Flew into Bali after watching England play cricket in New Zealand for a few weeks. I headed down to the south of Bali, staying not near the beach but more central. However I then hired a scooter to get around the area and sightsee on.

I took in quite a few places. Starting on the west side I went to Uluwatu temple. The temple itself is not so much to see, it is more the views out over the surrounding cliffs that are impressive. As I had visited in the daytime I did not see the cultural show in the evening, this was recommended by other travellers though.

Moving round on to the bottom of the island, on the south coast is Greenbowl beach. Which is really beautiful, but it is a hundred or so steps down from the road to the beach. This can be pretty tiring in the high temperatures, but worth it once you get down to the beach.

A note on travelling around by motorbike. The local police often stop tourists to check for licenses and details. Upon stopping you there is always some problem resulting in them needing to ‘fine’ you. This is when they ask for a sum of money, perhaps up to 500,000 rupiah. As I only carry a little bit of cash I could only give him a lesser amount (100,000 rupiah) which he took before telling me to move on. My advice would be polite, hopefully only have to give them a small amount of baksheesh, and accept that it is a standard practise in some places of the world.

After a couple of days here I went to Sanur to catch a speed boat to Nusa Lembongan island. Here I stayed a few days each in both Jungutbatu then Mushroom Bay. Again I hired a scooter to explore and take in the views across the island. You can cross the yellow bridge (pedestrians and motorbikes only) to Nusa Ceningan and explore there too.