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Blissful Bali
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Blissful Bali

Opportunity to relax and rejuvenate in the Tropics En savoir plus
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  • Début du voyage
    3 février 2023
    Troys TravelsBlissful BaliVoyageur

    …And, We’re Off! ✈️

    3 février 2023, Australie ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    It always feels fantastic to clear customs and be sitting and waiting to get going on your adventure…
    Champa’s alright for you Mon?
    A $25 champagne 🥂 prior to boarding… maybe the last ‘classy’ activity for the next 10 days 😝
    Letitia & Adrian opted to get into the swing of classic grub at Hungry Jacks.

    Monica hurriedly tried to lose a few kilos (…from her carry on luggage) by passing off some shoes & dresses into our bags! Success: 9kg down to 7.6kg 👍🏻

    While waiting in the boarding lounge we noticed a ‘sweet’ child throwing a tantrum… hoping it would be far away from me when I actually got to be seated on board… 🤞

    Very smooth check-in, customs & lounging today which was fantastic!

    …Doing the aisle shuffle…slowly ascertained where 25C was…
    My stomach dropped as my biggest fear was realised…the aforementioned tantrum thrower was seated on Daddy’s lap in 25B 😫😳

    Thankfully, after we took off, the helpful attendant offered me a seat 💺 at the back of the plane ✈️ which was great for the little family and, yes, great for me too! 😀 Well, it was for 2 hours…until I felt like someone had sat me in the middle of Bourke Street! I’ve never seen so much commotion on even the longest of long haul flights…
    Mark! I see why Bali flights are on your ‘no go’ list now! 🙈😬

    Mon made great use of her mask 😷 by fashioning a ‘sling’ of sorts around her phone 📱 in order to hang it on the back of the seat to watch the in-flight entertainment! Oh Mon! Another story for the book 📕

    Our lovely Head Cabin Supervisor came and introduced herself; Belinda, a long time colleague of ‘Ethel’ Eldridge; telling me she was “…the Kath to Marks’ Kel!”
    Shortly after, a V.I.P coffee cup was delivered full of delicious Pinot Grigio ✊🏻

    Off to a fantastic start! 🥂    En savoir plus

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  • Troys TravelsBlissful BaliVoyageur

    Humid as Hell 👹

    3 février 2023, Indonésie ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

    Took us a while to get through the lines at the three separate checkpoints at the Bali airport…
    50 bucks for the ‘local visa’ was eagerly taken by the officers 👮‍♀️ who then directed me to the customs check because I’d declared personal medication 💊 …anxiety for nothing…
    At the end of the day it was all smoke & mirrors.

    We found our hotel driver and we were luxuriously driven to the Mercure Kuta dodging and weaving through bikes and other vehicles; edging their bets by driving in the middle of the road! 😵‍💫

    Dinner up on the Mercure Rooftop Cabana was bbq 🍗 and salads with about 20 different sauces. Bargain price of $12! Delicious but we were all so hungry 🤤 that we were going to pretty much enjoy anything. A few Bintang 🍺 later we decided the pool would be the best place for dropping the body temperature back down… Certainly did the trick! Infinity pool and random fireworks 💥 reminded us we were on holiday and making the most of every minute!

    A quick wander along the road to be greeted by many a haggling local we dropped into the Circle K shop to get some bottled water for 11,000 Rupiah (just over a $1) and some local snacks.

    Plumb tuckered out! Air conditioning up high…! Day One done ‘n dusted! ☀️    En savoir plus

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  • Troys TravelsBlissful BaliVoyageur
    1

    Cyclonic Intestines 😜

    4 février 2023, Indonésie ⋅ 🌧 26 °C

    Apparently there is a cyclone off the coast of Bali and we are experiencing some strong winds… Personally, I may be experiencing some strong winds myself… Let’s leave it at that LOL 😝
    But, in true Traveller-style I have hit the problem head on with some extremely helpful Loperamide 💊 and continue to experience all this fine Island 🏝 has to offer! A once in a lifetime experience must not be tarnished by bodily functionality 🤭

    Wandered around the back streets of Kuta today and stopped off to have a Bintang in some funky little establishments… all the haggling got a bit full on after a while so we dropped into Jamie Oliver’s Bali joint for some pizza 🍕 and local wine 🍷
    Topped of a delicious meal with Pana Cotta topped with espresso martini sauce and Amaretto crumbs! Yum Yum Yum… 🤤

