Day 768 - Final flights

An early departure meant that we'd already completed our thank you's and goodbyes the night before, and at around 6am our taxi came to take us for our final ride to the airport.

At the airport we did airport things and as a bonus got to hang out with Iona who was also flying home to New Zealand today.

The flight from Melbourne to Christchurch was one of growing excitement as we slowly inched the adlibing tour home. The flight over the Southern Alps was the most amazing welcome home, easily illustrating that New Zealand has a goldmine of amazing sights equivalent to the wonders that we travelled so hard to see during our tour through Asia.
It was an excruciating 2 hour wait in Christchurch knowing that we were home in New Zealand but still another flight from our family. When we finally boarded the 45 minute flight to Wellington it seemed to take forever to arrive but the second the seat belt sign was off, we were charging through the arrival gate into the arms of family, some of whom we were meeting for the first time. It was the easiest journey from the airport to our night's accommodation we've ever had and a wonderful way to end the Adlibing Asia tour! To top it all off, we had a home cooked meal waiting for us.

Adlibing it home!!!

Day 767 - Art and Architecture

This morning the three of us headed out by tram to the city where we met Iona at the National Gallery of Victoria. It was great to continue seeing yet another friend that we hadn't had a chance to chill with in many years. Even better is that fact that we'll get to hang out in NZ as well!!

On our way to the Gallery we walked through a chilly Melbourne morning, along the canal and past many aging, but still beautiful, buildings.

At the gallery we were spellbound for hours on end at the Salvador Dali Liquid Desire exhibition that displayed art from his beginnings at age 14 to his masterpieces in his 70s. You could honestly walk through the exhibition and right back to the beginning and still be entranced for a second trip around.

After saying goodbye to Iona, the three of us blended in with the Melbourne lunch crowd at an alleyway cafe before heading on a tram journey around town. The tourist tram that circles Mebouurne city takes in many sites, and best of all is totally free!!

We eventually disembarked near the Melbourne Museum, beside Parliament House, and enjoyed walking around the grounds.

In the evening we had dinner and chilled out with the guys, for our last night before finally returning to that paradise we call home!

Adlibing Dali's work.

Day 766 - Hungover hanging out

While the rest of the crew slept through their hangovers, Liv ventured out and up to the Greek Quarter of Melbourne for a nosy around and a look at the cute shops along the way. After stopping at the supermarket for supplies, Liv returned home way past lunch time to a still-quiet house.

Once the others finally stumbled out of bed, we all headed down to a nearby cafe for lunch and much needed coffee!!

In the evening the boys went to IMAX to watch Transformers, while Liv and Rita hung out at home with Amanda and Esther.

Adlibing a very subdued Sunday.

Day 765 - Alley art and Melbourne Museum

This morning the three of us and Matt and Amanda caught the tram into the city and headed off to check out the graffiti art that covers many of Melbourne's inner city alleyways.

From the allyways we made our way by Historic Red Tram to the lovely State Library of Victoria. Here we looked down on the huge library, complete with green reading lamps, and checked out a few of the exhibitions, including the Ned Kelly one complete with his original armour.

By this stage we were rather starving, so we enjoyed a quick bite at one of the locals favourite sushi bar before wandering our way past more of the city's sites, including a number of glorious churches.

Soon, Adam, Matt and Amanda were ready to pick up drinks and head home to prepare for the evening.

Rita and Liv hung out at a book fair and had afternoon tea, before going to the supermarket to buy supplies for a great dinner and cocktails courtesy of Rita!!!

After chilling at home with cocktails and guests, we headed down to the local bar for a few more drinks.

While Liv crashed out at home, the others headed back into town for a night of djs and dancing, not making their way home till the wee hours of the morning!

Adlibing art.

Day 764 - Classical Mystery Tour

While our hosts went off to work this morning (oh shit, we're going to have to do that soon), the three of us blissfully slept in until around lunch time!!! After that we awoke to a friendly message, breakfast supplies, directions towards shops, and a communication tool we think is called a cell-phone!!

Most of the afternoon was spent doing mundane western things, like buying groceries and winter warms so we don't freeze to death in the southern hemisphere. It's pretty cool to be able to wander the streets, easily reading street names, talk to shop people and follow the full conversation. It's particularly nice to blend in - for the first time in years we don't feel like highly visible tourists even though we actually still are tourists here checking out the sights!

