Jun 18, 2017 - What a way to end our time in beautiful Indonesia

We ended our wonderful stay in Indonesia where it all began, in Kuta near the airport. The last three days have been the most chilled of our entire journey so far. Whilst we've been to more beautiful beaches like Railay, there's just something about Bali which makes it so much more chilled. On our final night we got to stay at the Hilton again thanks to the points I accumulated through various trips to London and India with HSBC. We were upgraded to a suite which was a great way to finish of what feels more like a holiday than travelling...

Jun 14, 2017 - A surprise journey back to Seminyak

Today we left Amed and headed back to Seminyak. Our driver was very friendly and asked us if we wanted to stop at the oldest village in Bali on our journey back. We were not in a rush to get back to Seminyak so agreed. The village was untouched, everyone who lived here were Hindu and of equal status. We had a local village man show us around and tell us all about the people who live in the village. He told us that people who are born in the village die here to and all the land belongs to the community. Only the locals are allowed to stay....

Jun 13, 2017 - Finally somewhere truly chilled out :)

We arrived in a place called Amed which is in the East of Bali after our long trip to Mount Ijen and Bromo. We have never slept so good, the place we are staying in is very peaceful and spotlessly clean. We decided to take a walk through the serene rice paddies where the view was simply wonderful. Bromo is easily our favourite scenic spot of our trip so far but it has to be said Amed is the most chilled. The people are are so friendly, everyone says hello to you whether they are farmers working in the fields or other tourists. The main...

Jun 11, 2017 - Mount Ijen

Next stop on our trip was Mount Ijen. This involved a 6 hour car journey from Mount Bromo. Fortunately our hotel here was much nicer than the previous evening with a swimming pool and being right next to the beach (albeit with black sand which was a sight in itself). This time we had to wake up at 12.15am to begin our ascent up the mountain side. It started with a 90 minute drive up steep mountain roads in the dark and rain. Once we arrived at the base camp, it then involved a 2 hour very steep walk to reach our first viewpoint, the blue...

Jun 10, 2017 - Mount Bromo breath taking

We made the very long journey to Mount Bromo which in total took us around 11 hours by car and 1 hour by boat. The hotel we checked into was basic to say the least. The bathroom had a drip in the ceiling, so the floor was wet and there was a slight sewage smell. We decided to layer up for bed for two reasons, firstly as it was freezing cold and the second as the bed did not look the cleanest. Pick up was at 3.00am, we had a 4x4 jeep take us the 30 minute journey convoy style with lots of other jeeps following. We then walked the ten...

Jun 7, 2017 - untitled2nd last day...𯘳

To start with: nb: mMichael & I didn't know that the fighting cocks that we spoke of were actually such! We both thought that they were just colourful kids pets! Until... The old guy tried to spur them on. At this stage we asked them to stop because we thighs it was wrong & cruel. I apologise for letting readers think we condoned it񏘮񏘳My daughter just made me aware of how the story came across. Today we walked our legs off shopping, Kuta, Seminyak & generally just walking for the sake of walking & looking around. I was actually amazed at...

Jun 6, 2017 - Trying different things

We thought Ubud was higher up so would be cooler, we were wrong. As we arrived at our Homestay we were melting and realised we did not have air-conditioning. We did how ever have a sitting area out side our room in what is a very traditional setting. For lunch we found a restaurant that donates 70% of its money to local hospitals. We had tuna and orange chicken. This was the best food we have had all trip! The following morning we walked 30 minutes to a Pilates class. The walk lead us away from the hustle and bustle of the main road and up...

Jun 6, 2017 - Tanah Lot...again with private car & driver

June 06/06 Tuesday Apologies to all, but I've confused some pics with wrong days in my entries-񟘤񟘩duh!!! Pick up at 0800 & we're in fora long day as the last place we visit will be Tanah Lot to vie what I supposed to be a spectacular sunset over the ocean. About a 2 hour drive & we arrived at Tenganang Village,a village of Bali Aga people, the descendants of the original Balinese. The village is surrounded by a wall, & consists basically of 2 rows of identical houses stretching up the gentle slope of the hill. Conservative people...

Jun 5, 2017 - Day with private car & driver

June 05,,2015 First port of call was a batik making workshop at Ubud. We were walked through the full process of printing- very time consuming & intricate work. There was only a small area devoted to the actual batik making process,compared to massive area for the retailing side of it𿘉 Next we drove to Kemenuh Butterfly Park, a beautiful drive through narrow streets,with greenery abounding.it was an absolutely incredible sight inside the enclosure, so many butterflies of varying colour & size-& actually flying into us & a couple even...

Jun 5, 2017 - A posh start to our Indonesia adventure

We arrived in Bali late so decided to stay close to the airport to meet up with Adam's friend Steve the next day and travel to the villa we had booked for the weekend together. We found a lovely restaurant for dinner serving mushroom and beef buns. These were so tasty. The area had a western feel to it and we instantly knew we loved this country. The next morning we met Adams friend Steve and his girlfriend and headed to our private villa for a luxurious weekend. The villa was stunning, the pool looked refreshing and the bedrooms looked...

Jun 4, 2017 - Seminyak & ...

June 04,2017 Sunday Early morning walk to the beach & then had a lovely, relaxed stroll letting the waves break gently over our feet-we did think to remove our footwear first...lol But while our attention was on taking photos, a couple of larger waves came in & drenched us mid thigh! That's what you get for not paying attention 񏘊 It was great to see quite a few dogs on the beach,with their owners of course- the dogs were obviously enjoying themselves too񏐾񏐾 After the beach we again caught a local bus to some shopping malls,one being a...

Jun 3, 2017 - Denpasar ...Kintamani, Mt Batur...

June 3, 2017, Saturday First full day with private car & driver: Picked up after breakfast & first went to see a local cultural dance group at Batubulan- the Barong & Kris Dance, which basically represents an eternal fight between good & evil. Very colourful & quite funny at times. Next on on itinerary was Gunung Temple at Tampaksiring ( I'm noting down all these names & places for me to look back on later , when I will have forgotten everything 𿘊)I'm always amazed at the beautiful & intricate architecture, & it's wonderful to see...