Tuesday, April 26, 2005
portsmouth 4 southampton 1
My turn at the helm... so for those that need it, a little relief from football (although apparently even my mum caught Palace - Liverpool; so maybe everyone has now been converted). You might think we'd taken the year off to watch Palace in the Premiership from the way things have been going lately!
Anyway, after the idyllic Gili Air we were off to Ubud - the 'cultural' capital of Bali tourism. I guess that's to differentiate it from the coastal surfer resorts and to encourage people to turn their backs on the beach and head inland to visit. The idea is wander around in the irridesent green rice terraces, see a few Hindu temples and ceremonies (which seem to happen daily) and shop for authentic Balinese style arts and crafts. Check, check and check. Ubud was my dream destination - nice easy walks (no steep hills or altitude) with art workshops cum galleries scattered around the countryside. hiking plus home decorating, if you will. And yes, Auntie Sharon, I bought MORE wicker baskets.
After the Bali bomb and the tsunami Bali is seriously short on tourists and the result is very, very cheap holidays for those who do venture here. Pete and I had a lovely hotel with pool for less than 7 quid. For anyone thinking about Indonesia - go, go now!
As if to prove that Ubud was indeed paradise, we also managed to watch half the football and have, in Pete's words 'THE BEST MEAL in Indonesia' (his emphasis). Now, food in Indonesia can generally be summed up in two words 'fried' and 'rice'... so to be THE BEST FOOD in the ENTIRE COUNTRY is not the high praise it might initially sound. We have been living on 2 absurdly small portions of fried rice topped with a fried egg daily. For me not a problem as I am usually guilty of overeating anyway - but Pete has been suffering. He is not a man to do small portions (are any of the Wylie boys?). So the best meal ever: 2 avocado chocolate shakes (yes, he drank 2 on his own), a huge plate of 5 different veggies cooked in coconut and chilli, a generous portion of beef curry (also with veg) and one small dollop of rice (it's not a meal without rice). He even stormed the kitchen at the end, scaring the crap out of the 3 teenage girls staffing the place and insisted on having the recipe for the avocado shakes!
Middle age beckons (oh yeah - and wait until you see the photos of the hat he bought).
Anyway, after the idyllic Gili Air we were off to Ubud - the 'cultural' capital of Bali tourism. I guess that's to differentiate it from the coastal surfer resorts and to encourage people to turn their backs on the beach and head inland to visit. The idea is wander around in the irridesent green rice terraces, see a few Hindu temples and ceremonies (which seem to happen daily) and shop for authentic Balinese style arts and crafts. Check, check and check. Ubud was my dream destination - nice easy walks (no steep hills or altitude) with art workshops cum galleries scattered around the countryside. hiking plus home decorating, if you will. And yes, Auntie Sharon, I bought MORE wicker baskets.
After the Bali bomb and the tsunami Bali is seriously short on tourists and the result is very, very cheap holidays for those who do venture here. Pete and I had a lovely hotel with pool for less than 7 quid. For anyone thinking about Indonesia - go, go now!
As if to prove that Ubud was indeed paradise, we also managed to watch half the football and have, in Pete's words 'THE BEST MEAL in Indonesia' (his emphasis). Now, food in Indonesia can generally be summed up in two words 'fried' and 'rice'... so to be THE BEST FOOD in the ENTIRE COUNTRY is not the high praise it might initially sound. We have been living on 2 absurdly small portions of fried rice topped with a fried egg daily. For me not a problem as I am usually guilty of overeating anyway - but Pete has been suffering. He is not a man to do small portions (are any of the Wylie boys?). So the best meal ever: 2 avocado chocolate shakes (yes, he drank 2 on his own), a huge plate of 5 different veggies cooked in coconut and chilli, a generous portion of beef curry (also with veg) and one small dollop of rice (it's not a meal without rice). He even stormed the kitchen at the end, scaring the crap out of the 3 teenage girls staffing the place and insisted on having the recipe for the avocado shakes!
Middle age beckons (oh yeah - and wait until you see the photos of the hat he bought).
// posted by courtney and pete @ 23:48 
