Monday 30th September 2013September 2013
This morning we
had a slow start and a lingering breakfast before Laura and I headed out onto
the streets on Seminyak in search of new accommodation. En route we stopped a
lot to look at all the shops and tried on about six million bikinis before both
settling on gorgeous bandeau style ones that were on sale for half price. We
finally got serious about finding somewhere to stay but there wasn’t a lot
within our price range that gave us what we were after, just when we were
beginning to despair we found Puri Panca Jaya where we could get a double room
and an extra bed as well as breakfast and a delightful little pool for Ayla to
chill by. As we were so close to the beach we stopped for sun downer cocktails
before jetting back to Ananda (where we were staying) to meet up with Ayla and some
friends for dinner we had a quick shower and costume change and then it was
time to go. We went to a little restaurant down the road called Bali Deli where
we had amazing cocktails and beautiful food unfortunately they were the world’s
smallest portions which was hugely disappointing.
Tuesday 1st October 2013
This morning was
much the same as yesterday very slow off the mark it took a million years to
work out the bill as there was stuff on there from meals and room service and
the others had stayed there a few nights before I arrived eventually with Alex
waiting for us in the car we got it sorted and headed to our new hotel where we
checked in and ended up lazing in the sunshine by the pool all day as we still
had so much to catch up on. Late afternoon I headed to the shops to exchange
some money and pick up a few things then we all went to the beach for sun downers
we got some munch and whiled away the evening sitting in beanbags watching the
sky turn brilliant reds and oranges eventually we roused ourselves and had a
late dinner at an organic vegetarian and vegan restaurant which we fell in love
with and made our haunt for the next week or so. From there we headed to Alex’s
house where we watched music videos like zombies crashed out on the couch until
2am.
Wednesday 2nd October 2013
I surfaced early
this morning and made the most of the pool going for a long swim and then
chilling in the sun in the afternoon we grabbed a taxi and headed to the
restaurant we went to last night. Back at the hotel the girls were happy
internet-ing but I was being eaten alive so went inside and watched SpongeBob square
pants in Indonesian eventually I got hungry again so Laura and I headed out for
dinner we went to a cheapy indo place where the food was delicious. Back at the
hotel Ayla did some Reiki on me which was so awesome at one point I thought
there was a mozzie right in my ear but it was the energy buzzing through Aylas
hands! The whole experience was really powerful I saw explosions of bright
colours behind my closed eyes all blues and purples and greens. Afterwards I
was so relaxed and had such an amazing sleep.
Thursday 3rd October 2013
HAPPY SIX MONTHS
ON THE ROAD! We have now been gone exact ally half a year which is mad I have
no idea where the time has gone. Unfortunately the team wasn’t at its strongest
Laura was feeling rough (thinking maybe food poisoning Bali belly or something
similar) Ayla and I headed out for lunch with Nyoman our friendly local taxi
driver we went to a restaurant out by some rice paddies the view was stunning
all bright green grasses and colourful flags fluttering in the wind. I walked
about the grounds and took loads of photos there was even a lake with wooden
huts on stilts that you could eat in. Ayla headed back to the hotel and I went
in search of a pharmacy for some antihistamines as I couldn’t stop sneezing I
swung by an organic café and got a chocolate mousse cupcake which I ate on the beach
I sat and people watched for hours and watched the sun go down when I got back
to the hotel the girls were both rough so I went out to get them snacks and
then chilled doing some writing and reading.
