Given my last blog I thought it may put your mind at ease to hear about the time I have spent in Bali! When I arrived at the hostel (Grannys) I was welcomed with open arms by the hostel manager (Baz) and shown around the place; the beds had colourful mosquito nets, there was a huge garden and a restaurant/bar area! perfect!! I was introduced to couple (Tom and Harry) and we sat down for a beer, one beer turned in to a few, more people joined (including my friend Charlie from uni) ... A few beers turned in to shots, which then led to a big night out in Kuta. I can't say I remember too much about the night but I woke up with a headache, hugging a tube of Pringles.. I later remembered I had made big plans whilst intoxicated with my 'new best friends' Tom, Harry and Megan to travel to Ubud the following day to drink in the hippy culture and check out the rice paddies. Luckily my hangover eased by lunchtime and the hostel workers took a few of us down to Ulu watu (A temple filled with monkeys on the edge of a cliff in South Bali) to watch the famous sunset.
The following day as planned me, Megan, Tom & Harry took a two day trip to Ubud, within this time we were accommodated in a B&B within a Buddhist temple, which was a brilliant experience, although I must admit I did encounter a few cockroaches!?! Amazingly I learnt to ignore the cockroaches or politely ask Megan to remove them (she would pick them up happily- very impressive... I'm not that brave yet). There may have been a few cockroaches but the owners of this B&B made up for this with their fantastic banana pancakes for breakfast (the best I have had in Bali and i have had a few). Speaking of food Ubud would be top of my list in Bali for restaurants and good food, there were so many places offering amazing traditional meals with meats cooked in Balinese spices. When I wasn't eating most of my time in Ubud was spent on the back of a rented moped driving out to see temples such as the elephant cave and going to see the magnificent rice fields featured in the film 'Eat, Pray, Love'. In fact I enjoyed having the moped so much that one evening I suggested we took a road trip to west Bali to go to the famous sea temple Tanah Lot for sunset. Megan (who was driving our bike) was immediately keen for the journey which we estimated would take 1 hour and a half, whereas Tom and Harry needed persuading as they were certain we would get lost as we had no map. They were right, we got lost numerous occasions due to the severe lack of road signs and traffic in Bali not to mention our generally terrible navigational skills and finally arrived at our destination 2 and a half hours late... Yes we had missed sunset and it was pitch black so you couldn't even see the temple. Tom was giving me the 'I told you so' look and we ended up sitting eating crisps in the car park. Another lesson learnt: do not try and navigate your way across a country you have been in three days with no map relying solely on road signs and following the sun. We ditched the bikes for our last day in Ubud so me and Megan decided to take full advantage of one of the many spas and treated ourselves to a two hour treatment inclusive of a full body massage, Balinese spices scrub, moisturising yogurt treatment and a rose petal bath. I know what your thinking... I'm not travelling I'm living a life of luxury, but this spa cost less than £10.
After Ubud we travelled back to Grannys Hostel Kuta for two nights to chill catch up with our friends and enjoy the beaches and sunsets in preparation for our trip to the Gili Islands. A few of our friends Pete, viola and Aaron were also heading out to Gili the day before so there was quite a few of us. The boat to Gili Trawangan (The largest of the three islands) was a rough ride, I decided to go up top on the boat to work on my tan of course and soon regretted it after experiencing lashings of waves and came back downstairs looking like a drowned rat, another error in judgement on my behalf, although the others were amused..
When we arrived I knew I would enjoy it, the beaches are beautiful, the sea is turquoise and there are copious beach front bars, not to mention the fact that their is no motorised traffic on the island. The next 6 days were spent soaking up the sun on the beach and drinking in the beach front bars. After six days Megan left and we moved to a slightly smaller island Gili Air and spent the next 4 days repeating a very similar routine, although we did stay in thatched bungalows with outdoor showers and hammocks- this was very exciting for me!! However the water in Gili air is salt water and I soon began to feel fairly unclean and so a fresh water shower was welcomed when we returned back to Gili T. Again we spent another six days being complete beach bums, during which we celebrated Pete's 30th birthday, probably one of the best days I had.. We walked down to one of the posh resorts on the island and spent the day drinking cocktails at the pool, we were then supposed to go on a late afternoon fishing trip which got cancelled due to the sea conditions but this did not dampen our spirits as we created our own beach olympics; inclusive of the egg and spoon race and dizzy dinosaurs- a highlight of my trip. The night before I left Gili T I was also lucky enough to experience a full moon party inclusive of fire dancers and DJs on the beach- I even managed to stay up to watch the beautiful sunrise which is a big feat for me. Having spent a whopping 14 days on the Gili Islands ( most people just stay for 3 or 4) I realised my flight was in just two days so said my Goodbyes and headed back to Kuta. Luckily Pete came too so I wasn't all on my own..I went back to Grannys Hostel and was surprised to meet a whole knew group of lovely people that had just arrived in Bali; I was able to pass my knowledge down to them and felt like an experienced traveller for the first time. We also enjoyed a day at the beach and a big night out as my last hurrah before leaving Bali. Unfortunately that last night left me so tired that i left my debit card in a bank machine- yes i know- Idiot!! I Cant wait for my sky high 'emergency'.. credit card bills..but these things happen (mainly to me). Now here I am back in Singapore waiting to catch my night train to Kuala Lumpur to start a knew chapter. I have had an incredible month, made some great friends and I am so happy just sitting here reminiscing on my amazing experience so far.