Big Blue: the sea and see-you-laters.

The first half of my time in Indonesia was mostly spent enjoying culture and inland attractions that the country has in abundance but the second half, which this post is all about, was definitely spent taking full advantage of the fact that Indonesia is a series of islands, meaning, lots of beautiful blue sea and powdery white beaches. I have found during my trip that I will go for a long period of time sticking to these types of places and if I am away from the sea for too long I find myself missing it immensely so I was instantly happy when we docked on the beach on the island of Gili Trawangan, the imfamously beautiful and fun loving island just off the coast of Lombok island. The journey itself did not evoke happiness however as it included a long minivan ride then waiting for hours at a very crowded and unorganised port for the speed boat. When we finally did arrive we were greeted by the buzz of the busy island and we loved it almost straight away. We spent a long time trying to find accommodation as nearly everywhere on the island was full or super expensive. We ended up splashing out a little bit when we found a nice double room in a hostel called Baleku. The guys who ran it were all young Indonesians and were really nice and friendly. We went out to find some dinner and secured a cheaper place to sleep for the next few night (which I will describe later) and when we returned to the homestay we found that the owners were all singing with a guitar. We sat with them and it wasn't long before we were being sang to by a cool, old Italian guy they called Papa, who absolutely smashed all of the classics and could reach notes so high that I am sure the dolphins were enjoying the performance too. 

We drank some rum and then, although we had planned to have an early night, went to the main street to a bar called Sama Sama, where there was a brilliant live band playing. Outside the bar, when the music was finished, we met three British travellers, Bill, Emma and Josh and got on straight away then we decided it was finally time for sleep and headed back to our room.

Early the next day we moved to the room that would be our home for the next week. It was in a hostel called Good For Ya Knee which had been set up and run by a young British girl called Charlie and her Indonesian boyfriend. Initially they had told us that they had no room but after seeing the desperation in our eyes told us that there was something. They lovingly called it The Bench and it became clear why when we saw it. Usually used for the staff to nap in and keep the clean towels and sheets in, it was a small wooden shack with a single matress and a black bin bag making up one of the walls. Sounds bad but we loved it! We slept with our top halves on the matress and our bottoms halves on our bags, we spread our belongings all around the space and it really felt like home (plus it was way cheaper than anywhere else on the island, so win-win). 

We bumped into Bill, Emma and Josh again when we went out to explore our surroundings a bit more and went to the beautiful beach with them. The beach was lined with bars and restaurants but did not lose its beauty, with shallow sea and every shade of blue. You could walk into the sea and be snorkelling with turtles right there. The following day was the same routine, beach all day and then out for drinks in the evening. Gili T has a schedule which means that every night a different bar will be the only bar to stay open really late and we always made sure we knew which bar that was. 

Judge me if you will, but the 19th of August 2015 was the day that Emma-Louise Naef stepped onto, and thoroughly enjoyed, a booze cruise. Trust me, I was as dubious about it as you are now when we booked the ticket and arrived at the bar at 12:30, cheap vodka based drink in hand. Firstly, every girl there was dressed up to the nines in fancy bikinis and a full face of make-up, where as Jess and I had literally just rolled out of bed after a particularly heavy night, questioning whether we could ever drink alcohol again. Shades on and brains activated we decided to go with it, there seemed to be lots of like-minded people here, this would be fun, right? Haunted by the image of the awful Spanish trash holiday booze cruises I had heard about, we boarded the boat and to my surprise found that it was a really nice looking boat with big beanbags in the sun on one side and a bar and a dancefloor on the other. We set off and it didn't take long for me and Jess to pull out our moves on the dancefloor, pretty much dancing continuously until the end of the trip 5 hours later. We met some really fun, great people and had a hilarious time trying to continue dancing when the waves rocked the boat from left to right. The music was perfect and thankfully there were no cringey drinking games imposed on the group, just sun, sea and good times.

We got back to land at about 8pm and Jess and I stumbled merrily to find food and a returned to our Bench to get dressed for the evening. We were both knackered by this point but decided to head out anyway. We met up with James, who I had met way back in Australia and who happened to be on Gili T the same time as me and we had a great catch up. It made it seem like no time had passed since Aus but simultaneously made me realise how many places I had seen since then. 

The next day was another recovery day spent lying on the beach. In the evening we met with Bill, Josh and Emma and went to see an unfortunately unimpressive sunset...

Then we went for impressive food in an amazing restaurant called Kayu Cafe. I had a delicious veggie burger with extra feta and sweet potato chips, yum. James had damaged his chest while free diving that day and so after going to check that he was ok and saying goodbye, Jess and I headed to bed.

Due to the lack of alcohol consumed the previous night, we found that we could actually function as human beings the next day and so rented bicycles and took the short ride around the island. We stopped at a couple of points along the way including the iconic (well, most people travelling south east asia will recognise it) swing in the sea.

We also stopped at a beach side bar, away from the main street, called Window Bar which is decorated with lots of different coloured old shutters and is run by a really nice guy from Jakarta called Daniel.

We had dinner at the amazing night market with Josh, Emma and Bill. To explain, the night market is a wonderous place with a number of stalls set up offering many different dishes. You pay 20,000 rupiah (£1) for a selection of five of these dishes. They had things like morning glory, tofu, noodles, potato, aubergine, pumpkin and loads of flavoursome choices. Then you could pay an extra 20,000  for a BBQ skewer, chicken, tuna, white fish or beef. So cheap and so good, we ate here more than once! Jess and I went to go and watch Kingsman at the open air cinema down the beach, which was a good film but was made even more amusing by the fact that it was an obvious pirate copy, because the screen kept going wonky or blacking out and every so often you would get a silhouette of someone going to the toilet in the cinema it was filmed in. Afterwards we went and met the gang and went to a bar which was too crowded and played rubbish music. We decided to walk to another bar and then ended up spending a few hours outside the islands fried chicken shop, Chicken Party, messing around and meeting new people. We got back to The Bench and skyped some people and ended up going to sleep after hearing the morning prayer from the local mosque.

