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2023 Travelling trip
  • Amy Firth
  • Thomas Baxter

2023 Travelling trip

After years of conversations, saving and planning, we set off on our adventure on NYE 2022 and landed in Bangkok ready for 5 and a half months of adventure. Read more
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  • 2023 Travelling trip

    Darwin - Crocosaurus Cove

    May 8, 2023 in Australia ⋅ 🌙 27 °C

    Today we went to Crocosaurus Cove with a VIP tour. The tour was insightful and the aussie guiding us knew lots of facts and knew the crocodiles well! We started the tour in fresh water aquarium before moving on to looking at the big crocs, and learning abit about them and where they came from. We went on to feed Burt, the famous 80 year old from crocodile Dundee who is a bachelor, after attacking most of the females in his life. We fed him some suspicious looking hearts which was our first experience of hearing the jaw 'pop'. We also held the baby crocs, along with a snake and the frill necked lizard. We learnt that the big crocs have all been captured due to being deemed a hazard to humans in the wild. Although Croc farms aren't natural, the guide made a good point about the fact these farms protect the wold crocs from being hunted for their meat and their leather and told us the population is 1 Croc to 1 human in the northern territory. Burt had a missing leg, which unlike Randall, is from an operation (Randall's was most likely from a fight with a fellow crocodile). The guide told us how these injuries don't affect their abilities at all and that their bodies can stop the blood supply from leaving the limb. Burt also had a missing eye and a tooth hanging off! We found out they go through 3000 teeth in their lifetime as they regularly fall out and gain new teeth. There were only 2 crocodiles cohabiting there, which we were told is very rare as crocodiles are very territorial, but Will and Kate have been living together for 30 years now, and have babies each year. The size difference between them was vast, with Kate only being around 2 metres, and Will, like the others was 5 metres. We were told this didn't make her any less scary!Read more

  • 2023 Travelling trip

    Ubud Day 1

    May 9, 2023 in Indonesia

    Yet another early rise for our 6.45am flight from Darwin to Bali. Everything ran smoothly, with the only downside being the child with the most hideous noise and my headphones having no battery...

    We landed in Bali and the visa on arrival was easy enough but we ended up paying more for a taxi having not prebooked one. The taxi journey was around an hour and a half which Tom did not enjoy! We arrived at our accommodation recommended by Aron and Rachel (dewi ayu) and were pleased we could check straight into our room.

    For £19 a night, the room is huge and good enough. That wouldn't have even got us a bunk bed back in Australia! After a rest and a shower (and a quick dip for Tom) we headed out into Ubud. The roads were busy with the amount of people as they're only small and thin. I wished I had lots of money to shop as there's an abundance, along with food places and spas! (missed those in Aus)

    We went to mudra for our first and only meal of the day which had a cool, spacious vibe upstairs with lots of healthy goods on the menu. It felt good to have a rice dish again and it felt even better to be paying £16 for 2 meals and 2 drinks!

    After our food, we went to the spa for an aromatherapy massage which was lovely! Again.. Made lovelier by the fact it was £6 each for an hour!

    On the way back, we stopped for a cononut water which is the biggest coconut I've had in all of Asia!

    Here's hoping it all helped to heal Tom for a new day in Ubud!    Read more

  • 2023 Travelling trip

    Ubud - Day 2

    May 10, 2023 in Indonesia ⋅ ☁️ 30 °C

    We woke relatively early and had breakfast in our hotel. The breakfast was OK, consisting of a banana toastie, fruit plate, and a boiled egg, accompanied by a balinese coffee. The coffee was very grainy and not very nice, but the toastie was surprisingly nice for it's simplicity.

    We headed out to explore the market streets of Ubud, where vendors were selling a range of souvenirs and local crafts. The humidity under the overcast skies was quite intense. Amy bought herself a silk skirt from a vendor who was extremely pleased with the business. We were his first sale of the day and he used our bank notes to "bless" his stall by slapping all his products with the money for good fortune. We explored a few more market stalls which were all selling very similar things. Lots of vendors we're offering a special "morning price" to try secure an early sale. We ended up fairly close to the grandly titled Ubud Palace, so decided to have a look around. It was an intricate old temple, however it was a bit underwhelming. The palace was streaming with instagrammers taking photos and much of it was closed.

