Lovina

Ubud, Lovina. Rainy, hot and humid and too much motor scooter traffic. Ubud is a mess and has lost it's charm. We picked up our extended visa, packed up the stuff we bought and some things we didn't need any more and sent them back home by the cheapest method, cost $156!!! I hope I do not find any of these trinkets in Cost Plus.

After two days we got a driver to take us to Lovina (it is cheaper than a bus for two or more people and you can stop when you want). The road is decent, but the last ten miles is the windiest switchback road I've ever been on. We couldn't wait for it to end. Finally arrived in Lovina at a wonderful hotel with a nice restaurant and cute cabins on the beach. Unfortunately, there was no wif-fi except at an internet cafe down the atreet for $5/hour. The ocean at Lovina is interesting in that it is almost as calm as a lake. On a clear day you can see Java on the horizon.

Lovina is located near the second largest city in Bali of Singaraja which has the biggest university and has a college town vibe. That isn't to say it is a party town or a liberal bastion like Berkeley, but for Bali it is different by not really being a tourist town.  There is a large and famous Buddhist site in the hills nearby and Lovina  is also the wine grape growing area of Bali and we saw several vineyards as we drove around, but did not see any wineries to visit although we have had the fairly decent wines from this area.

This time of year is considered the low season and especially in Lovina. It was amazing to see the unused capacity available in the restaurants and drinking spots and how empty they looked. We would have dinner in wonderful places with two other couples in the whole place. It helped us get some reductions in the hotel rate and motor scooter rental.

There is supposed to be the best diving in Bali at a place about 30 miles to the west around an island off the coast.  The few hotels in that area are very expensive so that is why we didn't stay there, but in cheaper Lovina and signed up with a local dive shop.