After three hours of sleep our alarm woke us up for the snorkelling trip we had planned on doing. We managed to zombie walk down to the beach and were about to get on the boat when we both looked at each other and realised neither of us were fit to be on a boat all day. We dragged ourselves back to bed for a few more hours and I can honestly say I have no regrets about that decision. We went for lunch and had delicious mezze, with humous, fresh flat bread and cheese and fresh fruit juice. 

That evening we met up with Frieda, the German girl we had met in Kuta, Bali and who was on Gili T with her friend Sarah for a few days. We sampled the night market again and sat and chatted in the evening which was really relaxed and exactly what the doctor ordered.

When we had decided to visit Gili T we were especially excited about the diving that the area is known for, however, due to our fun-packed lifestyle on the island we hadn't managed to fit it in. The 23rd was the day we finally got our acts together and headed out with IQ divers to see what the reef there had to offer. It was very beautiful down there, with lots of colours and turtles literally everywhere and we were both very glad we had managed to fit it in. We met Frieda for lunch (meze again) and after packing our bags, went to watch the sunset at the main sunset bar. Back in Sama Sama bar we had some drinks with the other German girls we had met in Kuta, Bali and their friends and danced to the amazing live band one last time. I even got pulled up on stage and sang Arctic  Monkeys - Do I Wanna Know with the band which was sooo fun! It was a brilliant way to end our amazing time on the island as it was time to say goodbye and move on the next day.

The next stop was the large island of Lombok. We got a small speed boat full of people to the island and then a private car (OooOooOoOOOoo) down to the south and a place called Kuta. After checking into our room with amazingly comfortable beds (a luxury after our beloved Bench) we explored the town and hilariously bumped into Emma, Bill and Josh on the beach there! Kuta, Lombok was nothing like Kuta, Bali and was a charmingly underdeveloped town with a few shops and resturants and a lot of stray dogs and people trying to sell you bracelets and sarongs. We sat on the beach for a couple of hours and then went to have some indonesian/mexican food for dinner. That evening, Jess and I sat in bed and watched The Theory Of Everything, which is a very good film and it was very nice to have a relaxing evening.

I had been itching to get back on a moped since arriving in Indonesia and so we rented one the next day and took the very scenic and fun-to-drive road to a beach called Selong Belanak which was a long stretch of sand and good surf. We read our books and sunbathed there for a couple of hours then moved onto another beach called Mawun Beach. Here, once again, we bumped into Bill, Emma and Josh who were with a Canadian girl called Austraya and a British girl called Brody. The water at this beach got very deep very quickly which apparently makes me and Jess revert back to being 7 years old. We spent a while frolicking in the waves and getting knocked back by them more than once before settling down and sunbathing. 

Later that evening, we went to the Surfer Bar in Kuta and met the gang there for some drinks before we parted ways for the last time. It was a lovely evening but was spoilt a bit by an attempted mugging we experienced while walking back to our hotel. Two guys drove really slowly behind us on their mopeds and sped up next to Jess trying to grab her bag off her shoulder, luckily she has a tight grip and all they managed to do was break the strap and leave a nasty little bruise on her arm before speeding off. It was an unpleasant thing to happen but it is helpful as a gentle reminder to be smart with your stuff. This sort of thing can happen anywhere and it is good to be reminded of that every-so-often so that you have your wits about you.

The following day we took the bike along some very bumpy roads to a beach that could very possibly be my favourite beach of the whole trip, Tanjung Ann. As soon as we got onto the sand there our mouths fell open with awe. The sand was so bright white it made you squint a little and the sea was just perfect for a relaxing swim as it was sheltered by the bay and was quite shallow and sandy the whole way out. Paradise. (My photos can not do it justice)

We splashed around pretending to be mermaids a bit, sunbathed and collected a couple of the shells and turquoised coloured rocks that lined the sea then decided to go for a short walk over to a large rock structure that jutted out into the sea along the beach. On top of the rock we had an amazing view of both beaches in the bay. After having a great day we ended it with great food at a restaurant that had been recommended to us by Josh, Bill and Emma, Warung Hesty. It had the most delicious Indonesian food and the most friendly and happy host, Ba-yu who played guitar and sang while you ate. We saw Brody again and decided that we should visit the traditional village the next day.

The village was not too far from Kuta along a windy main road, which was exciting to drive on. A local man approached us and offered a tour of the village for a good price and we accepted. We walked around the clay, thatched houses, nearly everyone of them converted into a shop for tourists to buy jewelery and hand woven blankets. I really really really wanted to buy a blanket but the curse of a small backpack meant that there was no chance of me fitting it with me. Jess bought a beautiful one which took at least a month to weave for £10, bloody bargin! 

We drove back into town and ate again at Warung Hesty then stayed there for a few hours talking with Ba-yu and listening to music. We all drove back to Tanjung Ann and walked up a big hill on the right hand side of the beach to see the sunset over the sea. It was a very impressive view, with huge cliffs and rolling hills meeting the rough, vast ocean. Ba-yu told us the myth of the princess who was so beautiful that many men fought over her. She couldn't stand the fightng anymore so she jumped from the cliff and the next day thousands of little sea slugs came out of the water. Every year the local people in this part of Lombok have a festival of the sea slugs and go down to the beach at midnight to catch them (apparently they are delicious). He said that if they haven't come out before midnight it is traditional to shout swear words at the sea until they come. Sounds like fun to me.