    We were feeling quite hungry, despite it only being 11am, so we decided to try a nearby restaurant called Milk & Madu which Amy had picked out. We both had a Matcha latte and a light lunch which was very tasty. We continued our exploration of Ubud with a walk out of the town to the Campuhan Ridge walk. Along the way, we had good views of the rice terraces surrounding Ubud. The walk was quite tough going in the heat, luckily there was a small village at the top where we stopped for a drink. On the way back down we decided to film a live action role play of Temple Run for Lorenzo.

    We returned to our accommodation and relaxed for a while after a busy day. We had arranged to meet Hannah and Matthew who happened to be in Bali on their Honeymoon. We went out for a few drinks and something to eat and a catch up. It was nice to see some familiar faces from home!    Read more

  • 2023 Travelling trip

    Monkey Forest & Tegenungan Waterfall

    May 11, 2023 in Indonesia ⋅ ☁️ 31 °C

    Today we walked to the Monkey Forest Sanctuary. This is a large forest where the monkeys are free to roam, but it is extremely touristy! You see monkeys roaming the streets before you arrive at the sanctuary, but this is nothing compared to the vast amount of monkeys you see once you enter! We saw many people getting the infamous 'selfie' shot and toyed with the idea ourselves. The handler uses food to position the monkeys resulting in a photo that looks like the monkey is taking a selfie!

    We saw a range of monkeys from the big boys chilling with their balls out, to the tiniest baby monkeys I have EVER seen. They were so small that they could barely walk! We were even treat to a couple of live sex shows from the randy ones.

    From here, we got bikes to the Tegenungan Waterfall. Due to the recent rain, the waterfall wasn't actually open to swim in sadly so we didn't bother going for the close up, instead we went to the Omma Dayclub. You had to spend a certain amount to get a pool bed, so we sat at the bar on the top floor where I enjoyed a delightful smoothie bowel and we shared sushi (inspired by Hannah's obsession). We then enjoyed a swim in the pool, but annoyingly we didn't have our own table. Here people get the good photo shots looking out at the waterfall and we were entertained by the finger pointing woman!

    That evening, we had a treat night and went to an Indonesian restaurant called, 'Liap Liap' that Tom had picked out. Everything we had was absolutely delicious! We shared the grilled fish which was tasty and then the young coconut pudding which was like a bread pudding which was amazzzing!    Read more

  • 2023 Travelling trip

    Ubud - Tegallalang

    May 12, 2023 in Indonesia ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    Today was a busy, tourist day! We messaged our previous grab drivers from the day before and booked them both to drive us around on their scooters for the day. The first stop was a coffee plantation suggested from Tom's grab driver. Here we were briefly told how they make the famous Luwak coffee, in which the coffee bean is eaten by the civet animal (who is sadly kept in a cage). The bean ferments in the civet's stomach and is then pooped out. They then clean the bean, peel it & then roast it. We can confirm that this coffee did taste luxurious!

    We also tried some other teas and coffees which they grow and make there and we were served by a very friendly guy! The teas and coffees were free but we had to pay for the lewak coffee. We both enjoyed the avocado coffee, although each tea and coffee had sugar in! (of course)

    Whilst drinking our coffee, we watched some swingers swinging on the swings in their long dresses and watched one interesting couple having a full on photoshoot.

    From here, we went to the Ceking rice terrace which was overwhelming to say the least! We pre paid for the swing, but once we were in there, the experience was somewhat ruined by the amount of people and the calibir of people there. We walked across the rice terrace and found a much quieter area to have our usuals of a coconut and a beer where Tom was mesmerised with learning how to make their kites.

    We then attempted to go to a beach bar, however this was extremely busy and they didn't have availability so we went to the Tis cafe where I had a big plate full of Indonedian food. There was a pool there, however we did not go in this but we enjoyed our lunch all the same, surrounded with beautiful views of the rice terrace.

