Rainy days

Today Moni and I woke in our gorgeous fancy accommodation to breakfast. I had the mie goreng and Moni the yogurt. An excellently relaxed start.

Unfortunately it began to rain straight after, and when I say rain, I mean monsoon. It was bucketing it down from around 9am until 3pm. So we did the only 3 things that are possible when it is raining; got a massage, relaxed in the room and went in the pool.

We both got back massages from a lovely place near to where we are staying. The ladies were very nice and we were the one in a million that actually took them up on their offer. The one part of asia that is beginning to exhaust me, the constant assault of offers from everyone about everything. Moni's back had been hurting her for some reason and my back always hurts so it was a good choice.

Walking to the place was a little treacherous as the rain had flooded the streets which meant we were wading through ankle deep water at times. Thankfully it was clear enough that I wasnt too worried about anything going wrong. And it's all part of the experience after all.

On the way back we stopped into a shop to grab some snacks for lunch. Neither of us wanted to venture out so we ended up buying pot noodle and ate it our of our coffee mugs. The things you do when you dont want to brave the rain. They were however surprisingly good so I was happy.

I made Moni come for a bit of a swim in the pool with me while it was raining. I try to do that every time it is monsooning because it just feels so magical being in the pool while it rains around you. Highly recommend to anyone.

Back in the room we spent the rest of our time relaxing, journaling and reading. We did put on the tv for a bit, yes we have a tv. But the only thing on was the end of the first twilight movie. So obviously be watched that. I cannot quite believe I used to be obsessed with that movie, it is truly awful.

Finally around 3pm the rain stopped and we decided to go for a walk around so we did something active with our day. Somehow a brief 45min walk to the beach and back became a 2.5hr loop around Legian and into Kuta.

I cannot quite say I enjoyed the walk. Most of the time we were being shouted at by people trying to sell us things, the beach was covered in rubbish thanks to tourists and the storm that had been happening. And its just not a very nice area.

It surprised me really. This area is very popular with tourists and is supposed to be 'paradise'. It is not. It is grubby, loud and full of people. I much preferred Ubud. Though it is very similar in most respects, there is history and greenery everywhere. The city is busy but it feels genuine. Legian does not feel like that. I am very glad I am trying different spots because if I had just been here I would not be impressed.

I did book my accommodation for the next few nights once Moni leaves. I am going to head to Nusa Penida. It is an island off of the main land and it's supposed to have some of the best coastal views in Bali. I have only booked a couple nights there as I will decided how long I want once I am there. You can stay in multiple spots on the island so i may jump around a little or leave after those nights. Who knows.

We did head out again after our walk for dinner. There is a little alcove of market style food stalls right by our accommodation and 2 of them are known for their vegetarian food. An excellent choice. One of the veggie stalls were offering veggie rendang and I have never been so happy. It had slightly less coconut in that the one mum makes, but it was still amazing. The ladies on the stall were so nice and because everything is cooked in front of you it is so fresh. The area was playing music and there were kids running around, it was exactly the sort of thing I look for when travelling. It was also mostly locals so you know it is good.

We think we may go there again tomorrow night and try another dish. Moni is struggling a little with the food I think. She has taken to eating basically the same couple dishes every meal. If it works for her then great but I think it is all a little overwhelming for her now it had been a couple days. Perhaps a bit of culture shock.

Back at our room we ate these little Dutch pancakes we bought from a different stall. They were a very nice dessert. That is the one thing I havent seen much off here, desserts. Perhaps it is not a big part of their cuisine but most of what I've seen has been western.Read more