Friday 4th October 2013
This morning I
got up and had a long swim it was early but already the sun was beating down. I
was studying the lonely planet when the girls got up we started to roughly plan
our time in Indonesia. They were both still feeling rough so I went off by
myself for the day first off I went and had my ears candled which was really
relaxing and also extremely gross. Then I went to another spa and had a
Balinese massage a body scrub and a facial it took about three hours and when I
came out I felt as if I was floating I went and got myself a vegan burrito for
lunch and sat and read my book in a little café. Lunch done I walked 2km up the
beach to the temple but I didn’t go inside I walked around and then sat on the
beach and watched a Hindu cemomony. Back on Seminyak beach I found a nice spot
to sunbathe and read my book and people watch. Late afternoon I got a txt from
Ayla saying we were heading to dinner with Alex so I went back to the hotel to
shower and get changed we went to dinner with him and a mate of his who he was
golfing with Adrian and another friend Caroline who is French and arrived on
her scooter looking stunning in a little dress and heels. We went to a really
nice Spanish restuarant where the food was incredible (but expensive for the
tiny portions they gave us) after we had eaten we went back to Alex’s house so
he could change and then we headed to a bar. Laura and I people watched at the
bar for ages I was absolutely entranced by a man who looked exactly like Heman
I kept expecting to see a green tiger come bounding out at us. There was also a
man in purple pyjamas with no shoes on who looked like Jesus and had the moves like
Jagger…
Saturday 5th October 2013
This morning was
long and lazy before we eventually made it to lunch the girls were still not
100% so went back to the hotel and I hit the beach getting in as much sun time
as I could. We were supposed to go and watch the sunset on the beach but the
girls were fannying about and by the time we left it was already dark. We went
to a bar on the beach where they serve magic mushrooms. Alex had informed us
they were the best ones in Seminyak but I was shit. Laura was buzzing but I
didn’t feel a thing which was disappointing considering the cost I basically
paid to drink mushroom sludge gross. We moved bars and had a cocktail or two
before heading away from the beach towards the “happening” spots we ending up
in the cringyest bar I have ever been to it was a champagne bar where the staff
were dressed in tiny little outfits and the guys looked like weird bellboys
they all had ridiculous hats on. The bar was full of fat old white men picking
up young Indonesian girls the whole thing made me uncomfortable so I was glad when I t was time to go home.
Sunday 6th October 2013
The only effect
of last night’s magic mushrooms was to drain me of any energy today and leave
me feeling exhausted and lethargic. I got up drawn by the prospect of filling
my empty stomach before relaxing by the pool for most of the day. We were so
lazy that instead of going out when we got peckish we ordered take aways (from
an organic vegetarian restaurant) late afternoon Laura and I headed along the
beach to watch the sunset. We got back to the hotel and fannyed about for ages
by the time we got moving a lot of restaurants were closing their kitchens and
we ended up at a decidedly average place that said vegetarian on the sign but
was anything but.
Monday 7th October 2013
This morning we
were up and organised early Laura and I were heading down the coast making our
way to Ulawatu over the next few days. Nyoman drove us to Bingin beach and we
checked into a place Laura had booked in advance it was up above the beach so
was cheaper but also deserted. It was a bit of a nature filled room with giant
lizards and spiders everywhere which didn’t bother me we had moscito nets which
was all I cared about. We got ourselves sorted and then we met up with Rob a
guy Laura had met on the plane we walked us to the beach and we said our
goodbyes as he had work to do. We lazed in the sun a bit before grabbing some
lunch back on the beach we met some Italian guys and walked with them along the
beach to Padang one guy said there were heaps of monkeys but we didn’t see any
we didn’t stay long there as the tide was coming in and we didn’t want to get
cut off from Bingin. By the time we got back the sun was setting we stopped off
at their house along the way as Laura wanted to chat to one of the guys about Papua
as we were talking it became completely dark so we borrowed his torch and
headed back to our accommodation getting slightly lost along the way. We got
showered and dressed and then got a taxi to meet Rob. The bar where we met was
almost completely empty so after one drink we moved on we got a taxi to the
rock bar which was in a swanky hotel ages away. We walked through the doors and
I followed Rob blindly…right into the fountain which was more hilarious than
embarrassing as thankfully there was no one around. Eventually we found the
entrance to the bar we had to wait for a cable car to take us down to the bar
which was set on the rocks right above the sea (which occasionally came
crashing up and into the bar) we found ourselves some seats right at the bar
and started drinking the cocktails were pricey but they were huge and mostly
alcohol! We also got some nibbles which I think was the only thing keeping us
the right side of wrong. We drank there until it was closing time and we had to
leave we were pretty much the only people there by that stage and leaving took
so long as we stopped at every swimming pool and fountain along the way. We
managed to get a taxi and back at the accommodation we fell into bed.
Literally.
Tuesday 8th October 2013
This morning we
slept late and when we did surface we only had one thing on our minds.
Breakfast. We headed to the beach ready for a day camped out in the sun. After eating
we chilled for the rest of the day. Laura got a massage on the beach the woman
used an aloe vera leaf which left quite a lot of goop on her back. We couldn’t
really swim because of the reef so I paddled my toes when I needed to cool off.