We had to return our moped :'( then we sat in Warung Hesty again and drank beers, sang and talked. At one point a rude, annoying American guy came and sat with us and just kept talking about how he was coming off of 'so many drugs' and how great Johnny Cash was. This got a bit old after a while and I got sleepy so we went back to our hotel room after saying our goodbyes.

We were picked up by an overcrowded minivan the next day to take us to Senggigi, a town in the north west of Lombok. When we got there we checked into the Lombok Baleku hotel, ran by the same people as the Baleku in Gili T. We saw the guys who had been at the one in Gili T again and had a delicious lunch of Gado Gado, which is basically vegetables, topped with peanut sauce and an egg. We got a lift to the local massage parlour and I got an hour long amazing massage and a well needed haircut for £5. Back at the hotel in the evening we sat up listening to music and drinking rice wine with the guys until I couldnt hold my eyes open any longer. 

The next day was a big day, we were embarking on an adventure to one of the furthest parts of Indonesia. We were driven to Bangsal port and met up again with Frieda. We also met the rest of our group which included an English couple Oliver and Heather, a Scottish girl called Nicky and an English guy called Henry. We all boarded a boat which was to be our home for the next four days and would take us from Lombok to Komodo National Park in Flores. The boat was big but very basic and the deck we were sleeping on, although better than what I had expected, was literally just a low ceiling deck with some mattresse, pillows and blankets.

I had been excited about this part of our trip since we had booked it in Gili T and had heard so many great things about it. The first day, however, did not live up to expectations, the only actitivity being a stop to swim and the crew on the boat being incredibly unhelpful and hostile. The other people on the boat were the main redeeming feature and continued to be into the second day when we had a short walk to a pretty dried up waterfall inland, had one stop to swim and snorkel before we were informed that we would be sailing 18 hours straight over night to the next place. I think I would have been fine with this had I have been told the schedule before we set off but it came as a bit of a surprise. Not only was it a very long time to be constantly moving but the conditions were pretty bad too. We were in open water for nearly the whole time and the boat was swaying aggresively from side to side constantly. We tried to see the funny side but ended up restorting to lying in bed trying our best to sleep. 

The following morning, hallejuah, we woke up in a quiet, still area surrounded by stunning hilly islands. We had reached Komodo National Park. It was a great relief to be still again and after breakfast Frieda, Jess and I took the small leaky row boat to the shore and walked on solid land. We saw a particularly pointy hill and decided to conquer it and the view from the top was a panorama of the surrounding area, where there were many islands and turquoise waters. 

We walked back and the boat took the group to a spot called Manta Point. We all donned our snorkels and waited anxiously as the boat sailed around, searching, then we heard the captain shout, 'Go, jump!' and without questioning we all flew into the water. Almost instantly I saw it, a giant dark shadow gracefully flapping and gliding below me. The manta ray was so huge, much bigger than I had been expecting and I was filled with excitment as it moved so close below me. We saw a number of them as they rose to the surface and then swopped down with ease. It was truely magical to watch this animal as it would disappear suddenly into the blue and then appear agian when you least expected it.

We spent some time with these amazing animals before returning to the boat and visiting a place called Pink Beach. When we arrived there was a chorus of 'is this it?' There really was nothing pink about it from our view on the boat. The first few people jumped in a swam to the beach but it seemed to be much harder than expected as the current coming into the bay pushed the swimmers to the side. Jess, Frieda, Oliver, Heather and I decided to give it a miss and stayed on the boats 'balcony', listening to music, chatting and catching some rays. Before we left the beach Henry came back on the boat and said that the snorkelling over to the left was some of the best he had ever done so I decided not to pass the opportunity up. He was right, the coral was so bright and there were so many varieties of fish there I was glad I decided to jump in. 

I also spotted a big cuttlefish and a moray eel there which seemed happy to model for my photographs.

That evening we had dinner of cabbage, noodles and rice again as we watched the sunset and everyone seemed so much happier than the previous evening! They even put on a little 'party' for us by plugging in a disco bulb (the one I got you for Christmas Dad) and letting us play music through the big speakers. It was a wonderfully awkward affair but charming in its own way.

The first of September came around very quickly and it was a great start to the month. I woke up and watched the sunrise on my own before grabbing a pancake for breakfast and watching as everyone else climbed down out of bed. It was the day we were due to see the dragons and we set off early to get to the island. When we arrived we were greeted by a very energetic guide who gave us a briefing and then lead the group around the island. We spotted a couple of Komodo dragons, who were lying in the morning sun to warm up their blood for the day. It isn't surprising that they have been aorund since the dinosaurs when you see them. They are scaley and have beady eyes and Jess thought they were 'cute'. 

They were also huge and, the same as when I had seen the crocodiles in Aus, they creeped me out with how relaxed and patient they seemed to be with the knowledge that they could attack us if they really wanted. We moved onto a second island after two hours of sailing and enjoying the sun again in the balcony. This island was called Rinca Island and was really picturesque. There were many dragons everywhere, lying around in the sun and tourists nervously pointed their lenses at them. We walked up to the top of a hill on the island and got some awesome views, the national park really is something special.

