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We decided to head back to Uluwatu for a number of reasons. Our main reason being, to get our trusty little orange 'shoe', Faith, returned to the rental garage. But also, Beth's journey with us was sadly coming to an end, so Uluwatu, with its easy and cheap enough connections to the airport, was a great place to be for the last couple of days.
With our thirty day VOA (visa on arrival) nearing its limit, we needed to head to the immigration office. There are plenty of agents in touristy areas that offer to do the laborious process for you, but at a considerable cost. So on the way to Uluwatu, Amelia and I stopped in at the immigration office to start our 'visa extension' process.
Fortunately, we arrived in time to be within the first one hundred applicants for that day. Compared with our visa extension in the Philippines it was very thorough. Along with leaving our passports and filling out pages of application forms, we even had to purchase another onward flight for the new extended period!
An hour or so later, along with a big hole burnt in our pockets we carried on to Uluwatu where we dropped our bags at 3D homestay and said our farewells to Faith.
3D homestay were able to arrange two mopeds for us to hire for the duration of our stay, which at 50,000 rupiah (£2.50) per moped it's a 'no brainer' especially with everything being so spread out around Uluwatu.
On our way to get some lunch we had an unfortunate run in with the 'polisi' (police), or should I say me and my little sis did, whilst Amelia managed to avoid the 'random' licence checks.
Luckily the officer that pulled us over seemed to like the English, and let us go on our merry way without having to pay a 'fine', aka a bribe.
After lunch, we decided it would be best not to push our luck going back along the same road (the only road back to our homestay) so soon. To pass time we went to Dreamland Beach for a frolic in the waves and a bargain priced foot massage on the beach. It wasn't the best massage we've had, but at roughly £1.50 each for half an hour who could say no.
The road that leads to and from Dreamland Beach runs partly through a private resort and golf course, and is therefore very quiet and a perfect place for a 'learner' moped rider. Beth, having had a little taster on the moped in the car park of our hotel last time round, was keen for another go. So we let the 'learner' have another go, whilst monitoring from the other moped, stopping just before the public roads. Beth was a fast learner and loved whizzing along the quiet roads.
Fortunately we were right about the polisi, the few hours we'd spent at the beach was long enough for them to move their 'trap' elsewhere.
Feeling un-harassed, we returned back to the homestay and freshened ourselves up for dinner at a place called 'The Mango Tree'.
Amelia had grilled tuna with crispy noodles whilst Beth and I both opted for the Sumatran curry. Both were great, but I think Amelia had a little bit of food envy that night!
As we were back in the surf mecca of Bali, it was only right to try and catch some waves!
Amelia nor Beth were up for joining me, so they relaxed on the beach and watched from afar, whilst I spent an hour or so surfing off Labuan beach. The surf was a little bigger than I'm used to, so I spent much of the time wiping out, but still it was a good workout and I had fun.
By the time I got back to shore and dried off, we were all ready to escape the midday heat and seek some shade.
Although 3D homestay is a fairly basic place to stay, it actually has its very own inviting infinity pool overlooking the hillside. So for our last afternoon as a 'travelling trio', Beth, being in charge of her last day, decided it'd be nice to take advantage of the quiet infinity pool and have a relaxed afternoon.
It turned out to be a great way to spend our last afternoon, chilling in the pool whilst taking in the great views.
We also left Beth in charge of what she'd been so proficient at during her two months with us, and that is choosing a place to eat. Beth found a couple of places online, but in the end opted for us to revisit Fat Chow's.
The food was once again absolutely superb. Both Amelia and I had the 'Asian Burger' - apart from the wasabi mayo I'm not sure what was 'Asian' about it, but it was one of the best burgers we've had in SEA. And Beth had the delicious 'Hainanese rice' that I thoroughly enjoyed on our last visit.
Beth has a wheat intolerance, which normally means beer is off limits. However, after a little googling, we found that Indonesia's 'Bintang' beer is brewed using barley malt rather than wheat. So as it was her last night, Beth threw caution to the wind and for the first, and last time on our trip she accompanied us in having a beer! As it turned out, the beer didn't have any adverse effects with her stomach, but unfortunately as we were a moped journey away and Beth having an early start, we couldn't end our last evening together 'getting on the beers'.
Early the following morning we said our emotional farewells to Beth, who took a taxi (with some fellow backpackers at the homestay) and left for the airport to make her journey back home.
For the first time in two months, Amelia and I got up, packed our bags and headed towards the next destination without my little sister..
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Mummy Jo Brought tears to my eyes, you must miss her xx