    We hopped back on our scooters and make our way back to our hotel and made our drivers' day by paying them over the odds!    Read more

  • 2023 Travelling trip

    Kewak Fire and Dance show

    May 12, 2023 in Indonesia ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    In the evening, we went to see the traditional Kewak fire and dance show which was on at the temple. It was already pretty filled up by the time we got there but we got seats on the end of a row and had an English copy of the story, 'The Monkey King' that was being told throughout the show.

    The show started with 50+ men, with ages ranging from young to old who were all sat around a fire pit chanting. These chants were repeated throughout the show. We both thoroughly enjoyed the performance, although Tom was quickly disappointed with the lack of beer due to us rushing!

    After the show, we were beaten out of the temple by most of the performers who were not waiting around! We went for a drink at Milk & Madu and then decided it was to be pizza night and went to Mozzarella which didn't disappoint! Tom toyed with the idea of getting the Arak drink but decided against it.    Read more

  • 2023 Travelling trip

    Ubud > Gili Trawangani

    May 13, 2023 in Indonesia ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    It was an early start to set off on the journey from Ubud to Gili T. A bonus of the day was having time for breakfast before the bus came. The bus arrived and we were in the front seat for the bus ride to the Panangbai. Strangely, we stopped part way where the driver told us to get out and to get our tickets. Having already paid for the trip and having what we thought were our tickets, we found this strange, but by this point in our travels we'd learnt to just go with it!

    After being pestered by a cat and receiving our ticket for the boat, we were back on our way to get the boat. The pier was extremely busy with some people getting on what looked like much more luxurious boats than ours!

    The boat arrived, luggage on and seats secured and we were on our way. The next 3 hours can only be described as hell. Sea sickness hit me for the first time in my life. The boat was extremely busy, with every seat taken up and people outside. It was impossible to have a window open due to the roughness and speed we were driving through the sea as the water would just fly in.

    Somehow...we made it to Gili T sick free. Once we arrived, the stench of urine hit my nostrils immediately, This was coming from the islands mode of transport...the horses.

    We checked into our hostel and went for a wander along the beachfront. We watched some surfers (which didn't entertain us after our Australian surfers) and ate at a vegetarian restaurant where a big group of dutch girls stole the last lasagne dishes we both wanted!    Read more

  • 2023 Travelling trip

    Gili T - Snorkelling

    May 14, 2023 in Indonesia ⋅ 🌙 26 °C

    Our first full day in Gili T, we decided to walk along the beach to a far away point and go snorkelling to see the turtles.

    Unfortunately, it was a more stressful experience than relaxing, like we'd have hoped. The sea was rough, the ground was stoney and we struggled to get out into the sea, which is always made more difficult with fins on (and even more difficult when the fins are too small!) We did spot a turtle but decided to give in as we weren't enjoying it.

    In the evening, we went and watched a stunning sunset, which was similar to Darwin, in the way it was forked into the sky. We also spotted Venus which was a big, bright star. We felt really content watching the sunset with our bintangs and the fire on the beach.    Read more

  • 2023 Travelling trip

    Gili T - Swing hopping

    May 15, 2023 in Indonesia ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    Today we explored further a field on the island with our 'top of the range' bicycles. We exolored the western sidd of the island which was much quieter than where we had been staying with a bit of added luxury too. Tom's pedal started to come away, but thankfully with the kindness of a local it was fixed in no time.

    We spent a bit of time sunbathing at a hotel pool bar where we could make use of their pool also. We went on a swing search as I had read the western side was full of sea swings, but the search did not live up to my research, although we did fine one sea swing, where a little fish kept having a nibble at our ankles!

    We made our way back to the hostel to go on a sunset walk with Chandra, which Rachel and Aron had recommended. We were joined with the other guests who were also from the UK, along with bumping into guests from another hostel along the way.

    We walked to the highest point on the island and were greeted with views of the nearby island and mountains including Mt. Batur. We continued the walk to the sunset point, and made our way down before it was too dark. We had beers on the beach with Chandra and a few others, including a guy whose brother lives in Sowerby Bridge! Chandra also informed us this bar was the best place for magic mushrooms, but nobody tried this out.

    We watched the colourful sky and headed back to the hostel with a shortcut. I had a lie down as I had a headache whilst Tom enjoyed a chat with the hostel owner where he found out abit about his life, the pandemic, and how he gets high off nutmeg!