After we had had our fill of prehistoric predators we set off to our final swimming spot and then head to our destination, Lebuan Bajo. We made it to the dock at about 4pm and Ollie, Heather, Nicky, Jess, Frieda and I went straight to a bar and ordered a beer. The bar had a great view of the sunset (even if it was behind a busy port). Frieda, Jess and I then set off to book our travel back to Lombok, find a dive company to go diving with on our one and only day in Flores and book a room for the next night. We managed to do everything and then relaxed by eating an absolutely amazing pizza and enjoyed being on dry land again. We went to the sky bar next door for some very strong and very cheap Arak (local palm sugar spirit) cocktails and to have a final farewell to the group who had been on the boat. We slept that night back on the boat (hey, it's a free nights accommodationisn't  it?) and in the morning did the rest of our goodbyes.

The three of us had to be at the dive centre at 07:15 so after some banana bread at a coffee shop we got there and got ready for a full day of diving. We set off in their dive boat to the first site, Tawaran Basar, we had a our detailed briefing and I got very excited when the dive instructor said it was a really great site. Flores is known internationally for its incredible diving and so my expectations were high. I was not disappointed. The site was the best dive I have done so far. So many things to see, bright corals, countless fish, life everywhere. We were even lucky enough to find two white tip reef sharks hiding under the reef together and watch them as they swam off. My eyes were wide for the whole dive trying to take in as much as possible.

(^if you look closely you can see the sharks face peering out from under the coral.)

The second site was Manta Point, which I was excited to get to. Although snorkelling had been awesome, I had wanted to be down there with the rays the whole time. It took a while trying to find the rays on this dive, during which time I was trying to get my breathing more efficient, then we saw one at one of the cleaning stations. The current was really strong so one of the instructors clipped a rope onto the ground and I held onto that, trying not to be pushed backwards by the water. It was really special to watch the ray going about its business and be able to witness how the ecosystem there supports each other. 

Between each dive I tried to get my wetsuit off as soon as possible and get in the sun to warm up, the sea here is much colder than the very comfortable seas I have been diving in previously on this trip. The final dive was definitely the coldest though which we realised as soon as we jumped in. It was at a site called Mawan Island where, once again, there was an outstanding reef, turtles and a surprising amount of manta rays surprising us whenever they glided past. I also saw a baby scorpion fish, which is quite rare and a couple of magnificent lion fish who literally scream "I AM DANGEROUS" with their bright orange stripes and numerous spikes. 

(^can you spot the baby scorpion fish?)

We had to surface after 45minutes due to the cold currents but as we were doing a safety stop another huge manta ray swam below us as if to wish us goodbye. It was an absolutely great day diving, and probably the last one I will have for a long while. 

This morning we woke up and boarded a ferry to start our 24 hour journey back to Lombok for our respective flights. Jess will be heading to Thailand to do her uni placement and I will be jetting off to Sri Lanka, where I will be meeting up with my great friend Hannah for a month of galavanting around. 

And so the end of my time in south east asia is in sight. What a crazy thought. Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Phillippines and Indonesia, what an amazing, eye opening, adventurous and delicious time I have had. I have done things I never would have thought I could do, met people who I hope will be in my life for years to come, seen some of the most beautiful places on earth and can happily say I have no regrets what so ever. On to the next chapter, a sad goodbye but exciting things to come!

Thanks for reading,

Emma x

Early Mornings And Late Nights

Hello readers! 

It feels like absolutely ages since I last wrote on my blog and, unfortunately for my little typing fingers, so much has happened since my last post. This is mainly down to my beautiful and pro-active travel companion Jessica, who I know from university and who I am travelling with for my month in wonderful Indonesia.

I flew from Manila to Jakarta and took a very expensive taxi before arriving at 1am at the hostel in the centre of Jakarta and as I approached the glass fronted building I saw, to my delight, my red-headed friend beaming at me from the foyer. We hugged and after going to buy a train ticket for the next morning with the really nice guy at reception, retired to our amazingly comfortable double bunkbed and talked late into the night (probably annoying everyone else in the dorm room).

That night we got very little sleep (something that would become a bit of a running theme during our trip) and got up for a loooooong early morning train journey through the beautiful Java countryside to a town called Yogyakarta. The town seemed to be bustling and, as most towns do, had one area dedicated to tourists, full of hotels, hostels, travel agents and restaurants. We walked around for a while looking at a few different accomadation options and finally found one that wasn't too bad. After settling in we went to a travel agents and booked a trip to see the local ancient temples then had a salad for dinner before bed. That night we were kept up by the people who worked at the hotel having, what seemed like a full blown party outside our room, wonderful. 

We had to get up really early for the temple tour the next day, and by really early I mean 03:30am early. We got a coach to Borobudah and watched the most unimpressive sunrise in the history of the world before being able to explore the 9th century Buddhist temple itself, which was really beautiful and unusual.

We were driven back to our hotel, feeling like zombies and managed an hour long nap before going to get some lunch and then being driven to the next temple, Prabanam, which was a huge 10th century Buddhist/Hindu temple. We spent a long time walking around the impressive construction marvelling at the effort it must have taken. We found a good spot on the grounds and watched the sunset behind the towers to finish off the day. 

The 8th was a day of travelling. We got into a minivan at 8:30am and broke down halfway for 1 and a half hours (!). We finally arrived in the late evening at Cemoro Lawang, a small mountainous and cold town which has become a tourist destination due to its proximity to Mount Bromo. That was the reason we were there too and after some noodle soup at the basic restaurant at our hostel we wrapped up in our duvets and tried to get as much sleep as possible for the climb the next morning.

