motorbikes, warungs, beach cocktails

oh how do I even begin. Friday morning we woke up to beautiful sunshine and had our delicious breakfast of fresh juice (orange, pineapple or watermelon), coffee (tea for Sarah) and toasted baguette with local honey and papaya jam. then we headed to the beach and walked for almost an hour until we found the perfect little spot amidst the many eager Balinese men trying to solicit us their chairs and umbrellas to lounge at for the day. the Seminyak beaches are unbelievable. the waves are huge and gorgeous and there are surfers everywhere you look. we played in the ocean and managed to get ourselves too much color... that's for sure. then had lunch at this adorable place called La Plancha.. a Spanish spot on the beach. delicious. then we moseyed back to lounge about by the pool. we have this gorgeous infinity pool and a rooftop bar and it's basically heaven in here. after a cold Bintang on the roof we went out to eat at a traditional Indonesian warung and both had the Nasi Goerang. traditional meal of fried rice and veggies with a fried egg on top. and only IR 15,000 ($1.50). unbelievable. yesterday was not quite as nice out so we explored the streets of Kuta, Legian and Seminyak and managed to find accommodations for tonight through weds night in one go. only IR 12,000 total for a room with a double bed and it's own bathroom... that's nothin. and we are right in the heart of beautiful Seminyak. then I had maybe the most awesome massage of my life at the hotel... free because we stayed three nights but otherwise only IR 70 k... that's $7. I felt like I could melt away and I was just covered in delicious coconut oil. it helped the sunburn too. I heard that the beach was the hot spot in the early evening so we made our way down for cocktails and my god I have never seen a sun so huge or red. there were loads of locals playing soccer and running about and all kinds of people enjoying a drink on the hundreds of bean bag chairs set up on the sand in front of the cafes and bars with little tables in front of them. I had something called king fuel which absolutely tasted like petrol... and Sarah had a mango daiquiri overflowing out of a martini glass. speaking of petrol, the way they sell petrol here is on the streets in absolut vodka bottles cause they are a perfect liter measurement. there are little stands all over! we moved down to the next bean bag lounge area and had dinner and more drinks, and this time there were these unbelievable umbrellas with tassels and fringe hanging off of them above the little tables, and there was a boy named Pagus playing guitar and singing the likes of John Mayer and other popular American music. he was actually fantastic. [a lady just walked by me at the hotel with a box of knives balanced on her head trying to sell them.] after the music and drinking we walked home and had a beer and chatted with an Aussie lady we met at the hotel and then promptly passed out of exhaustion. it's been a crazy and eye opening first few days. the Balinese are so kind and just beautiful people, and the city is busy and interesting and full of smells and sounds and it's very very touristy down here. Bintang has already started to taste like water. there are motorbikes everywhere and taxis beep at you as they pass to let you know they're free to drive you somewhere. today we move our things into Neds Hideaway and then hop over to the beach! xx h