    We popped out for some dinner and a quick stop at the night market.    Read more

  • 2023 Travelling trip

    Gili T - Snorkelling

    May 16, 2023 in Indonesia ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    Today we decided to give Snorkelling another go, and thankfully it was a completely different experience to the first on the island (in a very positive way!)

    We decided to rent a go pro and snorkels without the fins today. The turtle point spot we chose had a much easier access into the sea and the waves were much calmer today, meaning we could turtle spot easily and float with the sealife!

    Hiring a go pro made us slightly gutted that we hadn't had one this whole trip to document so many amazing things we've done and seen!

    After a great day of snorkelling, the only obvious next activity would be a massage so in we went to the spa to realise Tom didn't have any underwear! With this revelation, the full body massage dream ended and we opted for a foor scrub instead, where Tom had extras such as a nail clip and clean.

    That night we went to the pearl for dinner which was incredibly windy, but I enjoyed a delicious beef rendang and we had delicious ice cream after, my favourite being the tiramasu flavour! We observed 2 awful, obnoxious Americans in the restaurant but then got chatting to a South African lady who'd called them out on their behaviour. She's lived in Ubud for 15 years running a yoga teacher training and was trying to persuade us how good magic mushrooms are, but we soon realised she was a conspiracy theorist person and made a swift exit back to the hostel.    Read more

  • 2023 Travelling trip

    Gili Meno

    May 17, 2023 in Indonesia ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    We decided to get the public boat across to Gili Meno for the day. It was a busy boat and we sat on the top which made for an enjoyable boat experience with a very friendly guy who worked on there.

    Gili Meno was a very different island in terms of development and tourism with not many people or buildings around. We walked in one direction where we saw lots of baby turtles before walking in the opposite direction and we found a cafe where we had a pancake with eggs for breakfast, but enjoyed easy access to the sea and nice swimming.

    We decided to walk further around the island until we came across a hotel in the middle with sun loungers. We got a bintang each (very expensive!) and really enjoyed having a relaxing day on this island with some much needed peace and quiet. A contrast to Gili T! Annoyingly, a man who worked at the hotel came to send us off the sun loungers, the first unfriendly indonesian we came across! A day of doing not much, quickly vanished and we went to get the public boat back at around 4pm.

    Our final night on the island we deciced to return for another pizza and have a post dinner drink at the reggae bar.    Read more

  • 2023 Travelling trip

    Gili T > Nusa Lembongan

    May 18, 2023 in Indonesia ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C

    The dreaded moment arrived and it was the day to get back on the boat to Nusa Lembongan.

    Anxiety riddled and 3 hours of the mosque blaring out music was not the best start. We had heard and read nothing but bad things about semaya one, the boat we had booked. Other than the boat being quite small, the journey was absolutely fine! We were able to sit at the back of the boat whilst we made the stops at the other islands. The only surprise was was having to get off the boat at Nusa Penida and onto a shuttle to another smaller boat.

    We were thrilled to arrive in Nusa Lembongan and check in to our hut and managed to squeeze in a dip in the pool.

    We walked to a place called devils tears, which shock... we had to pay to walk to. This impressed us both with the wild waves crashing into each other, which then spray out of the rock, hence the name tears.

    We went for a meal where the waiter was of course a lovely indonesian man. Tom enjoyed a whiskey whilst I got a pedicure.    Read more

  • 2023 Travelling trip

    Nusa Lembongan - Dream Beach & Sandy Bay

    May 19, 2023 in Indonesia ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    Our first full day here quickly made us wish we could have a full relaxing week here. We enjoyed our, what felt like luxury hut and having a pool to jump into first thing in the morning.

    After a morning of pool time and sunbathing, we made our way to dream beach, which was only around the corner of our hut. We enjoyed some time laying in the sun, and attempted a dip in the sea, but we didn't go out too far as the waves were pretty big and most of the area was covered in rocks, so there was one small area that everybody went into.

    We walked onto sandy bay beach bar for lunch, a coconut and happy hour cocktails. Thankfully, after a while, a bed became available for extreme sunset relaxing time.    Read more

  • 2023 Travelling trip

    Nusa Lembongan & Nusa Ceninghan

    May 20, 2023 in Indonesia ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    We hired a bike for the day and started our day off by driving over the bridge to get to the neighbouring island, Nusa Ceninghan.

