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Asia 2019/20
  • Claire Davies

Asia 2019/20

A 84-day adventure by Claire Read more
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  • Trip start
    December 24, 2019
    Claire DaviesAsia 2019/20Traveler

    Day 1 - off to Bali

    December 25, 2019 in Indonesia ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C

    Christmas Eve and we’re off! Room is all packed up (though no one found to rent it yet) and I said my goodbyes to Peckham.

    Flight was at 21.10 so Fran and I decided to go for a nice late lunch before heading to the airport - we went to Cecconi’s in Mayfair. We were definitely the most underdressed people there, but we had a lovely meal and a couple of glasses of Prosecco to celebrate the start of our adventure.

    Off to Heathrow on a very busy Piccadilly line and had plenty of time at the airport. FaceTimed Laura (in NZ) and Mum and Dad (in Aus) as they had just woken up on Christmas Day!

    Flight was fine, we slept most of it! We have each other a present when it turned into Xmas day which was cute- Fran got us some scratch cards and lottery tickets... sadly no luck on the scratch cards and the internet is a little dodgy so we haven’t been able to check the lottery tickets 😬. Could yet be millionaires!

    We had an hour stopover in Medan but we didn’t leave the plane and made it to Bali on time. Hotel sent a transfer and we arrived about 1.30AM and promptly fell asleep!    Read more

  • Claire DaviesAsia 2019/20Traveler

    Ubud Day 1

    December 26, 2019 in Indonesia ⋅ 🌧 24 °C

    Lazy morning with breakfast at the hotel. Lounged by the pool for a couple of hours in the sun (/shade for me!) and then had a shower and headed into Ubud town centre at about 3. Traffic was terrible so we ended up getting out of the shuttle early and just walking. Quite interesting dodging all the cars and mopeds! Wandered around for a bit before having a late lunch at a lovely little place.

    Wandered around a bit more and had ice cream before having a drink and then going to Yoga Barn for a Gong Bath...! Lovely and relaxing.    Read more

  • Claire DaviesAsia 2019/20Traveler

    Ubud Day 2

    December 27, 2019 in Indonesia ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    Up early today for some exploring! We decided to go to Alchemy for breakkie which is raw food vegan place with lovely decor!

    We got a driver from out hotel to take us to the Tegalalang rice fields which was lovely. Drove through the forest-y area which is very pretty. The rice fields are very touristy but we got there early so it wasn’t too busy. Our driver gave us some education in different types of rice which Fran was very interested in!

    He then offered to take us to a coffee farm on the way back so we did that- we saw how coffee was grown and also saw some Luwak’s which are small raccoon-like animals which eat the coffee beans and then poo them out which apparently makes for a very nice coffee. We didn’t try this one but they did give us lots of types of coffee and tea to try.

    We then got dropped off at the monkey forest where they have lots of monkeys (unsurprisingly). We were slightly nervous as apparently the monkeys can get a bit aggressive but we managed to come off unscathed! We also saw some super cute baby monkeys 🐒

    It started raining while we were there so we went as had lunch. It didn’t stop so we stayed there for awhile until our spa appointment that we had booked yesterday. It was a 2 hour massage, body scrub and body mask which was amazing!! (DeLa spa)

    We then walked home and freshened up before going to Zest for dinner (veggie restaurant nearby)    Read more

  • Claire DaviesAsia 2019/20Traveler

    Ubud Day 3

    December 28, 2019 in Indonesia ⋅ 🌧 27 °C

    Up early again today- we’ve decided it’s too hot to do anything in the middle of the day so need to make the most of the mornings... it’s very unusual territory for Fran 😴

    Decided to go to the market in Ubud, it’s the local market pre 9am before it turns into the touristy stuff (think elephant trousers and bintang vests- Josh I’m looking at you!). We bought some flower petals as Fran had decided we should make use of our outdoor bath and recreate what the spa did!

