Indonesia: Bali and the Gili Islands

We arrived into Denpasar Airport in Bali quite late so we were forced to spend the night in the nearby area of Kuta. Because we were arriving late, we had decided have a hotel booked ahead in advance but when we arrived we were annoyed to find that our room wasn't ready even by 11pm! The hotel worker showed us the room and found that it hadn't been cleaned so he phoned his boss but 10 minutes later he changed his mind and told us that it was ready! Too tired to care, we decided to just spend the night in this relatively dirty room. Thankfully, in the morning we were able to get some money off the price and find a nicer and cheaper hotel with a lovely swimming pool. We went down to look at the beach and spent the rest of the day lounging by the pool while Nina tried to recover from the sickness that she had picked up in Manila. Just as Nina was starting to feel better, Hannah came down with a bug that made her feel terrible and kept her bed bound! Thankfully it seemed to be a 24 hour thing so by the next day she was strong enough to travel and we made our way up to Ubud.

Once in Ubud, we found a good value hotel with a swimming pool where we would spend the next 4 nights. We were really surprised by Ubud as we were expecting a backpacker heavan but it has obviously changed a lot in recent years and gone quite upmarket. There were a lot of boutiques and expensive restaurants so we found it a little difficult to find decent cheap places for dinner. Saying that, we could also see the attraction of Ubud and why so many people go there. It has a really nice chilled out vibe compared to the party-centric Kuta and there are lots of lovely temples and palaces to visit as well as the famous Monkey Forest. We went to visit the main temples and the old palace complex which gave us our first taste of Balinese architecture. Although Indonesia is the largest Muslim country in the world, Bali itself is home to most of the Hindu minority of the country. This means that the culture is very unique and the buildings take influences from both religions. We also decided to go to the Museum of Art in order to see some traditional Balinese paintings, which the Ubud area is famous for.

Our little bungalow

The Water Palace

Balinese art

Balinese art

On one of our days in Ubud we decided to go on a long walk out of town to catch a glimpse of the famous paddy fields that surround the town. Our first stop was the famous Monkey Forest which, as you can probably guess, is a forest full of monkeys! The monkeys are extremely tame due to the large amounts of people who come to visit, and at the first sign of anything that resembles food they will pounce! Hannah was carrying a big bottle of water whilst we were walking around and before she knew it, a sneaky monkey had jumped from a tree onto her head and had taken a big chunk out of the bottle! You had to be pretty careful! We then exited the forest and walked an 8km circuit back around to the top of Ubud. We walked past lots of local art galleries and through paddy fields before heading back to town to get some belated lunch. By the time we arrived back in town, we were very tired and starving. There is a famous 'Warung' in Ubud that serves its very famous Spit-Roasted Pig. We all ordered the 'special' which came with a bit of everything! This included pork, crackling, offal and blood sausage served with rice and vegetables. It was a great experience but definitely not the type of meal you could eat everyday!

The monkey attacks Hannah

On our final day in Ubud we spent some time looking around the market where Hannah got a new dress and Nina and I purchased another mask to go with the ones we already have from Korea and Sri Lanka. We also bought some small pictures that had been hand painted in the traditional Balinese style. After some pretty dodgy Nasi Goreng (fried rice) for lunch we headed back to chill out and play cards outside our room. During our time staying there, we had gotten talking a few times to our next door neighbour who was a somewhat flamboyant middle-aged German man. While we were playing cards he came out to hang out his washing and started chatting to us again. After about 5 minutes he stepped out from behind his washing and it became clear he was only wearing a t shirt and his briefs! Nina and Hannah had to look away immediately for fear of laughing in his face and we continued to have another 5 minutes of very awkward conversation! In the evening we went to a traditional Legong dance which was fantastic! It was a story told by a Balinese choir of about 100 men. As they chanted and sang, dancers came out onto the stage to enact the story. Traditionally Legong performances are romantic stories that also stress the heroic actions of a Princely figure. To top it all off, a man came out at the end on a fake horse and started 'riding' through burning coconuts. We didn't really understand this part but we all decided that it was one of the best things we saw in Bali!

The chanting choir

The crazy finale!

