Goodbye Bali

Well we were warned and we'd managed to avoid it until today, but Kuta is as bad as everyone says!!

I never thought I'd say that I'd miss the hawkers, traffic, and chaos of Ubud but it's so tame in comparison. The touts here really hassle, the lush vegetation is gone, the tourists are burnt and rowdy, the smiles are fleeting or replaced by frowns (except for D of course), the interesting open architecture replaced by western hotels and malls, the amazing doorways hidden or just missing.

There are some plus points; sunsets over the sea, a horizon, a big beach, decent pavements (we managed to take the buggy for a walk for the first time) a clean sterile mall with good, but expensive food and high chairs!! But give me Ubud any day.

We leave Bali today but have one more month in Asia. First we fly back to KL for a few days then the current plan is to head North...