From Kuta in Bali we took a coach to mainland Bali to Ubud. I was excited to go there as the cafe from Eat, Pray, Love is there, and it was really beautiful. We sat on cushions around a small table and ate chocolate cake that was so dense it nearly killed me. Surrounded by exotic plants, palm trees and water fountains, it became a popular place to spend our evenings. We weren't allowed to wear our shoes even though it was all outdoors, and the toilets even had baths with rose petals in them. The cafe opposite always seemed to have a live band playing and on the first night they sang Another Day in Paradise by Phil Collins which reminded me of my family.
We spent a couple of days in Ubud and on the first we went to a monkey sanctuary. Outside the gate, ladies were selling bananas to feed the monkeys with, next to the signs warning you about how dangerous they can be and how you should not hide any food as they will smell it and attack you. Heidi and Matt sensibly refused the offer to buy any bananas whereas Nathan and I split a bunch. Nathan's bananas didn't last past the entrance and my last one was snatched from me about 2 metres into the sanctuary. The funny thing was that the monkeys weren't attacking us but there was a massive adult male who just kept slowly walking towards me and I really didn't want him to climb on me so pretty much all my bananas went to him! The experience was brilliant and we laughed our way pretty much around the whole place. We dressed up in robes to visit a temple in the sanctuary that was crawling with monkeys swinging around, playing with each other and climbing the temple. I was extremely thirsty by this point but I remembered the signs at the entrance warning us that the monkeys were likely to steal food and drink. As soon as I opened the zip of my bag I had a gorgeous little monkey climbing up my leg to sit on my shoulder. Although this meant I couldn't quench my thirst, it became I game and Matt and I would pretend to get something out of our bags which led us to get monkey cuddles!
After the sanctuary we sat down at a restaurant for some lunch. I was just browsing through the menu that consisted mainly of noodles or curry when I looked up at Nathan who was bright red, swollen, and very blotchy. Turned out he had been bitten by a caterpillar (well that's what we reckon) which would have caused a reaction, but also he was allergic to it. We all laughed a bit because he was so calm about it despite the fact that half of his face and all of his neck was now twice the size. If it had been me I would have been hysterically crying!
While Nathan deflated back in the hostel, Heidi, Matt and I explored the rice fields which Bali is known for. We had to climb up a little incline which left Matt and I sweating so much we looked like we had just showered. Surprisingly the houses by the rice fields were beautiful and massive although rice farmers earn so little. We found out that every 4 months (the amount of time it takes to grow crop) rice farmers earn roughly £140.
It was on this day that my iPod died (RIP) which I actually think I dealt with very well considering I was heartbroken. My 2 litre water bottle that cost me about 20p didn't real properly and spilled all over all my amazing (Justin Bieber) music. The ironic thing was that when I went to pretty much all of the shops situated in Ubud, not a single person knew what rice was, sold it, or knew anyone else who sold it. How this is even possible when this tragedy happened on the way to a rice field I have no idea. Quite funny really but no Bieber or Miley for me for a while.
From Ubud we went to Padangbai and stayed there for just one night. Unfortunately the scorching sun was replaced by rain while we were there so we pretty much ate and slept. We did take a little trip to the white sands beach which was an absolute trek to get to. The rain had enticed millions of the largest snails I have ever seen out onto the path and I am afraid to say that I heard a crunch under my foot on the way down to the beach. The small piece of beach was perfectly named and was beautiful. It was lovely as we stood there as it started to get dark and took in the view and the transparent water. Matt couldn't resist having a little swim and had to run away from a massive wave that crept up on him because of the weather.
We took a boat to Gili T which we were promised would last an hour but actually took about 3. Using transport in Asia is nothing like in England. We were crammed into a tiny boat (which had an inside part this time) like sardines and I nearly stopped breathing because it was so hot. We stopped off at Lombok on the way to Gili to let some people off, and after about 5 minutes after departing from there the boat turned around and went back. 2 backpacks from the boat had been unpacked onto Lombok by mistake and their owners were travelling to Gili and were still on the boat. Thankfully they realised but anything could have happened.