Later in the afternoon we met a Swedish girl who lives in London and a couple
of Spanish guys. We headed off for dinner at a local place we had heard was
supposed to have great food (it was good not great) after we planned to meet Carolyn
the next morning to head to Ulawatu.
Wednesday 9th October 2013
We got picked up
at 9.30am and picked up Carolyn along the way we found some cheap accommodation
but couldn’t check in yet as the room was still occupied we could leave our
bags though so after some food we walked the 10mins to Ulawatu. The beach like
most of the Bukit Peninsula is at the bottom of the cliffs only the beach here
is tiny when the tide is out and doesn’t exist when it’s in which was the case
today. We looked at the waves crashing into the cove at the bottom and then
decided to find somewhere to watch the swells. We headed to a bar via the shops
and watched the few surfers brave enough to take on the biggest swells this
year. Later on we chanced by some guys heading our way who gave us a ride on
their scooters back to our place. We stopped there and had a leisurely swim before
heading to the big temple we had to walk there but it wasn’t far only about 2km
we paid the entrance fee and Laura fed some scary monkeys from a bag of peanuts
that she bought at the gate. We had a look around the temple and then found
seats for the dance performance the dancers provided all the accompaniments by
making noises in their throats. The show went on as the sun was setting behind
them which provided a spectacular backdrop especially as it got dark and they incorporated
fire into the show. Back at the hotel we showered and changed and walked back
to Ulawatu for some dinner and drinks unfortunately no one was really serving
food which seemed to be a massive downfall on their part especially as the bars
were busy. We got drinks and made friends with some Brazilian guys and drank
the night away.
Thursday 10th October 2013
We had breakfast
and packed up our things before Nyoman picked us up around 10am we loaded up
and started towards Jimbaran where we planned to sit on the beach and enjoy
lunch before heading to Ubud via Seminyak to pick up Ayla. In Jimbaran the surf
was huge and instead of being relaxing in my hung-over state it made me feel
anxious so I went back and joined Nyoman in the shade where we chatted about
his life and family. Eventually Alex met us there and we all grabbed some lunch
on the beach we got serenaded by a random band singing Spanish songs my favourite
was the dude on the double bass who randomly appeared a bit late into the song.
After a lingering late lunch we were back on the road we only stopped briefly
in Seminyak to pick up Ayla and were soon on our way to Ubud where we had rooms
booked at a place recommended by Carolyn.
We checked in and dumped our things before grabbing dinner.
Friday 11th October 2013
We had a lazy
day today first off we got up slowly and then headed to get breakfast the place
we went to was called Kismet it was up some stairs and overlooked the street
which was perfect for people watching. We had a long breakfast and then Alex
and Laura went off while Ayla and I stayed and had tea. Before long we were
hungry again so ordered lunch an continued to sit there for an age late in the
day I left Ayla there sipping on another cup of tea while I went off to explore
a bit I wandered about the market and changed some money which is when I
realised that somewhere in the Bukit Peninsula I had been robbed of about £200
I was fuming but there was nothing I could do and it taught me to be more
careful with my bags. I walked all the way to the yoga barn and picked up a
timetable before heading back to meet Ayla. We left Kismet and almost
immediately were run down by a taxi that had Alex and Laura in it they had
tickets to see one of the dance shows we joined them and spent most of it
trying not to laugh at how incredibly crap it was the costumes the dancing and
the props were all cheap and unprofessional looking sort of what you would
expect from a primary school Christmas play… afterwards we got a taxi back to
the guesthouse and when I say taxi I mean a random man who drove a random car
and pretended to be a taxi this wouldn’t
have been a problem if he actually knew where he was going but it appeared he didn’t
he just kept driving up and down Hanuman street telling us we were on Hanuman
street which became a bit of a joke. Eventually we found our hotel Alex and
Laura went out but Ayla and I stayed in and did some Reiki. It was a completely
different experience to last time but was still incredible we used one of my
crystals which seemed to super charge the situation.
Saturday 12th October 2013
This morning I
got up early and went and did a yoga class at the yoga barn it was a Vinyassa
flow class which is my favourite and todays class felt as if it had been
designed just for me to start with we sang Shiva Shambo so I knew it was going
to be good the practice contained loads of balancing and hip opening postures
which is exactly what I need to strengthen my hip and to ground my base chakra.
