We arrived in Ubud, which us described as the spiritual capital of Bali and is known world wide for it arts and crafts. A friend had recommended a group of terrace houses to stay at so we turned up hoping they would have room and we was in luck. We got directed down a tiny pathway, through what felt like a secret garden, passing by these amazing terrace rooms, with carvings around the door frames and Balinese type structures, spotting statues of religious figures, hidden in the bushes. We crossed a bridge over a stream, past a pond full of carp fish and climbed the stairs to our new home. I looked back and just stood in amazement, staring into the tranquil grounds that we just wondered through, listening to the water from the stream. I couldn't believe that we were there, everything about that place just felt right - I knew I made the right choice extending my trip. Just as we were heading out for food, a storm started and the heavens opened. We got drenched so walked as quickly as we could in our wet flip flops to a nearby restaurant and used it as our hub while we waited out the storm. It was the perfect view though, the seating area lead out onto a rice paddie field so we could see the lightening and the rain bounces off the puddles - I went a bit snappy happy and took way to many photos of a group of ducks bathing in the water. The food was incredible and helped my fuzzy head, I tried Balinese coffee for the first time too, I was pleasantly surprised, it's alot stronger and a bit grittier then I'm used to but yummy all the same. The storm lasted hours, we gave up after a while and decided to brave the spits of rain because we were itching to explore. The street shops were a mixture of restaurants, k marts, art galleries, travel shops and designer brand stores - even had Paul Smith, Pandora, Ralph Lauren. Very weird for such a quaint town. We strolled around for an hour or two taking in the sights of temple steps and speaking to the lovely locals. My eyes were beaming open at how gorgeous this place was and just how I imagined it to be. I noticed a pond in between an alley of two buildings, we walked through and it turned out to be a massive lotus pond that lead up to a temple. Around every corner, there was something else waiting to astound me. We enquired in a few travel shops about various trips we wanted to do, comparing prices etc, once we had all our info we headed back to our lovely terrace house.I got planning on the rest of my time in Bali while Bryony watched Eat Pray Love - she had never seen it before so what a perfect place to watch it, in the place where part of it was filmed. My head was crammed full of information, budgets and dates, I got as far as I could with my research but I needed the Internet for the rest so headed to sleep.

The next day we ate our free breakfast and booked our travel trips, the boat ticket to the Gili islands and a day trip called Eco Cycling Tour, to see a bit of traditional Balinese life (and fit in a cheeky bit of exercise). We also rented bikes that morning too, we cycled around town for as long as possible to see the most of Ubud but the hills were a challenge and the midday sun took its toll so we threw in the towel and headed for a walk in the famous 'Monkey Forest'. It was an open sanctuary for monkeys, the little guys were adorable but mischievous. One of them even stole Bryony's water out of her hand, he failed the first time but then one caught her off guard and snatched it from her - we were just glad it wasn't her camera. I was amazed by the amount of babies there were though; we saw so many mother monkeys tightly holding their new borns, whilst being preoccupied picking flees out of a neighbours fur. We managed to get so close to take good photos too. By the time we finished looking through the forest and had visited the waterfall, we were marved so headed for lunch. Balinese food is amazing, Tempe and Tofu heaven!! I actually feel like I'm eating healthy again. Next on the days agenda was a spa treatment that Christa had advised we do in Ubud; a hair creme bath. It was sooo relaxing and our hair felt so soft, it was like a deep clean and condition treatment accompanied by a head, neck and back massage. I was nearly slipping into my dreams in that chair. It only cost £6 too, I'm tempted to get it done again before I come home. They did hair cuts too but I didn't know whether to trust it or not, I'm dreading paying London prices when I'm back. We were so relaxed afterwards that all we could do was go to a cafe and slump back into a chair. The cafe even served 'flat whites', tasty!! We lost track of time and missed the market so ended up having an early evening drink in a reggae bar next door, the conversation seemed to lean towards employment quite alot, definitely my fault - paranoia is shining through. Dinner at our favourite restaurant was a must, it's cheap and we knew the food didn't disappoint, Greek salad went down a treat. No carbs before bedtime woop woop. Although pretty sure the large Bintang cancelled out any kind of healthiness. An early night was in order before our big cycling tour the next day.

