Aug 14, 2017 - Delightful Indonesia

My trip to Indonesia Location: South-East Asia Currency Used: IDR (Indonesian Rupiah) Main language: Indonesian From the exotic white sands in Bali to the vibrant city of Jakarta, Indonesia has something unique to offer everyone. With extremely inexpensive accommodation and local food, its no wonder Indonesia is a popular tourist location. I hope you use my experience in this guide to plan an amazing trip to Indonesia. Be sure to visit some of the lesser known areas in the country and just not stick to Bali and Thousand Islands! Indonesia...

Jul 24, 2017 - Ulun Danu Temple

For today, I booked a tour that would go to the North side of the island. I ended up paying significantly more but I got the car to myself and sort of was glad not to have to go with any tourists from China or something. I was surprised when the car arrived. I was expecting a small car and driver. What showed up was a large van, a driver, and a guide. Then, before we could get out of the Taxa Uma parking space, the salesmen who booked my trip showed up to check on his boys and make sure I was ok. They were boys. The driver was Puta and I'm...

Jul 23, 2017 - Uluwatu

With Dave gone, I started feeling pretty lazy and slept in pretty late. My big plan for today was to go to the Temple of Uluwatu and see the Balinese Kecak Dance at sunset. I wandered around a little while, but a guy who sold tours convinced me that I shouldn't wait to late to head down there. Apparently, it was farther than I expected. I found a taxi and headed South to the Temple overlooking the ocean. Uluwatu is a beautiful place and worth some wandering around. It also hosts a cluster of monkeys who are very aggressive. They have...

Jul 22, 2017 - Ubud

We had an appointment in Ubud, so Dave found us a Grab Car and we headed inland to the forest. Most Balinese talk about Ubud as the garden spot of Bali and, based on my limited experience, I think I would agree. We found a great guesthouse where they served breakfast on the terrace and had a spa onsite. After our meeting, we wanted to do a bit of touring, so the owner of the guesthouse arranged a taxi to drive us around for the afternoon. We started at the rice terrace. It was a bit more commercial and tourist-oriented than I was...

Jul 20, 2017 - Diving the Liberty

A van picked us up at the Taxa Uma, our cheap hotel, and took us to Sanur. There we picked up a girl who was a for-real diver and then took us to the dive shop. They loaded equipment for us and took our money. Ask which one they were more excited about. Then, we started on another hour and a half trek up to the site of the American cargo ship, The Liberty. The Liberty was hauling supplies during World War II from Australia to the Philippines when it was attacked by a Japanese submarine. An American warship and a Dutch warship started...

Jul 19, 2017 - Bali Tanah Lot Temple

Back in Manila, I retrieved my luggage and texted Dave. He had planned to go with me to Bali. I wanted the company and wanted to do a little research on worship and discipleship on a Hindu Island in a Muslim nation. Dave would be of lots of help. But some thing had come up at his church that might make it impossible for him to come. I honestly had no idea whether he would show up to the airport or not. I shot him a Facebook message, but, when I didn't hear from him right away, I got checked in for the flight and headed to security. The...

Jul 16, 2017 - Bali -Amed

10 July - Amed, Bali It was a long drive, there was heavy traffic the whole journey and although it was only 54 miles it took two and a half hours of our driver charging up behind the next vehicle, waiting until he thought it was clear and then overtaking at high speed forcing oncoming motorcyclist to take to the edge! Despite all this we made it to our hotel unscathed. It did take half an hour to clear the Ubud sprawl and into smaller villages, rice paddies and banana patches. Nice to see some countryside. We checked into the Blue Moon and...

Jul 11, 2017 - Bali - Ubud

7 July - Bali - Ubud Up very early, Carolyn loaded the car while we cleared up and we set off to the airport. Arrived in good time, checked in and spent an hour sitting at the gate. We were a bit overloaded so didn't bother with the duty free. Flight was comfortable enough and uneventful save for a little brat who yelled at the top of his voice every few minutes. Arrived at Denpasar Airport, eventually we cleared immigration and customs and were met by the driver from the hotel. It was hot and very humid. We packed into the car and set off...

Jul 7, 2017 - Bali: Ramadan Rammed!

We arrived in Bali just after Ramadan. After 30 days of fasting it seemed half of Indonesia had descended upon the southern part of the island to end their feast. It was RAMADAM RAMMED! At the airport we met up with with my school friend and best man, Chris and Dewi, his Indonesian wife. They had flown from Java where they have made their home. We were driven to our rented Villa in the Canngu region, where Jan's sister Sally completed our Bali-band. The Villa was a tropical paradise. As dusk fell we plunged into the cool swimming pool set...

Jul 7, 2017 - Livin' the island life again

Ok, finally got all the Ubud photos uploaded so go check those out again guys if you haven't seen them! After Ubud, we made a rather interesting journey out to Gili Air, a tiny island off of Lombak, Indonesia. The views ALMOST rivaled St.John. ;) We stayed in an adorable little beach bungalow at Mowie's on the beach. Ran around the island, biked around the island, swam, and just soaked in the view for a few days. It was paradise for sure.

Jul 4, 2017 - Ubud

Spent several days in Ubud on Bali, Indonesia. We stayed at Ketut's Place which was structured like a traditional Balinese village compound. The whole family lived onsite and their temple was there as well, very authentic! We went on a gorgeous run along the Camphuan ridge walk starting just outside of town. The ridge runs between two rivers, through several small villages, past lots of rice paddies, and boasts some incredible views. We also visited the Monkey Forest Sanctuary, ate some delicious Indonesian food, and saw a traditional...

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...