Slumming it - Bali and the Gili Islands

Our next adventure was as unpredictable as the weather. Freak rains flooded Southern parts of Thailand and Northern Malaysia, the islands of Koh Tao and Samui were evacuated, and this resulted in many casualties and some fatalities. Hearing most of our updates through hearsay whilst in Borneo, we took the opportunity (with the help of Paul's dad) to look at other options for the next part of our trip. Bali, Indonesia was the result.

With 12 days to enjoy Bali, we quickly got up to speed on what to see and do. Our first night took us to Kuta - well renowned for being the 18-30's (25's!) destination for the Australian tourist…we should have known really. The place was a swarm of Westernised shops and stalls, selling everything from Surfboards and Billabongs, local handicrafts and homegrown magic mushrooms, to shirts publishing profanities that probably only Paul's Essex boys would appreciate! The place was good for one thing though - partying, and having not done so for over two months, we took to the dancefloors! Lottie was particularly enthusiastic, and a great time was had dancing with the locals. The few cocktails did well to help Lottie sleep in the very dirty room we had settled on, the language coming from the young ladies mouth in the morning were there to match the aforementioned T-shirts!

We took our first opportunity to exit Kuta - heading to Padang Bai, a quaint seaside town with access to the Gili islands. The town is lovely, with two small strips fronting onto the harbour bay. Accommodation here appeared reasonably priced, in comparison to Kuta, and thanks to Paul we negotiated a two story bamboo hut for £9 a night. The ground floor was gleaming with clean tiled panels, and included a bathroom with a rainshower and a spacious sitting area. The wooden staircase took us up towards our second sitting area and balcony, and the master bedroom. This charming bedroom included a dressing table, chest of drawers and plenty of space (for us to dispatch our bags), as well as a luxurious bed framed by a distinguished mosquito net. This was Lotties idea of heaven.

Padang Bai set the tone for the next two weeks. Stylish, characteristic and comfortable accommodation. Quirky,inviting and well-presented restaurants, serving a variety of food to a high standard. Warm, happy and hospitable people, with a willingness to help others outweighing a desire to earn some extra Ringgits. Not forgetting to mention, clear, opaque blue sea with stunning offshore corals for snorkeling and diving experiences. Being a harbor town, it naturally was a great place for fish - Paul didn't realise however that this could be hazardous. As he exited the hotel complex, which was about 8 foot wide, a bicycle turned the coner. On that bicycle was a 7 feet long Marlin fish, which looked more like a swordfish, with a long piercing rod petruding from its nose, and two long and robust fins from it's tail. With nowhere to move, Paul have to turn back and allow the bike to pass without getting pierced…he later ate that fish for dinner!!

From Padang Bai, we moved onto the Gili islands. Gili Trawangen was our first port of call, the biggest and most developed of all three islands. The island was abundant with the abovementioned characteristics, but also included a beautiful array of flowers and butterflies. Our accommodation this time was a varnished A-Frame wooden hut that created a cavernous space above our heads, which included both a double and single bed, and again a stunning bathroom and balcony area. Set back from the beach, we paid little over £8, which is a fair price when you consider that breakfast was included and we had access to a swimming pool, which was not only beautiful but also generally quiet.

Asides from the great accommodation and food (including excellent German Bratwurst!), we got to enjoy some excellent sunbathing opportunities (typically in the morning). We snorkeled in the local reefs which were abundant with corals, fish and Hawksbill turtles, whilst we also rented bicycles out for the day. This proved to be a story - as we mounted a small hill on foot for views over the island, we soon discovered a plethora of butterflies, flowers, and insects. These insects included some rather large spiders (huge spiders!), which we had failed to notice until near the top. The spiders were of two varieties - a skinny black spider with red spots on its back, about three-inches in diameter, and a slightly larger and more menacing grey spider with yellow spots, which was a big as a human hand. Negotiating our way down the hill and passed these spiders proved to be entertaining-at one stage Paul was following the fluttering wings of a butterfly when he looked up to shriek (in his typical high pitched tone) at the sight of the black and red spider directly above his head. Jumping out of his skin, he quickly dashed away causing the spider to also shift position within its sticky web. Weighing up the options - the spider was directly above the path - Paul spotted an escape route across the grassy surrounds. However, on closer inspection, this detour took us through the insect catching webs of no less than 4 of these eight legged demons! 1 versus 4! We took on the 1, even to excite the local children at our anxiety. We made it - thank god!!