    We then had a massive breakkie at a cute cafe and then walked back to lounge but the pool for a few hours. Fran then created her floral masterpiece and we sat in the bath (bikinis on I might add) before heading into town for a 5pm yoga class at yoga barn again.

    Dinner after and then headed home    Read more

  • Claire DaviesAsia 2019/20Traveler

    Ubud -> Canguu

    December 29, 2019 in Indonesia ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    Time to leave Ubud, but first we decided to get up early and do the Campuan Ridge Walk. This was a walk along a ride (as you may well expect) that started just near our hotel. It was 2km each way so not too bad, but it’s just so hot and humid that we immediately got very sweaty! But worth it for the lovely views of the jungle and rice fields.

    We then went for breakfast at Alchemy again, for the smoothie bowls before getting our taxi to Canggu.

    Traffic was really bad but we eventually got there about 1. We went for a wander around Canggu and checked out the local spots. Had a lovely lunch at La Brisa beach club. Sand is black here (maybe volcanic) and sea very rough so mainly fr surfing. Think we’ll be spending our time at the beach clubs! Back to the hotel- quick dip and then out for dinner at The Lawn. Stopped off at The Slow for a night cap (espresso Mintini) and then wandered home.    Read more

  • Claire DaviesAsia 2019/20Traveler

    Canggu Day 1

    December 30, 2019 in Indonesia ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    Finns today! But first, breakfast and pool. We left about 1.30 in a taxi. Finns isn’t far away but the roads here are mental so was an interesting drive..!

    Finns is a massive beach club in Canggu/Seminyak. We’d booked our sunbeds yesterday but there was barely anything left so we’d ended up with VIP beds. Turned out to be the best thing as you get lockers/changing rooms/free water so definitely worth it. You also redeem all your money back on food or drinks so it doesn’t even matter.

    It was really sunny so we hung out with drinks and in the pool... but then about 4.30 it started raining and it hammered it down! We sheltered in the pool, once you are wet you may as well just get in the pool!

    It dried off about 6 and we stayed until about 10 before getting a taxi home (stopping off for a pizza on the way home).

    Fun, fun day!    Read more

  • Claire DaviesAsia 2019/20Traveler
    1

    Canggu Day 2 (NYE)

    December 31, 2019 in Indonesia ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    NYE!

    We had a lazy morning and went for brunch at the Shady Shack, a lovely veggie cafe round the corner. There’s so much lovely veggie and vegan food here, which is great for Fran as she is vegetarian. Had a breakfast wrap and a coconut. On the way there we decided to stop off at a spa to see if they had any appointments for later and so we booked in for 1pm.

    I had a Balinese massage 60 mins for 250k which is about £13 (such a bargain). As we booked together they keep putting us in the same room, so the second couples massage of the trip for me as Fran!

    After that we went back to the hotel, went in the pool for a bit and got ready to go out for an earlyish dinner.

    We went to Penny Lane for dinner which is a super cute restaurant nearby, we got a table quite quick and had a nice meal. We then had decided we wanted to go to the Lawn for the evening, a beach club just down the road. Lots of the beach clubs had massive parties on (Finns apparently was having 12,000 people!) but this one was a little more low key and more importantly free entry! We got there about 8.30 and had a couple of drinks but decided about 10 to have a little walk along the beach. There were already fireworks going off all around us - apparently they couldn’t wait until midnight.

    We sat on the beach at a little beach bar for a bit before heading back to the Lawn for midnight. Watched even more fireworks at midnight and then wandered home about 1. The traffic was mental, complete gridlock as scooters everywhere!

    Tried to get food but everywhere was closed so we went for a quick dip in the pool when we got home and then FaceTimed Sam before passing out!

    All in all, lovely New Year’s Eve!    Read more

  • Claire DaviesAsia 2019/20Traveler

    Canggu Day 3

    January 1, 2020 in Indonesia ⋅ 🌧 28 °C

    New Year’s Day!

    Woke up a little hungover so this is going to be short entry as we did very little.

