs.

We walked to Oceans 27.  It’s located behind the mall right on the beach.  I think it’s pretty hidden because it’s very empty in there.  Plus, they do enforce a rule – if you want to use the pool, you must purchase 50,000 IDR per person.  The price is with the taxes and service charges.  Ivan and Jennifer ordered a bottle of water.  Ivan and I got a banana shake.  Jennifer ordered a strawberry shake.  The shakes were delicious! 

Ivan and Jennifer swam in the pool.  We chilled on the nice lounge beds they have under the umbrella.  It was great as we were practically the only ones there, so we had the pool to oursevles. It was nice relaxing in the shade.

We drove to Jimbaran Beach for the sunset and dinner.  Ivan and Jennifer ordered a 2 kg tuna.  I ordered shish kabobs with chicken and bananas. They watched a Weeds episode while they waited for their food.  

The sunset turned out really great.  The food was really good as usual.  We really like this place for the cheap food and the wonderful sunset.

We drove back to the hotel for the night.