Wednesday 15 December 2010

Bali - Mount Badur


By Rough Guy’d
Before we went to Mt Badur, we had a whole evening to spend first. The climb, I was advised, was done at night and each party required their own guide as it was strictly regulated as they wanted to limit the numbers of climbers. The main reason it was done at night was because of the burning heat of daytime and because one of the main highlights was the morning sunrise. This meant that we would be making for the mountain at 2am that night leaving us a whole evening to spend before a quick couple of hours sleep.

As well as they touristy art stuff my friend sold back in Malaysia, she also did a bit on the side, arranging tours for Malaysians in conjunction with her local friends in Bali. I got to see examples of this first hand as I spent that evening visiting some hotels and resorts with the pair of them. While this alone doesn’t sound very exciting, it was a new experience for me and then when I saw the hotels, I was gobsmacked. These were some of the nicest, fanciest hotels I’d seen with one of them, the Ubud hanging gardens having almost exclusive use of a gorgeous valley with a 24hr manned outdoor elevator and each room having three personal baths/pools to use.
After all this, we enjoyed a dinner of Balinese suckling pig before I headed off to bed for a very early start. While this delicacy can be enjoyed all over Bali (but not the rest of Indonesia as the rest of Indonesia is very strictly Muslim), I doubt I would have been able to both find and then order a dish of this quality without the help of my new friends.
10th of May and I woke and checked out at 2am as planned. Not surprisingly the roads were relatively empty and we reached the mountain without incident. This was the one time I was glad that I had packed anything heavier than a t-shirt. There was a base camp of sorts there, where other tourists and their guides met up. The proffered cup of coffee there was gladly accepted, even if I usually never drank the stuff and I was also offered some and stuff. One of the things I’ve learned is even if there are people capable of translating for me what I just ate, sometimes ignorance was bliss.
Now the thing I will mention about the climb up Mt Badur is that it is surprisingly simple. It would have to be as you walk in near complete darkness for most of it (except for a flashlight) and no climbing equipment is needed. Even so, it was strangely uphill all the way and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a bit puffed. It was all worth it when I reached the top though, or so I thought except the first breath of fresh air I received at the top smelled an awful lot like second-hand smoke. Thanks a lot noisy German tourists. When the sunrise came up, it was at that point that I realised it was all worth it and after enjoying it as long as I could, followed up by watching some monkeys who were obviously far too used to humans, I made my way down the mountain again with my guide. Next stop, Lovina.

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Books Sold - 6 Nov 2011 to 31 May 2012

Some of you have asked me for my total number of books sold to evaluate KDP Select so here it is. Bear in mind, that results will vary based on genre and author. Good luck and remember, Keep Moving Forward.

Total - 120,836

1. Excuse Me, My Brains Have Stepped Out
Amazon Kindle - 42,559
Paperback -
Smashwords -

2. Frequent Traveller
Amazon Kindle - 35277
Paperback -
Smashwords -

3. Dora's Essentials - Books, Blogs & Smiles 1
Amazon Kindle - 462
Smashwords -

4. Mirror Me Martha (Short Story)
Amazon Kindle - 281
Smashwords -

5. Drive On Hope (Short Story)
Amazon Kindle - 190
Smashwords -

6. Blog-A-Licious Directory 2012
Amazon Kindle - 1
Smashwords -

7. Pandora's Reading Room 1
Amazon Kindle -
Paperback - N/A

8. The Cat That Barked (Short Story)
Amazon Kindle -

9. Dora's Essentials - Examining Anxiety
Amazon Kindle -

10. Dora's Essentials - Books, Blogs & Smiles 2
Amazon Kindle -

11. Elevenses from Around the World
Amazon Kindle -

12. Genetically Modified Foods vs. Sustainability
Amazon Kindle -

Blog-A-Licius - Sherbet Blossom

SherbetBlossom

Blog-A-Licious

Dealightfully Frugal

Blog-A-Licious - The Few, The Proud, The Wife

Blog-A-Licious

My Soul Slippers

Blog-A-Licous - Textbook Mommy

Blog-A-Licious - Blue Frogs Legs

Blog-A-Licious - Pretty All True

Pretty All True

Blog-A-Licious - tbaoo

tbaoo

Blog-A-Licious

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Blog-A-Licious - The Invisible Art

Blog-A-Licious - Rediscovering Domesticity

Rediscovering Domesticity

Blog-A-Licious - Quiver Full

Blog-A-Licious - Cori's Big Mouth

Blog-A-Licious - Great Fun

Greatfun4kids

Blog-A-Licious - Busy Wife

Blog-A-Licious - Steps To Happiness

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Blog-A-Licious - Toby & Max


Blog-A-Licious - Amelie

Raising Amelie

Blog-A-Licious - Peas In A Pod

Blog-A-Licious - Riley

Blognostics - Poetry

BlogNostics

My Awards - September 2010

My Awards - September 2010
Awarded By Jo Frances

My Awards - May 2011

My Awards - May 2011
Awarded By Alejandro Guzman

My Awards - May 2011

My Awards - May 2011
Awarded by Kriti Mukherjee

My Awards - April 2011

My Awards - April 2011
Awarded By Roy Durham

My Awards - June 2011

My Awards - June 2011
Awarded By Sulekha Rawat

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