Bali-Day 3

Day 3

One of our regular spoils in Palembang is to go for Refleksi (reflexology massage) which costs less than a fiver for an hour and a half. When we were advised of the Putri Bali Spa, we were both happy to try it out and boy was it worth it...I actually fell asleep. It's a little more expensive than refleksi but the location was great and the staff more than competent. Most importantly, it was clean and an hour and a half later, I was rejuvenated. Well worth the price! 

Massage room

Nice little garden area

For our next trip, later that afternoon, we went to a silver workshop to get our craft skills on. It was a small family run place and the wife, nephew and uncle got involved. They broke down the process of silver making and some of it is pretty hard work, especially hammering the silver down and then pressing it manually. 

The workshop

The tools

Nothing digital in this place

Some of the handy work

The finished article-a silver key ring pour moi

We then got a lift back to our hotel, freshened up and headed back out for some food. 

Bali-Days 1 and 2

Day 1

We arrived at the airport quite late and were hit with a huge queue for the taxis...no problem! We headed towards the locals and used our Indonesian haggling skills to bag a decent price for a private taxi; though they did put up a fight, we eventually got our way. We'd already booked our stay at a family run homestay in Ubud, which is in the centre of Bali and the owner was waiting up for us. We were pretty shattered from all the trekking so it was straight to bed for us. 

The front of our room-amazing carving

Some of the Dewi Antara family

Dewi Antara grounds

One of the many bird cages

Day 2

We woke up nice and fresh the next day and decided to wander around Ubud. It soon became evident that the style of our homestay spills out into the rest of Ubud with just as magnificent stonework everywhere you go. Bali is a predominantly Hindu place and there is no shortage of religious figures and colourful offerings. It was nice escaping from the grey that Palembang has to offer. 

It was New Year's Eve so we decided to head towards Kuta for the evening, after talking to the locals we were advised to leave early as the roads are blocked for the herds of people. So we made our way and it was a complete contrast to being in Ubud. Kuta is definitely made for tourists and unfortunately lacks some of the culture that Ubud provides. Nonetheless, it's great for picking up the usual holiday tat for souvenirs. There are also lots of great places to eat and....they have a place that sells fish and chips!! It costs more than the two quid in the UK but what the hey! 

However, I opted for some food with 'No Bull' and had a big fat greasy meaty burger and fries and thrashed Amy at a game of Jenga.

Loser!

Kuta mostly involved wandering the shopping areas and one of the huge malls. We then stopped and relaxed at the very busy beach until we were hit with some of the monsoon rain.  I obviously gave up taking pictures at this point, but here are some heads for you to enjoy. 

After food we headed back to the beach for the fireworks celebrations. Interestingly, the fireworks start way before midnight and go on way after. But as we say over here T.I.I (This Is Indonesia)

Gathering at Kuta beach

The hustle and bustle was going on for several hours after midnight and it was great just people watching (mostly Australians). Exhausted, we made our way back to the top of the road to get our taxi back to Ubud...

Bukit Lawang

The time had come for Bukit Lawang and I was excited! Leaving Lake Toba involved a boat ride back to Parapat and then a private taxi onwards for another long 7 hours or so, however, we had to wait for about two before we set off. We'd already arranged our room at Ecolodge, so it was just a matter of getting there. The Ecolodge grounds are vast with a lot of choice for accommodation and they claim (as the name suggests) to be environmentally friendly.

Bridge to the hotel-yes it shakes

Our Ecolodge room

Ecolodge

Ecolodge

Around and about

Some locals performing near the hotel

So as soon as we'd arrived at the hotel there was someone waiting to talk to us about our trek the next day. His name was Jungle Eddie, quite fitting really. Anyway, after haggling prices we'd agreed on a two day trek which involved a nights stay out in the jungle. Fun times!

We woke up early the next morning, had breakfast and were introduced to a couple of others in our group. We were then on our way...

Ready for action

Rubber plantation

Cacao tree

An ant

It was fascinating just taking in the sight of the huge trees and intertwining branches. 

Not far in we got to see some Orangutans! Great! Unfortunately, my camera decided to play up! Not great! Still, managed to get a few pics and was just great to see.

Not long after....more monkeys!!

Grease Lightning!

Gremlins aint got nothing on this fella!

Pit stop for some pungent Durian

Some slips, trips, wet bums and bruises later, we arrived at our new home which was just near a tiny waterfall, perfect for freshening up. A nice reminder to people-avoid wearing gym shoes and buy some cheap Indonesian hiking shoes for a pound...they will save you some butt ache. 

Swimming pool

Shower

Mansion

Living room and bedroom

Kitchen

Front garden

Kitchen

Crockery cupboard

Dining room

It was an interesting nights sleep with no blanket and literally a rock bed that Fred Flinstone would have been proud of. We were not alone either...there were plenty of creepy crawlies as one of the team members found out with Leech stings as proof. I think I had a lucky escape...though I did hear something scurrying in the tent! 

Come the morning we set up outside and got ready for breakfast...again, we were not alone!

Sorting their plan of action

Nothing was safe with these monkeys around! They were well trained and knew exactly what they were doing!

One of the highlights to my stay has to be Tony's attempt to take a picture of the Komodo dragon-priceless! 

With breakfast done and everything packed, we headed back to the hotel.

The team

We waited in the sweltering heat for our tube trip back.

Tony having fun while we wait

With such a great team, we had to get together for dinner. Everyone, always has a story to tell, be it time out for travel, crazy bike racing or trekking around in East Asia on a bicycle-it's great!

The following day, Tony was still around and we still had time to kill so we arranged to meet again as we all wanted to head to the orangutan feeding centre. However, that wasn't till later so we had a morning to fill and decided to head towards the Bat cave.

The walk there was great with some pretty paths to take, however, no real clear signs on how to get there. Another nice reminder-don't wear flip flops to a cave, it just doesn't work. 

We didn't realise exactly how much time the caves would take up and had to rush back to try and get to the feeding centre. Yikes!

We had to cross the water, in order to get to the feeding centre...

Phew...we made it. Where are the orangutans???? Oh man! they've all been fed too well and with all the fruit that is readily available to them they decided not to show! Should have done the morning one! Never mind.

Very fitting T-shirt

Disappointed, we headed off for a wander and of course, some food.

We stopped at a great shop with some fab artwork.

To end the wander I spot a cute couple on a bridge.

Couldn't resist taking this pic-so romantic, aaaaah

Back at the hotel, we loitered around until taxi time and headed back to Medan for our flight through Bandung to Bali. Bukit Lawang was great fun and another one to tick off my list. Let the travelling days roll on!