All posts tagged: Indonesia

Climbing Mount Batur in Ubud, Bali

Climbing Mt. Batur in Ubud was such a great experience; at the time I couldn’t be bothered (you have to set off around 2am) but once I got to the top it was so worth it. Myself, my housemate Sinead, my friend and fellow blogger Lulu and her boyfriend Will all climbed together. We paid around £20 each after a little bit of haggling, but I met someone who paid less (and many who paid more). Mount Batur is a proper tourist trap, there are people bussed in in their hundreds. So you’ll be part of a big group ascending in the dark. We were assigned a guide, there’s one guide for about six people, and given torches. My torch didn’t actually work, and they didn’t replace it, so I was climbing in the dark… fun! The climb up isn’t hard but it’s difficult because it’s pitch black and also the volcanic rock is quite loose – I definitely slipped a few times. Having a little group of us meant we kept morale up and we …

Café Organic, Canggu Review

Honest to Cher, a big reason why I love Bali so much is the food – specifically smoothie bowls. When I first visited last year I went on a Tinder breakfast date (with a guy who turned out to be dating a friend-of-a-friend from back home, small world huh?) and tried my very first smoothie bowl. And well, it was love. Not the guy obviously. So when planning my second trip to Bali I researched all the smoothie bowl eateries I could and ended up visiting a fair few of them. While my favourite will always by Alchemy (read my review here) Cafe Organic comes a close second. Located in trendy Canggu (there’s a few other locations too), Cafe Organic is the kind of place that in London would set you back £30 for breakfast. It’s full of the young and beautiful and the gleam of silver MacBooks – so in many respects it’s very similar to home. But the food, oh the food, it’s next level. Everything is organic and super fresh and their …

Gili Teak Boutique Resort, Gili T. Review

  I’m usually very much a budget traveller – I’m happy enough to be in the sun and not working. But I do love a good hotel (read my hotel reviews HERE). So while in Indonesia this year I thought I’d treat my boyfriend and I to a chi chi place in Gili Trawangan. My friends Grace and Sean put me on to this place, so thanks guys. Gili Teak resort is on the quite side of Gili T. – and island known for its parties and as the rowdier sister to Gili Air and Gili Meno. I love Gili T. and the fact it’s busy and you can party on a night, but there is a quiet part, so you get the best of both worlds. After getting off the boat from Bali, the heavens opened and there was a huuuuge tropical thunderstorm, which made the 20 minute walk to the hotel from the boat more like 40 minutes. And I was terrified I was going to get struck by lightening – not to …

JungleFish, Ubud Bali Review

*WARNING* Overzealous use of superlatives, hyperbole and general gushing in this article. Sorry in advance. Jungle Fish is a bar/restaurant in the middle of the jungle which features a breathtaking infinity pool. Words and pictures can do this place no justice, but let me say this; my friend Amanda had tears of joy/awe in her eyes when we arrived. It’s that magical. Surprisingly it’s not that well known I don’t think, after speaking with people here in Bali it’s definitely still under the radar. My Tinder habit/addiction came through once again as it was a potential date who told me about this place. Seriously I get so many travel tips from Tinder – even if you’re not single it’s worth using it for that. You have to spend 150,000 Rupiah minimum to use the Jungle Fish pool, but that’s only about £8. My friends and I spent an afternoon there enjoying their sublime food, fluffy towels, excellent service and out-of-this-world cocktails. Happy hour is from 4pm to 7pm and gets you 40% off drinks; try …

Seminayk, Bali

Seminyak was my least favourite place in Bali, it was just soulless, dull and boring. Full of resorts with an ugly beach and little to no nightlife. Plus it was full of traffic, quite urban and built up and had no natural beauty. But I was recommended this place by many people so I went, WTF they were thinking I know not, but I gave it a crack. I’d recommend you skip Seminyak but if you have to see it for yourself don’t spend longer than a coupe of days there. Stay Capsule Hotel which is actually a hostel is amazing, there’s huge common area and bar, roof terrace and movie room. There are dorms but my friends and I styed in a private room for 5 people which was split level with the comfiest beds ever. It was like staying in a New York loft. Despite the impressive facilities and nice staff (hi Neil) the hostel didn’t really do it for me. I got the sense it was massively overcompensating for the location which …

Kuta, Bali and Why You Should Definitely Visit

Everyone told me not to go, people said it was the Aussie Magaluf, they said I’d get mugged, or conned and I’d hate it… and I went anyway because that’s my MO, reverse psychology and me are great mates. Tell me not to, and I will, out of spite. So I went to Kuta expecting to hate it but wanting to find out for myself, and I can honestly say EVERYONE WAS WRONG! Kuta is great, soooo much fun, and it’s cheap, and the shopping is great, and it’s pretty. And I’m going back. Where to stay I stayed at Funky Monkey hostel which had a one month old puppy there, need I say more? No! But I will… the hostel cosy around £5 a night and had a fab pool where you could play your own music (I am an eternal DJ) and chill, also free pancakes 24/7! However, this hostel had no wifi, and after researching a bit (asking a guest who’d been there 3 weeks previously) I discovered they never have wifi …