A couple of loose ends from my last day in Komodo after I had posted my blog while taking advantage of the only good wifi….

The prize for the best play on ‘Komodo’😊

The least desirable location for a luxury hotel. Labuan Bajo has a large Muslim population, with two mosques projecting calls to prayer five times a day!

The last iced latte on Flores. Indonesia is famous for their coffee plantations. They also grow cocoa too.

Traffic on west Bali – borrowed photo because I made sure I never went near Canngu, Kuta or Seminyak. The area is known for brutal traffic and all night nightclubs.

So I headed to Candidasa on the east coast, and my two week tour of water – in water gardens, oceans and swimming pools!

Then my driver took me to a few quiet spots on the way to the Amed Region.

Taman Ayun Temple is a UNESCO world heritage site with a Balinese temple and garden with water features.

Puri Agung Karangasem is an old royal palace.

Taman Ujung water palace

East coast road to the Amed region, with road construction to open the area to more tourism.

Black volcanic sand

Main road through the area.

Path up to my villa with its killer view!

Laundry is 5000 rupee (less than Cdn $0.50) per kg. And that’s washed, dried and ironed.

My hesitation is for the limited clothes I have, and whether they can handle rough washes. I did have my whites done though, because of the combination of dust and melted sunscreen!

The Balinese have a birth order naming tradition. The first born is called Wayan (or Putu or Gede), second born is Made (or Kardek or Nengah), third born is Nyoman (or Komang), fourth is Ketut.

So if you meet anyone with those names, you could surprise them by asking if they are Balinese.

My current driver, Komang, is calling me Made (maa-day) Maze!

Banana pancake

Always more mie goreng

Rice again, but different

Malaysian Laksa curried fish soup

Balinese corn fritters

Then a 2.5 hour drive to the north coast of Bali to Lovina.

It’s main claim has been dolphins, but the interest of ‘dolphin watching/chasing’ has waned.

There is still a good interest in sunsets though!

More decadent days reading in the shade. I feel like a fraud because there are people out there that actually have stress in their lives.

My favourite place was a daybed away from the pool that caught an ocean breeze.

Then it was on to Pemuteran, and more lounging around.

The grounds were huge and lush.

All the places I’ve stayed in the last two weeks have had outdoor bathrooms.

Exotic during the day, spooky at night.

Though the most common critter is a gecko, and they eat insects. And mosquitoes, though I don’t show any bites.

I did go snorkeling off Menjangan Island, a national park. We shared the boat with divers, who went down the deep drop.

Lots of beautiful coral and fish. A GoPro underwater camera would have been useful. You can get bags for phones, but I’ve seen them leak.

‘Food Truck’ arriving for the workers lunch break.

More banana pancakes.

Fish sate skewers with peanut sauce, and French fries instead of rice.

A fabulous salad of beets, carrot, cucumber, avocado with grilled fresh fish. So good I had it the next day too.

And the best hamburger! And not just because I’ve eaten rice for a month!

Homemade burger, bun and fries.

So tomorrow I’m headed to Java, and back to reality.

It’s an one hour drive to the ferry, and then a night close to the station for my train to Surabaya.

Java is huge compared to Bali, and very populated. I’ll be in many cities, and travelling by train instead of private cars.

Bali has been amazing. Such beautiful people, and that is part in due to the Hindu culture. I can see why people return so many times.

See you in Java!