iscover

Explore glorious beaches and unspoiled villages

BALI IS a very specia! place.
We discovered Bali on an
extensive tour of Southeast
Asia during. which we visited
eight countries.

By Newton Hockey
Contributing Writer

_ On our return, the most common
question we were asked was
“Which place did you like best?”
Our answer was an unequivocal
“Bali.” :

The people are very gentle and
_ Spiritual and treat visitors in a
+ friendly and welcoming way, espe-

"cially in the more remote vill:7es
_ ‘where they sce few strangers. Tue
.» places.are magical temples, glorious

“beaches, beautiful green rice pad-

dies end magnificent volcanoes,

We soon left the beaches of Kuta,
which have been overrun by vaca-
-’ tioning Australians and drove inland
‘7 to Ubud, the artisans capital of the
island. Ubud is set amidst the green-
est rice fields and is in ideal walking
country with unspoiled villages

where’ the Balinese make their pot-'
tery, | Weave their-‘colorful - fabrics :

paint their traditional ‘art works.

After ‘several: days experiencing

the cultures of Bali, it was time to

_2Fetuin to the coast for some swim-
thing and relaxation in the sun.

« We chose Candidasa because it is

away, from’ the madding crowds yet

‘comfortably set up for tourists, Our

hotel on the beach had a pool set in

an exotic garden and was run by
Balinese. They provided good ser-

’ vice and facilities for $15 a night for

two with breakfast!

Candidasa is an ideal place from
which to explore Bali by car or
motorbike. We chose the latter as it
allowed us to reach remote settle-

“ments inaccessible by car.

In these villages we would be
surrounded by smiling children and
curious adults, some of whom
would practice their English on us.

On one of these trips we became
lost due to the absence of road signs
and got stuck near the top of a
mountain on a slippery trail. Out of
the jungle appeared a wiry old peas-
ant with a huge load of hay who
immediately dropped his load and
pushed the bike a quarter of a mile
up to a paved road. He would not
accept anything for his efforts which
had saved us a night on the moun-
tain,

One day we took a dugout out-
rigger canoe from our hotel to
Whitesand beach where we were
able to ‘snorkel directly from the
beach in clear fish-filled water. Our
guide provided a lunch of meat and
vegetables wrapped in a banana

. leaf. We enjoyed our day so much

that we were determined to return.
We again sented a motorvike and

headed down narrow lanes towards

the beach but were prevented from

proceeding: by a river. We were

about to give up when friendly
locals suggested we ford the river on
foot and walk the 5 km to the beach

on the jungle trails which we did.

The beach was giorious and
deserted except for one fisherman
with his net. We settled down to
swim and sunbathe and were joined
by some children and youths who
practised their English on us.

One young man was particularly
friendly and invited us to visit his

cottage at the beach and his home in |

the village some 3 km away. It was
very primitive but clean and we met
his whole family. He has written to
us since our return to say how
pleased he was that we had visited
his house. I can assure you the plea-
sure and privilege was ours.

We plan to return to Bali next
March with a small group of friends
to share our wonderful experiences
of this magical island and tropical
paradise. Why don't you come with
us?

Newton Hockey and his wife
Noreen are North Vancouver resi-
dents who frequenily travel to coun-
tries in Europe, Asia, Central and
South America. They can be reached
at 929-6660. :

- Tips for a carefree winter vacation

“OFTEN THE hardest thing about 2
vacation is geiting out the door in
the first place. The agony of decid-
ing what to pack and how much to
take may not even end when you
close your suitcases,

Take a vacation from worry by
following these.tips for geuing out
the door and on the road without a
mishap; then having a good time out
there is entirely up to you.

(7 Pack clothes that can be wom
interchangeably. *
( Select your clothes not only for

ng ® 2,
Cee

color, but for comfort and easy
upkeep. Avoid taking fabrics that
need special cleaning or ironing.

C3 Pack a few plastic bags in your
suitcase to protect clothes from
muddy shoes and.to use for laundry.
(3 Assemble a first-aid kit that has
medications for your. family’s spe-
cific needs.

(7 Service stations are no longer a
sure-fire supplier of maps. Buy your
maps beforehand.

C} Arrange to hold all regular deliv-
eries and prepay bills.

Downtown

- “VECTORIA

Reoms from:

FSO Yates St., Vietorin, BC.
[Phones (804) 384-4136 To Frees 1-869-663-6101

CJ Put new bulbs in the lights you
intend to leave on in your home.
Invest in automatic timers that will
turn these lamps on and off.

(9 Before leaving, tock all windows
and doors, including attic and base-

‘aent ones. Disconnect appliances.

from walt sockets. Double check the
iron if it has been used just prior to
the trip.

3 Unless it’s absolutely necessary,
don't take anything on your trip that
you can’t afford to lose. O Always
carry at least one (preferably two)
identification cards with pho-
tographs. . .

( Make a list of the serial numbers
of all the important documents you
will take with you: airline tickets,
traveller's cheques, credit cavds, dri-
ver’s license, passport. Make copies
for yourself and a travelling com-
panion, a the third to be tucked into
a suitcase, and leave another with a
friend at home.

& Label your luggage on the inside
and outside. Use a business address
to avoid advertising the location of
your unoccupied home.

Wednesday, November 23, 1994 — North Shore News — 48

THE BEACHES of Candidasa

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