We hired out an 8 bed Villa in a village outside of Canggu for £40 per person for the 3 days. It had a pool and a really beautiful view of the rice paddies surrounding it. It was so nice. Kim and I shared a room with Katie and Annabel next door and Amy and Becki had their own (adjoining) rooms downstairs. We spent the first day just hanging by the pool and in the upstairs chill out area which had beanbag chairs and some sofas. We took a wander into the 'town' which was really quiet and just a few shops and restaurants really. In the evening we went to Seminyak for dinner and to Potatohead for a cocktail. Dinner was really nice and we even had a pudding, very fancy. Kate and Annabel had burgers, I had a fish dish, Amy had a vegetable korma (that was more like tikka masala), Kim had the greenest green salad I've ever seen and Becki had chicken satay. Potatohead is a really cool (and expensive) bar on the beach with an infinity pool. Its so nice and I wish we'd had a chance to go in the day so we could really take advantage of it. We also really wanted to see a sunset from there but when we arrived they had no seats so we had to wait which was a shame.
The next day we hired a driver (called Wyan which was weirdly the name of the two other drivers we'd had in Canggu) to take us for a tour around the island. The day started with a traditional Balinese barong dance show which apparently tells the story of the struggle between good and evil. To be honest it was just weird. They gave us a summary of the story and it was still quite difficult to follow. It was definitely an interesting experience.
After the dancing we drove up to a coffee plantation where they had the lewaks (weasel type things) that eat the coffee beans and then poo them out for Kopi Lewak (the poo coffee I'm obsessed with). They showed us all the steps that go into making it (well almost all of them if you catch my drift) and then we got to sample some and compare it to 'pure' indonesian coffee. Its a much stronger taste and smell. I love it. They also gave us samples of other teas, coffees and hot chocolates and we drank them looking over this incredible view of rice terraces.
After the coffees he whizzed us up the mountains to a viewpoint of lake Batur and Mount Batur which is a volcano. It was pretty impressive.
Next up we drove to Ubud to the monkey kingdom. The monkeys there are intense and are definitely not scared of humans. One jumped on Kim's back and started chewing on her top. It was so funny but I was so glad it wasn't me. We fed a few bananas whilst they sat on our laps and they loved it. Ubud looks really cool and like a really nice town so I'm a bit disappointed that we didn't get to spend a bit more time there.
Next up was a huge waterfall for a bit of a swim. The best bit of that was there was a rainbow inside the cave behind the waterfall and I touched the end. I can confirm there was no pot of gold though. Gutting.
After the waterfall we were dropped off in Seminyak for dinner. Seminyak seems like quite a posh holiday spot as its really nice and has some quite expensive restaurants and shops. We ventured through the town trying to find a cheaper place to eat and eventually found a semi cheap placed called Mister Mina. The food was pretty average but it filled a hole.
The next day it was time to leave our luxury pad which was sad but at 8.30 we took a drive to the port to get the ferry over to Lombok. The drive took about 2 and a half hours because traffic was awful and sadly I was desperate for a wee. It was painful. Couple that with a very squished car and you have a very uncomfortable journey.
After I had relieved myself the journey was a lot better. The ferry was really empty so we were able to spread out which was good. It took about 3 and a half hours which was quicker than expected. The journey on the other side was equally uncomfortable and squashed so I ended up pretty much on the floor for an hour or so but eventually we arrived to Kuta lombok and Pipes hostel which I will tell you all about in the next post!