Most of the many tourists who were there chose to do a 4X4 tour which took them to another mountain to watch the sunrise and then to Mt.Bromo itself but boy were we glad we didn't do that! We woke up at 3:20am and started our hike ten minutes later, feeling surprisingly cherpy. We walked in the cold and dark away from the town and onto a large sandy expanse which lead to the mountain. We had no idea which route to take as, the same as in many parts of south east Asia, there were absolutely no signs, but we soon met a old Indonesian guy on a horse who assured us that we should travel in his direction. We saw hundreds of 4X4 headlights driving towards the other mountain and were so pleased to be doing it by ourselves. After walking a long time we reached the base of the mountain and began our ascent which ended with a long stairway to the top. The climb was pretty easy and we reached the top way before sunrise. When we got there I heard a sound that I assumed to be a train passing by below but soon realised that it was the sound of the volcanic crater bubbling, boiling and letting off a lot of steam and smoke. We walked around the ridge to an area that we had completely to ourselves! We watched as the sun rose over the sandy trail we had just walked across and turned everything a beautiful golden orange colour. As it got brighter, our surroundings were revealed to us and we could finally see how beautiful it really was. It looked like something from another planet or from way way back in time when dinosaurs wandered the earth. 

We walked further around the ridge and I couldnt believe that I was on top of a live volcano!

After spending a lot of time and camera battery on top of the volcano we walked back to the town and had breakfast before setting off in our very retro minivan. We arrived at Arabica Homestay in the town of Bondowoso, the next destination on our Java tour, in the evening and had noodles (again) and some delicious local tea then got a very early night. The following morning, if you can call it that, we woke up at 1:00am. Jess' alarm had not gone off and luckily for us I woke up naturally just in time! We piled into our minivan and drove in the dark to the base of our next adventure, Mt.Igen. This mountain was definitely a more challenging climb, which we realised very quickly when the path our guide was leading us up became rapidly steeper. We reached the top in complete darkness after an hour and a half walking but there was more walking to come. Our guide pointed downwards into a black hole, the crater, and told us that there was a 1km descent to see the blue flames and sulphur mine down below. The decent turned out to be walking precariously down dodgy steps and stones for what seemed like forever. However, our discomfort was put into perspective as soon as we saw the miners. These men work many hours a day taking the sulphur from the bottom of the crater up 1km to the top then transporting it down to the base in basic wheelbarrows. They carry up to 90kg each with bamboo baskets which weigh on their shoulders giving them sores and deforming the muscles in their backs. It is an unbelievable sight, especially as they still find time to stop and offer photographs on the way up.

We were given gas masks to wear near the toxic sulphuric smoke that erupts from the crater but most of the miners had nothing. The man whose job it was to chip away at the sulphur working completely surrounded by the smoke had a mask but would still come out coughing and spluttering after succeeding in removing one piece of sulphur.

We were down in the crater for about 20minutes and began to feel ill so I could only imagine the effect it was having on the people working down there. We saw the famed blue flames coming from the crater, which, after witnessing such a feat of human ability, were actually pretty unimpressive. Our walk back up the crater was tinged with the fact that we only had to do this once and with nothing but a small bag on our shoulders, the miners were truely incredible. We walked along the ridge of the crater for a while until we gasped at the sight of the sun beginning to rise above the clouds, which formed a cotton-like blanket below us. The view was absolutely breathtaking, possibly the most beautiful thing I have ever seen! The sky was the most incredible colours and the surrounding were just so surreal. (Of course, the photo does not do it justice)

On one side of us there was this utopian sunrise and on the other we could see down into the massive crater, which was so much bigger than we had thought when we were down there ourselves. As well as the sulphur mine it also housed a ginormous cloudy turquoise sulphuric lake. Naturally, Jess and I had another photo shoot!

We spent a long time up on the ridge taking in our surroundings, it was other-worldly. It was definitely one of those occasions when you realise how incredible travelling and seeing the world is and it made me feel very thankful. After being torn away from this wonderland by our guide we made the long steep decent back down the mountain. We actually ended up jogging down the slope as it, surprisely, made us slip less. We got back into the minivan with a sense of excitment and awe (and extreme tiredness) and travelled to the ferry port for our ferry to the next Indonesia island, Bali.

Our first destination in Bali was the astonishing town of Ubud. A effortlessly cool and beautiful place which oozed Indonesian style. The streets were lined with many interesting shops and tempting restaurants as well as many buddhist temples and the floor was covered with ceremonial flower offerings which gave good luck to the establishment who offered them. 

I was intrigued to see so much Buddhist influence in a town in the large Muslim country in the world, but as it is in much of Asia, religion and spirtuality seem to cover every surface and live in every corner. I can't explain what made this town so instantly likable but if you ever visit it you will understand too. It was busy when we arrived and we began to worry we would never find a room until a guy approached Jess and asked if she was looking for somewhere. Once again, being unprepared paid off big time! The room we ended up with was just stunning. It was a large exotic room in a small but beautifully kept guesthouse called Bella House which was run by a very friendly local family and mirrored the style and charm of the rest of the town.

^ That was the door to our room!

We were absolutely chuffed, and just for £5 each per night! We went out to find some dinner which was quite the struggle when there were so many places to chose from, and decided on a restaurant which offered cooking courses during the day, so they had to be good. We weren't mistaken. I had a huge delicious tuna steak with steamed and roasted vegetables and a cocktail for about £6 (and that is splashing out)!

The following day we spent the morning slightly more stressed than I would have liked, trying to find and international phone which I could use to ring HSBC who had annoyingly blocked my card. We came up empty handed and decided to take my mind off it by buying ballet tickets for that evening and wandering around the many gorgeous shops in the winding streets of the market. 

