Thursday, April 5, 2012
Water Sports in Nusa Dua
On Thursday, we headed to Nusa Dua for a day of water sports. Nusa Dua is still in the south of Bali, but on the east coast. The water sport company Bali Jet Set Dive and Marine Sports picked us up from our villas. When we arrived, we got to select the sports we wanted to sign up for. About half the group decided to SCUBA, while the rest of us picked a few other activities.
Bali Jet Set was really nice. They had a restaurant, pool, and a bunch of lounge chairs and umbrellas on the beach. The view from the ground wasn't all that pretty, but the view from above was great. Its set on an inset of the ocean and the water looks all murky. We met the owner, who is from the US, but moved to Bali to start this company. She said there are lots of water sports businesses on Bali, but only three of them are actually certified.
The SCUBA crew had a two hour training in the pool and about an hour out in the water, which gave the rest of us plenty of time for other activities.
First, everyone in our (non-SCUBA) group tried the "Flying Fish." This sooooo would NEVER be legal in the US (or at least I wouldn't think so). Basically there is a large floating raft with spots for two people to lay down on their backs. There is nothing strapping you into the raft; you simply hold on to two straps and then rest your feet on part of the raft. Once your "secure," the raft gets towed by a boat out on the water. Oh, and there is another guy/guide sitting on the raft with you. Once the boat gets enough speed, the guide lifts up the raft, so it goes airborn. Then you are basically like a kite in the sky until the guide lands you back on the water. They send you airborn three times. I screamed the first time, especially since my feet we're planted firm enough and I felt like I was going to fly off the thing. The view from up above was really pretty!
Some of the group jet skied. A guide goes out with you on the jet ski, which I had never seen before, but they said the guides let them do all the driving and they could go anywhere they wanted.
Next it was time for parasailing. This ended up being a somewhat stressful outing and I was a bit disappointed with how it all worked. I wouldn't recommend parasailing (in Bali)...it looked like all the businesses followed the same procedures.
So basically, they brought us to the parasailing spot by boat. When we got to the location, they made us get out of the boat and stand in waist-deep water while we waited for our turn. It was all slimy with seaweed and there were super sharp rocks. They put a blue glove on one of your hands hand and a red glove on the other, which corresponded with two of the lines on the parachute. When it was your turn, the parachute would come down and they would very quickly attach your harness to the parachute and let you go. The view from up top was gorgeous!
You were supposed to keep an eye on the water down below to see when they started waving the blue flag at you. When you saw the blue flag, you were supposed to pull on the blue line of your parachute to help bring yourself down. When it came time for me to pull on it, I started pulling. As I started to come down they were all screaming at me to pull harder...I was already using both hands and all my strength, but I guess it wasn't good enough for them. Finally I was low enough for them to grab me. Six people rush me and unhooked me, before shoving the next person in. Then they start yelling at me that I didn't see the blue flag. Sorry there were 50 people standing in the water and I missed you. Geez!
So overall it was stressful and I felt like I was getting screamed at a lot. I much preferred my parasailing experience in Hawaii when I got to stay on the boat the whole time and they reeled me in and out. They also let us float down to the water and then pulled us back up in the air, which was cool.
Once our whole group was done, we stood around for a few minutes trying to figure out when/how we would get back to Bali Jet Set since our boat just dropped us off there and left. Finally they came with jet skis to get us.
Jen and I had planned on snorkeling as well, but we ran out of time and the first two activities seemed like enough excitement for one day. Good excuse to go back though! You always have to leave something out so you need to go back :)
We had a long lunch at Bali Jet Set (some confusion with orders, but that is bound to happen when there's a language barrier). The food was just ok, but the view and the company were great!
The prices were pretty reasonable. If we participated in two things, we got a 20% discount, and if we did three activities, we got a 25% discount. For my two activities and lunch, I spent about $50. They took credit card.
Fun day for sure!
Oh, and the SCUBA people said they had a good experience. They said the visibility wasn't very good, but that it was probably weather related. They saw lots of tropical fish and soft coral.
Pictures coming soon...
Bali Jet Set was really nice. They had a restaurant, pool, and a bunch of lounge chairs and umbrellas on the beach. The view from the ground wasn't all that pretty, but the view from above was great. Its set on an inset of the ocean and the water looks all murky. We met the owner, who is from the US, but moved to Bali to start this company. She said there are lots of water sports businesses on Bali, but only three of them are actually certified.
The SCUBA crew had a two hour training in the pool and about an hour out in the water, which gave the rest of us plenty of time for other activities.
First, everyone in our (non-SCUBA) group tried the "Flying Fish." This sooooo would NEVER be legal in the US (or at least I wouldn't think so). Basically there is a large floating raft with spots for two people to lay down on their backs. There is nothing strapping you into the raft; you simply hold on to two straps and then rest your feet on part of the raft. Once your "secure," the raft gets towed by a boat out on the water. Oh, and there is another guy/guide sitting on the raft with you. Once the boat gets enough speed, the guide lifts up the raft, so it goes airborn. Then you are basically like a kite in the sky until the guide lands you back on the water. They send you airborn three times. I screamed the first time, especially since my feet we're planted firm enough and I felt like I was going to fly off the thing. The view from up above was really pretty!
Some of the group jet skied. A guide goes out with you on the jet ski, which I had never seen before, but they said the guides let them do all the driving and they could go anywhere they wanted.
Next it was time for parasailing. This ended up being a somewhat stressful outing and I was a bit disappointed with how it all worked. I wouldn't recommend parasailing (in Bali)...it looked like all the businesses followed the same procedures.
