We tried to arrange our last 4 days in Seminyak efficiently to allow us to do everything that we wanted, and also enjoy some relaxing beach time. We arranged a day at Kuta beach to meet our surfing instructors with the intention of practicing our new skills, but unfortunately the waves weren’t playing ball that day so we didn’t get to. We still ended up having a really fun day there sitting under the trees with the guys, drinking beer and listening to whoever wanted to play the guitar at the time. There was Carlos (Gaby’s instructor), Kay (my instructor), Johnny (the main guitarist), Morgan a.k.a. Fernando (the joker) and Simone the “bar” (coolers containing drinks) owner. They were very good to us and quickly learnt two of our holiday songs so that we could have a little sing along. We watched yet another beautiful Bali sunset (you just can’t get enough of them and HAVE to take advantage of having them each night on your doorstep!) then went to one of the restaurants we ate at during the first few days in Bali. It served a delicious Balinese dish called Nasi Jingo. It was a mixture of chicken, beef rendang, egg, rice and vegetables all wrapped up in a banana leaf and is just oh so tasty! It was another early night then... (have you noticed the pattern towards the end of our trip with the amount of early nights? We’re very tired girls!!)

The next morning Harry picked us up at 8:30 and we headed straight to a chocolate factory where we got to sample all of the chocolate for free and see how it’s made. It was a great breakfast! The next stop was Jatiluwih rice fields which was absolutely stunning! We walked for an hour taking in all the views, while sweating possibly more than I’ve ever sweated in my life (it was a very hot day). It was unlike anything I’ve seen before, and we originally weren’t going to have time to fit in a visit there so we were so grateful that we did. After there we made our way to a beautiful viewpoint overlooking a huge lake (for a moment it looked like we were somewhere like New Zealand!) where we took several photos and had a go on the swing for a good photo opportunity. From there Harry dropped us off at Sekumpul waterfalls where we met our guides; Addy and Wisnu (an adorable 17 year old who loved practicing his English and kept offering to carry our bags and shoes). They took us on mopeds through the rice fields to the first part of the tour which was the water slides. Not your usual water slides. To do these you sat on little black tyres and slid down the slide-shaped grooves in the rocks. We did them alone, and then as tandems. The water was pretty cold but we soon got used to it, and the slides were very fun! After that we walked through the forest to a water pool under a mini waterfall for some cliff jumping! There were 3 jumps at 3, 5 and 7 meters high. Doesn’t sound high, but it took me about 5 minutes to pluck up the courage to do the first one, and about 10 to do the highest one! That was super fun also, once the fear had passed. Next we trekked through the forest some more to a Holy Spring Water pool for a little dip, and then on to the first waterfall. There were seven in total, and we got to have a swim in the pools at the bottom. Addy and Wisnu were very good at acting like our personal photographers the whole time, and pointed out the best places to pose for a good photo. After seeing all of the waterfalls there was only one way back... up 363 excruciating (for me) huge steps!! I moaned a lot, but we made it back to the top. It was totally worth it anyway, as that day was probably our best yet. We ended the tour with a stop at a cafe overlooking stunning rice terraces, where we enjoyed our first fresh coconut! We were then driven back to Harry and we headed back to Seminyak, with a brief stop at a night market on the way. After a quick bite to eat in the hotel restaurant we went for... yep... you guessed it... an early night!

The following day we’d promised Carlos & Co that we’d DEFINITELY surf, so we arrived in Kuta mid morning and went to find them after enjoying perhaps our 3rd breakfast of the whole holiday. We had met an American solo traveller called Teminiro (a.k.a. Tory) a few days prior who we’d kept in touch with and had invited him along too. In the afternoon Carlos & Kay took me and Gaby for another lesson and we still looked like beginners. HOWEVER, after a break where we had a couple of beers, we went back in and we were both much better! Kay kept chanting “more beer, more spirit!” as he noticed the obvious improvement. After another break, me and Tory went back in with Kay and Morgan just as the sun had set, which was so beautiful as the orange sky reflected on the water. It was really quiet by now too and we surfed until dark and were the last ones in the water! We competed a bit to see who could stay standing the longest and I think it was pretty much a tie. We had so much fun we decided we’d try and come back the following evening for one last sunset surf before flying to Singapore the next day.

Harry picked us up at 4am the next morning as we wanted to go and watch the sunrise on Mount Batur. Gaby had wanted to do the sunrise hike (which was not for me... we all know Jess doesn’t like hiking!) but it would have taken quite a bit of time away from all the things we were trying to cram in at the end of our trip, so we compromised and got Harry to take us instead to shave some time off. We didn’t actually go up Mount Batur, but we watched the sunrise from the mountain opposite. Unfortunately it was a full moon which meant there was too much light for a good sunrise (we were definitely glad we hadn’t hiked all the way up there now). Harry drove us nearer the mountain where you could see the volcano craters and lots of volcanic rock, and Mount Agung in the distance which was still spewing out hot ash. He then drove us to a Spa with hot springs. We weren’t too sure what to expect but we paid the entry fee and thought we’d go check it out. IT WAS AMAZING. It was like an actual resort that overlooked a huge lake and had SEVEN hot pools, which was perfect as it was 7am and quite cool as we were nearer north Bali. It also had a normal pool and lots of eateries, and an actual spa where you could have massages that we didn’t take advantage of. We made our way around five of the hot pools until we stumbled upon number six which was magnificent because... it had a swim up bar. Better yet, there was no one else there except us. Even more better... free peanuts with every drink! So we ended up staying there for the next few hours, playing in the hot water like excited children, after warning Harry that we weren’t rushing back. We’d asked him what time we needed to leave there in order to get back to Kuta beach by 5pm and then left at the agreed time of 3pm, but we still didn’t make it to Seminyak until 6:30pm when the sun had already set, so we were a bit miffed about that as we really wanted to do sunset surfing, but couldn’t regret all the fun we’d had at the hot springs.

After a couple of gin and tonics in the hotel to drown our sorrows about not getting to surf, while listening to a very funny and talented band, Tory came to meet us for a drink and we ended up going to the rock & roll bar, and then Motel Mexicola for a little dance! It was super lively in there and we danced on the tables along with everyone else, until it closed about 11pm... which was really strange that such a busy venue would close so early, but it was a fun hour or so!

Sadly, that takes us to the end of our Bali adventure... and what an adventure it’s been. We’ve already been dreaming about going back as it really is such a beautiful place. Don’t worry guys, there’s still one more blog to come as the next morning we flew to Singapore for our last 3 days.....