We said goodbye to Michael and got a ferry from Padang Bai to Gili Trawangan, one of the Gili Islands. The ferry ride was so relaxing as we sat on the top roof of the boat - with a Bintang - and sailed past gorgeous Islands in the sea breeze. Within my first minute on Gili I knew I was going to love it! There are no motorised vehicles allowed on the island so transport is either walking, cycling or via horse and cart (which seems so bizarre). We checked in at o...

Another early start yet again as Emily and I embarked on a cycling tour of Ubud's beautiful countryside. Luckily it happened to be literally just the two of us and the guide in the group, so we could dictate when we wanted to stop for photos and ask loads of questions. Bali is so beautiful with endless green rice terraces, coconut trees and little Balinese village compounds. There was a festival that day which is only celebrated every 30 years, a celebration of...

It was lovely having a lie in and such a bonus having a delicious Indonesian breakfast served to us on the terrace outside our beautiful room. We had green banana pancakes with coconut and a fresh fruit salad and felt ready for the day ahead. Emily and I wandered into town and did some shopping, first in some of the street shops and then went to Ubud Market which is one of the best markets I have been to in Asia! There were no other tourists there and they actua...

We left at 1 am in the middle of the night in a jeep to the base of the Ijen Crater. It was a steep 1.5-2 hour hike uphill 2368m to the rim in the pitch black using torches and not having a clue where we were, walking in the cool mountain air; other people seemed much more prepared than we were with hiking gear and head torches, and here we were using our phones as torches and Michael was wearing shorts and flip flops! Walking uphill at altitude was noticeably di...

This morning was one of the best mornings I had ever had. We left at 3.45 am in a jeep to begin our climb to the sunset view point over Bromo-Tengger-Semuru National Park. I finally got to wear some of my hiking clothing! The old school jeep drove us up to a point on Mount Penanjakan where we then got out and hiked the final bit to the peak. Luckily we found the best spot facing east where the sun would rise! The spot was absolutely crazy packed with tourists, ma...