An unwelcome 6.30am alarm sounded through our sleepy heads, time for our Eco Chcling Tour. We got picked up by the guide and headed north to Kintamani, which is home to the highest mountain in Bali, Mount Agung, raising 3142m above sea level and Mount Batur (1717m), which is Bali's most active Volcano and their second highest mountain. As we stepped off the bus, Bryony and I stood and gasped at the incredible view. I've never seen anything like it in my life, Mount Batur and Mount Agung separated by the hazed lake Batur. Both mountain peaks poked through the early morning cloud, serving a mystical horizon. It was visible where MT Batur had previously erupted in the 90's, there was a wide spread area of burnt land, that had been destroyed by the lava, picturing it erupting was quite a thought. Breakfast was served in a restaurant on the side of a hill overlooking the stunning views. It was a buffet (literally my favourite thing in the world), I resisted alot of the feast - although I did have seconds of the black rice pudding, and that's basically porridge so it's okay. Next on the tour was a visit to a coffee plantation, before I went I thought it was the boring part but I really enjoyed it. I would never choose to go to a place like that but I learnt loads about spices, cocoa, fruits and off course coffee. Even got to try a selection of different types of drinks. They made the most of my purse in the gift shop, I'll keep what I bought a surprise so my mum can laugh at me when I bring it to the flat. Lets call it a joint gift mum!! It was then time to hop on the bikes and start cycling through the vibrant green rice paddies, the views were again incredible. Peddling our way through small towns, giving high fives to kids as we went past, saying hello to the smiley locals - Balinese people are so kind and friendly, I don't have a bad word to say about them so far. On the route we stopped off at a families house, and got shown around their home and taught some of their traditions. They explained how people in this area of Bali only slept with their heads facing either the North or East so it points towards the mountains, their most sacred place. I also learnt about the religious beliefs regarding newly born children and their placentas, lets just say I won't look at coconut in the same way again. They explained to us how the families all live in the same compound, even Aunts and Uncles etc, imagine that, all of us staying in the same grounds - it would make family gatherings easier to organise!! Back on the road, we passed loads of temples, compounds and rice paddies, Bry and I were clearly imagining ourselves as Julie Roberts in Eat Pray Love at this point haha. By the end of the tour, we had the option of doing an extra 8km up hill cycle, we opted out instantly, enough cycling fun for one day - our bums were bruised from cycling the day before let alone what they felt like after another day on those hard seats. Plus lunch was next so we were happy enough to get in the van and get taken to the restaurant along with the other lazies in our group. It was delicious food again, and a great chance to meet other people who were enjoying the wonders of Ubud. Nice to hear people's stories and experiences of the area, they were all 10+ years our senior so it was quiet refreshing to have a conversation with adults. Although technically I am an adult now, 23 and never getting an younger. Sadly our great trip was over for the day, we really did love every minute of it and will be writing a great Trip-advisor review for them when I'm home. We got dropped off at the market in Ubud and had a wonder around, I didn't buy anything, they're all seem to be the same market stalls to me now. I did buy a new earring from a shop on the main road though - I'm going to miss Asia prices, an earring for £1, dinner for £2, accommodation for £7. London is going to be a horrific price shocker. We were still stuffed from lunch and the weather wasn't great so we went to a cafe, ordered a juice and chilled on the sofa listening to the live music and chatted away. Time was hitting 8pm by the time we left; on our way home, we realised the guide didn't charge us for the rest of our Eco Tour trip and we had only paid the deposit, which was £2.50. We felt horrid but at the same time it had saved us £20 - we hope it doesn't cause us bad travel karma. The rest of the night was spent relaxing in the room, showering, doing nails and researching Bali. We were exhausted, another (reasonably) early night was just what the doctor ordered.

We agreed to have a mellow day on our last full day in Ubud, so we woke up when we were ready, ate breakfast in a relaxed manor and floated to the pool to have a swim and lay in the sun. Sadly by 1pm the rain clouds had gathered and it was time for a downpour, we retreated to a salad bar for a healthy lunch. We wasn't really sure what to do with ourselves considering the bad weather, as we were walking down the street, we kept getting asked "massage, massage" by the spa touts. Managing to barter the price down, we both went in for a full body massage. It was only £3.30 so why not, especially when its raining. Afterwards we went to the pharmacy, stocked up sun cream, repellant etc for the Gili islands and headed home to shower ready for dinner. Following some good grub we went to a bar with a live Reggae band, it all went well until we started to get chatted by an Indonesian and a Fijian guy, we were clearly uninterested but they persisted to carry on the conversation over the music. It basically lead us to giving up on having a few drinks and headed home to pack for the next adventure.

The next morning was another gruelling early start, 6am alarm bells. 6.30am pick up. We would be grumpy but how could we be heading to the Gili islands. First stop Gilli T. Party party.