After leaving Ubud we made our way down to the coastal town of Padang Bai to spend a day on the beach before going to the Gili Islands. Padang Bai had a nice little lagoon but the current was waaaaay too strong to go swimming. We saw quite a few people struggling to get back to the beach so it was pretty dangerous. We spent a lot of time debating amongst ourselves whether or not we would take the fast boat or the slow boat to the Gili Islands. The fast boat takes about 2 hours compared to the slow boat which takes 8 but the price difference is huge. After a long discussion, we decided that one bad day on a slow boat would be worth it if we had more cash to spend on the Gilis so the next morning we set off on the slow ferry. The trip was to encompass a 5 hour ferry, a 2 hour bus and a 1 hour boat!

This did not go to plan!!! The ferry was very delayed so when we got in the bus we were informed that it would be impossible to catch the last boat to the Gilis. We ended up staying the night in the town of Senggigi which we'd intended to visit anyway so it wasn't all bad. We had a lovely drink right on the beach and watched the sunset. Thankfully the next morning, things went a lot better and we got the morning boat to Gili Trawangan. Although Gili T has a reputation for being the most 'party' of the three islands, it certainly wasn't anything like Kuta! We found that it had a really fun vibe and good atmosphere without being too touristy. We found a cheap place to stay that was run by a crazy guy called Norman and his 'island brother'. They were the most laid back people in the world and if you wanted the free breakfast you had to order it around an hour and a half before you wanted to eat!

The island was extremely beautiful and there were no cars or motorbikes. We spent one day walking around the entire island and had some time on a deserted beach before watching sunset. We also ate some great food on Gili T! There is a daily night market with loads of street food stalls and we also treated ourselves to a nice dinner at a great restaurant called 'Scallywags'. This included a BBQ and all-you-can-eat salad bar! It was absolutely great to have some really chilled out beach time

The Philippines: Palawan, Puerto Princesa and El Nido

We arrived in Puerto Princesa and found a great little hostel overlooking the coast. Hannah's friend Georgie was flying out to spend the week with us so we picked her up from the airport and then headed out to dinner. The first thing we noticed about Puerto Princesa was the amount of street cats! While we ate dinner in an outdoor restaurant, no less than 7 cats were wandering around our table waiting for any scraps we might give them! The next morning we got on a 7 hour non-ac bus up to the small town of El Nido in Northern Palawan. On the bus a baby took a special liking to Hannah and played peek-a-boo for around an hour with her. To show his affection even more he toddled over and gave her 1 piece of corn from the corn-on-the-cob he'd been eating!

After a long and quite cramped trip we reached El Nido which is the hub from which to explore one the Philippines' most beautiful attractions: The Bacuit Archipelago. The tiny town is wedged between huge cliffs and looks out over a stunning bay. As it was off-season, we managed to get a great deal on a room for 4 of us overlooking the bay at a hostel named 'The Alternative'. The first night we had a long stroll along the beach and got a beer and some fresh seafood at one of the many restaurants just metres from the sea.

The view from our room!

Sunset over El Nido

The lovely restaurant above our hostel

Some locally brewed San Miguel on the beach

On the first day we rented some kayaks and paddled out to Cadlao island directly opposite the bay. From the beach it didn't look too far but it became quite clear that it was a couple of kilometres! We eventually arrived and found it to be completely worth it. We had the entire beach to ourselves so we parked our kayaks on the beach and went out snorkelling. The coral was untouched and really healthy so we saw loads of fish including Clown Fish, Moorish Idols, Christmas Tree Worms and many more. We then kayaked to the next beach over and did the same thing! We spent the whole day exploring, kayaking, swimming and snorkelling before heading back to El Nido. By the end of the day we were really tired and majorly hungry so we headed to a restaurant named 'Squidos' whose speciality was, as you may have guessed, squid! It was delicious!

We found a decent parking space

El Nido town

We found Nemo!