Come evening we caught the tram into town and met for a drink at a proper bar, with great live music, where we had a few drinks before making our way to the the Hamer Hall Arts Centre in central Melbourne.

On the way to the Arts Centre we admired the shining lights that bathe the Melbourne waterways, glorious churches, and a huge Ferris wheel in the distance.

Rory brought Adam back to student days in a hurry by popping wine bottles out of his backpack which we began to drink at pace before being told by police to put it away!!

The next few hours were spent singing along to The Beatles accompanied by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. It was just so spot-on that they almost had us fooled that we were watching The Beatles! Having the orchestra play along with them just heightened the experience - it was great that in such a stunning setting there was nothing wrong with singing along and jumping up in the aisles and having a dance!

At the end of the evening we wandered through town before jumping back on the tram to get back home, where the boys settled into some more drinks and a good chinwag.

Adlibing The Beatles.

Day 763 - Out of Asia

After a not-so-successful sleep, we "woke" up, went shopping at the airport supermarket for breakfast, and set about filling up the hours until our lunch-time flight.


The highlights during this waiting time were buying Liv a pair of shoes at a bargain price, and getting changed into normal clothes (jeans, shoes and jerseys) for our flight back into the Western World! Obviously our last few hours in Asia were fairly non-eventful! There was quite a bit of excitement when we thought we might be able to get some roti channai for lunch, but it wasn't to be!


Just before it was time to board, Rita and Liv went over to the food court and bought mee goreng galore to sustain us for the long flight to Brisbane. You're not meant to bring food onto the Air Asia flights, but being the budgeteers we are there's no way we're going to pay 9 ringit for mee goreng on the plane, when you can get it for 3 ringit at the food court!!


At 11.30am we began the checked in process, in typical Asian style it took an agonisingly long time for a short line to be dealt with before we could passed through security, and went to our gate, where we realised our flight to Melbourne was almost an hour late. Usually this wouldn't matter as we don't really follow any time frames, but our good friends Rory and Matt are meeting us at the airport at midnight, so to make them wait another hour sucks!


As we flew out of Asia for the first time in 2 years (well, 763 days, to be exact), we reflected over what we had done and seen over this time. We feel so blessed to have called Asia our home for 2 years. She treated us like friends , welcomed us like family, and fed us like royalty. Thanks Asia.


At just after midnight we arrived to freezing cold Melbourne, and the smiling faces of friends. Oh, and we need to be careful what we say to each other, as everyone here can understand us!

Adlibing it one step closer to home.

Day 762 - Back to KL one last time

As today is our last day in Bali, we had a few last minute things to do - you know ... shopping, walking along the beach, getting massages, eating Indonesian food - those kinds of things!!! Needless to say we managed to fill our day quite nicely!


When the time came to jump in a taxi and make our way to the airport, it finally dawned on us that our Asian adventure was almost coming to an end - only one more night in Asia left!


At 8pm we boarded our flight back to Kuala Lumpur, and as we flew out over Kuta beach we got to say one final farewell to Bali - the small island paradise that has been our home for almost 3 weeks.


Just before midnight we landed at KL airport, during the quarter of an hour it took us to find a lovely piece of concrete to sleep on the clock What a way to celebrate the last 8 years!!! We tried to ignore the noise (and the fact that we were sleeping on the ground), and get some sleep!!


Adlibing our last night in Asia in the airport!

Day 761 - Last night in Bali

Today is our last full day left in Bali, so we set out the make the most of one of our last days of relaxation.

Apart from buying the things on the shopping list that was emailed to us from mumbles and pops, we managed to get quite of lot of relaxing done today.

Marvellous mango juices and a traditional breakfast at our local was a great start, and later on we had lunch at another fancy restaurant along the beach.

During our shopping expeditions, we enjoyed watching everyday Bali life, where people sell all kinds of things in all kinds of places.We passed many temples adorned in glorious colours where the devoted lay colourful offerings. But the Balinese don't confine the offerings to the temples alone, and on every corner and at every house / shop these beautiful baskets are a sign of their devotion.

After chilling out with our books on our balcony we decided a few aches and pains needed addressing and headed off for a full body massage for the price of a coffee in NZ!!

