So after our strenuous efforts to (nearly) reach the top of Mount Rinjani we decided to have a bit of recovery time. So the day after we got back to the Gili Isles we left again on a fast boat to Amed on Bali. Well it would have been fast if it had left on time. It was due to leave at 9am and actually left about 1pm. Even once we'd left we didn't actually go very fast as we had to make 3 different stops to other islands. Then it took another half an hour ...

For anyone who doesn't know, Indonesia sits directly on top of the “ring of fire” where two tectonic plates meet. This means there are a lot of earthquakes in the area and many of the islands have volcanoes. The closest one to where we were in the Gili Islands was Mount Rinjani, the second highest in Indonesia and on the island of Lombok – visible from where we were. After much umming and arrrring we decided that we should try and climb it. ...

After a one night stop off on Lombok (next island along from Bali) to meet up with the lovely Alex and Prodge (aka James), we were on our way to the Gili Isles.  The Gilis are three beautiful islands just off Lombok. Gili Air, Gili Meno and Gili Trewangon. Think turquoise blue waters and lovely white beaches. The pace of life is pretty chilled out on these islands. There are no tuk tuks or any vehicles, only horses and carts to take you to where you need to go....

After leaving Bangalore we had a 9 hour layover in Singapore airport. Of all the airports in the world this is probably the one to be stuck in for a long time. It has loads of free stuff to entertain you, including a cinema. Most importantly for us though it had a McDonald's selling actual Big Macs! Hannah had been dreaming of one for quite a long time and it certainly didn't disappoint. After that we tried to sleep on some of the free beds they provide i...

Our last train journey took us to our final Indian destination of Bangalore. We stayed 3 nights and 4 days and we did absolutely no sight seeing. We had had our fill of India by this point so were quite happy not to be rushing around looking at this, that and the other. I think the most energetic thing we did was go to the post office and send a few knick-knacks home. This being India involved no less than 3 people; the chief postmaster, a wrapping/weighing lady ...