    Had a quick breakfast about 11 and then lay in a little hut by the pool for the rest of the day! It started raining about 12 and literally didn’t stop all day which was actually ok for the mood we were in! We played in UNO and read and ate and generally recovered!

    About 7 we went out for dinner and a wander, before having a very early night as up early tomorrow to travel to Nusa Lembongan.    Read more

  • Claire DaviesAsia 2019/20Traveler

    Canggu -> Nusa Lembongan

    January 2, 2020 in Indonesia ⋅ 🌧 26 °C

    Picked up at 7am today so it was a very early start. Getting a ferry from Sanur to Nusa Lembongan so we first had an hours drive over to Sanur, with a questionable minibus driver- rules of the road don’t seem to exist and everyone is so impatient!

    We then had to wait for a bit before getting on a large speedboat for the 30 min journey over. It’s was fine and I had a little nap so that was great. They dropped us off at our hotel which was as a 5 min drive and is super cute. We have the downstairs of a little hut with a half-outdoor bathroom. The room wasn’t ready so we walked down to a beach club called Ohana’s where we settled in for some lunch and an afternoon of lounging.

    Wandered home to shower before heading to a place called the deck for sunset (which wasn’t a great sunset spot as the sunset behind the land) but did have great views back to the beach. Few beers, UNO and some dins before bed!    Read more

  • Claire DaviesAsia 2019/20Traveler

    Nusa Lembogan Day 1

    January 3, 2020 in Indonesia ⋅ 🌧 30 °C

    Snorkelling today. Despite Frans aversion to riding on a moped the guy turned up at our hotel at 7.30 to pick us up on one..! Luckily we only had to go 2 minutes and there was no traffic about.

    The snorkelling trip was to visit 3 spots so we set off about 8. It had actually started drizzling at this point which was slightly annoying but by the time we got to the first spot it has stopped. The water on the beach was not that warm but where we got to it was lovely. Snorkels and fins on and we were in. It was a strong current so we drifting following our guide and the boat picked us up at the other end. Lovely coral and so many fish- bright and colourful.

    Back on the boat and to the second spot just off the coast of Nusa Penida. The sea was a bit rougher here but it was a nice spot. The third spot was diamond bay which to be honest was a little bit of a let down- coral was quite dead, not too many fish and lots and lots of tourist boats. Fran managed to take a chunk out of her arm whilst getting back on the boat which wasn’t ideal- luckily it’s not too bad!

    we then drove by Manta bay- it’s not Manta Ray season so we weren’t expecting to see any but we did see huge colony’s on jellyfish- literally 1000s. Yikes. Obviously we didn’t get in the water so headed back to shore.

    Had lunch at the hotel and then got a pick up to Sandy bay beach club- is supposed to be a lovely sunset spot but we wouldn’t know as it was too cloudy! Nice chill and food and drinks though. We got back about 8 and were inspired to watch Finding Nemo which is on Netflix. So watched that and then bed.    Read more

  • Claire DaviesAsia 2019/20Traveler

    Nusa Lembongan Day 2

    January 4, 2020 in Indonesia ⋅ 🌧 30 °C

    Had planned to go to a yoga class this morning but woke up with a bit of an upset stomach so I went back to sleep. It got a bit better but wasn’t great all day- though managed to power through. They call it ‘Bali Belly...!’

    We had planned to hire bikes (bicycles not mopeds!) from a woman down the road and explore the island, so we wandered down there about 11.30 in the end and got two pink bikes (50k each for the day, so less than £3). They weren’t in great condition but what can you do for that price!

    We cycled up to the top of the island and stopped off for a drink- it was a bit cloudy by this point which was nice, but as we got back on our bikes frans flip flop broke. We decided to go back to the hotel which was on the way to the south anyway and as we approached it started hammering it down with rain. So we ran into the hotel and dried off over lunch!

