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Matilda - Buzzin About Bali



We made it to Bali after not our most enjoyable leg. Getting in to Benoa Port at night went relatively smoothly, although we did encounter a pleasure boat fishing without any lights filling up half the channel; fortunately we saw it in time and Jonathan left the guy in no doubt about his views on his seamanship. Peat Smoke did an excellent job of assisting with the rafting and the welcome ''wee dram''. I think I might be nominating them for some sort of sainthood.

Upon arrival, we decided to hire a motor scooter to meet up with my brother Steve and his wife Julie later that afternoon. Almost immediately we encountered one of the many police roadblocks that appear to be there solely to fleece tourists who hire motor scooters. At first it was claimed our registration wasn't in order, then it was because we didn't have an international driving licence (apparently you still get fined even if you can produce one). In the end we gave the police the keys to the bike (much to the surprise of the officer) and told the hire company to collect it - Jonathan even got his money back from the hire company! After a bit of a walk we found Steve's hotel and had a very pleasant afternoon/evening, swimming in their pool and a lovely meal at one of their restaurants.

The next day we went off into Depansar to get a tourist driving licence, which we were assured would give us free passage without the fines (the size of the fines vary depending on your negotiating skills - all very puzzling). It actually proved to be a really interesting and enjoyable experience. We got adopted by one of the policemen who saw us through the whole process in around 20 minutes. At the end of it all Jonathan ended up with a really impressive plastic driving licence complete with photo and fingerprint. When we have produced it since it causes great interest - the locals haven't seen many of them, even the police have passed it around amongst themselves at road blocks - and so far no more fines.

The prize-giving was good fun, increased thanks to the efforts of Umineko who set up their Karaoke machine in the bar. I think I can safely say there are few World ARCers who could make second careers as crooners, but what we lack in style we make up in enthusiasm, particularly the girls. Although the rendition of "'Crazy'" will probably have had Patsy Cline spinning like a gyroscope, it was done with great emotion, well, decibels - well done girls.

After seeing the other World ARC boats off to Christmas Island on Monday (we have decided to stay on a bit longer and go straight to Cocos), we shared a taxi with Mark and Pau to Ubud, a town in more centrally located famous for its Monkeyforest, Temple and sanctuary; it's also a scenic town. We said our final goodbye to the lads when we got there - we will all miss those guys, their attitude was amazing and always good company. I will particularly remember how they helped out with Ensemble in Suwarrow - after being up most of the night bailing, they continued to work pretty much all the next day underwater fixing the holes. Such a shame they have to go off and finish their education - pretty poor excuse I think.

In Ubud we managed to negotiate a great rate at a hotel, by the simple expedient of going on to Trip Advisor (or equivalent), and booking through that, after being quoted double the price from the hotel directly. When we got there again, clutching our confirmed booking we were immediately upgraded to a Deluxe room - it all makes no sense to me. Yesterday we motor-scootered up to the North of the island and then back through the volcanos and lakes. Spectacular scenery, really reminded me of Switzerland, if they had paddy fields. We then encountered lots of temple celebrations causing mega traffic issues - fortunately we managed to get back in one piece.

Well back to the Marina this afternoon and preparations for the sail to Cocos - which we hope will mean we get some wind, although there does not sound to be a lot from those on their way to Christmas. Hopefully it will buck up its ideas for when we get underway.


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