    We all fell victim to some confusion in bartering with all the 1000’000s! It takes some practice to master the art when AUD$1 = 10,000 RPI! As a direct consequence, I now have a bucket hat covered in fruit 🍉 for way more than it’s worth but Tish probably paid twice as much as that… but, hey, all’s fair in love & war when the proprietor needs the dosh more than us!
    It’s the memories that are priceless
    (…not the hat 🧢) 😝

    Finished the evening off in fine style at the amazing Santorini Restaurant in one of the back streets of Kuta. Some cheap wine, three day growth & oodles of robust conversation later we had all had our fill and ‘clogged’ our way back through the laneways of the much seedier part of town to arrive safely, if slightly weary 😮‍💨 to the safety of our well-worn hotel.    En savoir plus

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  • Troys TravelsBlissful BaliVoyageur

    Rocky’s Fast Boat to Lembongan

    5 février 2023, Indonésie

    Woke up like a bear 🐻 with a sore head today! Thank goodness for Mon’s never failing cheery and happy disposition… 😇 We could be caught up inside the eye of the cyclone and Mon would still find something good about it… An excellent trait to have… 🙏🥰😍
    And, she is correct because we should always make the best of any situation we are in! 😊 If there was ever a day to practice that, it was today: they don’t call it rainy ☔️ season for nothing!

    The weather cleared up slightly for our transfer to the Sanur Bay where we caught Rocky’s fast boat across to Lembongan which is a small island just half hour from Bali. We squeezed into a safari jeep with luggage and another family of 5 (and a surfboard 🏄) and bounced along a makeshift road through the bush to arrive at the rustic Bay Shore Huts 🛖 They are very cute and at only $60 a night, including breakfast, great value. None of us had eaten since breakfast eight hours earlier so we were ready to eat just about anything by this stage!

    Early night for us and fingers crossed 🤞 for sun ☀️ and blue skies 🌌 tomorrow.    En savoir plus

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  • Troys TravelsBlissful BaliVoyageur

    Klingking & Klanking & Snorkelling

    6 février 2023, Indonésie ⋅ 🌧 26 °C

    Sitting above a lush green valley with mango 🥭 and banana 🍌 trees we are all devouring traditional Indonesian noodles topped with egg 🍳 and 5 day old prawn 🦐 crackers 😝
    …was nice enough but certainly won’t win any chefs hats this year 😜

    Our driver has just taken us to the absolutely awesomely picturesque & awe inspiring Klingking Beach, which looked exactly like the travel brochure images! The only way to get down to the actual beach would be steep trekking, thus taking your life into your own hands!
    Little monkeys 🙊 were ‘bouncing’ around everywhere… as long as they keep off my head they can do whatever they like 👍🏻

    We went to the stunning Angel Billabong (…no jolly swagman) and Broken beach 🏝 Both stunning but riddled with lots of tourists. Gotta love being able to walk right to the edge of a cliff drop with no guardrail! (…or ride a motorcycle 🏍 in thongs 🩴 and no helmet 🪖)
    …Welcome to Bali, where safely is not our motto! 😝🫡

    We came across to Nusa Penida Island in a boat that was slightly below OHS standards, lacking life jackets but making up for it by being full of character, stopping half way across to do some snorkelling 🤿 on the reef 🪸 That was truly amazing 🐡🐠🐟🦀
    …a little rough on the high sea 🌊 but so relaxing under the water. The water was warm as a bath 🛀
    Snorkelling is always such a mindful activity. Loved 🥰 it!

    The head of VicRoads would have an instant coronary if he was to experience the pot holes 🕳 which cover every inch of the roads on Nusa Penida & Nusa Lembongan. This is where the Klanking part of today’s title comes in: We Klanked & Klonked all over the island 🏝 I can only imagine what the suspension of their vehicles is like after a year on these roads!

    We missed out on seeing Crystal Bay but we could not take anymore “Klingking & Klanging”! Besides, we had to get back to our beautiful resort for ‘Happy Hours’ 4-7 and to see Special Friend Sandy Klingking her annoying big balls! 🙉🙉🙉    En savoir plus

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  • Troys TravelsBlissful BaliVoyageur

    Settling in Seminyak 🇮🇩

    7 février 2023, Indonésie ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C

    Rocky, the Fast boat 🚤 captain decided to complete the paperwork just after we were all boarded and were ready to go! That’s the Bali way of life: very relaxed & laid back Generally this is fantastic but sometimes it can be slightly frustrating. Slowly accepting that and still struggling with the currency 💴
    Now, I have used thousands of different transportation methods in my travels all around the world and today’s sea 🌊 crossing would have to be the most hell raising, white knuckle ride I have ever experienced! 😳😱😈👎🏻🙅🏻‍♂️ Check out the video attached if you dare! ‼️⚓️🤢
    I would have kissed the ground when I arrived at Sanur harbour if it wasn’t for the mangy cats 🐈 wandering across it!

