Consider yourselves immersed! Our guesthouse had Picasa - yay! We uploaded the rest of Bali today and a few more to the end of Australia. We still have a lot of photos on our camera from Singapore and Malaysia so far - but we'll have to get to those later.
We leave the Cameron Highlands today for the Perhentian Islands (the links lead to google map locations). There should be nice beaches and supposedly some of the world's best scuba diving - and it's cheap! Our room tonight will cost us $9.00 - and it'll be beachfront. Not too shabby.
Here they are - your long awaited photos - there are LOTS so sit down with a cup of tea and enjoy:
http://picasaweb.google.com/mhewing/Bali
Mark and Liz
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Bali - Gili Trawangan - Apa Kabar? BAGUS!
We're here in Singapore - only for two nights. It's quite the clean city - and being that we're not really city people - we're off to Malaysia tomorrow.
Still no internet cafe that allows Picasa - but we will find one - oh yes we will... one of these days.
So - after we left Ubud - which we loved by the way - we made our way to Amed. A sleepy little black sand coastal town. We found an incredible deal of a place that gave us a great accommodations (with a pool) and 8 tanks for Scuba diving... the contract clearly stated 4 nights + 4 tanks x 2 PAX - which is how all the dive shops would write four dive trips for 2 people. All for $157 US... not too shabby. Well - as it turned out - the owner wouldn't live up to his word or his signed contract and only gave us 4 tanks total which is only 2 dives x 2 people - oh well - despite all of my arguing I couldn't convince him that he was not a man of his word. It was too good to be true. The diving though was incredible - we dove on the USS Liberty - which was an American freighter torpedoed during WWII by the Japanese - it was a huge hulk of a wreck and we were able to even get inside it in a few places. The fish were amazing and our first experience diving a wreck was one we'll never forget.
From Amed we took a SLOW boat across to Gili (which means Island) Trawangan. The scariest boat trip that either of us have ever had. We should've known when just before departing a wave broke on the front of the boat and snapped off a large piece of wood - nothing mandatory for the ensuing trip though so our departure was not delayed other than by the impromptu rigging of the engine with some twine - the aforementioned wave also snapped a part of the engine mount. I bailed water out of the bottom of the boat with the help of the first mate and our 2 hour tour was underway! There were times that the waves were so big that I was looking down at Liz who was on the opposite side of the boat from me in order to keep it balanced. 650,000 Rupiah - (a bit more than $65.00) - not too bad for almost dying - needless to say on the way back we paid the 1.3million (little over $140) for the safe speed boat back.
Gili Trawangan was by far our favorite part of the trip so far - except for all the diving we've done. We spent a week doing absolutely nothing - learned Indonesian and met a great group of Indonesian tomans (friends). Apa kabar means how are you - Bagus - is Good! We partied a bit more than we have the rest of the trip and had many a memorable sunset. Our Spanish friends from Nusa Lembongan had suggested we try this place out and we're sooo glad that we did! We whiled away our days reading books, drinking beers, ate pizza and some great pizza toppings, and twirling fire around the nightly beach bonfires. We were sad to leave.
The plan is to head to the Cameroon Highlands in Malaysia for some jungle trekking - then off to the Perhentian Islands of NE Malaysia for some more crystal clear waters, white beaches, and world renowned scuba diving.
Greg added an abbreviated group of photos from the wedding (not sure if I already mentioned that or not) - let us know if you've done the same - or if you have any video from the lovely day.
http://picasaweb.google.com/gewing/MarkAndLizSWedding
For those that appreciated meeting Steve and Robert at our wedding - be sure to check out their webcast - www.uvnu.net
Ok - we're off to have a late night snack. Good night
Still no internet cafe that allows Picasa - but we will find one - oh yes we will... one of these days.
So - after we left Ubud - which we loved by the way - we made our way to Amed. A sleepy little black sand coastal town. We found an incredible deal of a place that gave us a great accommodations (with a pool) and 8 tanks for Scuba diving... the contract clearly stated 4 nights + 4 tanks x 2 PAX - which is how all the dive shops would write four dive trips for 2 people. All for $157 US... not too shabby. Well - as it turned out - the owner wouldn't live up to his word or his signed contract and only gave us 4 tanks total which is only 2 dives x 2 people - oh well - despite all of my arguing I couldn't convince him that he was not a man of his word. It was too good to be true. The diving though was incredible - we dove on the USS Liberty - which was an American freighter torpedoed during WWII by the Japanese - it was a huge hulk of a wreck and we were able to even get inside it in a few places. The fish were amazing and our first experience diving a wreck was one we'll never forget.