Utterly relaxed from our massage we decided we should probably indulge once again in another upper class dining experience that we're unlikely to be able to afford back home, and once again capped off the night with a sublime stroll along the beach.

Adlibing meals and massages.

Day 760 - Sunset in paradise

Last night Adam was once again struck down by the recurring mystery Mongolian virus - and after a night of conversation with the toilet, Adam was left rather drained and so we took it easy this morning.

After a late brekky we made use of our balcony and chairs to read, relax and maintain our holiday vibe. It's great to be on holiday and just be able to sit around without that constant push to experience as much of the country you're in.

In the evening we caught another killer sunset. Once again both Balinese and tourists were out in force, enjoying the warm waters and the colours upon them. Adam couldn't resist diving in for a swim, and was eyeing up the surfboards that line the beach. Hopefully he'll have enough energy for another surf before we leave summer and return to the cold climate of New Zealand.

Returning home after dinner, it finally dawned on us just how much stuff we have to transport home, despite giving heaps to mum and dad to take home for us!! We just hope we're able to carry on our fragile stuff, and don't have to wear too many of our clothes on the plane to cut back on weight!!

Adlibing it with piles of stuff.

Day 759 - ATM attacks

This morning Adam shot off for a surfing lesson with our next door neighbour who was set on having Adam ride a real wave instead of heading straight for the beach on the whitewash. A few hours in the water eventually paid off in fist pumping screams of excitement a product of the rush of riding a real wave.

We continued our obsession with shopping, and spent some time at the photo shop getting some of our favourite travel shots blown up and developed.

After an afternoon of lazy beach side activities and a lovely dinner of local cuisine, we headed to the ATM to refill our wallets. And that's when we were attacked, well more like robbed, by the ATM!! After putting in our card and our PIN the ATM decided to give us our money, but keep the card!

This resulted in an evening of hanging out beside the ATM, stopping others using it, and waiting for a technician to come and rescue us. We filled the time by re-telling our favourite Peter stories - even though he departed our adlibing team a few months ago, he still manages to cheer us up and make us laugh!

Luckily we only had to wait an hour and a half, and we got our card back - to be honest we expected many more hours, and possibly a night sleeping beside the ATM. Nice work Bali Bank!

Adlibing it with our card back.

Day 758 - Farewell for now

As it is mumbles and pops' last day in Bali - we decided to give them full control over the activities for the day. We were quite happy with the first selected activity which involved sunning ourselves by the pool, and after exhausting ourselves with this we headed off to the mall at Kuta beach, in search of yet more bargains.

Shopping in the mall seemed so abnormal for us so we kind of just aimlessly wandered around, while mum and dad managed to find some real bargains.

Back out the the heat we had a mammoth task of trying to find a nice but cheap restaurant to eat in and have a beer, as Kuta is really busy and has more upmarket restaurants for the 2-week tourists.

For mum and dad's last dinner, Made came out the join us -unfortunately neither of the kids could come out because last time Putu was on the back of Made's motorbike at night, she fell asleep!! Only in Asia would this happen - could you imagine falling asleep on the back of a motorbike ... and your father continuing to drive home regardless!

It was sad to say goodbye to mumbles and pops, but it's not exactly a long time until we'll be backpacking it in their bedroom downstairs in Wellington!

Adlibing goodbyes.

Day 757 - Throwing a couple of extras into the Bali routine

Much as we've done for the last week, we woke to a beautifully warm, sunny day which enticed us nearer to the beach for our daily breakfast of nasi goreng and mango smoothies. After an exhausting breakfast like that, the only logical step to recover is a trip to the swimming pool!

After 2 years of not buying anything we've kind of let the cheap prices of Bali get the better of us, and day by day the piles of purchases are stacking up. We spent most of the morning haggling with shop owners before dragging our purchases home.

In the afternoon we hung out at the beach, and though on holiday and spending up large, we're still too cheap to pay for umbrellas and so ended up caked in sand after our salty swim.In the evening just the two of us had a romantic dinner at our favourite sea side restaurant, where we indulged in dishes that are expensive by Bali standards are a pittance of what we'd pay in New Zealand for a nice dinner out.

We had watched the sun settle over the horizon while we ate, and then walked along the starlit beach to get home.

Adlibing a starry night.