    I had myself wondering if there was a helicopter or small plane to take us back to the mainland but thought that might not be the safest option… …especially if they tie the engine together with the blue rope they seem to tie around most things to keep them together with over here! 😝🙄

    Arrived safe n sound at Tony’s Villa Hotel in downtown Seminyak. We have ‘pool access’ rooms. Unfortunately no ladders 🪜 to assist us to get in and out of them though!? Might ask them if they have any blue rope… 🫣😝
    Accessibility consideration just doesn’t exist over here! You won’t find any wheelchairs 🦼 in Bali!

    Seminyak already has a higher quality feel about it. Less haggling and more class! (…less blue rope! 🥸) Mon & I had a drink 🥃 in a sexy little cafe/bar across from Tony’s; had a cobbled streets of Mykonos feel about it.

    It’ll be nice to set up and totally unpack here in Seminyak for a few days. We have been on the move a lot since Friday after arriving.

    Mon had a flowery 🌺 birthday 🎈 surprise on her bed 🛏 on arrival 🥳🥳
    She was happy and tried to work out how to sleep around it! 🤭

    Fingers crossed 🤞 that the rain ☔️ is minimal and we have sun ☀️ when we need it most! Oh! And we don’t see any more blue rope holding anything together 🤭🪢🪢🪢    En savoir plus

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  • Troys TravelsBlissful BaliVoyageur
    222

    Eurotrash Potoato 🥔 Head Club

    8 février 2023, Indonésie ⋅ 🌧 26 °C

    Desa Potato 🥔 Head Beach 🏖 Club: Wow! What an absolutely beautiful setting… But it is hard not to feel completely out of place unless you are wearing string bikinis or designer speedos! I felt like Eliza Doolittle walking into ‘Henry Higgins’ mansion! 😱
    I feel so outta place; probably due to, mostly, my own insecurities (…how I wish I had woke confidence!) but more so from the way it has all been set up: you are too frightened to sit anywhere in case you’re in the wrong “zone”. I was (politely) told about minimum spends for certain areas… such as the day beds or cabanas. (…clearly the most social media worthy positions 📸) This fee would have been covered when I bought my first cocktail 🍹 An aptly named ‘Bali Zombie 🧟‍♀️’ The bartender could probably sense my trepidation and hesitation on arriving in this Eurotrash Wankers’ paradise 😉so he suggested the strongest cocktail on the list… At that point it seemed like the best idea! This is one place where you need to leave your inhibitions at the front door… 🕺🏼🕺🏼🕺🏼

    Thankfully, after one ‘Bali 🧟‍♀️’ and a ‘Bali Colada’ (new take on an old favourite!) I was feeling more confident and my alcohol-induced imagination 💭 made me as sexy as the guy wearing tightly fitting blue speedos with that particular (…and peculiar) special Instagram pout! 😜

    I nabbed a retro couch combo seat arrangement and watched the beach (bottle) blond gyrating in the pool while her Uber cool 😎 BF recorded her next Tik Tok Extravaganza; a special treat for her 53 million followers!
    …Proudly influencing the masses since 2016! 🫣😵

    It is such a trip & experience to witness all of the specific and coordinated photography shoots happening in the pool, around the pool and throughout the whole venue itself! I wonder if many of these influencers will be discovered today and make their fortunes 🔮 or, and more likely, continue to score free vouchers from KFC for popcorn chicken and free entry into the dirty Dorset Hotel!? …Yes! I know! I’ll be nicer! 😜 God love ‘em!