A final point of reference for Gili T was the amazing snorkeling that the island boasted. Just 20-30 meters swim off the shore and we found coral reefs that were dive quality. The variety of coral and sealife was impressive, and the visibility was crystal clear. Among the things that caught our eye - several turtles, pufferfish, sea lobster, cuttlefish, angelfish, batfish, rainbow fish and many others. Our favourite were the small yellow tailed, orange bodied, and blue and white faced Angelfish. These inquisitive shoals of 15-20, about the size of a female palm, found Lottie's camera of great interest. They swam at the camera to within 1-2 inches, before darting away. They were so full of character and playfulness that we couldn't help but to laugh under the water! Look out for the video that we will upload.

Following our time on Gili T, we took a very bumpy 30 minute boat ride to the neighboring island Gili Air. Much smaller and less developed, the pace on Gili A was about a quarter of that of Gili T, which itself was pretty laid back - none of the islands had motorized transport on them, a horse and cart was the only form of taxi service available! We found another great abode, slightly dearer at £11 but Paul reasoned that food prices were lower on the island, so it could be afforded - ever the accountant! This modern A-frame beach hut had a balcony with a bamboo sofa, a huge bamboo bed with the most comfortable pillows, and a designer bathroom - it even had pebbles on the shower tray floor for extra effect.

The island is a homely and friendly place (none of the islands have policing nor the need for it), where we were served by families as opposed to small businesses. It was also creative - several of the bars allowed you to watch a movie with your lunch, which was helpful when the rain came. We snorkeled, we relaxed, we read, we sunbathed and we ate. A fairly simple life.

On our last day Paul treated Lottie to a luxurious massage, where the aromas, sounds and professionalism was enough for Lottie to determine it was the best she'd ever had (massage that is) and positively glow afterwards. Paul on the other hand was freaking out. Having returned to the hut, and walked into the bathroom, the memory of Lottie stating 'all this bathroom needs is a mirror' flashed through his mind, whilst staring blankly at his on reflection. Convinced he was going mad, he took a photo of the bathroom, and recalled a photo he had taken of the same room a day before. Low and behold, day 1 no mirror, day 2 mirror. Weird! Even Lottie was freaked out about this…especially as two hours earlier we were watching the film Shutter Island! On that same night Paul introduced Lottie to fish - a rainbow fish with mash, chips and salad, which was a delicious final meal on the island.

We then headed for Sanur (known as Snore although it wasn't that dull) where we looked to arrange a diving trip. Our aim was simple - we wanted to see Manta Rays. We were warned that it was not the right season for Manta's and that if we did not see them, we would see little else as it was a 'dead reef.' However we took the risk! Despite the choppy boat ride across, thoughts of seasickness soon subsided when we spied groups of black shadows floating on the top of the water, 2, 3, 4, 7 rays at a time! The excitement and adrenaline boiled over. We quickly scrambled into our scuba gear and backward rolled into the water. And there they were in all their glory. Huge birds of the sea. The Manta's with their white underbelly gracefully fly through the sea, their big mouths open to consume as much plankton as they can capture. Some were 4 feet wide, some even as wide as Paul is tall, but each of them has an elegant allure which leaves you with your mouth wide open and your breath held, (bad advice for a diver!). Without doubt the most magnificent creature that we have laid eyes on in the sea.

Our trip ended in the cultural hub of Bali, a small town named Ubud set amongst forests and rice fields. The town must have grown over the years, because instead of the quaint town that our guide books have described, it was in fact a shoppers paradise for the tourist…canvas art paintings, handcrafted sculptures and statues, T-shirts and other clothing, and plenty of other gimmicks. The town also boasted traditional dancing shows, but with little funds available, both the shopping and sightseeing took a backward step. Instead, we took to our feet, and embarked on a four hour walk through the local villages. The scenery was lovely but probably not fair reward for the sweat and exhaustion that the walk caused us. Regardless, it was a nice way to spend a Sunday afternoon! It did get us closer to the culture, such as the very tribal celebration of Hinduism, with these huge and colourful 'demons' that appeared to ward off evil spirits.

Overall, Bali and the Gili's was an amazing experience, and we are already planning where on the Gili's we would like to own a private villa!