Very close now to booking tickets.

Word of warning...If you ask a travel agent to book a trip to Kiribati you will end up about 1500km away from
where you need to be. I was an email away from ending up lost somewhere in the middle of the pacific!

Makes me reminisce about Bali, before there were shops, or even roads. When Legian was pretty much all just lean-to corrugated iron markets for as far as your eye could see. I'm 6ft 2 and could stand on my tip toes with my eyes above the roof line of the markets, you would wind your way thru the maze of markets, turn a corner and bang, you were on the beach, was an amazing place back then. People sitting carving, cross legged on corners, making amazing little sculptures, that's over 20 years ago now The first year we went, in the late 80's, I was about 15, we'd ride from Kuta to Legian with the locals, on our motorbikes along the beach, the last time I went I nearly got shot by a cop with a machine gun for going the wrong way up a one way street on my way to Uluwatu, ah how times change .

I first went in 72'-and there some shops etc there then (no glass windows though) so-yeah-I think you're right about the mushies!