Hello there Party Animals & Similar & Other;-) So let us finally tell you a bit about our honey-moon so far (we know you understand & forgive us the not-getting on i-net earlier than this - in the end, the most important is to make enough time for... & for....It's honey-moon time!!!;-)))
So we left Prague tiredly (no surprise after all the W-minus & W-plus parties;-))) on Wednesday the 15th of July & we headed to Bangkok via Kiev. We thought it's Aeroflot we're flying with but in the end it was the Czech Airlines to Kiev & Aerosvit to Bankgkok. The best part of the trip consisted of two things: first we bumped into an Irish Pub at the Kiev airport terminal (& this after me whining to Rob about how much I miss the Guiness;-))) & then Libor from Dublin (now living in Helsinky but returning from a business trip to Kiev) bumped into us & invited us for a pint! ;-))) What a beginning of our chilli-lala (as we now call it) honeymoon! ;-)
On Thursday July 16th at 3:30 a.m. we reached Bangkok. By the time we got our stuff together (including city map & transport info) it was 6 a.m. so we set out for the big city! First time there for both of us, we followed our intuition & strolled incidentally towards some beautiful temples & a statue of King Rama III. (one of the greatest kings ever, we've heard!). Rama III, especially if you greet him & give him your thanks, brings good things about...so here was a good soul who explained to us there's a Buddhist Holiday on that day so most of the temples are to be seen free-of-charge (yet some are closed for prayer till the afternoon) & moreover, the Thai Export Company sponsors the tuk-tuks (their three-wheelers) gas so tourist can get on board for 10 bahts (as opposed to the regular price of 500 bahts) & the tuk-tuk guys take them around all the different temples! Wow, what a deal we thought as he introduced it in such a way & drew us a map with the order we should follow...;-) Off we went from temple to temple, from Big Buddha to Lucky Buddha to Black Buddha & to another Lucky Buddha etc. until the driver started to drag us to the jewelry shops (all duty free special offer that day, of course;-) as that was where he got coupons for the gas - 1 if we peeped inside & 5 if we spent considerable amount of money. As you can guess, we did not spent big money anywhere & we refused to continue shopping or shop-peeping so soon enough the tuk-tuk guy drove away without telling us & same happened with the next one we caught;-)
Anyway, jet-leggedness kicking in we took a nap on the Royal Grounds (we thought it's a park, but it was a dry-mud & mess place) & off we were to the airport & Bali...
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Bali the Paradise!!!
We started off by exploring the famous (or notorious) Kuta & as we thought Bangkok was really busy, we felt Kuta is a just a tiny version of Bangkok or perhaps Rome. Everybody drives a motocycle there! (Running on Absolute Petrol!!!;-))) It's really wicked! Beware, accomodations is quickly gone, you better look for it before noon; the Sunset BBQ can only be enjoyed during the sunset - you won't get a grilled corn before or after it; & the famous sunset happens around 6 p.m. so don't think you've got plenty of time if you're taking a nap at 3 p.m. (we slept through the sunset;-) & one more thing - if you like chilli like we & Balinese do - learn the miraculous word "sambal" (but it comes with pretty much everything so you can't miss it;-)
Saturday July 18th we dipped into the sea here for the first time & then took off eastward for Sanur to meet up with our friend Joska Skalnik (aka Mr. Blue;-) & his family. What a wonderful place they were staying at - no wonder they are in love with Bali! Being it Joska we were visiting, it came as no surprise that he & his wife were immediately taking us to a party & what a party that was! The Yak Awards 2009 - great food (best Bali chefs), great drinks (welcome vodka with some incredible juice or smthg;-), great Bali trad dancers, great DJs...or simply as some friends of ours would put it: sex, drugs & rock'n'roll! ;-))) Following this fun party where we met wonderful friends of Kaca & Joska, friends who actually stand behind the Yak magazine (Yak is so complex & covering so many topics that you should check it out here instead of me describing it;-), we had a little afterparty in a similar group of friends & we hung out a bit around Sanur & it's beaches...a blast with the local kids, local food, local windmills making amazing noises;-)
Monday July 20th we took a "taksi" to Padang Bai, where we still are;-) On the way here, we stopped at a bat temple, Goa Lawah, where you can see not only one of the most important Bali coast temples, but also a cave full of all kinds of bats...the smell there is unmistakable & unmissable;-))) Padang Bai lies northeast of Denpasar, it is a place many primarily visit just to set off for Lombok or the Gili Islands. However, many others head here because of the incredible diving that is to be experienced here & many of these (like us;-) head directly to the OK Divers base - the home of Radka & Adam Malec, famous Czecho-Slovak divers & the awesomest instructors!!!;-))) (We are doing the Open Water Diver course so we know what we're speaking about! ;-) So, yeah, we kind of got stuck here after doing the Intro to diving & falling in love with the underwater world - allt he corals & fish & Honza being so funny under water;-))) The Blue Lagoon, however, is excellent for simple snorkeling that we've started with, the White Sandy Beach, on the other hand, has white sand (surprising, hah!;-) & amazing waves - so in other words, Padang Bai is not only about diving! Everywhere in Padang Bai (which is just a little harbour) there's great food to be found in restaurants & street stalls (especially tasty fresh fish, naturally) & there's a couple of night bars with live music too (one live music venue per night as the bars are so close to each other that they would otherwise be heavily disturbing one another;-). Naturally, there are also some buddhist temples & a lot of jukungs (typical boats - see below) on the harbour beach. What else to say? We've said more than enough already - sorry for such a long post - but we probably won't write again soon so let us just add:
We are staying in a nice bungalow with a terrible breakfast, we have a mosquito net over our bed that looks like canopies (we feel like royalty;-) but smells:(, we have a big pool in the garden but it's only being constructed so it's full of fresh cement & workers;-) & best of all, we have a second home in Padang Bai at the OK Divers base (100 meters from our bungalow;-) - coffee & water any time of the day, hammocks or gazebo to hang out or study the diving manual;-), Czech pub (also run by the Malecs) with Czech cuisine and more! Thanks so much to Radka & Adam for their hospitality & thanks to Stepan for his "people & place to visit" recommendation! We think of you, Salami on Tree! ;-))) & the rest of you, you better head here soon, it's more than worth the trip! [When you do, don't forget to bring Tuzemak for Radka's baking!;-)))]
By the time we speak to you next, we might have dived around the Liberty wreck in Tulamben, visited the beautiful coast of Amed & Jemeluk, seen the art & traditions of Ubud, climbed the highest mountain of Bali - Gunung Agung, rode bikes among the ricefields...Let's see where the wind takes us...as we've decided not to "push the wind" ever again;-))) [Hello to Bill & thank you for your Balinese & other wisdom;-)]
Oh..& in case we've forgotten to mention something that might interested you (like e.g. the local temperature = around 30 degrees Celsius;-) just post a question into the comments, we'll get back to you at some point between further discoveries, more good food & final surfing in Kuta before heading to Java! :::
