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Asia 2019/20

December 2019 - March 2020
A 84-day adventure by Claire Read more
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  • TravelerAsia 2019/20
    Day 2

    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

  • TravelerAsia 2019/20
    Day 3

    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

  • TravelerAsia 2019/20
    Day 4

    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

  • TravelerAsia 2019/20
    Day 5

    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

  • TravelerAsia 2019/20
    Day 6

    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

  • TravelerAsia 2019/20
    Day 7

    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

  • TravelerAsia 2019/20
    1
    Day 8

    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

  • TravelerAsia 2019/20
    Day 9

    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

  • TravelerAsia 2019/20
    Day 10

    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

  • TravelerAsia 2019/20
    Day 11

    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

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