Day 756 - To do list

Wake up whenever
Wander in search of a cheap street-side brekky
Visit mumbles and pops (and their pool!)
Swim
Laze in the sun beside the pool
Amble along the beach front in search of a lunch spot with a view
Check emails
Shop for family (gifts galore!)
Pick up brand new, tailor-made suits
Buy beer for fridge
Visit family again
Evening meal with the surf in the background
Go to sleep to the sound of Bali

Adlibing an accomplished list.

Day 755 – A misty volcano

Once again we jumped in the car and battled with the Balinese traffic and its seemingly rule-less set of drivers! The further into our 2 and a half hour drive we got the more rural and beautiful it got – soon we were climbing through small villages based around rice paddies.

This is short flight from NZ, but the scenery couldn't be more different: bamboo forests are harvested and pointy hats bend over fields with handfuls of green plants to be submerged in mud. Matching the difference in scenery is the lifestyle where barefooted women balance everything from buckets of water to food to bundles of firewood on their head, one we noticed while balancing her load was walking down steep steps, with a child in her arms.

Although we had to resort to the map a lot, we made it to the base of Mt Agung (the day's destination) without much hassle. Here we got to see the Puru Pasar Agung (Mt temple) shrouded in a blanket of mist. While this gave it a surreal feeling it also meant that we couldn't see the volcano we were about to climb, nor the views down over Bali.

We wandered through the forest for an hour or 2, but eventually headed back due to too limited time and the mist that was gradually suffocating more and more of the scenery.

Before reaching the car we stopped to enjoy a picnic lunch – Rita's introduction to vegemite was a complete failure, but not unexpected!!

We wound our way along the coastal roads back to Legian where we all separated to rest our weary bodies – it's just not right to wake up before 7am on your holiday!!

In the evening the original Adlibers hung out at a cheapy restaurant attempting to maintain a grasp on their cheap travelling days - none of this hiring cars business!! Though we love having mumbles and pops do it for us!!

Adlibing it with a chauffeur.

Day 754 – Small town life

With pops in the driving seat the 5 of us headed out for the 1 and a half hour drive to see Made and the family again. On the way we stopped of at a beautiful black sand beach, just add variety to the beaches we're experiences on our Balinese getaway!

Our arrival in Gianjar was overshadowed by the death of Made's uncle, but ever the welcoming family, we were treated to cold drinks before we left mumbles to have a financial chat with the parents. In the meantime the rest of us were shown around Gianjar by Putu – the eldest daughter of Made and Niluh. It was great fun submerging ourselves in a non-touristy market and enjoying the colours that caught our eyes from all directions: fruit and veges in one corner, bright flowers in another, and then all the temple clothing and offerings one needs to led the Hindu life that most Balinese follow.

The only hiccup in the market adventure was the disappearance of Rita – not really a problem but for 12 year old tour guide Putu it was a major disaster, until our missing person was re-found!

Back at the house Niluh had once again cooked up a total traditional feast for us, and then afterwards Made showed us around the kitchen and educated us on the process of making ceremonial cooked chicken. This is Niluh's part time business, and the day after tomorrow she had an order of 25 chickens to cook – all on wood fires and a clay oven. Made continued the education by showing an interested Adam how to carry 50 litres of water to the cows each morning, and having a good laugh as Adam attempted to be a Balinese waterboy. Depsite our own personal detour on route to Gianjar to a black sand beach, Made insisted on showing us new bungalow developments at the water's edge, just in case we were interested in buying some Bali land! The beach was lovely, and watching the families collecting shellfish at the tideline was enjoyable.

From here we decided to take a drive through nearby Ubud – a thriving arts town full of rice fields and galleries. The drive took us through upmarket areas along one road and then in the blink of an eye into rundown streets where kids flew kites amongst the green foliage.

Unfortunatly we didn't know where on earth we were going and managed to get ourselves quite lost – but we had a great time looking around the things we did find before getting the car in gear and heading towards out beachside home.

When we got home we found a message from our friends Sean and Wendy who we met in Thailand and caught up with in Malaysia. They are now in Bali so we met up for dinner and a great catch up on all their adventures through Indonesia over the last 2 months.

Adlibing family and friends.

