Sunday 9 August 2015

Bali

Our original plan had been to spend these last two nights in Solo, but the hotel there had cancelled on us due to maintenance issues. After mulling over our options we had decided to spend those two nights in Kaliurang and Yogyakarta instead, but we had a flight to Bali from Solo airport. Since it was in the early afternoon we had plenty of time to catch the train there. Timetables for the luxury trains were against us so we had to go for a local train. We were a bit worried; apparently they can get very full and are a pain with kids and luggage. It was so cheap we decided to give it a try, we could always find a car to take us there.

In the end the train was amazing. Aircon, 4 seats for the whole tribe, nice and clean and not crowded at all. Over an hour's trip at 53 cents a ticket, bargain. It did get a bit crowded at the next station (don't know why people don't bother going to the first station, which is just a mile away, to get a guaranteed seat). Got to the airport in plenty of time with no hassles.

From the aeroplane we saw a small eruption which was quite exciting. A big plume of ash was coming off a volcano to our right. Nobody seemed too bothered but we all shamelessly rushed to an unoccupied window cameras in hand.

Bali is an hour behind Java, so we had time to quickly visit the beach and even have a quick dip. We have been warned that Bali beaches aren't as idyllic as you might think, and this one definitely wasn't. It was however very lively, with loads of locals swimming, chilling and eating. Obviously we picked up a few bites from some of the stalls and vendors. Even the kids liked some of it, especially a sort of flat fried thingy (minus the peanut sauce).

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