Sunday Session

Cottesloe Beach....

A view of the beautiful Cottesloe Beach....

posted by Will181198 @ 1:11 PM 0 comments

Gettin ready for anther week off....

Yea so the past three weeks have flown by, seems like I just got back from Bali and I turn around and here's another week off to take advantage of.

Since Bali I've had to actually do some work (yes a whole 4 page paper!!) and take a Mid-Term test in my Legal Framework class. Otherwise the weekends have largely been relaxed.

This past weekend was slightly busy, but in the good kind of way. Friday morning we got up early and took the train to Cottesloe Beach for a few hours until lunch time when we came back to do a little work in the afternoon. Friday night was spent doing a little drinking and watching some "footy" (Aussie Rules Football). Saturday was a long day with me, Lara, Kate and Mville goind white-water rating down the Avon River. My very first time rafting and it was definatly a good time. Water was a little cold but I really wish there was more rapids on the trip. It was a really flat river for the most part, but the guides did a good job of keeping us entertained and making it a fun 2 and a half hour trip. We were so tired after that that Saturday night was an early night. Sunday was relaxed as well with some reading and a little work and a nice dinner at the Subway across the street with some other Eloners.

I have a few more classes this week to finish out this three week study period and then on Monday it's off on our 7 day Outback Tour up the West Coast of Australia to Exmouth.
I'll be sure to update as soon as we get back from that on the 2nd of October.

Then it's back to classes for the home-streatch...about 6 weeks of class left.
Amazing how time flies by...

posted by Will181198 @ 12:57 PM 0 comments

MONKEY!

One of the many monkey's that we fed bannana's at the Monkey Park.

posted by Will181198 @ 5:43 PM 1 comments

Note on Hurricane Katrina...

It's a weird feeling watching all of the pictures on the TV of New Orleans and all the destruction that Hurrican Katrina caused that area...knowing that I'm on the other side of the world from that and watching those people suffer so much in a major American city. It is beyond me how the richest and most powerful country in the world is not capable of acting faster to help those in desperate need within our own borders. We are so fast to go and provide aid in so many nations across the world and set up democratic governments all over the world but yet we can't even save our own cities and citizens.

I know some will say not to blame the government (and I am by no means blaming the President because their are many people below him that should have acted much faster...not to mention that it really isn't his job in the first place)....but this is something that many geographers and scientists have said could happen for many many years.....we knew that that city would not be able to withstand this kind of disaster so why did we not do anything about it long ago? Why not build levys that CAN withstand not just a Level 3 but a Level 5 Hurricane? My thoughts go out to those who have suffered and continue to suffer allong the Gulf Coast and I only hope that time will heal that area and bring it back to what it used to be a little more than a week ago....and I hope that our government learns their lesson in better securing our own borders and people before we go spending billions of dollars everywhere else around the globe.

posted by Will181198 @ 5:33 PM 0 comments

so...Bali was amazing

So as many of you know I spent the past 6 nights and 7 days in Bali, Indonesia and I must say that it was one of the best experiences of my life....

Saturday

We arrived around 10:30PM on the island and were picked up at the airport by Ngurah who turned out to be one of the main reasons that our trip went so well and the reason that we got to do as much as we did in the short time we were there. We stayed at the Legin Paradiso Hotel which is located in downtown Kuta/Legin and was an ideal location for us to shop and a very easy walk to the beach.

Sunday

The first day we were there was spent mostly lounging around the pool...reading, drinking and eating until mid-afternoon. We then got dressed and headed out onto the streets for the first time and it was quite a shocking experience to say the least. It was not anything that we didn't expect from talking to peope who had been before and reading online but hearing about the haggling and poverty does not prepare you for actually seeing it first hand. We all kind of went out separate ways and walked around for a few hours exploring the shops and walking out to the beach to get a feel for the Balinese shore before going back to the hotel and re-grouping to go out to dinner. Our first night's dinner was at a place called Nero's a block away from our hotel and it was a pretty good dinner for ya know $8.