Day 753 – Slow start

This morning we managed to sleep in and then chillax the morning away by reading on our porch while frangipanis fluttered down from the trees that fill the courtyard of our wonderful losmen (homestay/guesthouse). We were so lucky to get this room, as we came just as someone checked out and we leave the day before the next booking – otherwise the whole place is booked up for months!

We wandered down the street and decided to have lunch on our own as we haven't had much time as just the original adlibers in the last few months, and then joined mumbles and pops on their balcony for some more chats, drinks and snacks.

In the evening we went for a wander to find somewhere for dinner, and the manager of Goodys convinced us to dine at his Italian/Greek place by giving us 10% off the bill – woohoo!!

Unfortunately we couldn't find a phone to call Mindy on her birthday but we did squeeze in an email: Happy Birthday Big Sis!!!

Adlibing an even slower end.

Day 752 – A good ol' day of doing nothing much!

We're loving the Bali holiday life so much at the moment! It really seems like we're on holiday mode, just taking our time and chilling out! We spent the morning at our wonderful guesthouse, then managed to wile away the afternoon hours eating, swimming and hanging out with mumbles and pops. Suprisingly enough we had another delicious meal for dinner, with great company!

Adlibing the Bali life!

Day 751 - Surfing

Around 10am, quite a nice hour to be heading out, we wandered down to the beach with our neighbour's surfboard in hand. While Liv stood on the sidelines Adam attempted to ride waves for the first time in about 3 years. After an eternity of getting smashed by waves on his way out beyond the breakers, Liv ended up missing Adam standing up and riding the very first wave he paddled for!! Not to worry though, there were plenty more after that, and soon Adam was riding in exhausted after less than 2 hours in the water. Adam strutted on the walk back home, blending in with everyone else with a board under their arms, and finally met up with Liv at the JK pool. The hours by the pool drifted away while the sun gently dried us between dips in the water. In the afternoon Adam and Pops headed to a bar to watch the All Blacks play Italy – as most tourists in Bali seem to be Australian is wasn't surprising that they were the only 2 in the whole bar! At least they got their drinks quickly, and Adam's first All Blacks game in 2 years was a victory!

In the meantime Liv and mumbles were off walking the streets in search of a bargain, ending up at the supermarket for a stock up on snacks to go with the drinks that occupy most of our peaceful evenings on the balcony.

The Adlibers took mumbles and pops out for a cheapy dinner at the place Adam dined alone at yesterday – although the ambience isn't quite the same, the local Balinese food was excellent!

Adlibing it like a surfer.

Day 750 - Birthday bliss

Even though Liv's birthday isn't for another 4 weeks, she got truly spoilt today in advance! First off, Carly treated her to a 2 hour massage and body scrub – which mum and dad couldn't resist partaking in! It was 2 hours full of blissful pampering that an exhausted traveller's body was well in need of!

In the meantime Adam was waiting to see if our hotel neighbour would return from his morning's surfing in time for Adam to hit the waves, but it was not to be … hopefully tomorrow!
For lunch, the girls went out for lunch by the beach, while Adam had a cheap meal and then some beers at the JK with Pops.

With Carly's departure time looming, the day's schedule only allowed for an hour of pool time – which the girls filled with practising roly-polys in the water! The last item on Carly's must-do list was to return to the jewellry shop from yesterday and get some more beautiful pieces – and it was here that Liv was treated to birthday present number 2, with mumbles buying her 2 lovely pairs of earings!!

For dinner we ate at yet another beachside restaurant – we're getting used to these fancy restaurants where the food is presented as amazing as it tastes.

Just before 9pm Liv and mumbles took a taxi to the airport with Carly to say our last goodbyes until we can catch up again in NZ – which hopefully won't be too far away! The boys happily occupied the balcony with beers in hand – seeing an end to another day in the Balinese paradise.

Adlibing an advanced birthday.

Day 749 - Pools and jewels

Our bodies are getting into the swing of being on holiday, so by the time we finished breakfast it was well into the heat of the mid morning, with only one solution: the JK swimming pool!! And here it was that we spent the next few hours in and out of the refreshing water!

Just before lunch time we went out shopping with Carly, where poor Adam got stuck in jewellery shop after jewellery shop while the girls window shopped to their hearts desires! There was no consolation in the lunch stop, as the restaurant let down our taste buds.

After more time at the pool and hanging out with Mumbles and Pops, we wandered out to the beach (a very draining 15m away) to enjoy watching the sun disappear for another day.

