Return to the Island of the Gods

Stop Dreaming - take action

We have been to Indonesia now two times. The first time, when heading for a 'hard core' dive week in Wakatobi, we stayed at Bali at the start and end of the trip. The second time, recently, we went to Sulawesi. Both times we realy realy enjoyed ourselves, both above as well as under water.

With the above experience in mind we started to look for an offerdable combination of the above. Browsing through the options. Looking at the dive reviews at the 'known' sites. We decided to go to Bali and try the diving there.

Looking at the map of Bali there are three locations famous for diving:

1. Around Nusa Penida (1&4 on the picture below). Lot's of current, and with some luck Mola Mola*
2. Around Tulamben and the world famous "Liberty Wreck" (2&3 on the picture below)
3. Near Java, where you can find "Secret Bay" (5 on the picture below)

*our trip is outside the Mola Mola season - so we may have to go back :-)


A cheap flight with super service
When going to place like Indonesia and trying to minimize your expense: look for a cheap flight 1st! We found the best deal flying from Frankfurt with Malaysia Airlines (appr. the same cost of one last year, we now fly both).
Already pleasantly surprized with the super deal, we were in for another surprise: Malaysia Airlines serive. MA show on their website that one can take 10kg of diving gear for free. We had our doubts (we read reviews of people who had to pay a lot of money on their return trip), so we mailed them to verify. "Yes, you can take 15kg of diving gear for free each, just .......". When we didn't comply correctly to their request, they immediately called us the next day to explain - assuring we could enjoy their service. Two days later we received new tickets, clearly identifying 15kg aditional free dive lugage each! Wow.
1st stop in Bali: Paradise re-found
Having been to Kajane Mua in Ubud there is no other option than return when returning to Bali. So no surprise, we are returning. Just a few days of getting into the time zone, getting used to the climate and enjoying some relaxing days before heading for the dive destinations.



Lotus Bungalows

When looking at the distances between the dive sites (see above), and the time to get to the remote places from a central located hotel - 2 to 4 hrs - we concluded it was better to look for a hotel close to the dive sites, rather than spend our time stuck in traffic all day in a minibus. In the Nusa Penida area all reviews pointed at one option: Lotus Bungalows.



Siddhartha - Werner Lau

At the Talumben side of Bali we initially looked at Alam Anda. An hotel afiliated to Werner Lau with extremely good reviews. However, on the Werner Lau site we found that they are opening a new resort close by: Siddhartha. Not much more expensive, but by the looks of it a lot more luxurious. We expected that, knowing it is just opening now, prices will go up soon, so we thougt "let's try it now before it becomes unafordable".



It is still quite some time before we go ........ counting the days already!

Low cost Dive Holiday

A weekend with not much to do ......... but thinking of where to go next. Browsing through the offers of the travel agents. Would it be possible? One week in Egypt for the two of us at rock bottom pricing? At a good hotel? Near excellent diving locations?

And than, when finding it .......... decisions need to be made on the spot. These offers never last long! Check, check again. No, this can't be right. But every time the result confirms it is possible.

So we booked the Radisson SAS in El Quseir (again). We can't wait to see the Red Sea again :-)

A weekend of (Ancient) History

During the May Bank Holiday Weekend we flew for a short weekend break to Bath, England. Initially unaware of what Bath had to offer, as our trip was simply triggered by a new destination from Eindhoven, being Bristol. From there we looked for places to stay in the Bristol area, and found the lovely Chestnuts House B&B, which happened to be in Bath. So Bath it was.

Little later we understood Bath is a major Tourist Attracktion in England.

Day 1
Our flight was in the early evening, so we arrived quite late at our B&B. The directions were suficient, so we found it without difficulty.

Day 2
After the very good Breakfast we headed for the Ancient town center. Strolling over the English version of the 'Ponte Vecchio', the bridge over the river Avon. Browsing through some very nice shops with trivia. Of course ending up at the Roman Bath.

Van Bath 2009

The Roman Bath was an interesting place to visit. Very educative. The audio guide (included with the enterence fee), in your own language, really helped to get the bigger picture. Not only with respect to the Romans, who founded Bath, but also throughout history until last century.

The local restaurant brochure provided by the B&B was very helpfull in finding some nice places to eat. We chose the Rajpoot for lunch (an award winning Indian restaurant) and for dinner we went to The Circus, for which we already found promissing reviews on Tripadviser before we left home.

There happened to be a music festival in Bath, so before ending the day we enjoyed some local musicians in the park next to the river.

Day 3
Having walked through the center of Bath the whole day yesterday, and having seen all we wanted to see, we decided to take the car and see the coutry side. Having one of the most famous Ancient Historical Sites nearby, we started with a siting of Stonehenge.

Van Bath 2009

Like at the Roman Bath, also here an audio guide in our own language was provided. And simply by walking around the site and chosing the applicable comment the complete story of Stonehenge was told (so now we now it had nothing to do with Druids).

Our next desitination was the wisest of choices: the beach at the south cost, on a Bank Holiday weekend. Eventually, with a detour through the New Forrest National Park, we got there. Arriving there we were surprised by how un-busy it was? No problem to get a beach chair and enjoy the early summer sun.

Van Bath 2009

On our way back we had a quick stop at Salisbury, took a stroll through the mideval center and ended the day with a lovely dinner at Strada, before heading back to Bath.

Day 4
The next moring we had a very early flight to catch. A lovely weekend had come to an end.