    I was busting to hit the toilet… Apparently a hot spot at the club! 😜🫣…but I was aware that I could not move anywhere for fear of losing the most precious Real Estate position at potato 🥔 head! I summoned the birthday girl, Monica, and was able to freely move from the spot for a moment without losing it! Thanks 🙏 Mon! You saved the day again! It was so fantastic when Mon arrived and we could have a good chat! It is so much better to share this type of pretentious experience with someone else who is able to sit back with you and just laugh together! That is the sign of a good friendship! 🥰

    You will see that the dips and chips were a cut above the ordinary and not too badly priced! (…surprisingly). They were actually very delicious. I felt like I was eating healthily. Not that I give a shit on holidays, but why not pretend that you care about that aspect more than anything else; like the beautiful 😍 instagramming pretty people surrounding me! 😍😇😘

    By the way, there is an entire “waste lab” in the centre entry component of the potato 🥔 head establishment… Now! Let’s be honest here, wider Bali could not give a rats 🐀 arse about anything to do with the environment or recycling (…I did my bit by snorkelling 🤿 in it yesterday…rubbish, that is) but…in the middle of Eurotrash Woke Central it all seems to tick the right boxes for the cocktail 🍹 sipping hip & happening folk among us mere mortals 😜😇🕺🏼

    As I exited the second most pretentious place on earth 🌍 (…I only say second, because there HAS to be at least one that’s more pretentious…I just haven’t found it yet so I’m leaving that title free!) in my target singlet & big W shorts I passed the beautiful 🤩 people lining up to make their own debuts somewhere on the Instagram circuit soon! 🫣🤭

    Strike a Pose! 🕺🏼💅💁🏼‍♂️

    🥔🥔🥔🥔🥔🥔
    Mr. Potato Head… never fear! You’ll always be my Number One! 😜😘x    En savoir plus

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  • Troys TravelsBlissful BaliVoyageur

    Bottoms Up!

    8 février 2023, Indonésie ⋅ 🌧 25 °C

    How ironic!
    Unfortunately “Bottoms Up” has gone that exact same way since Covid struck!
    But, thankfully for the queers of Bali there are still 3 more, conveniently located side by side!
    These strongly still survive three doors down… Six bar, Bali Joe and Mixwell 🎶

    None are pretentious but, understandably, they use “clickbait” out the front to draw in a crowd.

    That’s all I’ll say: I’ll let the images and videos speak for themselves!

    PS: downloaded the GRAB App and got a driver for $1.75 (20 min drive!) In all conscious I couldn’t leave it at that! Gave him a 100,000 tip ($10). He thought 💭 he’d won Tatts! 😇🥰🕺🏼✊🏻

    Oh: the night started out with a beautiful 😍 birthday 🎂 dinner with Mon before she retired, ready to emerge, like a butterfly 🦋 at 1.30am to climb 🧗‍♀️ the volcano 🌋

    Go Mon! Live your dream 💭 🥰😘    En savoir plus

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  • Troys TravelsBlissful BaliVoyageur

    Temples, Terraces & Tea ☕️

    9 février 2023, Indonésie ⋅ 🌧 25 °C

    Thanks to my very knowledgeable and patient driver today, Made, who took me to some amazing places around Ubud! The traffic was bedlam but Made remained calm… I am sure that I would not have been so calm! 🧘🏻‍♂️

    First we stopped at a traditional Balinese house and took a look into many of the rooms. I was able to play the wooden xylophone, quite badly, and then I also tried my hand at the traditional method of treating rice 🌾 … Once again, very badly… 🤦‍♂️🙅🏻‍♂️
    And finally I was able to taste some unique coffee and tea varieties including coffee that is made from the poo 💩 of an animal! It was actually delicious 🤫💩🤤 🐵

    It has become evident that most experiences have a definite and choreographed element of marketing in return for money which can become quite anxiety producing and take away from the uniqueness of the activity… There is only so much haggling and bargaining you can comfortably take part in. Cries of “one dollar, one dollar, one dollar” after everything you look at or go into can become tedious. Don’t get me wrong, I totally understand where this comes from and participate and contribute whenever I can and do… 🙏✊🏻
    I was shocked to hear that most hospitality staff and the equivalent of only $12 a day! 😳

    Next stop was some amazing terraced rice 🌾 paddies. Once again, I could have added various other activities such as: taking a swing ride or sitting in a nest 🪹 made of twigs but I was happy to just take in the beauty of the terraces. Made asked if I’d like to walk around them but I was feeling slightly gingerly due to over consumption last night so I declined further activity… 🫤

    Finally, we took in the beauty of Tegenungan Village Waterfall. I also went for a dip in the pond at the base of the waterfall. This was refreshing and also to help me wake up! 😱