    We set off again towards the bridge linking Nusa Lembongan with Nusa Ceningan. We took the long route because it avoided the massive hill! Took us past the more rural parts of the island and then to the bridge which is a very narrow bridge - only enough space to pass two bikes - slightly hairy! This took about 45 minutes on rickety Nike’s so we were quite tired by this point and stopped for a quick drink. The dark clouds were appearing by now so we didn’t stop too long and headed back. We made it most of the way back but got caught in a pretty heavy downpour!

    Once we got home we packed up and showered before heading to the beach for a meal at Ginger and Jamu- lovely place though the beach was very very windy!    Read more

  • Claire DaviesAsia 2019/20Traveler

    Nusa Lembongan -> Uluwatu

    January 5, 2020 in Indonesia ⋅ ☁️ 30 °C

    Another early start for the 8.30 boat back to the mainland and our transfer to Uluwatu. All went smoothly although the sea was pretty rough for a bit, but we made it safe and sound. Transfer was included so we were at our hotel by 11.

    Uluwatu is in the Bukit peninsula at the bottom of Bali and has a lot of cliffs over looking the sea with small coves with little beaches. Our hotel, Dreamsea is basically built into the cliff so we had to walk down a lot of step steps with our luggage (easier for me with a backpack than for Fran with her case..!) but the views are amazing. We didn’t had much choice when we booked it so we have a fan room which is a little warm but it’s fine. The walls are bamboo too so you can literally hear into the next rooms but it’s ok as the sound of waves crashing underneath you basically drowns that out!

    We couldn’t check in until 2 so we had a quick swim in the sea before heading up to the main road for some lunch.

    After checking in we headed to Single Fins which is a sunset spot. Had a swim in their pool and then some drinks and food whilst watching the sunset.

    Home not too late as we booked a surf lesson for 8 tomorrow 😬😬    Read more

  • Claire DaviesAsia 2019/20Traveler

    Uluwatu

    January 6, 2020 in Indonesia ⋅ ☁️ 30 °C

    Our last day together 😭😭 but a good one 🤗

    Started the day with our surfing lesson!! As my lovely colleagues at Virgin Trains had given me money towards surfing and yoga lessons we splashed out on a private lesson (€40 each for 2 hours). Both of us had only ever done a lesson once before a long time ago so we were essentially beginners..! Our aim was to stand up, nothing more than that!

    We started with the classic surfboard on the beach practice before had to paddle out to the break which was probably about 50m - that was tiring enough 😬 we then took it in turns to go into the break with the instructor where he would help us try and catch the wave and stand up. The first few were absolute disasters (think belly flops all around) before Fran managed to master it! I wasn’t so great- managed to stand up for a couple of seconds but that was all. We messed around until we got too tired and then our instructor basically pushed us back to shore! Safe to say I’m not sure surfing is the sport for me!

    Had some breakfast when we got back which was much needed and then changed etc and headed up to the shops. We had decided one last massage was is order so we stopped in a place nearby and booked one for 5.30. We then headed to a beach club we had found online (El Kabron) which was about 30 min walk away. It was beautiful and a great way to spend the afternoon. Headed back for the massage which was dreamy and then had dinner and packed and set alarms for 4.30am 😱    Read more

  • Claire DaviesAsia 2019/20Traveler
    11

    Uluwatu -> Gili Air

    January 7, 2020 in Indonesia ⋅ 🌧 28 °C

    Time to say goodbye to Fran 😭

    We both had flights in the morning and Fran’s left at 8.10 so we had to get up very early. 4.30 am early 😱. Lugged our luggage back up those steps, with the help of a man who worked there and into the taxi and at the airport by about 5.30. My flight wasn’t until 10.50 so I had a long wait!

    Said bye to Fran about 7 (I’ll see her in exactly 8 weeks in Koh Samui!) and then wandered over to the domestic terminal and checked in. Luggage was 15.8kg but got away with that extra 0.8 😊

    Flight was so quick and then I was met by Omar at the airport- I’d found him on tripadvisor as a tour guide/transfer with 5* reviews so booked him to take me. Probably the pricey way to do it but wasn’t ready yet to start haggling with taxis at airports etc! It also meant I got a private speedboat over to Gili Air which was lovely!