Back at the hotel the girls were just getting up we went and got some food and
then Laura went for a rest (she was super hung over) and Ayla went to lunch
with Alex. So other Alex and I headed to the market. In the afternoon Ayla and Carolynn
hung out while Laura Alex and I went to the rice paddies the guy said it was a
40min drive but it only took about 20mins (when I questioned him on it he drove
back a super long way!) we walked up the paddies and took a bunch of photos I
was disappointed my camera battery died but I had my tablet which was good so
at least I got some shots. There was a scary Balinese woman who I think tried
to put a curse on us she touched me in the stomach with her scythe while
staring into my eyes and mumbling something I’m sure was a curse the day got a
bit colder after that little incident! Later on that evening we went to dinner
and then met Carolyn at a bar close by which was hosting a poetry slam as part
of the Ubud writers festival it was quite cool and when It finished we headed
on to a street party close by there was a reggae band playing and everyone was
dancing in the street.
Sunday 13th October 2013
I got up and went
to yoga again this morning the class today was Laya yoga which is a type of
tantric yoga it wasn’t really my cup of tea but was a good stretch. There was a
lot of people making grunting sex noises which was more than a little
distracting and one eccentric older woman was dressed in a full piece swimsuit
with bushy grey pubes hanging out the side of course she had to be directly opposite
me also a distraction. I met the others back at the hotel and we grabbed
breakfast before I went to look for laundry I had to walk further afield as it
was Sunday so a lot of them were closed. Ayla and I checked out the tattoo shop
on our street but I was also closed so we decided to hunt out the raw restaurant
we kept hearing about all the food is vegan and of course raw we had quiche and
tried to guess what It was made from if not egg (still unsure) and then
cheesecake the food was mind blowing the cheesecake way up there as the best I’ve
ever tasted and it didn’t even have cheese in it! In the afternoon we headed to
a local bar to see one of the free book launches that were part of the writer’s
festival. It was the launch of “badlands” the newest book by one of the
co-founders of the lonely planet. His talk was amazing and the book sounded
incredible unfortunately there were no copies for sale as they hadn’t arrived
in the country yet. That evening we headed to Kirtan it was Alex and Laura’s
first experience of it and I was happy to hear they really enjoyed it. It was
super intense the music was really beautiful and I left feeling charged (even
if they didn’t let me play the tambourine)
Monday 14th October 2013
I got up and
went to the 7am Yoga class at the Yoga Barn both Carolyn and Alex had said they
would join me but it wasn’t really a surprise that they slept in. I did the
class and then had breakfast there as I wanted to try the Balinese Black Rice
Pudding which had coconut milk swirled in and was absolutely gorgeous. After
eating I headed back to the hotel where everyone else was still in bed. They
all went to breakfast and I sat and did some writing. About 12pm Carolyn and I
go picked up and headed out to the country to visit a high priestess for a
water purification ceremony. Carolyn had already had one and this seemed nowhere
near as intimate and intense as the first experience she had. I think the
priestess was dwelling on her own emotions as she seemed somewhat distracted
and even told us in vague terms that this wasn’t the life she wanted for
herself, how she wished she could marry and have children. There was a local
woman who was having the ritual done for herself as well she went first and it
was hard to watch she was screaming and crying and stamping her feet all the
while the high priestess drenched her in water and recited mantras and prayers.
I felt completely overwhelmed and was questioning whether or not this was a
good idea, but it was soon our turn the high priestess had us stand together
which already made the ritual less personal. The ritual had been far more
intense to watch than take part in and I don’t think I got the full benefit of
the experience. When it was done we dried off and got changed and then spoke
with the priestess some more before heading back to town for some food. Our
driver dropped us off on the edge of town and we walked through the rice fields
to a place called Seri Organics it was rumoured to be amazing but I think they
must be living off their reputation as the food was average and the service was
appalling. The view however was fantastic and it was a beautiful location to
debrief on our feelings from the day. We went back to the guesthouse where we
met the others had a quick shower and then got a taxi to the Yoga barn they had
an all you can eat organic vegetarian buffet and a film screening. We took
advantage of the all you can eat and ate as much as we possibly could before
heading to the upstairs yoga hall where the film was being screened. The film
was really weird it was about conspiracy theories involving money and
corruption in the powerful families of America but also talked about
sustainable energy and crop circles. True to her usual fashion Ayla was soon
out like a light and towards the end I was struggling to stay awake as well.