    It took a very long time to get back to Seminyak where I met up with the intrepid volcano climber, Mon, who was very proud to say she had conquered Mount Batur! 🌋💪🏻✊🏻
    Good one Mon! 👏👏👏
    After hearing the challenge of climbing it in the dark I was extremely happy that I had not followed her shining example! 😮‍💨

    Thank you so much Made! It was a great day out taking a very informative look at things I probably would never have considered looking at otherwise! 🙏✊🏻💪🏻👏    En savoir plus

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  • Troys TravelsBlissful BaliVoyageur

    Bewitched, Beach Bothered & Bewildered

    10 février 2023, Indonésie ⋅ 🌧 28 °C

    Let’s start positively… As every day should… Happy birthday 🥳 Monica! It’s great to share this experience with you! And I think you have enjoyed your birthday 🎂 which is the main thing! ❤️❤️❤️ A little hot 🥵 at times but weather can’t be changed 🤷🏻‍♂️

    We grabbed a ‘Grab’ (same as Uber) ride and headed down to Legian to check out the local shops and the beach… Low and behold there were umbrellas and comfy looking beanbags set up all along the beach 🏖 there… We thought we had struck gold so we took up residence at ‘Joseph’s beach bar’ Joseph himself, a striking Balinese businessman (of sorts) arrived to take our orders… Fantastic, we got some Bingtangs and a coconut 🥥
    We were a bit hot 🥵 but happy with our lot…

    All was going well until another astute fellow arrived and unrolled their ‘handmade’ paintings… Surprisingly, these paintings were the same ‘originals’ that were offered by another man 5 minutes later. We politely told him we were not looking for any but thank you… Just as he was rolling up the canvases along comes “Wayan” (…how did we know she was Wayan? Because it was written across the brim of her visor!) She was garnishing arm and ankle bangles which were extremely cheap …according to her… 🙄😝 Wayan didn’t take “No” for an answer. She placed her bangles in between my legs and proceeded to push them towards my crotch…”No thank you Wayan… “ But poor Wayan persisted… The next frequently common marketing gimmick was implemented when Wayan put her sad face on and finally grabbed her bangles and said “…thank you for not buying from me.”
    Poor Wayan 💁🏼‍♂️🙄🥺 🫶🏻

    Meanwhile Mon had willingly succumb to Wayan’s friend Rhonda giving her a beachside manicure and painting her nails with a special shade of birthday 🎉 orange 🍊
    Another friend of proprietor Joseph came along and told me that I had very rough soles on my feet by touching them and rubbing her fingers across my toes. She informed me they needed to be filed down while preceding to produce a file which was already covered in someone else’s dry feet residue! 🤢🤮

    Meanwhile at the other end of the beanbag row ‘Wayan’ had decided to work on Adrian who, thankfully, purchased a couple of her bangles. As you could imagine, Wayan now had a smile 😊 on her dial! Hooray 🙌🏿for Wayan! 🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻

    Look, I absolutely understand these people are simply trying to get by and, believe me, we have all contributed by supporting them in one way or another across our time here in Bali. There just comes a time when you just want to make use of the many designer bumper stickers being sold in the street-side markets:
    Is it,
    No root, no ride…
    no money, no honey,
    I ❤️ cock
    Or, the ultimate:
    Fuck off c##t!
    🙏    En savoir plus

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  • Troys TravelsBlissful BaliVoyageur

    Bali Belly 😫💩😵‍💫

    12 février 2023, Indonésie ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C

    Unfortunately my trip has come to an explosive end! Yes, the dreaded Bali belly has grabbed me with full force! It is hard to know exactly what the root cause was but I suspect a coconut 🥥 on the beach a couple of days ago may be the culprit but, let’s face it, it could be a number of things considering how unhygienic most places are and the constant battle to make sure that you don’t get any water digested or eat food that has not been washed with it.

    So, I am extremely tired, dehydrated and lethargic after two nights of little to no sleep due to getting up and down to go to the toilet 🚽 it is definitely not something I would wish on anyone! We have all suffered to varying degrees but everyone else is 100% okay now… it seems I have been blessed with the full force of it! Oh well, better to have experienced all aspects of travel 🧳 rather than never travelling at all ✈️👍🏻

    I am not looking forward to the rest of today and tonight… We have been told we need to get to the airport three hours before the flight and simply getting to the airport through horrendous traffic will take at least an hour also… The actual flight is at 4 pm so I am hoping that my stomach will settle before the six hour flight back to civilisation.

    Wish me luck 🍀    En savoir plus

    Voir la traduction
    Fin du voyage
    13 février 2023