Bali, Indonesia- May, 30, 2018 Previously having travelled to Bali in 2016 was nice, but we only scratched the surface. After almost a week in Lombok Andy and I made it back to Bali. This time we’re ready to discover the more off the grid locations of the east coast of Bali, Indonesia. After a short 45 minute flight from Lombok we arrived to Bali, population 4.5 million people, 90% practising Hindu. We were greeted by our lovely driver named, Sana. He’s such an encyclopedia of Balinese information we intend to use him again. He drove us 2 hours from Kuta to our next accommodation in Candidasa. Candidasa is a small, quiet town hidden in the mountains along the east coast. Andy booked us a lovely stay at the Water Garden Hotel. This accommodation has a spa, an amazing pool, small upscale bamboo huts surrounded by waterfalls, ponds and fish filled flowing rivers... it’s very tranquil and peaceful. The next morning we hired a driver named Katom. He’s a cool 35 year old local guy with two boys and a wife. He took Andy and I to Lebah (luwak coffee and honeybee farm) where we sampled black-bee honey, honeybee honey. We also sampled numerous types of organically made tea, coffee and the sampled the smooth, healthy and expensive “cat poop” coffee. From there we toured the famous Tenegan Village and here we met a local man who brought us to his home. We got to see the beautiful sarongs his wife loomed and a series of bamboo carvings he created over time. The men in the village once a year gather and fight by lashing each other with a spiked palm leaf as a ceremony of purifying their blood. Fascinating to see how ancient traditions are still practised in certain villages. From there Katom brought us to the Floating Temple. This temple was once owned by a King and his 3 wives up in the mountains overlooking great landscapes and ocean, hence the “Floating” Temple. After a lovely lunch of tom-yum gong(spicy shrimp soup) and mie-gorieng(spicy friend chicken and noodles) we made it to our last stop, the Water Temple. The Water Temple is a natural flowing spring that flows from the surrounding mountains. The temple consists of a series of spring water pools and fountains for people to swim and be cleansed. We walked barefoot, carefully from stepping-stone to stepping-stone within each pool, while huge fish swam below. After a long day out we ventured back to Candidasa, bought some handmade crafted gifts and had a massage. The following day Katom picked us up and drove over a series of small mountains for one hour to Amed. Andy has an old friend he worked with as a dive instructor named, Nico. Nico and his staff were so friendly and professional it made diving with them a great experience. It was possibly my favourite dive yet because I got to have 2 new experiences, 2 shore entires and 2 wreck dives. One was a small Japanese wreck covered in coral reef and sea life. The other was a 142 meter long American vessel that got torpedoed and beached back in 1940 and an earthquake caused it to roll 45 meters into the ocean. This vessel is named, the U.S.A.T Liberty and is now home to a mass amount of sea life and reef. That evening Andy and I had a long 2 hour massage and a lot of food at the hotel restaurant. Great way to unwind after a long day of diving. Our driver took us to a place called, White Sandy beach the very next day. We travelled down small and winding roads, through the monkey inhabited cliffside of Candidasa before making it down to the blue waters of White Sandy. We spent the day snorkelling, relaxing and playing in the surf before heading back. That evening after a nice meal out I spent the entire night with stomach infection. Yes! Once again, with my luck and carelessness I managed to somehow get a painful bacterial infection. I spent the night and next morning, vomiting, fever, cold sweats, agonizing stomach pain and diarrhea. Andy, my hero had a doctor come to the hotel to diagnose my situation. I was later brought to the hospital by ambulance and spent 36 hours there on a drip, followed by a series of injections. Most of the injections I could barely remember due to being partially unconscious, thank god for Andy and travel insurance. Great climax for the blog. Still feeling fairly weak we managed to make a move to our next stop. A driver brought us to Uluwatu, a major surf destination part of the world. After a restful sleep and feeling back-on-track we took a long morning walk that turned into quite the trek. We hiked up and down cliffside to some of Uluwatu’s most famous beaches. We explored the shops, surf and beaches of Padang-Padang, Dreamland, Suluban and Bingin beach. Each with their own special qualities and spectacular views. We stumbled into a very fancy resort named, the Klapa above Dreamland beach. At the Klapa they a massive, gorgeous infinity pool where we ate, drank and watched the fiery sunset. Our last day in Uluwatu, after a lovely breakfast at The Mango Tree, we caught a taxi back to Dreamland beach to play in the surf. The waves were much bigger on the second day, perfect for getting thrown around. After catching some rays we headed back to the Kuta-Manak villa before heading to our final stop, where it all began. We re-met with our favourite driver who brought us back to Samsara hotel. Samsara is the perfect destination in central Kuta close to everything. However we mostly chose it for being close to the airport. That evening Andy and I walked the alleyways of Kuta, home to many markets and aggressive bargain masters. On our last day we were meant to fly out at midnight so we wanted to make the most of our day. We walked 18 mins over to one of Asia’s best water parks, Waterbom. We had a great day of swimming, thrilling water slides and lazy rivers. That afternoon we strolled around Discovery shopping mall and played arcade games before going back to pack. That night at the airport, 20 minutes before boarding the plane sent every passenger an email about an 11 hour flight delay. People panicked but I was quite pleased to have some more time in Bali. Especially because Jetstar accommodated every passenger with shuttle, a night at the Hilton hotel, breakfast and lunch. Andy and I are now both sitting at Bali International Airport awaiting the planes arrival. Second time around and Bali has opened up my eyes even a little more to its treasures. I have a real, pure love for this place and it’s culture. I know these type of poor and corrupt countries aren’t ideal but I strongly believe places like Bali should be travelled by everyone at least once. Get out there and don’t hold back!
