Hello from Bali!

Bali has felt a little more like a holiday than hectic travelling which has been lovely! Our first 5 days were spent between Kuta beach, the 'Poppies Lane' market stalls, and the hotel pool. Alice (our friend from Uni) also joined us and we've had a great time so far.

The surf on Kuta beach has been HUGE which led to an eventful first day. Within 20 minutes, Dad had been hit on the back of his head with his surfboard and an hour later he came out of the water with half a board under his arm...the waves were so big, they'd snapped it straight in half! Despite this small set back we both had a good few days of surf and Hannah and Alice also gave it a shot. I think they'd both been secretly practicing because they were both up and standing within the first day and even trying headstands (with varying outcomes!)

Our next stop in Bali was Ubud, the cultural capital of the island which is surrounded by paddy fields. In our 2 days in Ubud we visited the colourful market, took a bike tour throught the paddy fields and nearby villages, went on a Bali Hash (where Alice fell in a paddy, and the girls ended up doing multiple down downs) and participated in a cooking lesson. We cooked several Indonesian dishes, all of which were delicious, and then scoffed the lot!

Our final few days were spent back on the beach at Kuta and having a look around the very south of the island. The highlight of the day was visiting Ulu Watu beach and temple. The beach is one of the best surf spots in Bali and is accessed down concrete steps in a sheer cliff. At high tide the surfers jump from the steps in the sea and navigate their way through the rocky cove to the open sea. The views from the top of the cliffs was also impressive and we stayed and watched the surfers for a while. We then rushed onto Ulu Watu temple for sunset which was beautiful, but Hannah almost missed it as a monkey cheekily stole her galsses off her face! Luckily it gave them back, but only after chewing the ends off!

We said goodbye to the sunsets with a cold Bintang on Kuta beach and headed back to Malaysia for out final stage of the trip! It's all gone so fast!

xx