That night we said goodbye to Caroline who was leaving in the morning before
hitting the sack.
Tuesday 15th October 2013
This morning
Ayla and I woke up and did a yoga meditation and Reiki session it was an
amazing start to the day. The yoga was a mix of Yin and Vinyassa which got me
feeling stretched and awakened. After all that we had a late breakfast across
the road and met a really interesting guy called Rick who was right into his
Yoga and healing and what not having left behind a conventional life as a pilot
to learn how to harness his powers of healing. After eating we walked down to
the tattoo shop where we chatted to a guy getting inked and looked at designs
for inspiration then Ayla went for a facial and I wondered around the shops in
the rain. That evening we all went for a dinner at a Japanese sushi restaraunt
called rouge the owner was an eccentric French man and the decor was all red.
The food and drinks were amazing but the place lacked any atmosphere so the
night ended when the restaurant closed.
Wednesday 16th October 2013
Today we hired a
driver for the day and went on a sightseeing adventure of the surrounds of
Ubud. We started off at the elephant caves we walked down the millions of steps
and wondered around the temple there were a few caves with some shrines but
most of the temples were out in the open. There was a big ceremony coming up so
there were flocks of woman preparing offerings and loads of children scurrying
about and playing underfoot. Back in the car we drove to the Tampaksiring holy
springs we watched as people bathed in the holy water to remove their sin then
walked around the temples watching even more women preparing even more
offerings back by the hot springs Alex and I decided to bathe we had to dress
in sarongs and started off by making personal prayers and lighting incense. The
holy springs are two pools (full of fish) with lines of spouts of water the
idea is to stand in front of each say a prayer and then wash yourself under the
water and submerge your face and head in the flow. We moved through the first
pool and then got into the second our driver told us to only go under three of
the spouts in the second pool as the others are for locals only one of those
spouts is designed to remove black magic so if that old biddy at the rice
fields did curse us the damage is undone. There was also a spout that you could
ask for forgiveness for anything bad you have said or done to others. This
experience was far more intense than the water purification ceremony and we left
feeling like a weight had been lifted. On the way back to the car we somehow
managed to lose Laura but eventually we found her. Back in the car we drove to
a volcano and ate lunch in its shadow the volcano was a marvellous view but the
food was overpriced and average tasting. After eating we continued on to a
coffee plantation we had a brief tour (including seeing some Civets) and then
sampled the coffee we got to try a variety of teas and coffees for free and
then paid for a cup of the coffee made from the civet poo the girl serving us
was hilarious and referred to it as a cat-poo-ccino I thought it tasted as bad
as regular coffee but the others enjoyed it. Next was our last stop for the day
another temple complex with cut outs into the rocks dedicated to ancient kings
the whole thing was built as a meditation complex and groups of people from all
over the world still come to worship there. The meditation chambers are
freezing cold, damp and pitch black not sure it’s an environment I would want
to relax in. whilst walking around I made friends with one of the caregivers he
told me in broken English all about the complex and showed me a couple of
places tourists don’t normally see. One was the historical market where in ancient
times the gods would visit the common folk disguised as people if your produce
was bought by the gods than you and your family were forever blessed. He also
showed me the source of the holy water which flows from an underground spring
all around the temple and down into the river. By the time we were finished the
place was deserted so I headed towards the exit where everyone was waiting for
me. Driving back to Ubud we passed the rice terraces so Ayla could see them. We
had a late night booking flights to Lombok for the next day.
Thursday 17th October 2013
We got up packed
and checked out. We headed to Denpasar to the airport where we met Alex and he
took one of Ayla's bags then we fare welled other Alex who was going back to
Ulawatu, and headed into the airport. We had to print out our tickets and go
through to check in the airport security was fairly relaxed and we could even
take our water through customs. We waited at the gate to board the world’s
smallest airplane it had propellers! The take-off and landing was quite rough
and we were battered a bi by the wind but the flight only took 40mins and had
only cost us about £10 each! When we landed it was a hassle trying to find a
bus as everyone was trying to Shepard us towards the taxis claiming there were
no buses despite the fact that we could see them. We got on and paid but it sat
about for ages waiting for more people. He driver drove like he was a race car
driver weaving in and out of lanes. We got to where we wanted to be and checked
into a guesthouse we managed to wangle ourselves a good deal and then ate in
the restaurant but the food was a bit shit.
