Surf mouse 101

Last week of our adventure and we've decided to ditch the backpacker vibe and and scrub up a little. 5 nights in a a spot where aircon is standard and you get bath towels AND pool towels. Eating brekkie watching the waves break on Legian beach, just up the coast from the famous (infamous?) Kuta. First surf lesson got me up on a board and grinning like a monkey to the shore. In the last week all things come to and end. But in a sense the journey has only just begun. What remains. . . .?

Too much Gado-Gado gives you a long tongue.

Helpful advice is easy to come by in Bali

Relaxing at our favourite restaurant, Kafe. A world of delights for anyone into organic, steamed, vegan, raw, or just plain old healthy and tasty. Oh, and they serve cocktails.

Bali station wagon. We've also seen 10 year old sitting asleep on the front, slumped against his dad, with mum and toddler squeezed into the back. And a 4 year old standing on his dads knees, driving himself along some pretty busy roads. Girls in skirts get lifts sitting side-saddle, and texting while driving is standard practice.

The beautiful Water Palace in Ubud. Right next to Starbucks. Hey, at least it's not a MacDonalds.

Famous lotus wheel bike carved into the side of a temple to Dewi Sri - goddess of fertility.

Mmmmmmm. Hottie.

We slipped through despite no. 6

Beeeeg bamboo

What's in an offering? A little bit of flowers. A little bit of fruit. A little bit of rice. And some processed sugary treats you've found at the local K Mart. Obviously.

Bali solo

We needed, and loved, the downtime in Ubud before tiring of yoga, good food and the perfect weather. The deep called... so we hired a little Suzuki jeep and hit the backroads on our eis, destination Amed and Aas, the dry and comparatively deserted east coast.

Mastering the rules of the road here took a little time, but was well worth it - we had our own go-anywhere transport for about R150 per day, fuel included. Mastering the roadmaps not so successful. The lonelyplanet offerings are best described as "illustrative", the official roadmaps disagree as much as not, the both reduced us to a mixture of navigation by altitude, road size and condition, and sign language with locals.

Aas greeted us with quietness, lava beaches, perfect grilled tuna, and spectacularly colourful reef.

Before we realised it time had jostled us on to Munduk, in the mountains, surrounded by cinnamon, coffee and cacao, scattered amongst marigolds, citrus, hydrangea and vanilla. Bali highlands are steep, and the villages cling to ancient (and not so ancient) ridges stretching down from the semi-active volcanoes that stand astride the centre of the island.

Our route took us around the coast, through spectacular winding roads in the highlands, fascinating temples and village life, and eventually back down to the reef, this time offshore in the Bali National Park where we dropped off 40m coral walls, grinning like mad water rats.

Cremation ceremony ... and so it ends, with the ashes committed to the ocean. We watched this shrine floating past us the following day as the fishing fleet returned in a red dawn, the waking sun summiting Mt Rinjani on distant Lombok, across the straits

Cremation ceremony: ashes packed into a parcel with coconut flowers, money, flowers, banana leaf (one of the three Balinese magical plants), then packed into a yellow coconut for final rites. I spent most of my time with the young trainee priest who admitted to "young man's desires" and looked aghast when I suggested he would one day succeed in becoming fully ordained. He had a fascinating personal story...

Cremation ceremony: gamelan looks on as final prayers are made...

... with non stop gamelan accompaniment, the same hypnotic tune over and over, for hours... Relatives and bystanders would take up a simple instrument as the orchestra members flagged in the heat

Cremation ceremony: first phase of life as a human, final phase (of reincarnation) is as bamboo. Everything of the deceased was burned, including a little plastic chair and his new thermos flask

Cremation ceremony : coffin was accompanied down to the beach, amongst the boats, and placed beneath a sacred grove. It was insanely hot, and everyone was exhausted from prayers and singing all through the previous day and night

Cremation procession with gamelan. I was fortunate to join a cremation ceremony for 5 hours in Aas, meeting many interesting folks & learning more about Hindu customs.

Good memories: our climbing gang at Crazy Horse, Chiang Mai. Pic courtesy of great Roman Eric Chiri...