Hello. Yes i know this pic is Kuala Lumpur and not Bali- but this thing wont let me have a pic from Bali!! So this is the nearest thing! ha on arriving into the airport in Bali- we quickly had a disaster happen: Marie-Claires bag didnt turn up on the travellator! It had been left in Darwin where o\we got on a connecting flight! We then tried to check in at the wrong hotel! Hannah had booked it but the confirmation came thru for another hotel alltogether! so we had to get in a taxi and move on- meaning we had to also contact the airpot and tell them we were not staying in the same place and they had to take mc's bag elsewhere. Mission and a half, but we got there in the end. MC and I had four days in total in Bali- just enough time to see the main things we had prioritised from the guide book: We spent 2 days in Kuta which is the main tourist area and everyone surfs. It is also the place where the bomb went off in 2002. We saw the memorial and it really hit home how unbelievably awful it really was. Bali is still very backwards and the streets are crouded with thousands of people and little alleyways full of stalls selling the same sunglasses, bags, etc. It wasnt exactly what i expected, certainly not the paradise i had in my own mind, but nonethelss, Bali had real charm and we did some pretty amazing things. Within this time MC and I did a trip up to Ubud and saw a Palace and a Market. It was good, however it was raining cats and dogs so had to buy ponchos and it was a real effort! So strange it raining so hard yet it still so hot! On the third day we went up to the north of the island- a 3 hour ride in a taxi! We wanted to do a sunrise volcano trek up Mount Batur. We got to the Lake at the foot of the Volcano and the tiny little village had a few hut type shops, one of which was the trekking association we read about int he guide book. We haggled a price and agreed to meet the guy at 4 int he morning to start the trek. We paid for the 6hour trek as we were feeling energetic and wanted to see the best views. Yikes!! At half three we got up armed with torches and went to meet the guide. We drove about 5 mins to the foot and then started the climb. A few of the guides friends did the climb with us and one had a guitar and sang all the way up! he wore just flip-flops! we struggled in trainers! ha. It was hilarious! Im not going to lie- it was very hard work the first two hours. It was the steepest part of the volcano and it was pitch black. I of course had a dodgy torch that i bought for cheap in oz- not a good idea on hindsight! wish i hadnt lost my maglight! Half way up we turned around and saw the other volcano in the distance. It looked as if it was rising out of the clouds above the lake. It was still dark but starting to lighten. Im not sure if i have ever seen anything more beautiful in my life! amazing. Just wish i could have taken a picture- not a chance in that light! We got to the top after 2ish hours. There was hot smoke rising from the crater and monkeys who weren't the most friendly things jumping around! there was a hut where a woman cooked us breakfast. Hot Banana sarnies- not your average breakie. And hard boiled eggs cooked actually IN the volcano. You just dig a hole and pop them under for a few mins and hey presto theyre done! amazing. You cant say you ate an egg cooked in a volcano everyday! ha! We walked around at the top for a few hours coming down another way. Truly amazing. We arrived back at 10.30. Legs like jelly, but worth it! We had to get straight into a cramped jeep and were taken back to kuta via ubud to drop Hannah and Fi off. The four of us are splitting up for a weekish as Hannah and Fi have more time and chose to stay longer in bali. After 3.5 hours in the jeep- we were absolutely knackered so checked into a nice hotel with aircon rooms and a neverending pool- pure luxury for a mere 4pounds each! including beakfast. Its unreal! We had a nap then went out for dinner and a few drinks to sample the nightlife. We didnt last long. Had to get in the sheets. The following day we were flying to Kuala Lumpur so we had an hour byu the pool after breakfast then went to airport. Feel like we did all we needed to do in Bali and looking forward to the onward journey.