KUTA, BALI, INDONESIA

Well, after five days of relaxation in the Gilis, we're back in the crazy chaos of Kuta.

Our last night on Gili T. was "party night" at Rudy's, where we we're staying, which made celebrating all the more convenient. So while Chris tried to ignore the thumping beats from the bar and get some sleep, I had a few vodka tonics with the Canadians and some local surfers, then cruised over to the bar and met up with Patrick from London and these two sisters from Austria (sorry, forgot their names) before stumbling the dozen or so yards back to our bungalow and crashing.

This morning, Chris and I made the same journey as we did getting to the Gilis, only in reverse: Boat to Bangsal, minivan to Lembar, ferry to Padangbai, and minivan to Kuta. (Whew.) The Canadians followed us as far as Padangbai before we parted ways yet again--although not for long, I'm sure.

Chris and I (well, Chris mostly) spent much of the day talking with a really nice British gal named Kim, who entertained us with some great stories about her travels to the wilds of Southeast Asia, South Africa, and Orlando, FL.

People met today:

• Kim from Southampton, UK, backpacker extraordinaire, on a short Indonesian holiday with some girlfriends (see above).
• Peter from Austria, on a six-month trip with a friend. They both wanted to learn how to surf, so they bought surfboards in Hawaii and have been honing their skills for the past six weeks in the breaks at Kuta, Lombok (not to be confused with Kuta, Bali). Next they're off to Singapore and Thailand, same as us.