From Amed we took a SLOW boat across to Gili (which means Island) Trawangan. The scariest boat trip that either of us have ever had. We should've known when just before departing a wave broke on the front of the boat and snapped off a large piece of wood - nothing mandatory for the ensuing trip though so our departure was not delayed other than by the impromptu rigging of the engine with some twine - the aforementioned wave also snapped a part of the engine mount. I bailed water out of the bottom of the boat with the help of the first mate and our 2 hour tour was underway! There were times that the waves were so big that I was looking down at Liz who was on the opposite side of the boat from me in order to keep it balanced. 650,000 Rupiah - (a bit more than $65.00) - not too bad for almost dying - needless to say on the way back we paid the 1.3million (little over $140) for the safe speed boat back.
Gili Trawangan was by far our favorite part of the trip so far - except for all the diving we've done. We spent a week doing absolutely nothing - learned Indonesian and met a great group of Indonesian tomans (friends). Apa kabar means how are you - Bagus - is Good! We partied a bit more than we have the rest of the trip and had many a memorable sunset. Our Spanish friends from Nusa Lembongan had suggested we try this place out and we're sooo glad that we did! We whiled away our days reading books, drinking beers, ate pizza and some great pizza toppings, and twirling fire around the nightly beach bonfires. We were sad to leave.
The plan is to head to the Cameroon Highlands in Malaysia for some jungle trekking - then off to the Perhentian Islands of NE Malaysia for some more crystal clear waters, white beaches, and world renowned scuba diving.
Greg added an abbreviated group of photos from the wedding (not sure if I already mentioned that or not) - let us know if you've done the same - or if you have any video from the lovely day.
http://picasaweb.google.com/gewing/MarkAndLizSWedding
For those that appreciated meeting Steve and Robert at our wedding - be sure to check out their webcast - www.uvnu.net
Ok - we're off to have a late night snack. Good night
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Bali Hi!
http://picasaweb.google.com/mhewing/Bali/photo#5233958547857940290
Howdy from Bali - things are going well here - though we haven't found an internet cafe that has picasa enabled - so for now you get ONE photo of us diving... more to come later - MANY more!
The rest of Oz was great - we loved Sydney and ended up seeing Band of Horses play - which was so much fun! Had to sing along to our first dance - we're cheeseballs.
Bali has been interesting so far - Kuta was ridiculous - we hated it - lots of crowds and lots of people pestering us for anything and everything - and no one telling the truth about the price. Getting off the plane - we lacked the necessary visa - thanks to our travel agent for not saying anything about that one - we were able to get one but it was incredibly frustrating and put us at the back of a line of 500 people getting off our plane for customs... oh well. Then - coming out of the airport one guy wanted to charge us 300,000 rupiah (about 30$) for a cab ride - then the next offered 150,000 - it took us till the third time to find the price of around 55,000 that our hotel had told us it would cost... craziness. The first rule of Bali is that there are no rules... and that everyone lies about the rules.
We left Kuta quickly after arriving and went off to Nusa Lembongan - a small island off the coast that has WORLD CLASS diving - it was incredible! We're happy to have our underwater case for the camera and we've taken lot and lots of photos! For now you get one! We saw a Mola mola - which is a sunfish and they're exceedingly rare to see - it was about 3m tall - or about 10 feet tall HUGE - so weird looking. Maybe I'll try to find that photo too... and Mantas and incredibly hard currents for some impressive drift dives where you simply find your buoyancy (not so simple really) and then just float and watch the reef and the world go by - awesome way to dive.
We're in Ubud now - pampering ourselves with a bit of spa time - massages are cheap here - we each had an hour long massage followed by an hour long body scrub - followed by a soak in a flower filled tub with ginger tea to sip on - all costing a whopping $12 or so each. Ahh now that's nice. Our room is $10 a night! Our Motorbike is around $4 a day. Beer is dirt cheap and juice is even cheaper than that - what's cheaper than dirt? Rocks? Mud? Who knows - but it's GREAT! MMMM banana juice. The monkeys are crazy too!!! Again - we'll send pictures when we find a place that doesn't charge per upload...
We're doing well - our health is holding out - despite a bit of a cold on my end. The bugs haven't been bad at all either - knocking on wood...
Ok - thanks again for all the love and support - we told you that your donations would be put to good use!!!
Love Mark and Liz
Howdy from Bali - things are going well here - though we haven't found an internet cafe that has picasa enabled - so for now you get ONE photo of us diving... more to come later - MANY more!
The rest of Oz was great - we loved Sydney and ended up seeing Band of Horses play - which was so much fun! Had to sing along to our first dance - we're cheeseballs.
Bali has been interesting so far - Kuta was ridiculous - we hated it - lots of crowds and lots of people pestering us for anything and everything - and no one telling the truth about the price. Getting off the plane - we lacked the necessary visa - thanks to our travel agent for not saying anything about that one - we were able to get one but it was incredibly frustrating and put us at the back of a line of 500 people getting off our plane for customs... oh well. Then - coming out of the airport one guy wanted to charge us 300,000 rupiah (about 30$) for a cab ride - then the next offered 150,000 - it took us till the third time to find the price of around 55,000 that our hotel had told us it would cost... craziness. The first rule of Bali is that there are no rules... and that everyone lies about the rules.