After much deliberation Jess bought a huge green Buddha painting, a decision I fully stand behind because the painting was stunning and well worth the money. I bought another sarong and some jewellery, managed to finally get through to HSBC and, to finish our day of indulgence, we watched the incredible traditional ballet which told the story of Rama and Sita. The story itself is an ancient Indian Hindu story about two lovers who are torn apart by a jealous king and the journey Rama takes to save Sita from the kings clutches. In the version we watched Sita and Rama live happily ever after but in the programme we learnt that the original story ends with Rama ordering Sita to walk through fire to prove she is still loyal to him, after which Sita decides that Rama maybe isn't the guy for her and runs off with Mother Nature instead, a brilliant ending I think! The dance itself was brilliant, so many small details from the twitching of the dancers fingers when they strike a pose to the movements of their pupils when they make their eyes impossibly wide. The costumes and music were so impressive, instruments I had never seen before making the most unusual but beautiful noises. To top it off it was performed in front of the grand palace, perfect!

We went for dinner and drinks with a live band afterwards and ended up meeting an ex porn star from Essex called Donna Richardson (I am sure you have never heard of her 😉 ) who told us all about her life and was a really funny and interesting woman, with a young Indonesian boyfriend by her side. 

There was time for more nosing around (and shopping) the following day before we caught a bus to Kuta Beach in the south of the island said a sad goodbye to Ubud.

(^one of the many beautiful little things in Ubud)

Kuta was like another world, a hugely westernised Australian holiday destination full off tall modern buildings and clothing shops with brands we recognised from home. 

The next day we decided to venture to the beach, the first beach of our trip! It was a huge beach with impressive waves and we sat and enjoyed soaking up the sun and relaxing after our extreme journey through Java. We met a German girl who was sunbathing next to us called Freida and spent the afternoon chatting with her. Over the loud speaker we heard that 200 baby sea turtles were being released into the sea that evening and that we could release them ourselves! We went to the conservation centre and were given a tiny little baby turtle in a plastic box to carry down to the sea. We all got into a line and tipped the babies onto the sand then watched them as their instinct took over and they slowly started waddling towards the ocean. It was adorable. Well, until we were told that only 1 in 1000 with survive until adulthood. Then I felt kind of mean for sending them all to their death, well, circle of life I guess. 

That evening we met Andy and Patrick, a Swiss and a German, at our hostel and decided to go out for some dinner and drinks and meet Frieda. After dinner we found a bar that offered unlimited drinks for 50,000 rupiah (about £2.50) and played beer pong. We also met two German girls called Coco and Friede and an American guy called Jason. After we had exhausted the free drinks we went to a huge bar called Skygarden and danced like crazy for a few hours, Jason had especially incredible dance moves! As we left the bar I noticed that my bum bag was open and my purse had been taken. I was extremely upset not just for the loss of money or annoyance of having to cancel and get new cards, but mainly for the fact that I bloody loved that purse. I had bought it in Australia, why people steal from others is absolutely beyond me. We got back to the hostel and Jess once again proved what a great friend she is by ringing HSBC and cancelling my card... I fell asleep during the call :S it was a very late night.

The next day we trapsed around in the heat trying to find the tourist police. At one point a police officer gave us directions and after walking for at least 30 minutes without seeing anything we turned back and saw that the station was directly behind the police officer who had directed us in the opposite direction! The police report ended up costing more money than it was worth so we walked to the beach and bumped into the German girls from the night before. We decided to meet with the girls and Patrick and Andy at Skygarden again and have the 100,000rupiah (£5) all you can eat BBQ buffet and all you can drink from the bar there. It was a great evening and we all stuffed ourselves with the really nice food and got merry on the generous drinks. 

We had a farewell breakfast with Andy and Patrick in the morning and then I spent the rest of the first half of the day filing out my Indian Visa application (exciting!). That afternoon we met with Frieda and Judith and went to Tanah Lot temple, a temple which had been built on a small rock in the sea. When we got there it was so busy! The tide was out so we could walk near the rock but it was a bit too much of a tourist attraction (you had to pay to be blessed) so we walked along the rockpools to somewhere we could sit and watch the sunset behind the temple away from the crowds. We travelled back to Kuta and had the most delicious Indian dinner! If you are ever in Kuta make sure you eat at Gateway Of India! Yum! I was looking for photos to include in this part of the blog but the fact that I have no photos really of Kuta reflects how uninspiring a place it was, however I did have a lot of fun there and we met some really great people.

I think that is enough information for now, I will continue to write about my Indonesian adventures in the next post, which I will hopefully finish very soon :)

Thanks for reading!

Emma x

 

'It's More Fun In The Philippines'

The tourism board of The Philippines were tasked with coming up with a catchy slogan to lure more holidaymakers to their country and 'It's More Fun in The Philippines' was finally considered the best choice. I am not entirely sure what the 'It' in the sentence refers to but if it means travelling solo, they might be on to something. Surprisingly (and pleasantly), even with their slogan, I have found that the country is far less touristy than I had expected. This could be down to the fact that it is currently the rainy season (although I could easily count the number of rainy days I have had in my month here on one hand) but I still find it surprising. It offers many of the worlds top beaches, incredible dive sites, rock climbing, interesting wildlife, cheap food and accomodation and best of all a whole country full of extremely friendly, helpful and happy people. The places I have visited in the second half of my time here are all perfect examples of why I am glad that this gem of a place is still relatively low on foreign tourism (it is actually the country that I have met the most tourists who are citizens of the country we are in). 