Friday 18th October 2013
We spent this
morning looking for somewhere else to stay that was cheaper but there wasn’t really
anything that wasn’t completely shit. We also went to all the travel agents to
enquire about trekking the Rinjani which is the big volcano on the island. Eventually
we booked a two day trek and with that done we headed to the beach only it was
quite dirty and full of touts which we couldn’t be bothered dealing with. Lucky
for us there was a flash hotel that let us use their pool for the afternoon if
we bought food and drinks so we did just that. We stayed there all afternoon
and watched the sunset over the ocean before trekking back to our guesthouse.
Saturday 19th October 2013
This morning Laura
and I were up at 4am to get picked up for our trek a taxi picked us up from the
hotel along with another girl and then we hit the road. The drive to Sanaru
took about two hours most of which I dozed in the back seat. When we got there
it became clear that communication between the guys selling the tours and the operators
themselves was almost non-existent in our group we had two vegetarian and two
with severe food allergies that hadn’t been catered for so leaving was delayed
while the guides went out to get food for us. It didn’t start the day off well
and our guide Sam seemed irritated he had to work at all and was short with us
constantly. Eventually we headed off all
of us piling into the flatbed of a truck to drive about 5mins to the start
point. We had to sign into the national parks register and then we were off. We
spent the next eight hours walking upwards the trail was incredibly difficult
and at several points I needed to pull myself up using trees as the trail was too
high for me to simply step up. Our group didn’t stay together at all Sam our
guide charged way ahead along with two of the group and the rest of us were
spread out along the mountain. For large sections of the day I was walking
completely alone but at least the trail was well marked and there were many
groups heading in both directions so I did see people here and there. Along the
way there were several pit stops at each one we stopped for about ten minutes
to regroup and rehydrate before continuing on. About midday we stopped for an
hour for lunch the porters and Sam set themselves up a distance from us where
they cooked us lunch and shot us filthy looks it seems they don’t enjoy their
jobs! While we sat another girl joined our group she arrived in Sanaru late and
had been rushed up the mountain behind us. After the forth rest stop the trail became
hugely difficult the track was no longer under the treeline and so we were
completely exposed to the sun and the wind. The track was also more difficulty
as the terrain had changed from a nice compact trail to loose sand so we slid
backwards with every step up eventually the loose sand turned to rock and we
had to climb up on our hands and knees once that part of the trail was done we
were almost there I wanted to break into a run for the finish but my legs wouldn’t
cooperate. The view from the crater rim was spectacular inside the rim is a
lake and in the middle of the lake is a baby volcano. The whole experience was phenomenal
ruined only by the complete disregard to the environment the porters and guides
claim to be environmentally aware and blame the rubbish on the tourists (for
which I’m sure some of the blame belongs) but on more than one occasion I saw
them dropping rubbish and most of the filth is empty gas canisters from them
cooking and empty packets of rice and noodles, there is also a lot of human
waste all over the mountain and yards and yard of soiled toilet paper. Proper education
needs to be given to the guides and tourists about the appropriate way to shit
in the wilderness as pretty soon no one will want to camp in the festering waste
dump at the top. As an indicator of how bad it is at the crater rim camp there
is a pack of dogs who live there that’s how
much rubbish there is that dogs can live there., it’s really rather sad. After reaching
the top we sat around in the later afternoon sunshine chatting about the climb and
feeling the temperature quickly drop as the sun faded away. We waited while
camp was set up and then retreated into our tents to change into something
warmer. The porters served us dinner in our tents as it was too cold and windy
to eat outside. We stayed up a while chatting before falling asleep pretty
early. We woke up around 11pm to howling winds so strong they were ripping the
tent pegs out from under us the others in the group were having similar problems
but ours was the worst eventually even our fly sheet flew away leaving us in
hysterical laughter the porters fixed it but it wasn't long before it happened
again and again and again all night the whole tent flapped and pulled us about
making sleep rather elusive.