So basically, they brought us to the parasailing spot by boat. When we got to the location, they made us get out of the boat and stand in waist-deep water while we waited for our turn. It was all slimy with seaweed and there were super sharp rocks. They put a blue glove on one of your hands hand and a red glove on the other, which corresponded with two of the lines on the parachute. When it was your turn, the parachute would come down and they would very quickly attach your harness to the parachute and let you go. The view from up top was gorgeous!
You were supposed to keep an eye on the water down below to see when they started waving the blue flag at you. When you saw the blue flag, you were supposed to pull on the blue line of your parachute to help bring yourself down. When it came time for me to pull on it, I started pulling. As I started to come down they were all screaming at me to pull harder...I was already using both hands and all my strength, but I guess it wasn't good enough for them. Finally I was low enough for them to grab me. Six people rush me and unhooked me, before shoving the next person in. Then they start yelling at me that I didn't see the blue flag. Sorry there were 50 people standing in the water and I missed you. Geez!
So overall it was stressful and I felt like I was getting screamed at a lot. I much preferred my parasailing experience in Hawaii when I got to stay on the boat the whole time and they reeled me in and out. They also let us float down to the water and then pulled us back up in the air, which was cool.
Once our whole group was done, we stood around for a few minutes trying to figure out when/how we would get back to Bali Jet Set since our boat just dropped us off there and left. Finally they came with jet skis to get us.
Jen and I had planned on snorkeling as well, but we ran out of time and the first two activities seemed like enough excitement for one day. Good excuse to go back though! You always have to leave something out so you need to go back :)
We had a long lunch at Bali Jet Set (some confusion with orders, but that is bound to happen when there's a language barrier). The food was just ok, but the view and the company were great!
The prices were pretty reasonable. If we participated in two things, we got a 20% discount, and if we did three activities, we got a 25% discount. For my two activities and lunch, I spent about $50. They took credit card.
Fun day for sure!
Oh, and the SCUBA people said they had a good experience. They said the visibility wasn't very good, but that it was probably weather related. They saw lots of tropical fish and soft coral.
Pictures coming soon...
Kecak and Fire Dance at the Uluwatu Temple
On the night of the 4th, we went to check out the Uluwatu Temple and to see a traditional Balinese show.
The Uluwatu Temple also has a lot of monkeys. We were told that the monkeys here are much more aggressive because they are not well taken care of. We were advised not to wear anything shiny, like earrings or sunglasses, and to hang on tight to our cameras and wallets. I was a little nervous, but for the most part the monkeys stuck to themselves. We did see one woman's sandal get stolen though. The monkey grabbed it and ran up into a tree. One of the guides was able to retrieve it by giving the monkey some candy, but the sandal had definitely been chewed up by then. Its basically teaching the monkeys to steal to get treats, but I guess it works to get people's things back. We were told that in the next few years the monkeys will probably be able to pick pockets.
Aside from the monkeys, the temple has some really pretty views of the cliffs and the ocean.
After a quick walk around the temple and some photos against the pretty backdrop, we headed over to watch the Kecak and Fire Dance show. The performance reinacts a story from Balinese history. There is no speaking, so it would have been hard to follow without reading the story first on the handout we were given.
Kecak is a way of creating sounds......
The dancers in the show had some very ornate costumes and makeup. They were able to use their hands and feet in very interesting ways as part of the dance.
Honestly, the show wasn't that long, but I was getting bored by the end. It was super cool to see, and I would recommend going to a cultural show such as this, but it just didn't hold my interest for the whole time.
Pictures/video coming soon...
The Uluwatu Temple also has a lot of monkeys. We were told that the monkeys here are much more aggressive because they are not well taken care of. We were advised not to wear anything shiny, like earrings or sunglasses, and to hang on tight to our cameras and wallets. I was a little nervous, but for the most part the monkeys stuck to themselves. We did see one woman's sandal get stolen though. The monkey grabbed it and ran up into a tree. One of the guides was able to retrieve it by giving the monkey some candy, but the sandal had definitely been chewed up by then. Its basically teaching the monkeys to steal to get treats, but I guess it works to get people's things back. We were told that in the next few years the monkeys will probably be able to pick pockets.
Aside from the monkeys, the temple has some really pretty views of the cliffs and the ocean.
After a quick walk around the temple and some photos against the pretty backdrop, we headed over to watch the Kecak and Fire Dance show. The performance reinacts a story from Balinese history. There is no speaking, so it would have been hard to follow without reading the story first on the handout we were given.
Kecak is a way of creating sounds......
The dancers in the show had some very ornate costumes and makeup. They were able to use their hands and feet in very interesting ways as part of the dance.
Honestly, the show wasn't that long, but I was getting bored by the end. It was super cool to see, and I would recommend going to a cultural show such as this, but it just didn't hold my interest for the whole time.
Pictures/video coming soon...
Padang Padang Beach
On Wednesday, January 4th we had a free day with nothing planned. We got a recommendation to go to Padang Padang Beach. It was only about a five minute drive from our villas, so we hopped in some vans and headed over for a day in the sun.
We had to walk down a bunch of stairs in between rocks to reach the beach. When we came out at the bottom, we were greeted with a gorgeous beach! The sand was soft and the water was crystal clear. There were cool rock formations that created a cove. We had a fun day laying out, swimming, drinking Bintang and eating noodles delivered right to you on the beach.
Pictures coming soon...
We had to walk down a bunch of stairs in between rocks to reach the beach. When we came out at the bottom, we were greeted with a gorgeous beach! The sand was soft and the water was crystal clear. There were cool rock formations that created a cove. We had a fun day laying out, swimming, drinking Bintang and eating noodles delivered right to you on the beach.
Pictures coming soon...
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