Saturday, September 02, 2006
Ok, here we go...
I'm in London now. It's Saturday afternoon their time (nearly dawn Sunday morning in CNS). But I'd better go back and start from the beginning. Getting on the web before now has been difficult...
Thurs 24 Aug
Left CNS at 1pm for Darwin. Arrived there at 3pm and had the afternoon and evening to explore as didn't need to be back at the airport til 9.30pm The first thing that struck me was how dry and dusty Darwin was and they DO speak with a different accent. We went straight into town and had a wander. Saw where I used to work and some of the landmarks. The city itsef seemed shabbier...Tammy and I collected some supplies and made our way onto the Esplanade where we enjoyed a cold Stones Ginger Beer and cheese and crackers watching the afternoon sun drop over the Arafura Sea - such a pretty teal blue - I had forgotten...
Funny thing happened...we couldn't get the tops off our bottles (not screw caps) and Tammy approached this tourist for a pen knife (hopefully with a bottle opener on it) and he takes off his thong and built into the bottom of the thong was a bottle opener!! Only in Darwin!!
Once we were refreshed we headed along the Esplanade and stopped at various points to take pics (sorry haven't worked out how to down load yet) and then continued along to Mindle Beach and the markets. About a 3km walk. We were very lucky it was market night. FANTASTIC. Bigger and better than I remember even. We watched the most intense sunset from the Diamond Beach Casino front lawn on the beach and then wandered down the sand to the markets.
Every concievable art, craft, food stall and performer. From every corner of the world. Tammy had the hottest Coconut Chilli salad - poor girl had more than tears in her eyes. It took us 3 hours to do a complete lap. We then headed back to the airport. And on to the OS holiday.
Fri 25 August
Arrived in Bali right on midnight. They are on the same time as Perth and Hong Kong. So no jet lag. Thanks Julie for insisting we stay at Hotel Santika Beach. Highly recommend it and yes, the breakfast was a highlight. The Indonesian dishes were some of the best we experienced (in hindsight) and definately the best peanut sauce!
Headed into Kuta, had a sticky beak around - very dirty and shabby but similar climate to Cairns. Kuta Beach was nice and deep and shady but too many touts...we did the visit to the Tailor and ordered our copy clothes and then took off for the hills - literally. Didn't get to our village of Sanggingan outside Ubud til 8pm ish due to a combination of leaving Kuta late and some confusing directions. Our hostess Wayan made us feel very welcome and organised some fantastic local food from the local Wayung (cafe) for us.
I'm in London now. It's Saturday afternoon their time (nearly dawn Sunday morning in CNS). But I'd better go back and start from the beginning. Getting on the web before now has been difficult...
Thurs 24 Aug
Left CNS at 1pm for Darwin. Arrived there at 3pm and had the afternoon and evening to explore as didn't need to be back at the airport til 9.30pm The first thing that struck me was how dry and dusty Darwin was and they DO speak with a different accent. We went straight into town and had a wander. Saw where I used to work and some of the landmarks. The city itsef seemed shabbier...Tammy and I collected some supplies and made our way onto the Esplanade where we enjoyed a cold Stones Ginger Beer and cheese and crackers watching the afternoon sun drop over the Arafura Sea - such a pretty teal blue - I had forgotten...
Funny thing happened...we couldn't get the tops off our bottles (not screw caps) and Tammy approached this tourist for a pen knife (hopefully with a bottle opener on it) and he takes off his thong and built into the bottom of the thong was a bottle opener!! Only in Darwin!!
Once we were refreshed we headed along the Esplanade and stopped at various points to take pics (sorry haven't worked out how to down load yet) and then continued along to Mindle Beach and the markets. About a 3km walk. We were very lucky it was market night. FANTASTIC. Bigger and better than I remember even. We watched the most intense sunset from the Diamond Beach Casino front lawn on the beach and then wandered down the sand to the markets.
Every concievable art, craft, food stall and performer. From every corner of the world. Tammy had the hottest Coconut Chilli salad - poor girl had more than tears in her eyes. It took us 3 hours to do a complete lap. We then headed back to the airport. And on to the OS holiday.
Fri 25 August
Arrived in Bali right on midnight. They are on the same time as Perth and Hong Kong. So no jet lag. Thanks Julie for insisting we stay at Hotel Santika Beach. Highly recommend it and yes, the breakfast was a highlight. The Indonesian dishes were some of the best we experienced (in hindsight) and definately the best peanut sauce!
Headed into Kuta, had a sticky beak around - very dirty and shabby but similar climate to Cairns. Kuta Beach was nice and deep and shady but too many touts...we did the visit to the Tailor and ordered our copy clothes and then took off for the hills - literally. Didn't get to our village of Sanggingan outside Ubud til 8pm ish due to a combination of leaving Kuta late and some confusing directions. Our hostess Wayan made us feel very welcome and organised some fantastic local food from the local Wayung (cafe) for us.
# posted by The Essence of Good Taste @ 9:53 AM 