    Things I noticed/ Omar told me about Lombok (vs Bali)
    - so so so much less traffic. Roads are much better but so much quieter! Barely anyone on the road which is a very pleasant change to the gridlock on Bali
    - it’s mainly Muslim (vs Hindu) so lots of women in headscarfs and mosques around
    - no stray dogs but lots of cats all of whom seem much better looked after than the dogs on Bali!
    - just generally less touristy

    Arrived at my hostel to find I’m the only person in my 3 person dorm which is great! Had a quick wander and found a yoga place nearby so went back there for a 4.30 yoga class and then over to the west side of the island for sunset 👌🏻

    Found a nice place nearby for dinner and then crashed early- that 4.30am start was catching up with me!    Read more

  • Claire DaviesAsia 2019/20Traveler

    Bali round up

    January 7, 2020 in Indonesia ⋅ 🌧 28 °C

    Whilst Fran and I were together there were lots of things we kept noticing that were quite unusual (to us) about Bali and we kept saying I should write these down so I don’t forget. These weren’t really interesting enough to fit into the daily diaries so I’ve just randomly scribbled them all here!

    - the traffic is SO bad. To the point where we decided maybe I would retrain as a town planner as we had some many ideas on how to make it better! There are seemingly no rules of the road, with pedestrians, mopeds, cars and busses just randomly passing each other, sometimes at the narrowest margins. The roads clearly weren’t designed for this much traffic and so are not coping very well at all. Canggu and Ubud were by far the worst, to the point that I think it could start really putting people off coming- for one the pollution in Ubud when you just want to wander around really isn’t pleasant. There also seems to be no public transport system which clearly doesn’t help.

    - The ants are massive. Especially in Ubud. The size of actual spiders in the UK!

    - Bali in Hindu and they have temples everywhere. Our driver to the rice terraces told us each village has 3 temples for the 3 gods (xxxx) and as well have that they have little family temples and these little tower things. On each of these and also just outside of shoes restaurants etc they leave daily offerings, which are essentially a banana leaf folded to make a square with things they enjoy inside, as well as incense. They usually had flowers insides but also things like biscuits, cakes and cigarettes

    - The limes are tiny! I would say about the size of a strawberry. So small. But very limey.

    - We had the most delicious tomato we have ever eaten at a cafe in Ubud called Simply Social. God knows what they did to it but we’ve never tasted anything like it. The only way to describe is the most tomatoey thing I’ve ever eaten. I realise this isn’t an amazing description but there really is no other way!

    - Getting picked up from the airport was interesting- it was midnight after an 18hr flight and we had a transfer from the hotel. The problem was that there were about 200 people there to collect people so we had to walk up and down this long list trying to find our name! I know this usual practice but I’ve never seen so many before. Of course ours was at the very end!

    - they have a WH Smith in the airport. Why?

    - Petrol is sold by the bottle at the side of the road from re-used bottles. So we saw bright blue petrol being sold from an Absolut Vodka bottle. Very confusing, looked too much like WKD!    Read more

  • Claire DaviesAsia 2019/20Traveler

    Gili Air Day 1

    January 8, 2020 in Indonesia ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    Nice lie in and breakfast at the hostel (waffles with banana and honey) before renting a bike for the day to explore more of the island.

    It’s so easy to cycle round so I cycled right down to the harbour at the bottom of the island before heading back to H2O yoga for the aquayoga class i booked yesterday. Yep, thats right, yoga in the pool! It wasn’t too serious or too hard and was a nice thing to do! Dried off by their pool and then headed over to the west side of the island for some beach time, and lunch!

    Back to the hostel in the afternoon and to register a Gili Divers on Air which is where I have signed up to do my Open Water diving, starting tomorrow, for 3 days.

