Aloha!
Sorry about not being In touch this week we ended up having no internet in Sidemen. We arrived there on Monday afternoon after a nice last morning in Ubud. I caught news of a bead shop and we had an hour to kill so we decided to try and find it. It ended up being right at the other side of Ubud but not wanting to be defeated we rushed there and bought loads and loads of beads and hurried back just in time for our transport! I had a little pavement accident in the process. I blame the uneven Bali pavements but probably partially my clumsiness but we made it! With only a couple of cuts! Now I can make some lovely jewellery when we get home!
So from Ubud we went to Sidemen, it was beautiful. Agoda had messed up our booking so we had a lovely hotel they had upgraded us to. There weren't many guests and only 5 rooms so nice and quiet. The staff were friendly, the girl who was there most of the time was just singing all day and in her own little world! She couldn't believe we thought the rice paddies were beautiful, I guess she is used to it although I'm not sure I could ever tire of that view. The first full day we thought we would wander into the village and see what was there. Not much was the answer! There was a weaving factory which was really interesting where you can see local people weaving Balinese fabric which is called 'itak'. It looks slightly south american we thought. And they weave so fast! We didn't see much else, a couple of schools where we got laughed at a lot walking by! I don't think they see many white people out in the countryside. And a few mechanics and local shops but that was it really. So after discovering the lack of things in sidemen and deciding we weren't brave enough to get up at 2am for the four hour hike up the volcano (mount agung) for sunrise we decided we had better just relax for a couple of days! The views around the area were beautiful and we had some good books so that was what we did. We happened to be there for a full moon festival (we didn't watch thank god) but we saw lots of women walking up the road carrying baskets of all sorts on their heads when we were eating dinner one night. The restaurant owner explained that on a full moon they all have dinner in a field and watch the cock fights. Glad we didn't see that as they don't stop until one is dead. Apparently the meat of the loser is very sought after and expensive. We have read that gambling on cock fights is illegal and a big problem here but it doesn't seem to stop them and you do notice cockerels every where! They are kept in small dome cages made from palm leaves and are so so noisy! But they are beautiful so a bit of a shame its a sport to watch them kill each other!
Being the busy people we are, as lovely as relaxing was, we were going a bit mental after a day and half of relaxing! So yesterday we set off for Padangbai. Padangbai is the small port town on the east coast where all the boats leave for Lombok and the Gili islands (eeeeeeeeek- if that doesn't make sense just Google gili islands ;) ). We went to book our ferries for the rest of the trip and got that all sorted thanks to the lovely man at the ferry office. Three ferries in one week *gulps* it doesn't help my confidence when we we're walking back to the hotel and I see a sinking ship in the harbour. I went over to the nearest local (shop owner) and said 'umm I think that boat might be sinking should we do something? ' He just replied with 'ahh yes yes its sinking ' and chuckled at my panic! And this morning we've seen two more! We enjoyed lunch at our hostel- they have REAL bread and REAL cheddar. This was such a luxury and I have never enjoyed a cheese sandwich so much! All the bread we have had so far is plasticky white sliced and it tastes sweet like brioche which is OK but not great for a good buttie. And the cheese they have is a bit like solid dairylea. Not a nice Davidstow Cheddar or anything like that! So you can imagine the joy at a real cheese sandwich! After the excitement subsided we headed around the corner to the local bay. A nice rocky little bay with black volcanic sand. We did a bit of crab hunting and watched the sun go down before heading back for dinner. Our hostel had live music last night so that was a good change. I think the hostel is owned by Europeans as they also have proper cakes! Brownies, lemon cake, nougat and apple crumble! So we sat listening to some live music, eating apple crumble! Heaven!
So all was going swimmingly right?! I forgot to mention how quaint and quirky backpacker like the hostel is. They have a downstairs with restaurant all brightly coloured with lots of hanging boats - very beachy and cool. Mosaic chairs and cake. What more could you want! I booked the wrong room so we had bunk beds like kids again which was funny. But room was nice and again brightly coloured with a little outside bathroom and a rainfall type shower thingy. All sounds lovely doesn't it? And that's what we thought. Until the lights were out. OH MY GOD. RATS. RATS. OH MY GOD. I'm not even kidding you! Firstly the walls were pretty thin so took us a while to get to sleep but when everyone turned in around 11 it was OK. We drifted off and were rudely awakened by a nice loud squeak. At first I thought it was the girls next door but no there it was again. We had the room on the end of the building and a roof ran right by the edge of our window. Its a bamboo shack so not exactly rat proof. And I had bottom bunk so tucked my feet in. We heard lots of squeaking, lots of scurrying around and at one point I think it / they were right by my head! So lots of waking up with 'what the f*** was that!' . At first i thought 'meh just a little fluffy rat' and then i remembered those memories of sitting with mum a few years back when she got a job with Rentokil and helpinh her learn all her facts and figures. Rats have big ears and long tails i remembered. Along with all the diseases they carry- not to mention a large proportion of animals on bali have rabies. Great! So yes i definitely tucked my toes in after that. Along with the horns from the 5am ferries and a distant mosque call, and crazy dreams from the malaria tablets we didn't get much sleep! To be fair the hostel manager was very helpful explained he was fully booked but we could have a bed in the 'dorm'. By dorm he means they put beds on the floor in the seating area upstairs. Ha! He gave us a refund and assured us there are no critters in the 'dorm'. Hopefully tonight will be better! We used our refund money to do a course In batik painting though which was really fun! Every cloud has a silver lining and all that! I did some fishes and john did a turtle . We get them back tomorrow morning when the dye has been processed so watch this space!
So after one more night in the *fingers crossed* less rat infested part of the hostel we head tomorrow to Lombok! We are going to Kuta in the south which sounds gorgeous and unspoiled. John is excited as all there is to do is surf. I might actually have to brave it and get on a surf board. We are in Kuta for three days before we journey up to Gili Meno! On Gili meno the population is just 300 people! Here we are hoping to see some turtles and swim with fishes in the sea lots! A nice way to end the trip before heading back to Bali for our flight home. Just over a week left of this trip and I'm amazed at how quickly the time has flown! I have really enjoyed writing these emails and sharing our experiences and I hope you have all enjoyed reading them just as much. It has made me want to send off to lonely planet and ask for a job writing so I can travel permanently :P I think I can dream on! So there should be another email or two to come before I start the 26 hour journey home (7 hours in Doha airport helpppp). Just an incredible trip which I have loved every minute, the ups and the downs, and still lots to look forward to on coming home.
Hope everyone at home is well, looking forward to being in the same time zone and seeing you all to catch up! Lots and lots of love PS we will try and bring some sunshine back home :-)
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