    We went to the blue lagoon which was indeed very blue and not really what either of us had expected. We had a quick look at the jumping platform, but on this occasion we were too hungry for an adrenaline rush so found a near by cafe for breakfast.

    Before heading back to Nusa Lembongan, we headed to the beach for a very cold and wavy dip in the sea. The clouds came over and we went on our way on the bikes, not before helping a young girl girl who'd got herself stuck between the bike and a wall.

    Once back on NL, we drove to the top of the island where the mangrove forest is. We were greeted by a lady who let us park and use the 'very asian' toilet before renting a kayak off her for 'whatever we wanted' to pay her. Although we'd been shown a map, this wasn't much help over we were in the maze like mangroves and weren't too sure which way to go. The water was very murky and I was nervous at all times that we were going to capsize.

    After not very long, I was banned from rowing as Tom claimed it was easier without me, which I didn't complain about. We passed most people in boats who had guides so after half an hour we decided to head back, which is where Tom needed my help to row against the current.

    We then made it to the beach cafe at lago, who put on a boat to take you out to the pontoon. From the shore, it didn't look overly exciting, but decided to go and take a look as we were there now.

    As we got closer, we heard the cool music playing from the dj, saw tbe comfy seats in the sun and suffice to say, we were glad to have found it! We enjoyed cold beers, which tasted like home beers and what would be our final sea dips by jumping off the platform. There is literally nothing better than that feeling of being out in the sea!

    We ended our great day with the final sunset at devils tears, which ironically is where my tears started, thinking about how our dream trip was coming to an end.    Read more

  • 2023 Travelling trip

    Nusa Lembongan > Sanur

    May 21, 2023 in Indonesia ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    Today was our (way too early) departure from Nusa Lembongan. Thankfully, we were getting picked up until 12pm, so we could have a slow morning of breakfast, packing, a quick dip and spot of sunbathing and shower.

    We had a little chat with the guy who ran the hotel before we left who told us he's from the island but told us how bad covid was there for 2 years. During that time, he worked on the seaweed farms, which we had seen (and smelt) around the island. He sold the dried seaweed to China for beauty products.

    We were picked up in their tuk tuks for a tight squeeze and bumpy journey to mushroom Bay where we waited for our boat. We watched in awe at the locals carrying our bags onto the boat in unconventional ways.

    We sat at the front of the boat where we thankfully had a big open section for the wind to blow, although the smell of fumes along with the bumpiness made for an uncomfortable half an hour journey!    Read more

  • 2023 Travelling trip

    Sanur

    May 21, 2023 in Indonesia ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    We got a taxi to our hotel, where we had a very comfortable room although the pool was rather small and the sunbeds were destroyed with shade, meaning my hopes of a final dsy of sunbathing were ruined.

    After a chat with an Australian lady who offered food recommendations, we headed to the first one for some lunch where we both had vegetarian curries and spring rolls washed down with bintangs. We then went on a dream catcher search, and paid too much for 2, but at least there's presents for the kiddies now. We stopped at a 'wine bar' and spent £10 on red sangrias which showed just how much holiday mode had been activated.

    We went for some final grooming to the fanciest Asian spa we've been to yet with English prices. Tom had his haircut and I had my nails done and the price was definitely worth it. The lovely lady Sita did a superb gel manicure whilst I had a cucumber water on the side.

    After a shower, we headed out to another recommendation, lilla Warung for a lovely meal and a bottle of wine. We found food here to be cheaper than the other places we've been to in Bali, but as always the alcohol bumped up the bill. A short walk on the main street in hope of a final foot massage, but it wasn't meant to be as they were all full! No more massages...    Read more

  • 2023 Travelling trip

    Sanur > Singapore

    May 22, 2023 in Singapore ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    We were picked up in the morning from the taxi the hotel had arranged. We'd actually tried to cancel this as it was 3 times the price of grab but hey ho. It was our first experience with scoot airlines and once again, everything ran smoothly to arrive in Singapore.