    Yesterday I booked a massage at slow spa so I headed there for 5 but got caught in a big rainstorm so turned up soaking! Lovely lovely spa and massage though and good thing to do while it rained. Had a low key dinner after and then went to bed quite early!    Read more

  • Claire DaviesAsia 2019/20Traveler

    Gili Air Day 2

    January 9, 2020 in Indonesia ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    Started my diving course today! My instructor is called Linn and she is Norwegian, and very good. Im doing the open water course which is 3 days and after that you are certified to dive up to 18m.

    Had to start the day by watched the videos so found a nice spot just next door in a cafe to do this. Took about 2 hours and it goes through the basics of equipment, the process and the physical effects of diving. Then had a little break and at 12 we got in the pool. Another girl called Briana had joined- she wasn’t doing the open water just an intro to diving but they combined us.

    We learned the basics; breathing, inflating and deflating the jacket, clearing the mask and floating for about 45 mins. I managed to pick it up pretty quick- think that one dive 8 years ago helped 😂. Then at 2pm was out into the sea to a site just off shore.

    Unfortunately Briana had some difficulty equalising (when you have to pop your ears on the way down) and so we tried a couple of times but she just couldn’t do it so she went back on the boat and we carried on without her! (Turns out she had blocked sinuses and had a nosebleed after 😬)

    We were then kind of in the wrong place and the visibility wasnt great but I just followed Linn until we found the reef and saw lots of fishes! We also saw a really big turtle just having a rest at the bottom 🥰

    All in all it went pretty well so feeing good about the next couple of days (have to do one more pool session and 3 more dives and an exam!). Linn set me up on the SSI app so I can do some studying and log my dives.

    Went back to the hostel and met some of the girls there who were going out to see the sunset so went with them - it was a great sunset as it had been the best weather in a while (no rain!) and then we had dinner and a couple of drinks before bed ☺️    Read more

  • Claire DaviesAsia 2019/20Traveler

    Gili Air Day 3

    January 10, 2020 in Indonesia ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C

    Another day of diving today!

    Started off in the pool as we needed to finish off the skills that we started yesterday. These included; taking the mask completely off and swimming and putting back on, removing the waist belt (5kg so not easy to keep balanced!) and removing and replacing the BCD (buoyancy vest) underwater and on the surface. Took about an hour, and then we went through some more theory on pressure, bars and equipment before lunch.

    After lunch we went out on another dive- to a site called bounty wreck. This is an old speedboat platform next to Gili Meno that was deliberately sunk about 20 years ago and so the coral has now taken over. The current was SO strong so we had to swim against it to see the wreck for a little bit and then we drifted really fast along the reef for about 20 minutes. It was a little tricky as I wasn’t as close to the coral as Linn (as I’m not super confident in being able to go up and down without hitting it) so I was drifting even faster than her! We practiced a couple of skills (taking off mask, floating etc) and then eventually started coming up - but the Meno statues. These are probably the most instagrammed place on the Gili islands, mostly for snorkelling as they aren’t very deep so it was pretty cool to see them!

    After diving I went for an early dinner with some people from the hostel and to the sunset. We headed back about 8 and then just sat around chatting with a few beers until bed.    Read more

  • Claire DaviesAsia 2019/20Traveler

    Gili Air Day 4

    January 11, 2020 in Indonesia ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C

    Last day of the course today- and two dives! First one at 9, we went to Turtle Heaven! Saw 4 turtles, one really big one and went down to 18m for the first time. This was probably my favourite dive as the current wasn’t too strong and the visibility was a bit better. Felt like I was floating better too- although she did put 1kg more on my waist belt to keep me down!

    Back at 11 so I had lunch and did some more studying as I had my exam at 1pm!! A 50 question multiple choice exam, but luckily I passed 🙌🙌. 92% actually 🤓.

    Then we had the last dive which was just for fun, we went back to Hans reef and saw lots more fish and the first hawksbill turtle!

    After that we were all done so Linn certified me and I have it now all stored on the app as well as the divelogs.