After a great meal with Made for Kim and Russell's last night, Liv set off for another night at Carly's hotel for some much needed sister time, before Carl heads back to Auckland tomorrow night.

Adlibing jewellery.

Day 748 – An unfinished giant

As Liv had a sleepover at Carly's hotel last night, Adam met the girls for brekky by the pool, before we wandered over to the JK to meet the rest of the gang!

From there we jumped in a car, with Russell as driver and Pops as navigator, and headed out for the GWK – a cultural centre with a supposedly huge statue of Garuda and Wishnu. Mumbles, Pops, Kim and Russell came here about 4 years ago when the statue was still in the process of being built and wanted to see the final product – however it seems that since then nothing's been done and the statue is just the same!!The vision is that the final product will soar 150m into the sky with a wingspan of over 60m! Obviously this vision isn't going to be realised any time soon!! Oh well, it was a nice drive out there, and after navigator Pops took us on a wrong road, we ended up with great views out over the ocean and the volcano looming in the distance.

On the way home we popped into Jimbaran Bay, a quiet beach with blue water and golden sand that's home to a fishing fleet that was gently bobbing in the swell.

We soaked in some rays with our feet submerged in the soft sand and gazed over the waters towards our home at Legian beach.

Once we returned home we went straight to the JK for some time by the pool. Even though the temperature in Bali is much better than the furnace of Malaysia, there's nothing like diving into the clean and clear waters of a swimming pool before lazing on a deck chair and reading the afternoon away. In the evening Carly and Rita helped us order some tailor-made suits – a process that can do anyone's head in: choose the tailor, choose the fabric, choose the style (from an 80s magazine) and then negotiate the price!!! Then walk away with fingers crossed that it'll all work out ok!
We then spent the rest of the night eating great food with our family – something we haven't had until this week, and a clear example of life's simple pleasures.

Adlibing it before it's done.

Day 747 – Living the hard life

If we didn't have flights already booked that would take us away from this island dream, it's quite likely we'd easily lose ourselves in today's daily routine. A lazy morning at the pool with mum and dad, lunch at a streetside restaurant with Carly, then shopping at the many small shops along the streets, an afternoon at the pool, and finally dinner overlooking the ocean while the waves sing their song. Not too much to complain about, and definitely a holiday period unlike our last 2 years of travelling!

Adlibing it on holiday.

Day 746 - Sneaking into the pool

Before checking out of our fancy room, we found a cheap one around the corner, then hung around until checkout to use the pool - we had to take advantage of it while we had it!!!It doesn't really matter that our new cheap place doesn't have a pool, because we just headed over to the JK where were found mumbles and pops by the pool, with chairs and towels already reserved for us! Thanks Jayakarta!!!

We managed to wile away the morning and early afternoon by the pool, before Carly and Jody arrived, and we decided to change scenes and go out for lunch at Batu Belig beach about 4km away. The taxi ride there took us past typical Balinese shops and the odd temple squeezed in amongst it all! We had a great meal with the waves striking the beach and providing the background music, and since we're on holiday and have time up our sleeves, we walked the 4km back along the beach. As we ate up the sandy distance we tried to avoid walking on the mini crab villages dotted out of the sand - it's really cool to see: the crabs make tiny little balls of sand as they dig their holes deeper, and as the sand balls roll on the surface they create neat little patterns. We made it back to the JK in time for the sunset, which was amazing!It was almost like we got treated to 2 sunsets, as it reflected in the thin layer of water still lazing on the flat sand. It was really cool to see everyone (locals and tourists) out and about, making the most of the cool evening - football games with mixed local/tourist teams, tennis, running, and even a father out teaching his sons karate and stretches. After some refreshing ales and chips on the balcony we went out for dinner down the road. Even though the men asked for their food spicy, it came out pretty mild and had to be spiced up with bowls of freshly chopped chillies - Adam learnt the hard way that you shouldn't touch your face after handling these red-hot chillies!! We figure that other tourists come in asking for spicy food, but can't actually handle it, which is why the meals came out mild - little do they know that these guys love their chillies!!

The people staying in the fancy JK (ie mumbles, pops, Kim and Russell) were keen to check out the rooms of the budget travellers, and then we all settled in for the night.

Adlibing it along the beach.