After spending 3 days and 4 nights in Kuta, we decided to make our way to Padang Bai on the south east side of the island. This is the second time now, for us showing up somewhere and finding a place to stay on the spot. Although we did live in 3 different places in Bangkok, we had the advantage of having our first place booked ahead of time. There's an added thrill to traveling when you aren't sure where you'll end up, and a satisfaction after being resourceful enough to sort it out.
We're staying as close to the beach as we've been to date, but we plan to get closer. It's right across the street now. At $10 a night, the cost of lunch on a normal business day in San Francisco, it's easy to settle down to a different pace of travel. Less rushing from here to there in an effort to see everything before the cost of accomodation breaks your bank and drives you off.
The girl staying in the room next door told us about a blue lagoon just up and over the hill that was worth seeing, and a black sand beach on the other side of town. The lagoon was fantastic, so we rented gear and did some really nice snorkeling. Sweet local ladies tried to entice us with beach massages, but we passed. Afterward, we took quite a long walk through a heavily wooded farm-like neighborhood to find the black sand beach. We arrived just before sunset.
