Aaaaahh.... Bali

It. seems that after arriving anywhere, my first problem to be solved is to work out how I get from the god-forsaken place I've been dropped at, to where I really need to be.
Finally, after finding the bus to take me from the ferry port at Gilimanuk to the main city of Denpasar, we sat and waited for 1 1/2 hours while a few more passengers got on. In my grumpy foreign touristy way, I quibbled about the £4.50 bus fare. I shouldn't have, of course. The bus took 3 hours to get across and down the island, through endless traffic jams, to one of the 3/4 bus terminuses (termini?) there are in Denpasar. From there I had to grab one of the brightly painted but knackered old bus-taxis they call a 'bemo' to get me to my hotel.
If I discount the steps up to the reception, this place is actually a lot better than some of the doss-houses I've had so far. The Sunshot Hotel in Semenyak, Bali will be home for 5 nights. Lots of Brit visitors, a pleasant manager, and dinner at 7pm thrown in; bargain.
Aaaaahh.... Bali.
They say it's become overcrowded, over-touristic, got too busy and a bit shabby. Yeah, of course, they're right. But its Bali.
When I nipped down to the beach, the clouds were already forming. The sand is more of a grey colour than white, but the waves are great. Swimming might be a tricky prospect. I'll find out tomorrow.
My main task today is to research a trip to Gili Air island on Lombok to go scuba diving. If it all works out, I think I've snaffled a good deal from one of the tour organisers - more later.
And then the mother of all rain storms started. Shopkeepers hurriedly brought in the perishable good, tourists and travellers hid under awnings, and I cleaned the sand from my flip-flops.
Dinner in the hotel was actually okay, for free. I chatted with some of the other guests and played cards with a couple.
Tired but pretty happy overall.Read more