After leaving Panglao and Alona Beach behind, with a very stressful and long journey over land and sea, I arrived on Malapascua Island. I got to Maya, where I could catch a boat over to the island and, just like I had been warned about on the internet, the captain of the small boat told me that there was a problem, there were no more people coming for a long time so if I paid 500pesos (about £7.50) we could leave the port and head straght to the island without waiting for AGES for more people to arrive. Thankfully, with my prior knowledge of this scam I held my ground and told him I was happy to wait. Who would have guessed it! Only a few minutes later another coach full of people arrived at the port and the boat soon filled up which meant I only spent 100pesos, a fifth of the price.

When I arrived I found a motorbike taxi (there are no other vehicles on the island) and was taken to Thresher Cove Resort, which I had found online and which offered cheap dorm rooms and a good dive centre. When I arrived, exhausted, I was really happy with my choice. I instantly met other travellers, the staff were really friendly, the resort itself was beautiful and there was a HUGE selection of DVDs! 

That evening I booked myself onto the following early morning dive, skyped home, with the first reliable wifi I had had for a while, and sat and talked with the other people staying there (and yes, watched a couple of films). That night, sleeping in a dorm room again, I felt a overwhelming love for what I am doing. Every so often it will hit me how lucky I am and what amazing opportunities travelling has offered me and I fell asleep with a smile on my face.

The next day was an extremely early start with my alarm rudely waking me at 4:30am. We left from the resorts private beach at about 5:30am in their dive boat. One of the top reasons people visit Malapascua is for the diving, especially to dive with the rare Thresher Sharks who come up to shallower waters in the mornings. This is what I was hoping to see and as we got all of our gear together I started to feel butterflies in my stomach. I was about to dive with sharks! It was another very surreal moment, the type if moment I have been having a lot of since leaving the UK. We descended down to about 30m and went to the first shark spotting site. The visibility at this site was pretty poor but it actually made it more exciting. I kneeled on the sea bed and looked in the direction of my dive masters pointing finger. Slowly, emerging from the misty water I saw a shadow move towards us. It became clearer as it approached and finally revealed a graceful, beautiful (slightly scary looking) shark. The shark was making loops away and then towards us and it was really mesmerising. We saw a few more sharks swim near us, and I suddenly realised that I was actually sitting 30m under the sea, watching sharks swim around me. I would have had the biggest grin on my face at that moment, if my regulator would not have popped out by doing so. 

When we were ascending we saw a very friendly eagle ray, pipe fish and a huge jellyfish which had small fish living inside it! I have never been a big fan of jellyfish but seeing one when you are underwater next to it shines a whole new light on how rhythmic and beautiful they are. The boat ride back to the shore was spent talking with the other divers about how amazing what we had just done was. When I got back to the resort I lay in the beach for a short while until the winds really picked up and it started to rain. I hide in the common area and watched another film before having a quick siesta. That evening a few of us from the resort went, by motorbike taxi, to the main area of the island and had a few drinks and a couple of rounds of pool in a bar. 

One of the motorbike taxi drivers was also the tour guide on a boat tour around the island and so the next day I jumped on a boat with some people from the resort (an English family, a Welsh girl called Monica and three Danish backpackers) and spent the first half of the day sailing over clear blue sea, snorkelling and catching the sun. One snorkel spot was at a ship wreck and I enjoyed free diving down to the wreck and exploring the sealife there. I managed to spot a huge school of cuttlefish, sea snake and a small incredible looking noodie (sea slug).

When we returned I relaxed at the resort and then me and Monica went to a restaurant called Ging Gings, where I had a delicious fish coconut curry and a rum cocktail for 150pesos! We then walked to the main beach of the island, Bounty Beach, which you could imagine would get quite busy during high season, but was eerily quiet. We were about to give up and go back when we heard a lively bar on top of a dive centre. Upstairs they were hosting a pub quiz and the bar was full of divers and holiday makers laughing and talking. We sat down at the bar and ordered a cocktail each and were very happy when four cocktails arrived (apparently, they had extended happy hour so cocktails were all two for one). We listened and laughed at the pub quiz and when it was finished the winning team bought everyone in the bar a shot. It was the worst shot I have ever had, there was a shot of cheap vodka but before drinking it you had to fill your mouth with this sherbet-like energy boost thing, which foamed aggresively in your mouth and made everyone in the bar look rabid. We spent the rest of the evening talking to people from all over the world and dancing A LOT. We found one dive instructor in particular who was an very energetic dancer and even got to dance behind the bar with the brilliant bar staff!

On the 29th it was time for me to leave Malapascua, a very sad occasion, and while I was on the beach waiting for the boat I met Dave, an Aussie diver who I had spoken to the evening before.

We got on the boat along with some Israelis who had been in my dorm and travelled back to the mainland and then on a very long bus journey to Cebu. That evening Dave and I checked into a dorm in Cebu and ordered pizza, after talking a lot about how much we wanted a pizza on the bus. I ordered a small, but Dave ordered the extra large. They were not kidding, when the pizza came it was absolutely massive, 18 inches to be exact. He shared it around a group of young Brits who were in the common area with us and then we went to sleep, tired from a full day of travelling. 

Unfortunately, the next day was another travel day as I took a flight from Cebu to Puerto Princesa, on Palawan Island. Palawan is one of the more famous destinations in The Philippines, but by no means does this mean it is very built up. I arrived at the tiny airport and luckily found a group of Spanish people who were getting a private mini van and driving to El Nido, in the north of the island, that evening. My original plan had been to stay in Puerto Princesa and get the bus the next day but the idea of nog having to travel for the third day in a row was much better. After another long drive we arrived in El Nido at about 11pm and I found a dorm room for a reasonable price and collapsed into bed. 