The water was absolutely beautiful in Gili, a greeny transparent colour. We went straight to our apartments, dropped off our bags and raced to the beach where we spent all of the day. Everyone in Indonesia was just as relaxed as the staff on the boat as when we arrived to our apartments we weren't given the family room as we had booked because people were still asleep in it and so we were upgraded to more expensive rooms for a night while the group of 4 in "our" room slept off their hangover. It was all a bit chaotic but we were used to it by then.
Because I had been so sunburnt in Kuta and had to spend a good few days in bed I decided to buy a massive hat to cover my face from the sun. I look truly ridiculous in it but it actually works and I haven't been sunburnt since! Nathan keeps saying I look like Julie Andrews in it but I like to think I look more like Julia Roberts. While we were in Gili we had a few nights out that consisted of Heidi breaking a local's bike basket by sitting in it, hungover induced days caused purely by smirnoff ice, and getting Indonesian men to "slut drop".
The best part about Gili, however, was the snorkelling. We spent a whole day snorkelling by ourselves and saw an array of fish and sea creatures. While I was sunbathing I heard Matt shout my name from the sea and call me over. I didn't know what I was expecting but it was not a 3 foot long turtle. We called the others over and followed it for hours. Every 15 minutes or so it would gracefully swim to the surface and take 3 gasps of air and swim back down to the bottom again where it was eating coral off the rocks. As we followed the turtle, it suddenly started to swim much faster and we thought we had scared it. However, as we watched where it was going, an even bigger, golden coloured turtle emerged from the depths of the water. I heard Nathan swear in awe through his snorkel as we couldn't believe how close we were to cool of them. A few days later we paid for an all day snorkelling trip where they took us to different parts of the surrounding sea to see different animals. We saw more turtles and fed fish underwater with bread. It was so cool watching them swim up to us and nibble from our fingers. Nathan put a piece of bread in his mouth and got a fish to "kiss" him by eating the bread out of his mouth.
After Gili we took the boat back to Bali and all sat on the top deck sunbathing and chatting. All of a sudden the boat stopped and someone shouted and pointed and we saw 2 whales swimming across the sea and spurting water out of their blow holes. 5 minutes later, Heidi, Matt and Nathan looked up in shock as I overexcitedly screamed and pointed as I saw a few dolphins swimming in and out of the water. It was magical!
We flew back to Singapore for a few days before flying to Sydney. Ironically (and I suppose luckily due to Singapore's cleanliness) Nathan and I got Bali belly and often had to run back to the hostel in haste. We were surprised that this was the first time we had properly been ill, especially after travelling through Thailand. We had a better hostel here, with a 4 bed room instead of the 20+ one we had before, and found an amazing street food court which sold sweet and sour chicken and fish for £1.50. I am going to miss Asian food a lot!
We spent a day in Gardens by the Bay which was a beautiful futuristic garden that you could walk around. There were architectural trees made out of metal, hedges shaped into animals, and a statue of a giant baby that looks like it's floating. This place was so cool (photo below) and I found out that my friend Jen knows the daughter of the genius who designed it all. We also went into a shopping mall which offered boat rides inside it and felt very out of place next to all the designer shops.
Another day we spent on an island just outside of Singapore where their Universal Studios is. It was so magical and we felt like we were lo Disneyland. I got a bit confused and kind of thought we were in a magical land where they made dreams come true and provided lots of entertainment as I thought that the sea wasn't real and they used a wave machine to create the effect, that the small open top cable cars would take us on a ride back over the sea to Singapore (when they just took you to the top of the go-kart track) and that there would be snow on the "festive walk" despite the fact that we were on an island where it was about 30 degrees.
And that is it for Asia :( I've absolutely loved it and would recommend it to anyone. Most of all I will miss the people as everyone was so friendly and we made lots of local friends. I will definitely also miss the food, how cheap it is and in beautiful it looks!
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