This easter, Jono and I packed our bags and headed to Indonesia. The plan was to travel from Bali to Lombok, spending time in Uluwatu, Ubud, Gili T, Gili Air and Lombok.

Arriving in Uluwatu, the views were SENSATIONAL! On the drive from the airport, we found ourselves driving through villages with the amazing Indonesian artwork, architecture and temples before heading out to drive along cliffsides with incredible panoramic views of the ocean. Uluwatu was absolutely stunning and I fell for it instantly. Our hotel was fantastic with a huge bedroom complete with balcony with a view of the ocean AND an outdoor jacuzzi (amazing). The hotel also had a stunning 3 level infinity pool right on the clifside which was so beautiful, we couldnt wait to use it!

After sipping on a honestly disgusting (cold ginger) welcome drink, freshening up with a cold towel (courtesy of our fancy hotel) and dumping our bags in our room, we headed to Single Fin, a really fun bar with fantastic views, nice food and great music to enjoy our first sunset. Fab night, I love that place and if you ever get the chance to go, you absolutely should, I will be!

The following day we raced up to the restaurant with a view for an incredible breakfast of fruits, pastries, curries, cereals and full breakfast before heading to the most breathtaking pool I have ever seen. All 3 levels were infinity pools and had gorgeous views of the ocean. As you relaxed on the loungers, you could watch the surfers pass by as they headed to the cliffside lift which left from next to the pool and dropped surfers down to the beach below to take on the surf in one of the most famous surf spots in the world. After a day in the sun, we headed to Uluwatu temple to take in a traditional Kecak dance and explore the temple at sunset. Back at our hotel, we went to our clifftop restaurant for some food and beers to the sound of the waves before heading back to test out the jacuzzi!

After another scrummy breakfast and a morning by the pool and early afternoon on Padang Padang beach, it was time to say our goodbyes and head to our next destination in Bali, Ubud. The drive to Ubud took about an hour and the local driver took us through dense jungle, interspersed with small villages with children playing outside as adults lounged in open wooden huts with raised floors next to the roadside.

As we got closer to Ubud town centre more and more art and craft shops started to appear as it turns out Ubud is the centre for art and craft in Bali. Our hotel was pretty central but you would never know. Leaving the highstreet and heading into the complex, you are immediately in the middle of rice paddies with stunning 2 level huts dotted around the landscape. The bottom level of these huts is made up of an outdoor living space with a raised, cushioned area to sit on with a low table. Heading inside and climbing the stairs, you enter a beautiful wood-carved room complete with 4 poster bed, thatched roof and balcony with a view over the rest of the paddies and the hotel pool which is in the middle of the complex. Really unique and reasonably priced, it was a real treat. A stroll along the local high street shows that the main crafts in Bali are wood, stone, silver and bronze carving, art and batik with other popular stalls selling coffee and macrame clothing. Yoga is huge in Ubud, despite the fact it is not local tradition, the largely Hindu community of Ubud and the rest of Bali have embraced yoga as swarms of yogis and hippies flood to Ubud every year from Australia to practise in it's beautiful and chilled environment. Whilst we were in Ubud, it was Bali Spirit Festival which hosted lots of world bands across 3 stages for ticket holders to enjoy as well as body painting, jewellery and clothes stalls and some delicious world food options. We couldn't resist as it was the closest to Sefton park festivals we've seen since we've gone away and at first it was brilliant...After a few bands who left us wondering what planet they were on and how long they had actually been performing, the final straw was a beatboxing, rapping, hedonist who hell-bent on ensuring that everyone in the crowd was 'ready to receive love' and 'ready to give love'...this was our queue to leave even though it had been a very entertaining way to pass the evening.

The next day, we spent time in the pool, realising we were in a pool about 10m away from 3 buffalos with their trusty stork friends who were grazing in the paddies next to us. In the afternoon, we booked a local driver to take us to Tengalallang Rice Terrace which is a large valley, divided into levels and patches, each of which are carefully farmed by a different family to each patch. It was absolutely incredible and really beautiful! As you start to explore the rice terraces, you are confronted by children selling postcards to pay for 'school books' and old people huddled in huts guarding the entrance to their families section of the rice paddy, making sure you pay the fee to enter their area. It really is clever as every rice plant is planted perfectly positioned in relation to those around it leading to a really breathtaking and impressive display of attention which tourists are happy to pay to see. There are also small restaurants dotted along the top level which serve the rice from the terraces, as well as being a fully functioning paddy meaning that the families are also earning from the harvest of their crops. It was so striking to see whole families taking care and time, perfectly planting individual rice plants over huge areas of land. Amazing!

Following a delicious meal at a Balinese restaurant of crispy Balinese Duck, we strolled back through the paddies to our hut and to bed, ready to leave Ubud early the next morning as we head to our boat transfer taking us to Lombok, more specifically, to Gili T. So excited!