    There’s a girl who has been training to be a yoga teacher and doing some free classes in our hostel so I did that at 6 (it also started raining really really hard) and then we got a takeaway to the hostel and chilled here. The hostel only has about 8 people staying here as it’s low season but it’s a nice group of people so it’s fun just to hang out.    Read more

  • Claire DaviesAsia 2019/20Traveler

    Gili Air Day 5

    January 12, 2020 in Indonesia ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C

    Originally I only booked 5 nights here so was supposed to leave today but i decided to stay and have one more day to chill.

    Very relaxing day- went for a massage in the morning, then met up with a few people and had lunch at ‘burger lady’ (which is actually the name of the restaurant) and headed to the beach for a couple of hours. We had agreed to have a yoga class with Carolynne again (the girl who taught yesterday) so we did that at 4.30 and then the hostel did a bbq for us, so we all had that with a few beers and then went to bed.

    All in all a lovely day!    Read more

  • Claire DaviesAsia 2019/20Traveler

    Gili Air -> Tete Batu

    January 13, 2020 in Indonesia ⋅ ☁️ 30 °C

    Time to leave Gili Air- but one last yoga class before we leave! Carolynne (the yoga teacher) asked if we wanted a class at 10.30 and as one of the girls and I had decided we would leave at 1 we said yes! She’s only just started teaching so hasn’t charged us for any of the classes but I asked if i could give her 150,000 for the 3 classes as she was so good and should definitely charge! (Basically £8.50 for 3 classes)

    Lotte (the girl also leaving) went to get the public boat back to Lombok- so cheap as it costs 12,000 but meant we had to walk the 20 minutes to the harbour in the heat 🥵

    Arrived in Bangsal about 2.30 and I had arranged a transfer at 3 with a driver from the hostel so I met him and he drove the 2 hours to Tete Batu.

    The hostel/camp is called Dreamcatcher camp and it’s a very basic, very hippy place! Cold shower, hole in the ground toilet and mattress on the floor in the hut - though it only costs £7 a night for my own hut so can’t complain too much. There was only 4 of us staying so we watched the sunset and then had dinner which a local man brings around 8 and it costs 30,000 (£1.60!).

    Stayed up chatting and went to bed about 11    Read more

  • Claire DaviesAsia 2019/20Traveler

    Tete Batu Day 1

    January 14, 2020 in Indonesia ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    Woke up at 4.30 this morning to the sound of the call to prayer...! The sound carries down the valley very strongly- luckily I managed to go back to sleep! Had breakfast about 9 and sat about chatting for a while, a couple of people who were staying were supposed to leave today but the driver was busy so they had to stay another night!

    A girl called Charlotte turned up about 11 and then the 4 of us decided to walk into the town a bit- Mario the black dog decided to come with us which was interesting as all the other dogs barked a lot at him, and the locals were pretty scared..! Most of the dogs are mongrel types but Mario is a big black dog kind of like a Labrador. We stopped at a little Warung for lunch and played with the girl there for a bit- very cute. It’s not very touristy here so everyone is just friendly and not trying to sell you stuff.

    After lunch we got back and Anah (Sam who runs the camps little sister) was there. She’s 11 and comes to the camp every day after school- she finishes school at 12 and acts as a guide for the camp! She likes to practice her English and she’s a smart girl!

    She took us to the waterfall nearby, we had to walk through the rice terraces and it starting pouring with rain on the way. But was really nice and we had a swim when we got there. There were some local boys there climbing and jumping off the top which was pretty cute.

    We walked back and showered (cold shower sadly!) and then saw a bit of a sunset. We had dinner all together and went to bed quite early. 😴    Read more

  • Claire DaviesAsia 2019/20Traveler
    1

    Tete Batu Day 2

    January 15, 2020 in Indonesia ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    Banana pancakes for breakfast and spent the morning chilling in the camp. At about 12.30 Anah came back from school and she had been home and cooked us lunch first (just to remind you, she’s 11) so we ate that and then she said she would take us to see the rice fields. It was me, the Dutch girl Charlotte and two Danish guys, Marcus and Simon.