When I woke up I got to see what El Nido really looked like, after only seeing it in the dark the night before. It reminded me a lot of Railay Beach in Thailand and was surrounded by huge limestone cliffs and green vegetation. El Nido beachfront itself was not very impressive as it is used as a port so I hoped in a tricycle and travelled to a nearby beach called La Casabas. 

The beach was very beautiful, with a few subtle hotels and restaurants. I walked along the sandand enjoyed the view of the ominous clouds in the distance. I think after seeing so many beaches, you become less concerned with whether the sky is perfect blue and start to enjoy more exciting weather. Luckily, the weather never broke on the beach and I used the rest of the day to lie in the sun, drink mango shakes and read my book. I met three Irish girls at the restaurant and we decided to go to eat dinner and watch the sunset at the aptly named Sunset Bar. We had delicious tapas and enjoyed a beer while the sun went down.

When I returned to El Nido I said goodbye to the girls and had an evening stroll around the small town. I walked to the beach which was lined with candle lit tables and the smell of BBQ seafood and I had a nose around some shops. One shop I went into sold handmade jewellery and organic beauty products. After a day in the sun, I thought that finally I was beginning to look quite tanned but as I entered this shop a saleswoman walked up to me with a pot of aloe vera gel 'for your sunburnt skin mam'. I left very swiftly after that.

On the 1st of August I had booked onto an island hopping tour but I woke up to very heavy rain. Thankfully it stopped just in time for the tour to start and I got on the boat, which weirdly had no other backpackers on board, mainly Philipinos and two French women. We visited breathtaking lagoons and beaches and went snorkelling and swimming. 

At around midday we had a really really good lunch of BBQed fish, prawns, squid, pork and some salads. While we were eating the heavens opened and it rained REALLY hard for about 30 minutes.

My towel was completely soaked so the best place for me to stay during the downpour was in the warm sea. Even though it was raining, it was still really enjoyable, and I found myself laughing a lot.

Back at the hostel I met some very adorable Philppino children who sang me their favourite One Direction songs and spoke to me in nearly perfect English.

When the children had got bored and wondered off to entertain another foreigner I started talking to some Philippinos who were also visiting El Nido. They were from near Cebu and excitedly invited me to dinner with them. I thought 'why not!?' and after having a photoshoot with every one in the group (they were a large group) we all squeezed into two tricycles and went to a local restaurant where I ate adobo and we talked about life in our countries. They were very interested in my marital status (a subject that seems to be raised a lot when I tell people I am travelling alone) and England, especially the politics and religion there as The Philippines is a very Christian country. They were all very shocked when I told them that I didn't think there was a God but luckily I managed to change the subject pretty quickly and it didn't seem to change how the acted towards me. They were so friendly and funny and I had a really great time.

Back at the hostel I showed them photos from home and then we went down to the beach to listen to some live music and have a beer before bed time.

On the 2nd it was time for me to move on again, this time to a small seaside town called Port Barton. I got into the minibus just past 7am and met a group of British boys. Our 'direct' journey ended up being the exact opposite as we had to get out of the van with our stuff and wait half an hour for an already overcrowded van to pick us up. The last half of the journey was pretty rough as the road into Port Barton is just a curvy, dirt track through the jungle. We arrived and I checked into a cheap but cheerful dorm just in time for it to rain really really hard which gave me a chance to sort through my stuff and recover from the bumpy ride.

While I was having breakfast by the sea in the sun the next morning I bumped into two British guys who had been in my minibus to Port Barton and we decided to do the trek to a waterfall inland. I was excited to do something inland for the first time in what seems like forever and we set off with a flimsy set of instructions from the tourism office. After we had been walking for a good while I was convinced we had turned the wrong way so we head back to the fork. Thankfully we bumped into Matilda, a solo Aussie traveller who was also going to the waterfall and she assured us that in fact we had been going in the right direction (a surprise since it had been me who was in charge of directions). We walked in the heat, which was much less bearable away from the sea breeze, through the jungle, across rivers and finally to the waterfall. It was a really beautiful spot and after being warned by another tourist who was already at the site that the water was "way too cold" we jumped in. It was soooo refreshing especially after building up quite a sweat from the walk. 

We stayed in the natural pool for a while until big grey clouds started to gather overhead and, after experiencing the downpour the previous day, decided it would be better to get back to the accommodation before the rain started. 

We arrived back at the town and chilled at the boys hostel on the beach and watched the rain over the sea. It really is an extremely relaxing destination, maybe the most relaxing I have been to so far. There are very few tourists, it is so quiet and there is only electricity available between 6pm and midnight. We had some really good food and a couple of beers and even showed off a couple of magic tricks. That evening we went for dinner at a really beautiful little beachsude restaurant with fairy lights everywhere. There were also so very friendly dogs there who we seemed to adopt for the evening.

My last full day in The Philippines was very bitter sweet. I have had a brilliant time here, diving, pub crawling, relaxing, and meeting new people and, although The Philippines had begun as a place that I had randomly chosen to fill a gap, it has actually turned out to be one of my favourite destinations! I relaxed in town for the morning then got a very uncomfortable minivan to Puerto Princesa. The rain started again as we were driving on mud tracks which winded through jungle, this did not make for a very relaxing journey and my jaw still aches from all the tension. But I made it, and now I am sat at the bar in my hostel preparing for another full day of travelling tomorrow, BUT, there is a massive light at the end of the tunnel as by the end of the journey I will be in Indonesia with my amazing friend Jess, who I met at uni and is just as passionate about travel as me! The fun we will have!

Thank you for reading,

Emma x