We are down to our last TWO WEEKS before #adventure2015 comes to an end. We've been in Indonesia since the beginning of September and in Bali since mid-September, which is frankly a very long time.
But...TWO WEEKS!?!?!!! Actually it was two weeks on Tuesday when I started drafting this blog post. It's now... I cannot even deal.
Before I go into full meltdown mode, let me tell you what we've been up to...
Lex-ventures
After a minor passport-loss related delay, my lil sis, Lex arrived in Bali for 10 days of Indo fun.
The plan - spend a few days in Legian in our apartment chilling out, then head to the gorgeous Gili islands for some tropical paradise relaxation and snorkelling action.
Our first few days in Legian were fun-filled. We spent her first evening at Merah Putih for a seriously fancy dinner. I'd read about this restaurant and knowing that Lex had loved it on her last visit, saved it for her arrival.
The soaring dining room... It was super dark ahem, mood lit, so hard to get good pics
If you're looking for a high end Indonesian food experience, you might want to check this place out. An absolutely gorgeous space and crazy delicious food - we had some soft shell crab thing that made me want to go back the next night!!
"Soft shell crab thing"
As I mentioned in the last post, we also hosted a really fun pool party for the staff at the Beach Melati Apartments and got to hang out with the guys and their families (especially the adorable kiddos).
Look at that cheeky grin!!
We also revisited the gorgeous rooftop bar down the road from us at double six resort. Bali provided a sunset to die for!!
Yes, you should definitely check it out next time you're in Bali
Gili Air
And before we knew it, it was time to head to the Gilis!! The Gili islands are three small islands just off Lombok and about 2 hours away from Bali by fast boat. And they are famous for gorgeous beaches and incredible snorkelling and diving.
I took an insane number of photos on Gili Air...
An overcast late afternoon on the beach. I love the colours of the boat against the sea and sky.
Phil and I visited Gili Air just over 4 years ago - one of the two quieter and less visited islands - and absolutely loved the peace and tranquility. And... we got to snorkel with sea turtles!!
So we were hopeful this time that Lex would also have a chance to see one of these beautiful creatures under water.
Last trip, Phil and I stayed in a bungalow right on the beach. There is accommodation dotted all around the 4km long coastline. But what I hadn't seen on our last visit was the thriving village in the middle of the island with lots of little bungalows and home stays and local warungs serving up great Indonesian food.
Village life
This gorgeous kitty joined us for dinner one night... This is her just after devouring some chicken skin... from my plate, of course
This trip we booked at Scallywags Smugglers, 10 rooms each with a little garden/ courtyard and a shared pool. It was gorgeous and a complete bargain at $60 a night! Rather than a beachfront location, it was tucked in the middle of the village, which I loved as every time you walk out the door, you're surrounded by kids whooshing past on their bikes, chickens clucking around and local people just going about their day.
It feels a bit like I'm writing their advertising copy for them, but it was just the perfect spot for us.
The lovely private garden
And a blissfully cold pool under shade cloth... It was super hot on the Gilis. Actually it's been super hot in Bali full stop. We've been waiting for the rains since late October, but it's just not happening!!
Smugglers has a beach club and restaurant right on the beach, where you go for breakfast and can reserve sun loungers and rent snorkelling equipment. And, that was pretty much what we did for 4 days!! Some snorkelling, some sun lounging and reading, a couple of walks around the island and a hit of pool time. Tough living, huh??
Beach club
The snorkelling is just incredible on Gili Air. The variety of sea life is mind blowing. We saw more varieties of fish than I'd ever seen before, cool crustaceans hanging out on coral and at one point, a crazy prehistoric looking lizard ran out of the water, fish in its mouth into some rocky outcrop right in front of us. It looked like something straight out of Jurassic Park!!!
And while it took until our last day, we did collect our prize - a long lazy swim with a beautiful sea turtle!!!
Ahhhh....... a great and super chilled trip to Gili Air. Plus, this time I discovered that you can buy sea sickness tablets in Bali that are (a) 50 cents a pack (b) seem to work well for motion sickness prone Phil and (c) knocks me out cold for 1-2 hours so I don't have to face the fact that I am on a vessel that could sink to the bottom of the ocean at any moment!!
Last days in Legian
Lex and I fit in a heap of shopping for the Bali apartments. We discovered that across the road from the photo framing place lives Kecil - Indonesian for "small" and the most adorable fluff ball in the world... She needs her own Instagram page:
Isn't she divine!!! I bought a completely unnecessary dress from her owner - Phil called it "puppy tax"...
Speaking of Instagram, if you're not following @raisinbagels you are missing some amazing shots of our trip this year! Check out Phil's feed. It's wonderful and eccentric, just like him ;)
We planned out Lex's last day - a massage for her at the always excellent Jari Menari, where they offer a four hand massage - 2 practitioners massaging you at once. It's pretty insane! And dinner at our favourite local Indonesian Warung, Yogja. But it didn't quite work out that way... because the universe decided to grant Lex an extra day in paradise!!! Or she misremembered her departure date, whatever; the result was the same.
So it turned out that her actual last day consisted of a lovely breakfast at Cafe Bali, another massage at Chill (my favourite reflexology massage on the island) plus a swim and lastly, sad packing - sob!!
Last breakfast with Lex
Since her departure, Phil and I have been pining... for the end of our amazing year of travel. (Not so much for Lex given we'll be seeing her in less than TWO WEEKS!!!).
Phil has finished his Indonesian classes. I have entered the zone where I have to watch the sunset every single night. It's almost time to go and we're feeling it!!
Last night's offering
But we still have a couple of plans including a huge photography touring day where we're going to drive to the most spectacular spots in Bali and take some beautiful pics!!
Stay tuned for the next instalments...
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