Beautiful Bali

Yesterday we left Amed and had a private driver bring us to our next destination, via a few spots on the way. It turned out to be an incredible day that gave us a pretty varied tour of the area. And we gossiped the entire way- we three girls get on brilliantly!

The first stop we did was of a waterfall called Kantor Lampo, which was a big waterfall set within quite a quiet location in a jungle.. it was beautiful and peaceful. We didn't know you were allowed to swim in it so we missed the chance, but otherwise it was a good story and we got sprayed by it quite a lot and it was very refreshing. Next we went to a huge and very powerful waterfall, which was riddled with tourists. This was called Blangsinga Waterfall. Although it was nice it was what I expected from Bali-beauty ruined by tourism, which of course I am a part of so I shouldn't really complain! We had a good laugh viewing some pretentious people doing Instagram model shoots, and we walked a huge amount of steps in extreme hot humidity. But it was worth it. At the end of the day tourism does thrive in places because of their beauty, so the crowds are to be expected really.

Then we went to Goa Gajan temple, which is a Hindu temple in an incredibly beautiful setting surrounded by lushious garden. I've seen a lot of temples, but this one is one of the most peaceful and beautiful. We spent some time exploring the gardens, all in awe of the multiple shades of green within eyesight.

Then we went to a Lowak Coffee plantation and this blew my mind as I had never heard of Luwak coffee. We had a tour of the place and the process of the coffee production. The luwak is an animal a bit like a possum and the coffee is made from beans that they have eaten and then excreted out! They used to be considered pests because they ate the beans and one year they ate all the harvest and so the local people had no choice but to try to rescue the beans from the excrement. What they found was a delicious uniquely smooth coffee and since then (with some tweaking to the hygiene management) the product has been produced as a delicacy and is one of the most expensive coffees in the world. The plantation was in a beautiful location and we got to taste 14 different teas and coffees for free, whilst enjoying the scene. Then we paid about £2.60 for a cup of luwak coffee, and it was rather nice. However as I haven't drank caffeine for years it didn't give me a good night sleep. But I don't mind because the whole experience was brilliant, I just loved it-was smiling the whole time.

Finally we went to Tegalalang Rice Terraces, which were another beautifully green and scenic sight. By now we were quite tired from walking in the heat up and down steep steps at every stop, so we did half of the walk and continued the journey to Ubud-our final destination. The whole tour took about 8 hours and was far better than I ever imagined. It was such a good day, I did not want it to end.Read more