Yea did I mention that almost everything in Bali is ridiculously cheap? Our American dollar gets you about 10,000 Rupiah so when meals at dinner only cost about 25,000 Rupiah.....thats $2.50 for an awesome pasta dinner or whatever. The whole week I don't think I spent more than $15 on any meal (except for the last night but we're not gonna talk about that cause it just makes me angry)

Monday

Anyway the next day we again laid around by the pool for most of the morning...the wonderful ladies I was with for the week got pedicures or something at the hotel in the morning then we all got cleaned up and made our way to the beach around 5:30 to sit and watch the sunset which most of us ended up missing because we were bargaining with people on the beach for different items....yes they even haggle you while you sit on the beach. After a few purchases we walked up the beach to Papa's Cafe which overlooks the ocean for "The Best Italian Food in Bali" and it was just that....we sat at a table upsairs in the restuarant outside overlooking the beach and ocean..absolutly amazing.

Tuesday-

We scheduled a bike tour of the Bali countryside with Ngurah for today. They came to the hotel at 8:30AM to pick us up and drive us 2 hours away (pretty much the other side of the island) to the top of a mountain where we had a small breakfast overlooking three active volcanos. They then drove us another 10 minutes up the road to a small road where we were given bikes and helmets and our tour guides rode with us down the mountain and through the countryside for 250km...about 3 hours of bike riding. We went through a number of villages on the way down and were able to stop and watch a funeral procession in one of the villages, we got to walk around a traditional Balinese house, and we saw a number of their villages Temples. Oh and we saw a TON of rice paddies and rode through some of the most amazing countryside I've ever seen and I don't think I've ever said "Hi" so many times in my life cause the children would see us coming and run out to say Hi and give us high-fives as we rode by them.....We finished our bike tour just outside of Ubud where we got a traditional Indonesian lunch before being driven back to our hotel in Kuta. After relaxing for a bit in the hotel we all decieded we wanted to go out and get massages at one of the many places right outside in Kuta....yea a $5 massage never felt so good....we then went back and showered before going to dinner down the street from our hotel and doing some shopping before heading back to the hotel and getting some much needed sleep.

Wednesday

Lara, Mville and me along with Britany, Whitney and Kati all went with Ngurah up to Ubud for the day today where we were toured through native wood carving, silver molding and fabric making shops and then taken to the Monkey Park where literally hundreds of monkeys are just walking around looking for bannanas (which you could buy before going into the park)...Nguarh toured us through two Hindu Temples and taught us a lot about their religion and culture before letting us roam around the Ubud Markets and get some late lunch. We went back to the hotel after and relaxed by the pool for a bit before going to a mostly Indonesian restaurant down the street from our hotel and doing some more bartering and shopping in the streets of Kuta.

Thursday

Our last full day in Bali was quite relaxing as we spent most of the day by the pool reading and enjoyed some lunch by the pool as well.....later in the afternoon we went out around Kuta because the girls wanted Facials at the place where we got our massages and such...so I just kinda hung around there while they did that and went to an Internet Cafe and such....then we went back to the hotel where Nguarh had arranged for us to get picked up at 5:30 and taken to a restuarant for a Sunset Dinner on the beach. Literally the restaurant we ate at was on the beach and we sat at tables over looking the waves and sunset with our feet in the sand. They should seriously make places like these in the USA cause its such an awesome place to enjoy a dinner....They drove us back to our hotel and we went out again in search of more shopping and some dessert which we found (sort of) and then went back to the hotel to spend our last night in Bali.

Friday

We woke up early for a quick breakfast before heading out for an hour or so by the pool before we had to go back and pack up to check out by Noon. The hotel held our luggage while we walked around Bali for the afternoon (because our flight wasn't until 6pm) We split up and Lara and I walked around doing some last minute shopping and eating (we stopped for a Carmel Frapp at Starbucks cause they don't have them in Australia) before being driven back to the airport by Ngurah and taking the 3 and a half hour flight back down to Perth.

All in all I have to say this was one of the best trips of my life and definiatly gave me a whole new perspective on my life and what I am so blessed to be able to do.....

posted by Will181198 @ 5:30 PM 0 comments

Freo Markets

The main entrance to the Freo Markets

posted by Will181198 @ 4:30 PM 0 comments