A beautiful sunset in Kuta but not much else...

Stats:

Destination: Kuta Beach, Bali
Number of Days there: 1
Our Best of: Beautiful sunset
One thing unexpected: Obnoxious hawkers: "Transport?"; "Take tour?"; "Marijuana?"
Times we took the: Bus: 0 Train/Subway: 0 Taxi/Car: 1
Estimated KM walked: not very many
Where we stayed: Simpang Inn - Rp 300,000 (US $33)
Favorite Restaurant: Aromas (nice little veggie place) - Tostadas - RP 45,000 (US $5) & Expresso Ice Cream - Rp 10,000 (US $1.10) The Kopi Pot (free WiFi) - Banana Pancakes with Lime & Honey - RP 18,000 (US $2)

We took a taxi to the airport (RM 23) and attempted to check in our bags for our Air Asia flight. We were informed that our bags were over the limit of 15 kilos so instead of paying the additional carriage fee of 100 RM (ridiculous) we stuffed the books & other heavy items from our checked luggage into our day packs. Problem solved and our bags weighed in just over 15 kilos (still way too heavy we know)! Our flight was uneventful and we landed in Bali! As American citizens we enjoyed the privilege of being able to pick up a visa on arrival at the airport (US $25/person). We arrived without a hotel reservation and luckily there was a travel agent situated before customs we we stopped by and he checked us into the Simpang Inn for a bargain price (yeah right) of Rp 300,000 (about $33). I'm sure he got quite a commission but it's high season and we arrived quite late so we were happy to pay it for 2 nights. We were skeptical but the Simpang Inn turned out to be quite nice with a pool, tv and bathtub (yay - all firsts for this trip)! We took a taxi into town (Rp 55,000 fixed price) and settled into our hotel. Tracy was coming down with a cold (probably from the communal tuak cup at the longhouse) so we opted to stay in and relax.

We spent the day in Kuta taking it easy, getting caught up on email, uploading pictures and browsing around town. We saw the Bali bomb memorial and spent a few hours at the beach. The main reason we wanted to come to Kuta was for the sunset and it proved to be very nice indeed! It seems like the whole town turns out for sunset and enjoys a beer on the beach, it was really kind of a nice community feeling! After sunset we just relaxed, had dinner and decided to stay in (again, that pesky cold).

Other than the beautiful sunset, Kuta didn't have much to offer. We are not really into the party or surfing scene, which is basically what the town is built for and the whole town is full of rich expats and tourists. Other than the hawkers lining the streets offering you everything under the sun, you won't find many locals here. One day was certainly enough and we decided to head to Ubud!

To see more pictures of Kuta click here.