    We left the camp about 2 and walked for about 30 minutes and it started raining so Anah said she would take us to her house so we headed there. Her mother and her got us all a tea or coffee and some red bananas which were delicious and we watched her fish for a while and she played a game of chess with Marcus.

    It stopped raining so we carried on to the rice fields and the clouds cleared so we could see Mt Rinjani properly for the first time which was pretty epic. It’s the second highest volcano in Indonesia (I think) and you can climb it- though not to the top since the earthquake in 2018.

    We walked for quite a while and eventually ended up back by the waterfall we went to yesterday so headed home. Anah was an amazing guide (we would have got so lost without her) and showed us all the fruits on the trees (bananas, jackfruit, avocado etc).

    We got back to camp and showered, watched a beautiful sunset- I watched it with the puppies that have just been born on the land next door- SO cute. We had dinner and then Sam decided we needed to get some rice wine (alcohol is illegal in this part of Lombok as it’s Muslim) so we went off on scooters (I went on the back of his) to his ‘grandmothers’ (not really his grandmother but just a local older lady who homebrews!) and got some! Was really interesting to see her home and the ones nearby, they are very basic but everyone is super nice and smiles and says hello.

    Got the wine and came back to camp to have some music and drinks and went to bed a little later than usual! Really great day, really felt like we got to see some of the local side of Lombok.    Read more

  • Claire DaviesAsia 2019/20Traveler
    1

    Tete Batu -> Kuta

    January 16, 2020 in Indonesia ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    Left the camp about 10.30 today - another girl Charlotte was also going to Kuta so we split the cost which was good!

    Arrived in Kuta about 12.30, it’s worth saying that Kuta Lombok is a very different place to Kuta Bali- which is the party place for Aussies! Kuta Lombok is a very chill surfer town; probably will become more like Bali in the next few years but for now it is not too developed. Logged back onto WiFi as I hadn’t had any for 3 days so needed to do some admin- especially booking some Thailand stuff with Fran, Holly and George for March! And hopefully sorting out a girl for my room with Laura. 🤞🏻

    Went for some lunch (avo on toast) and was walking around town when I bumped into Vitoria who was in the hostel at Gili Air. A few of the people from there are now here so I went over to their hostel me Vitoria and Hilde decided to go to the beach. Now to get to the beaches here you really need a moped so I decided to be brave and rent one! The roads here are really well paved and super quiet so it’s a much better place to do it than Bali. It went ok! Took me a little bit to get used to but it was all good!

    We drove to a beach called Selong Belanak which was about 30mins away but the scenery on the drive was unreal- and the beach was amazing. White sand, some surf and just a few shacks and sunbeds. The girls were debating getting surfboards but decided against it so we just chilled and swam. Headed back to Kuta about 5 and then went to a pizza place for dinner 🍕    Read more

  • Claire DaviesAsia 2019/20Traveler
    2

    Kuta Day 1

    January 17, 2020 in Indonesia ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    Decided to go to the beach with Vitoria, Hilde and Lotte today, so we met at 9.30. They all wanted to surf but I decided not to but the beach was also really great to just chill on- swim, sunbathe and read.

    We went back to the same beach as yesterday, Selong Belanak but I had a small issue on the way there. My moped was feeling a bit shaky so I stopped and I realised I had a flat front tyre 😬😬. Luckily a Spanish women called Monica stopped and knew a place just 5 minutes back to get it repaired so she can with me really slowly to do that. It was just in a local place but they guy fixed it super quick and it only cost me like £3.

    Back on the road and I met them at the beach. Stayed there until about 4 and then we headed back but stopped at a deserted beach on the way back. Was a little worrying as the police decided to come and talk to us when we were there and we were worried they were going to check our licenses (is a common scam in Bali where they ask for money) but they were actually just friendly and so we chatted and then they left.

    Headed back to the hostel and I spent some time with the people there playing cards. We had dinner and then went to the ‘surfers bar’ which was cool - had an Indonesian band playing questionable versions of songs but we had fun and a bit of a late one!    Read more

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