SEMINYAK/ LEGIAN/ KUTA

Bali was kind of special because some of Ryan’s friends came to meet us. It was so nice to see faces from home and meant that we had three weeks of fun with these guys. It also meant three weeks of me with 4 boys so I think I deserve a medal.

For the first few nights we stayed around the Seminyak area to enjoy the beach and nightlife. It was pretty much a holiday vibe at first before we had enough and decided to move on and start checking out what Bali had to offer.

Unanimously, we all wanted to check out the Gili Islands so we organised our transport and off we went.

 

GILI T

We got to Gili T with 2 nights booked and added two more once we arrived. It had such a cool vibe with no vehicles allowed so the only way to get around is by horse and cart or by bike so natuarlly we hired out bikes and expored.

Its not very big and you could easily do the island in an hour and a half but we stopped along the way at Ombok beach to grab a beer and enjoy the beach.

We organised to go on a snorkelling trip around the islands with a stop on Gili Air for lunch. It was cool to do snorkelling with friends and was a massive highlight for Ryan as he was swimming right along side a turtle that can up to the surface. He even managed to stroke it, talk about good timing. Gili Air was a good stop as its like a calmer version of Gili T, it’s probably where you would head for a romantic holiday or a relaxed break.

Speaking of turtles, they have a sanctuary right on the beach front on Gili T where you can see tiny baby turtle that are being looked after before being released into the ocean. There were hundreds in the tanks and were literally the cutest things ever.

We also hired out kayaks one day to have a paddle around apprently you can spot turtles just off the shore but we weren’t so lucky. I can imagine though cause the water was so clear you could see anything.

At night, we spent a few nights in a hostel called Broken Compass, where we ended up staying the two extra nights. We were introduced to vodka jossy shots which is basically a vodka shot with caffinated sherbert powder poured in. It made doing shots so much easier. Eight vodka shots later and we were ready to head out to the bars.

We were staying on Gili T when it was ramadam which meant only some bars/ clubs were open and closed early. That didn’t matter too much to us as we usually started early so were happy to finish early.

It wasn’t until our last night that we truly felt the magic of Gili T.

 

UBUD

After a boat and a mini bus ride later we arrived in Ubud. We had booked to stay here for 4 nights as there is plenty to do in the area to keep you occupied.

We started our visit off with white water rafting. We were taken down over 16kms of rapids and off a 4 meter water fall. It was as insane as it sounds. So much fun though and one of the highlights of our trip to Bali. It’s hard work though, you have to put the effort in and expect to get stuck a few times and having to jump your way out of a high rock. Ryan did fall out of the boat which to me was hilarious, he didn’t think so though. I lost my flip flops which I didn’t find as funny.

On our way back to our hostel we stopped off at the monkey forest. It’s a pretty famous tourist attraction in Ubud. It’s basically a big open park with hundreds of monkeys running around. They range in size from cute tea cup sized to big arse monsters that are just plain scary. You can buy banana’s inside the forest from little stalls and hand feed them to the monkeys. Be careful though cause they do bite and I know a few people who have been bitten – straight to medical for your rabies jab…

Another thing to do durning your stay in Ubud is a hike up a volcano. What makes this even more special (or crazy) is that you hike to the top for sunrise. This meant we had to get up at like 3am and follow a guide up the mountain with only the light from your torch. It was a struggle enough to climb in the dark but it was also a pretty steep hike. We made it to the top for sunrise but there were quiet a few people who didn’t – I would be so annoyed if I had to get up at 3am and then miss the sunrise… We had to wait on top of the volcano for about 40mins before the sun began to rise and it was freeeeeezing. We literally huddled around trying to keep warm before our guide brought us our warm breakfast that was cooked on the volcano (how cool is that?). Obvs the sunrise was amazing and totally worth the agro. Even the walk down was eventful, it was a mix of uncontrolable running until you crashed into the person in front of you and careful steps.

On our way back from the volcano our guide took us to see the rice terraces which are in all the pictures you see of Bali. It’s a pretty cool way to grow rice not to mention it looks nice too. After that we headed to a coffee plantation to taste the infamous Lumak Coffee (cat poo coffee). We were given a selection of flavours of tea and coffee to try ranging from ginger to chocolate. The best thing about the whole experience was that it was free! There is a shop where you can stock up on your very own flavoured coffee which we all did.

As this was our last day in Ubud we gathered up our stuff and headed back to Seminyak. On the way we stopped at ‘the sexy waterfall’. It’s basically just a normal waterfall but with a sign up that says ‘get sexy but don’t get naked’ everyyyyonnneee takes a pciture with it. Once we had our pictures and a quick swim by the waterfall we headed back to the bus and to our final destination of Seminyak.

 

SEMINYAK take 100

Our last few days in Seminyak were mostly for fairwell purposes. We headed out to check out the nightlife at the infamous Potato Head Beach Club. Let me just say this, dress NICE and have a whole lot of money with you ’cause this place is fancy. It has a pretty cool settting though so is worth the (quick) stop.

We enjoyed a couple days in sun before we had to say goodbye to our friends from home and all go our seperare ways.

Me and Ryan had a few more days left in Bali before our flight to Australia so we headed to a new part of town.

 

CANGUU

Canguu is a major surfer town invested with aussie tourists which in turn brings aussie branded shops and plenty of vegan/ healthy restaurants.

We were lucky in Canguu as friends that we made in India came to meet us in to finish off our Bali trip. So good to catch up with people who started this journey with us. We got to hang out for our last few days in Bali and exchange stories of our adventures so far.

Over our last few days we hired mopeds (sorry mum, again) and explored the area a bit more. We ate great food and drank a whole lot more. We made the most of the sun as we knew the next places we would be that it wouldn’t be around as much. One eveing we checked out the Tannah Lot temple which you have to do at sunset, its beautiful even if its a bit cloudy.