Indonesia

I <3 Indonesia. Everything I could have asked for after a rural 7 days-a-week job. Quick itinerary on my 3 week trip.

Canggu: met up with my hometown bestie Sophia and did lot’s of beaching and partying etc. Can never complain about staying at a villa for $50 a night.

Nusa Lembongan: Soph said she had an epic surf lesson here so that was justification enough to make it my next stop. I got to surf on my first reef break next to a shipwreck! Getting to get taken out by boat to a break and surf with the volcanoes of Bali as a backdrop was super surreal. Made friends with streets dogs and made the island my own moped go kart track

Gili Trawangan: A very popular, very small island popular among backpackers. There are no cars here, just bikes and horse drawn carriages. A good time to relax and go snorkeling to see some cool underwater statues and turtles

Mount Rinjani: Mount Batur on Bali is the most popular volcano trek, but I just kept hearing mixed reviews of how overrun it is. A friend recommended Rinjani and it sounded like a perfect alternative. Devastatingly difficult two day hike to reach the summit for sunrise. But the challenge made it all the more worthwhile. Rinjani is located on Lombok, an island east of Bali where I wish I had gotten to spend more time.

Sidemen: A more traditional, quiet village. My body was hurtin’ after Rinjani and this was the perfect place to heal up, hang out around rice paddies, and enjoy a couple restaurants. I obviously got one of many massages at this point and even took a weaving class!

Ubud: The last planned part of the journey. The cultural center of Bali and very touristy. I hung out with fewer street dogs here but more monkeys. I took a few different yoga classes here which has been a budding interest in the past year and a half or so. I finished off the trip by heading over to a fire dance at the temple in town which was beautiful.

Kuta: A final, unplanned destination. Yes. I was a victim of the global IT outage. I had to stay in Bali for an extra two days. Oh no! Two more days of surfing and cheap massages how terrible.

I was definitely nervous to take on two weeks in Indonesia solo once Sophia left. But I couldn’t have asked for a better experience. It’s super easy to meet people through hostels and organized activities. I was really only alone on days where I was craving a little solo time.

At last I made it back to Oz where I have a three week goodbye tour planned. I just finished up a few days in Byron Bay and I’m definitely regretting not coming here earlier.