We left Kuta quickly after arriving and went off to Nusa Lembongan - a small island off the coast that has WORLD CLASS diving - it was incredible! We're happy to have our underwater case for the camera and we've taken lot and lots of photos! For now you get one! We saw a Mola mola - which is a sunfish and they're exceedingly rare to see - it was about 3m tall - or about 10 feet tall HUGE - so weird looking. Maybe I'll try to find that photo too... and Mantas and incredibly hard currents for some impressive drift dives where you simply find your buoyancy (not so simple really) and then just float and watch the reef and the world go by - awesome way to dive.
We're in Ubud now - pampering ourselves with a bit of spa time - massages are cheap here - we each had an hour long massage followed by an hour long body scrub - followed by a soak in a flower filled tub with ginger tea to sip on - all costing a whopping $12 or so each. Ahh now that's nice. Our room is $10 a night! Our Motorbike is around $4 a day. Beer is dirt cheap and juice is even cheaper than that - what's cheaper than dirt? Rocks? Mud? Who knows - but it's GREAT! MMMM banana juice. The monkeys are crazy too!!! Again - we'll send pictures when we find a place that doesn't charge per upload...
We're doing well - our health is holding out - despite a bit of a cold on my end. The bugs haven't been bad at all either - knocking on wood...
Ok - thanks again for all the love and support - we told you that your donations would be put to good use!!!
Love Mark and Liz
Monday, August 04, 2008
G'day mate from Downunder
Here we are in Australia! Melbourne was great. We saw Wicked which was wicked cool! We went on a day trip down south to the Great Ocean Road. It was cool - the pictures don't do it justice - especially cause you can't tell how WINDY it was!! We saw Koalas and Kangaroos on the Great Ocean Road. The kangaroos are just like deer here - they're all over and they have signs for them on the roads. There are herds of them in the fields munching on grass - funny things. The wild parrots were cool too - though they figured out quickly that we didn't have food for them!
We had some incredible coffee and spent time exploring the city. The food was a marked improvement over Fiji! We saw The Dark Knight at the Imax theater - it was awesome! It's winter here so we're wearing all of our layers at once...
We're in Sydney now and we're wearing our friend's clothes... we met a very nice couple in Fiji that lives here and they have graciously taken us in, given us a bed right on the beach in Coogee, cooked us meals, provided a laundry machine, warm showers, and just all in all a truly wonderful time. We're lucky to have met them! Thanks to Ruka and Nina!!
We've been wandering around Sydney - including a tour of the Opera House and a ferry ride out to Manly Beach. We're thinking that we may head back to the city today and explore some more. Band of Horses plays tonight in downtown (they're the band that plays the song from our first dance - No One is Going to Love you More than I do.) - the show is sold out - so we'll see if scalping happens in Australia... we're counting on it.
We've walked all over and Liz got her hair cut last night! She looks gorgeous. Her new do is chin length and light and airy - she loves it! I'm happy that she decided not to Buzz cut it;)
We're off to Bali tomorrow for 3 weeks! We have absolutely nothing booked - so maybe I'll end this post and go book a place at least for tomorrow night!
Hope you all are doing well - be sure to comment on our pictures or on the blog here and let us know how things are in your lives!! Miss you all!
Mark and Liz
And the part you've been waiting for - NEW PICTURES:
http://picasaweb.google.com/mhewing/AustraliaMelbourneAndSydneySoFar
We had some incredible coffee and spent time exploring the city. The food was a marked improvement over Fiji! We saw The Dark Knight at the Imax theater - it was awesome! It's winter here so we're wearing all of our layers at once...
We're in Sydney now and we're wearing our friend's clothes... we met a very nice couple in Fiji that lives here and they have graciously taken us in, given us a bed right on the beach in Coogee, cooked us meals, provided a laundry machine, warm showers, and just all in all a truly wonderful time. We're lucky to have met them! Thanks to Ruka and Nina!!
We've been wandering around Sydney - including a tour of the Opera House and a ferry ride out to Manly Beach. We're thinking that we may head back to the city today and explore some more. Band of Horses plays tonight in downtown (they're the band that plays the song from our first dance - No One is Going to Love you More than I do.) - the show is sold out - so we'll see if scalping happens in Australia... we're counting on it.
We've walked all over and Liz got her hair cut last night! She looks gorgeous. Her new do is chin length and light and airy - she loves it! I'm happy that she decided not to Buzz cut it;)
We're off to Bali tomorrow for 3 weeks! We have absolutely nothing booked - so maybe I'll end this post and go book a place at least for tomorrow night!
Hope you all are doing well - be sure to comment on our pictures or on the blog here and let us know how things are in your lives!! Miss you all!
Mark and Liz
And the part you've been waiting for - NEW PICTURES:
http://picasaweb.google.com/mhewing/AustraliaMelbourneAndSydneySoFar
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)