It wasn’t an early start, but it wasn’t a late one either; we did decide to lie in bed and savour the last few days we were going to be able to do that. We eventually got up and Edd went to find out about a hair cut and a moped - he wanted to go to the beach, but the ones close to us we were warned to stay away from, so transport was needed to get to the ones more further out.

 (Apparently the beaches close by are beautiful, but the locals swarm around you like flies, trying to sell you sarongs, when you’re lying on one, bracelets and food and drink. They don’t understand the best amounts of English, but they choose to misunderstand the word no, so it’s best to avoid the area altogether).
 
We packed a small back pack of sarongs, costumes, sun cream and a few other bits and then set off to number 14 on the map; apparently it is ‘the most beautiful beach in Kuta.’ We’ll be the judge of that.
 
It was a 40 minute ride to the beach and we stopped a couple of times, as we kept thinking we’d missed it. We had to pay 10 000 Rupiah to a bunch of random men sitting under a shelter; we’re never sure if it’s a legit transaction, or if they’re just taking the mick. We paid and then parked under a tree so the seat didn’t burn my bum when we got back.
 
We walked through a restaurant to get to the beach and enquired about sun loungers - 50 000 Rupiah for 2 with an umbrella. They were made of bamboo and were by no means comfortable, so we decided to save the money and lie on the sand instead, there was a bit further down that had some tree coverage, so we made our way to the other tourists that weren’t prepared to pay a fortune for a bamboo bed and positioned ourselves between a French family and a young couple. We’d creamed up before we left, so it was sarongs out, clothes off, lets swim!
 
The water was cool, but not freezing and we were surrounded by people trying their hand at surfing. We didn’t need to stay out of there way too much, if they managed to catch a wave, they either bailed half way through getting up, or just surfed straight onto the beach, instead of along the wave. It was entertaining to watch them and Edd and I decided we’d hire a board one day and spend it trying to surf. Trying, being the operative word. We could see fish surfing the waves as it crashed over us and I decided they were too big for me to not see them with my snorkelling gear, so got out.
 
I was quite hungry, but there wasn’t much on offer in terms of food, so Edd went on the hunt for a fresh bottle of water and something reasonable to munch. He came back with the option of a corn on the cob, BBQ’ed just a little way down from us. I agreed to his proposal and he went off to organise his woman some food.
 
10 minutes later he came walking along the shore, strutting his stuff with a BBQ’ed corn in his hands. It is an image that will stick with me forever, hilarious. Like Vin Diesal with baby bottles; swarve and sexy with ironic accessories.
 
We shared the corn, which filled the little hole, and I worked on my tan a little longer; Edd stood at the shore where the waves washed up and watched the wannabe surfers. They were easy to spot even before they went into the water: they’d drop their hired boards on the underneath fins and I had voices in my head of family members and best friends families screaming at them to looking after the fins. I decided I knew too much about a hobby I didn’t take part in and carried on tanning.
 
It came up to 12.30pm and the sun was hot; I could feel my skin burning, even though I’d put cream on. It was time to rinse off the excess sand and move along swiftly. Time for actual lunch.
We stopped off at a different beach for 5 minutes, having asked the men wanting 10 000 Rupiah, for a free pass to check it out. The beach was okay, but not as nice as the one we’d just been to. We carried on to the restaurant on the cliff, overlooking palm trees, smalls hills, a beach and the sea - it was idyllic.
 
We ended up ordering 2 starters and a plate of fries with a Sprite to share; we had a bottle of water, so the drink was just out of courtesy. The food was out of this world amazing; one thing was for sure, the Indonesians knew how to cook! It was a bit like being back in Vietnam.
 
We made our way back to our hotel for an afternoon catnap, stopping off at a minimart on the way. We got another big bottle of water, some cool drink concentrate and a bag of crisps - much cheaper this way than buying off the vendors in more touristy areas. Then we went home, for a blog and a nap.
 
We woke up at around 4.30pm and decided it was time to have the ‘difficult’ conversation: can we afford an £11 bottle of gin?
 
We went around for half an hour discussing and debating the topic. What we had to sacrifice, how expensive Singapore would be, if we’d be able to fetch our bank cards on the Saturday we arrived in Australia, or if we’d have to wait until Monday. What the repercussions of waiting until Monday would be. What we planned on doing in Singapore, how much that cost (quick Google), what we still wanted to do in Lombok and how much that cost. How many shots of gin were in a bottle, how big said shots were and how many glasses we could have, how many bottles of tonic we’d need and how much they were a can. (All the essential questions in life). In the end, Edd had enough and went and bought the gin. We were back down to 2 meals a day and if the worst came to the worst, we’d have BBQ’ed corn on the cob one day for lunch. But gin was a priority. Clearly.
 
We sat on our balcony and drank our G&T’s (and he found limes!) over looking the pool and paddie field. We’d been given little glasses to drink out of, which meant that we’d drink even less than we’d calculated, which was good.
 
We went out for dinner at about 6.30pm and decided to go to The Sunset Cafe. I ordered fish and chips and Edd ordered skewers; the food was much cheaper than the place we’d been at for lunch, we sincerely hoped it was at least a fraction as good.. Our food arrived and it was every bit as delicious as our lunch of starters and side orders. We ate up and were only moderately harassed by small children selling bracelets. It was quite annoying that the restaurant owners did not ask them to leave; yes they had to make a living, but saying no while you have a mouthful of salad is not exactly a pleasant experience. It’s also child labour. Technically.
 
We finished our dinner and went back to our room; it was bed time - we were on a permanent holiday and yet we still kept to our usual bedtime.