Sunday 20th October 2013
We were awake
early his morning but not early enough to see the sun rise Sam had told us the
wrong time so we missed the spectacular event. We were hurried through
breakfast and hurried out of our tent so we could move on. Most of the group
was continuing up to the summit but we were heading back down. Down wasn’t as
hard as up but it was still a challenge as the path was so steep and never
ending. The decent was really hard on the knees and ankles which were pretty seized
up by the time we got to the bottom. When we reached the end we were picked up
and driven back to Sanaru it was a relief to take our boots off but our ankles
were so used to walking in boots that they barely worked. At the base camp we
were fed and freshened up as much as we could before heading back to Sengigi. The
driver was a maniac and both Laura and the other girl who was with us kept
telling him off but he was either too proud or too stupid to listen he even left his engine running while he
filled up with petrol! When we got back we showered and got food and then
collapsed into bed.
Monday 21st October 2013
This morning was
a bit of a bother I was dressed packed and ready to go by 7.30am so went to
have breakfast but the restaurant didn’t open until 8.00am so I sat and waited
while ready my book. As soon as it opened I ordered and ordered for Laura as
well who had asked me too since we were getting picked up at 9am I asked for
them to take the food to the room while I sorted out the bill by the time that
was sorted and I got to the room the food was there and Ayla had eaten my
breakfast which Laura had told her was for her. I was raging but there was
nothing to be done about it so we grabbed our stuff and left the morning
continued to get worse when we got dropped off at a small café along with all
the others waiting for boats to the Gilly islands. There were heaps of touts
about offering us return tickets to Bali but we declined this guy asked Ayla if
she wanted to trade her smashed up iPhone for a boat ticket and thinking he was
joking she agreed only he wasn’t and then he got raging and next thing you know
our tickets are gone and the boat guys are claiming we never had one unless we
buy a ticket to Bali on principle I wasn’t going to buy off these dickheads I would
rather lose the money we paid to get to the Gillis. There was a local dude
sitting in the café that told us it was a scam they always find someone without
a ticket to Bali and try to blackmail them into buying one I was absolutely
raging. Eventually I turned on the water works proclaimed my fear of boats and that
I didn’t want to get the ferry to Bali that I wanted to fly from Lombok next
thing you know our tickets reappear and we are on the boat albeit it crammed on
the local boat along with 50million others and several chickens. The ride to
Gilly Air took about 15mins and soon we were ashore looking for somewhere to
stay. The hostel we booked into was quite cute the beds were a normal set of
bunks and then a double bed built into a mezzanine floor. We dumped our stuff
got our bikinis on and headed for food and the beach. After a delicious lunch
we got ourselves some sun loungers and baked in the sun. we were all swimming
when the rain came in like a wave Laura and Ayla were out further than me and
started screaming but I was still dry and couldn’t work it out until it hit me
like a sheet the rain was thick and heavy and lasted most of the afternoon we
managed to squeeze in at a table inside the place we had lunch and got a cup of
tea and then more food just to pass the time. Later on we went back to the
hostel and showered and changed we met a couple of girls who were also staying
there and we all went to grab some dinner having eaten not that long ago I just
downed cocktails. Later on we went a few bars down the road to a dive of a
place that was having a beach party it was mostly full of locals and most of
them were men but it was a laugh and we got a good dance in. even Jesus came to
the party and created energy balls with his dance moves.
Tuesday 22nd October 2013
This morning we
met up with Alice and Rachel the girls from our hostel and had breakfast together.
We spent the morning swimming and tanning then attempted to walk around the
island but had left it too late so only got about halfway. We stopped for a
drink and then headed back and had dinner together then went and listened to
the live music at the bar next door.
Wednesday 23rd October 2013
This morning we
had a boat to catch at 8.30am to Gilly Tawagan as usual we didn’t have time for
breakfast or anything other than to rush to the pier. The boat didn’t take too
long about 20mins with a brief stop at Meno first. Backing off the shore at
Meno we were too close to another boat and made unhealthy grinding noises as
the boats scarped against one another everyone on our boat had to sit to one
side to tilt the weight across. Once we arrived at Gilly T we had breakfast and
then Laura and I went searching for somewhere to stay while Ayla looked after
the bags it took ages but we finally decided upon a place and checked in. we
got beach ready and claimed some sun lounges where I promptly fell asleep
eventually I woke up and we wandered down the road to get some food. Back at
the hotel I was still super drained so had a power nap that last almost two
hours I got p and we got ready to head
out there wasn’t many food places open but I did grab something at the food
market before we got our party on. There was a party at the Irish bar and we
started drinking next thing you know it’s the sun rise.
