Relaxing Bali, Indonesia

Destination: Bali, Indonesia
Time of travel: May 2014
Duration: 10 days
Travel plan: 7 days on Bali, 2 in Jakarta

Bali, for us, meant total relaxation. We left the hiking boots behind and grabbed along a couple of books to enjoy by the pool. We didn't run up a volcano, instead hired a driver to take us there. Bali was the perfect destination for an easy going trip like this; it's affordable, touristic enough for all the services you'll ever need and the climate is lovely.

Location & Hotel

We stayed in the brand new 4* hotel Swiss-Belresort Watu Jimbar in small town of Sanur on the southeast coast of the island of Bali. Sanur is quite peaceful, smaller town with good connections to nearby attractions. Sanur is tranquil and, as we read, a more luxurious destination. Well, not sure if luxurious is really the best adjective to describe it but it definitely was free of all of parties which was exactly what we were looking for.

Swiss-Belresort Watu Jimbar was an excellent hotel. We loved the airiness of it, the modern brand-new look, huge pool with sun loungers in the water. Sounds good? It was even better, actually! Can you imagine a jacuzzi on your balcony, a'la carte breakfast with beautiful little portions made just for you and an amazing coconut creme brûlée? Oh yes, it was heaven!

The heavenliness of it all was shattered slightly when it got a little more crowded because of a holiday in South-Korea and Japan. Suddenly the hotel was packed and even though it was still lovely, they decided to drop the a'la carte breakfast and turned it into a buffet. Still very delicious, though, just a little less luxurious.


Activities

Snorkelling:

Sanur is an excellent location for snorkelling - with some incredibly amazing Manta Rae's! You do need to book yourself a snorkelling trip as the locations to spot Manta Rae's aren't accessible unless you have a boat and know where to look. While Toni was in the water totally amazed by these deadly beautiful creatures swimming right under him, Kris was, well, unintentionally feeding the fish from the boat. Even though the weather on the island was amazing the whole time, the sea was a little unpredictable and we were caught in a huge storm lasting for about 15 minutes.

Aside the beautiful Manta Rae's we snorkelled in three different locations and saw some amazing sea life. This is definitely something we'd recommend for everybody going to Bali.

Massages:

The typical Asian treat - massage! Find the best massage salon in town and go there every day. Or at least as often as you can. On Sanur, we warmly recommend Koa. The staff was amazing and none of them stood by the road yelling "Massage, massage!". Sort of classier than the rest.


Sunrise:

Not sure if getting up at 5:30 is really your thing? With the sun rising straight from the ocean on the Sanur beach, this is an ideal location to catch the sunrise. Grab a flash light for the road.

Rent a scooter? It was fun and totally worth it but Bali is a relatively large island with a lot of traffic. Driving around on a scooter was rather uncomfortable due to long distances and crazy traffic.

Shopping? Jakarta is an amazing shopping location with huge malls of western and local brands. We tremendously enjoyed shopping in Jakarta. The selection of things to buy is amazing. Prices are about the same as in Europe. Not much to buy on Bali, though even though there are some shopping centres (didn't visit!).

Bali is a great destination for a relaxing vacation. Selection of hotels is great, sea water is warm and it's a great choice all in all.

Would we travel there again? Well, maybe not but we're definitely happy we've been there!

As if nothing ever happened. Our Macedonian adventure.

Destination: Skopje, FYR Macedonia / Thessaloniki, Greece
Time of travel: August 2014
Duration: 10 days in total
Travel plan: Thessaloniki, Greece - Skopje, FYR Macedonia - Prizren, Kosovo - Sofia, Bulgaria - Skopje - Thessaloniki.

16:59
We stared at the empty bus platform where our bus was supposed to be. We ran back to the ticketing counter, where we stood with the bus driver just a couple of minutes earlier, to check if we got the platform wrong but they said it must have left early. 

Our Greek driver actually left ahead of schedule. 

Next bus was leaving the next morning and there were no trains either. The lady at the ticketing counter called the bus driver and asked him to wait by the Hilton hotel in Skopje and we were told to catch a taxi and drive there. There were no buses by the hotel. 

We call again and again while our taxi chases the bus. He said he'll wait but he was no where to be found. We drive further yet nothing. The bus was out of sight. We had been chasing him for a good half an hour him telling us he'll wait but he actually didn't.

With a hiking trip all planned for the next morning and a trail guide waiting for us in Thessaloniki we had no time to waste. With no hotel in Skopje and dragging two large suitcases with two smaller ones we weren't up for a hitchhike either. 

What to do.. 
Where to go..

Our taxi driver was shaking his dark haired, lightly tanned head. He was probably around 45 years old, thin man, who had been driving this illegal taxi in Skopje for over 20 years. His car and him looked like they knew the roads of this country. Yet they both had certain charm about them. They were warm, friendly, just a little scruffy.

With our limited Macedonian, the taxi drivers limited English and equally limited Russian we started discussing the options. He couldn't drive further because of the old motor he had in his car, according to the driver. It was an old Volvo or Mercedes, from the 70's probably. The black color had faded into slightly brownish black, with a hint of rust here and there.

He called a couple of friends and finally we were getting somewhere. 150 EUR to drive to Thessaloniki from Skopje. Our haggling attempt led to the new driver, a friend of the first driver, rolling his eyes and almost driving off.

17:40
After about 30 minutes driving outside the city we felt the car nudging a little every now and then. Then the driver started calling on his phone and sighing. Eventually we ask if everything's ok. He shakes his head, stops the car, says he is not sure, and stares at the open hood for a while, yet we manage to continue driving for a while. He wasn't sure what it was but it was indeed  something and he was afraid to drive across the border. He stopped at the gas station to get some water. He bought three bottles. One for each of us.

Some more calling followed, he was trying to find someone to drive us from the border to the city -  an hour and a half drive away.

Matka canyon near Skopje.

20:15
We were at the border right after the sunset. A guy with a rough voice, bodybuilders physique, shaved head and some miscellaneous tattoos pulled over with his yellow old Mercedes to pick us up. He didn't speak much and his driving habits were terrifying. 

The sun had gone down and it was dark already when we passed our passports to the border control. They had a few words with our driver; asking about how his family is and making few jokes. It sort of assured us that we'll get to our destination safely. 

Almost there

We were about to reach Thessaloniki when he asked for the address of the hotel. We both put it into our navigators yet he was taking us to a completely different direction. We pointed it out but he insisted he knew where he was going. 

We passed the city and it was getting darker again with less street lighting and less houses. We were getting a little worried.

We asked him to stop again yet he claimed he knew where he was going.

Finally we demanded him to stop.

21:45
Tony and the driver went to a cafe to ask for directions when a lovely elderly gentleman said he knows the place and insisted to show us the way on his scooter. Off we went following this incredible Greek in our yellow taxi cab along the long streets of Thessaloniki. Every now and then he looked back at us, showing where to drive next. 

The lovely Greek was gone as fast as he appeared when we reached the hotel. Off he drove on his red scooter and white hair.

22:00
The kind Macedonian driver helped us with our luggage and off he went. Half an hour later we sat at the restaurant of our hotel munching on some Greek delicacies with a glass of Italian wine as if nothing ever happened.