INDONESIA, BALI, KUTA - 20 september to 30 september 2015

The flight from Australia to Bali was okay. The best part was just after take-off as the plane circled around Sydney, we were treated to a nice sunset view.

Kuta

We spent ten nights in Kuta, Bali.

Hotel Lusa

We stayed at quiet hotel in Kuta called Hotel Lusa.

It had a nice pool and restaurant which serves basic but okay food. The staff in the restaurant and the reception were really nice and friendly. Nothing seemed to be too much trouble.

 

 

When we arrived, we changed rooms a few times - air con noisy, air con not working, air con working barely - but my daughter's room was fine. In the end, we decided to upgrade our rooms which didn't really cost much more.

 Wandering around the hotel yard - there were good views from the three storey building, old abandoned buildings and old gardens towards the rear of the hotel. They were fun to explore and wonder about their past and present useage

 

 The Beach

It was only a short walk to the beach from the hotel.

 

 On exiting the hotel, we had nice coffee with Amelia and her mother Vicky, who ran a van with a coffee machine. Across the road were two good massage places. The better looking one did haircuts as well. I had a great cut and wash for 50 000R.

Walking down the street towards the beach were a series of old shops on the left and new shops on the right. The ones on the right were mostly under construction.

 Crossing the main road, which ran parallel with the beach and then through a walled surrounded gateway and we were on the beach. This part of the beach was relatively quiet. The beach warungs were small with only a few chairs. We picked one with a nice old lady and had a few sunset beers there. It was very pleasant watching the sun set and the beach happenings silhouetted against a sinking sun.

 

I went down the beach early for either a walk or a surf. The surf was small, okay and fun. I had a few waves to myself early inm the morning but it didn't take long after sunrise for the breaks to become more and more crowded especially with surf schools. It was not the best of fun in the crowd  (loose boards and unpredictable learners but the water was warm and there were still a few waves.

 

 People watching was a great pastime on the beach. Watching the sellers ply their  goods, people sitting around on the sand, towels and on deck chairs, the learning to surf people learning and the experience surfers catching some good waves but dangerously close to other people, people quietly wandering the beach and a few who were spent a lot of time  looking at themselves or doing things to be noticed. It was amazing watching people doing something like handstands then looking around to see who was watching them.

 

 The Streets

The streets were filled with all types of businesses from food to services. There were numerous massage places and a number of restaurants. Most restaurants were good and some were not so good. The Balcony and the Smiling Frog were consistently very good with a nice atmosphere.

 

Thoughts

 I'm not a fan of long term stay in an urban environment but as circumstances made that a necessity it was generally a good place to stay... nice hotel, staff and pool, good coffee and massage across the road, a few close by good restaurants, a short walk to the beach and a pleasant quiet position on the beach with a few waves to ride in warm water.