Thursday 24th October 2013
We were supposed
to hit the beach early this morning but were pretty slow moving I headed there
earlier than the others and met Alice who arrived this morning. When the others
got up we went down the beach for some breakfast. We met up with some guys we
met last night and spent the day on the beach swimming and snorkelling. Late afternoon
we trekked to the other end of the island to watch the sunset it was fantastic
we sat and had a few drinks then went back and got changed and went for dinner.
After eating we hit up a beach party for a bit they were playing really good
old school music and we danced the night away before slinking off to do some
mushrooms. It was such a good trip on the beach with no one else around
watching the stars expand and contract and all having a massive laugh towards
the end of the trip we headed back to the beach party but we were all coming
down and just sat in bean nags watching everyone else
Friday 25th October 2013
We woke up
feeling really groggy and went and met Alice and the boys for breakfast we were
all a bit rough and after eating collapsed on the beach. We had a great time
messing about in the water taking ridiculous photos before the guys had to
leave to catch their ferry back to Bali. We chilled on the beach and this absolute
tool of a guy tried selling us tickets to the boat party I was having none of
it and I think he made it his mission to try and persuade us but really he was
just annoying by the end of it he was offering the four of us 3 free tickets
plus two drinks each and he would buy us a bottle of vodka it was a tad
embarrassing how pushy he was. In the afternoon we walked to the turtle sanctuary
and then booked a snorkel trip for tomorrow. Later on we went for dinner at
this place that was supposed to be amazing but they served me chicken spring
rolls (I asked for vegetarian the waiter was like yes chicken… chickens are vegetarians
so chicken is vegetarian ummmm no) we went to the bar at Alice’s hostel and had
a few as we were leaving she went to bed and we went on to the reggae bar had a
bit of a dance and then crashed out.
Saturday 26th October 2013
Woke up this morning and headed off on our snorkel
trip we were running late as usual so had to shovel in breakfast. The boat was
so overcrowded once everyone and their snorkels were in which was annoying but
at least we got seats at the front where we could tan while sailing. We stopped
at three points during the day which were all cool but I have done better
snorkelling the highlight was seeing turtles at the second stop they were
massive and completely chilled. We stopped at Gilly Air for lunch just as the
rain came slamming down we ate and then went to meet the boat the rain had
stopped but it was overcast and the wind had picked up. There was even thunder
and lightning! Just when we thought it couldn’t get better the engine died but
luckily the captain had the ability to use a spanner as a hammer and hit it
until it came to life, by this stage the waves were huge and we arrived back to
Gilly T freezing and soaking wet. The day had turned miserable so after showers
and dry clothes we headed to a café that had cake and internet to try and book
some flights. Eventfully that was done and we headed for dinner and then out
again although by 2am I was over it so took myself to bed.
Sunday 27th October 2013
This morning we
got up and packed up as usual was ready but the others were still fannying
about so breakfast was super rushed annoyingly the ferry was late any way so we
could have taken our time. We were supposed to arrive in Seminyak at 12.30pm
but didn’t get there until about 3pm we had booked a room at Panca Jaya so
headed there and got settled in. Alex arrived around the same time the food
from Zula we ordered did we sat and ate and then other Alex took Ayla to the
Air Asia office to buy some flights as online wouldn’t accept her card. Later on
Alex, Laura and I went to La Planca to watch the sunset on the beach I left
them to it and headed back to the hotel via the shops. Later on we flagged down
the world’s most inappropriate hilarious taxi driver who was yelling at woman
that they were MILFs and other much more detailed muck which was so out of line
but equally funny. We ate at ultimo which was pretty good then headed back
early as we were all shattered.
Monday 28th October 2013
Woke up finished
packing and had breakfast then waited for Nyoman to come pick me up and take me
to the airport I was leaving the others behind to go and chill in Thailand for
a month. I had to fly from Bali to Jakarta and then on to Bangkok when I eventually
arrived I shared a taxi to Koh San road with some (lovely but very smelly)
hippies I found my hostel checked in and then went exploring I didn’t go far as
it was already about 10.30pm but I grabbed some street food and then chilled
back at the hostel.
