Island tour

The plan today is to hire bikes and explore the island. Bobby and I set out to enquire about prices, with him being so tall and having Ruth on the back he struggles to use the small ones but we find the big bikes are twice the price. We get approached by numerous people and also are given the option of a private driver which is going to cost £12 for the day each. We call Ruth and with the weather looking iffy opt for the car. Bobby has been craving croissants we find a lovely bakery but he has to settle for a brioche bun. The driver picks us up outside our hotel gives us an itinerary of our day ahead. Our first stop is Diamond Hills and the drive there takes just under an hour, the roads aren't the best here and when it starts to rain I'm really glad we took the option of the car rather than the bike. There are lots of tourists traveling around the island but it seems they have a system to all travel in one direction rather than pass each other coming in the opposite direction. As we're driving along the road the waves are crashing over the break water. We eventually arrive to a car park full of white transit vans, I'm glad ours is a different colour otherwise there would be no chance in hell of me finding it. These huge peninsulas sit high in the water with beautiful beaches at their base. Even though the weather isn't great the views are spectacular. There is the option to walk down to the beach but to be honest I don't think you could get a better view than here. We take a Balinese coffee and enjoy the view. A short drive down the road takes us to a tree house but they want 8 quid to take a photo so we walk through and take our own photos. Second stop is kelingking beach. Another perfect beach with stunning views. Even now there are so many tourists I'd hate to think what it was like precovid. Everywhere you go here you pay for a wee and nevermind spending a penny it's 30p a pop. As we leave there are two beautiful girls who are so sweet selling ice creams and drinks to the tourists. They have the most perfect English and if they were a little older I'd give them a Job tomorrow. We stop for lunch and a rule of thumb here is you buy the driver lunch too. We drive to broken beac but the craziness has started because cars that have already been there are starting to come back to the main road and the amount of near misses is crazy. We come around a corner and as we go to drive up the hill a young German couple are coming down and skid on the gravel coming off their scooter. Our driver stops and we all get out to help. They're obviously shaken an have minor cuts and bruises. We finally arrive at broken beach and billabong, there is a small peninsula that separates the two but as I walk to the other side I'm stood watching the waves crashing against the rock and sweeping into the bay. I can hear someone shouting and then I realise it's one of the locals telling me to "step away from the edge". Our last stop is sunset at crystal bay which im sure would be beautiful if the weather was a bit better but I have a wonderful packet coffee there that makes me wonder why I pay for Starbucks. As we're sitting here two women come up beside us really distressed and say they have been shouting for ages as they were nearly drowning. The waves in Bali are huge and that's why it's great for surfing but sometimes in the bays you get cross tides and this is where it gets dangerous. I give them what's left of my coffee to warm them up. On the way back we're caught in another traffic jam which is yet another accident. We finally arrive back at the hotel and Bobby heads back whil e Ruth and I grab food. Later in the evening I catch up with Judith who I first met in Penang it's so good to reunite. She's exhausted after diving today so a quick Beer and she's gone but it's wonderful to meet again.Read more