    We were impressed with Singapore instantly driving through the city. It strikes you instantly how clean, green and well groomed the country is. We arrived at M social which was definitely 'cosy' but we were thankful for the change from the hostel to this for our final night. Once rested and showered, we headed to the gardens by the bay, which felt very beautiful to walk around but the humidity hit us like crazy this night! The worst from anywhere we've been the whole trip. Sadly, the cloud forest was closed and we decided to go up to the bridge rather than go in the flower dome as it was expensive. From here we could see the marvellous view of Marina Bay Sands, the iconic hotel we dreamt of staying in! As the sun set, and the night drew in, we watched as the lights lit up the gardens.

    We then walked to the hawkers markets where we got dumplings and some Bao buns for dessert. We'd attempted to go into level 33 bar en route, however I was banished due to my sandals, which the man needed to take a step to the side to see for some reason.

    We ended the night in the hotel bar where we thoroughly enjoyed a couple glasses of red for 12 dollars each.    Read more

  • 2023 Travelling trip

    Singapore - Singaporean delicacies

    May 23, 2023 in Singapore ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    We enjoyed a cheeky lie in this morning, enjoying the proper quilt life and a comfy bed! The hotel thankfully gave us an extra hour for Checkout so we could have a leisurely morning packing up the bags for the final time.

    We headed to the great world mall to a place called ya-kun for the Singaporean dish of Kaya toast and kopi. This was slices of toast joined together with the Kaya jam, dipped into soft boiled eggs with white pepper and soya. The kopi was very sweet coffee, but we enjoyed the toast so much we decided to purchase some Kaya jam, which we later found out from the man at raffles that it expires quickly!

    We spotted a Michelen star ramen place so had to continue the eating my getting a delicious ramen dish to share!    Read more

  • 2023 Travelling trip

    Singapore - Haji Lane & Raffles

    May 23, 2023 in Singapore ⋅ ☁️ 31 °C

    We got a grab to Haji Lane which looked cooler than Hosier Lane in Melbourne. We had a walk along the lane which was filled with some cool bars, bakeries and shops.

    We went to the French bakery and got a cookie and a pastry which were much appreciated when we got to the airport and we were starving! We then took shelter in the Mexican for a happy hour corona and air con.

    We walked from here to Raffles hotel, whilst debating if we should go in or not considering the high prices! Once there, we decided we had to go in. The hotel is like a resort with everything! We queued up for the long bar where I got a Singapore sling for 39 dollars and Tom got a apricot and milk punch for 29 dollars! Ridiculous prices but at least they were actually delicious! We had a bag of peanuts on the table, and everyone throws the shells onto the floor.    Read more

  • 2023 Travelling trip

    Singapore > Dubai Airport

    May 24, 2023 in the United Arab Emirates ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C

    After a long walk back to the hotel, luckily we were able to use the shared shower facilities, not that it made us feel much cleaner with the heat! We got a pretty expensive grab car to the airport, but unfortunately we weren't there early enough to visit the jewel. We didn't have a long wait in the airport, but enough time for some luxury squirts of perfume and onto our first Emirates flight.

    We struggled to get comfortable on the flight but it ran smoothly with a big feast. I watched 'Me before you' whilst using the film as an excuse to cry many tears at the end of my happy trip and thinking what the future holds now.

    We got the train in Dubai Airport to the terminal, and enjoyed the use of a chanel cleaner and once again took up the opportunity of the use of skincare. We boarded, where today I was the chosen one to be patted down and set off on our way to the plane, where today we were upstairs with a window storage container!

    1 flight and train to go and we'll be greeted with my dad.    Read more

  • 2023 Travelling trip

    Dubai > Manchester > HX

    May 24, 2023 in England ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    We enjoyed the upper deck seating on the plane, despite the loud mouths sat behind us. We departed about an hour afted we were due to but landed in Manchester before 8am so we were on track for our 8.45am train. We were lucky and flew through passport control, but our bags were delayed and took over half an hour to arrive meaning we missed our train with the second one being cancelled!

    Thankfully we were able to change our tickets and had a change in piccadilly and arrived in Huddersfield to be greeted by my mum and dad.    Read more

    Trip end
    May 24, 2023
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