Our delicious stuffed Squid

One of the best things to do in El Nido is to go on an all day boat tour around the islands of the archipelago. There are 4 tours which you can choose from so we decided to do the two most popular ones, Tour A and Tour C. We decided to do Tour C first which concentrated on the Matinloc and Tapiutan Islands. For around £8 each, you could have a full 9am-5pm tour on a small catamaran including lunch! In total there were 10 people on our boat: A guide, the boatman, 4 other Filipino tourists and us. Our first stop was Hidden Beach, which as the name suggests, cannot be seen when approaching it. From afar there looks to be no gap in the rocks on the side of Matinloc Island but as you get there a small cove appears which reveals a paradisical hidden beach. We watched another boat about 100 metres in front of us completely disappear before our eyes. When we got there we hopped off the boat with our snorkels and had a swim around with all the different fish. The next stop was the Matinloc shrine on the other side of the island. On the way we passed some spectacular scenery of small islands with jagged cliffs and thick jungle. At the shrine there was an amazing viewpoint where you could look out into "the heart of palawan". After the viewpoint we made our way to a deserted beach on Tapiutan Island where we had our lunch stop. While waiting for lunch to be made, we went snorkelling again and found a huge drop-off filled with loads of tropical fish. The guide and the boatman cooked us up one of the best meals we've ever had. There was fresh fish, grilled pork, rice, vegetables and for dessert we had the most delicious mangoes!  It was so nice that I had 3 whole fish, as well as 8 slices of watermelon and 2 mangoes.

The next stop after lunch was Secret Beach where the boat had to anchor while we jumped off and swam through a small cave into a lagoon with a "secret beach". As the tide was out, we found loads of interesting rock pools and there was even one full of the fish that are used in the fish-foot spas. We decided to have a natural foot spa. As i'd cut my heel on coral the day before, the fish were having a field day! The last stop of the trip was the beach on Helicopter Island. This was yet another beautiful deserted beach with amazing snorkelling. On the beach we were talking about what a great day we'd all had, and we all agreed that the only thing that could improve it would be to see some dolphins. Lo and behold, on the way back we did! We got back to El Nido a little bit sunburnt but having had an amazing day. In the evening we went out to a beach restaurant and met up with some of Georgie's friends that were also in El Nido. Georgie had also lost a bet which required her to sing karaoke. Luckily the restaurant had a live band and she did a (slightly dodgy) rendition of 'Sex on Fire'. We ended up having a few drinks and going to one of the bars along the beach too for a bit of a boogie. Making our way back to our hostel in the early hours of the morning we realised that we'd forgotten the key. Hannah tried to climb in through the back window while Nina and I tried to wake up the guy who was asleep behind the desk. After actually shaking him without success, we decided that he was making a conscious effort to stay asleep and not help us. Nina eventually had enough and found the master key in the front desk. We finally got into our room and could go to sleep!

Just chilling out

Our natural foot spa

The beach where we had lunch

Georgie on our catamaran

The "Heart of Palawan" view from the Matinloc shrine

On Secret Beach

Crystal clear waters

The following day we decided just to chill out and spent most of the day playing cards and lounging around the beach area. We'd booked a table next to a TV in a restaurant for the night because Andy Murray was in the Wimbledon final! However when we got there the owner decided that he would rather watch the Grand Prix. We were pretty annoyed so quickly finished our dinner and went to another bar that was also showing it. We were some of the only British people in the place but the atmosphere was great and we had an awesome night celebrating his win!

On our final day in El Nido we went on Tour A. This time we were with a Korean family of 3 who took absolutely hundreds of selfies! The first stop was the 'Small Lagoon' on Miniloc Island. This time we had Kayaks as well so we paddled through a small gap in the rocks to find a beautiful secluded lagoon. The water was a beautiful bluey/green and we were surrounded by looming craggy cliffs. From there we were able to kayak a little big further around the island to imaginatively named 'Big Lagoon'. This was possibly one of the most beautiful places we've ever seen. As the water was slightly more shallow, the colour was an amazing turquoise and it looked so inviting. We all jumped out of the kayaks and went swimming and snorkelling around the incredible lagoon. We didn't want to leave but the boatmen said it was lunch time so we got back on the catamaran to go to our lunch beach. This beach was possibly even better than where we'd had lunch on Tour C. Ours was the only boat and the coral was so healthy and home to so many fish. After another delicious lunch we made our way to an area of coastline that was famous for the amount of fish that live there. The boatmen have been feeding the fish there for a long time so hundreds of Sergeant Majors surrounded us while we were snorkelling. The final stop of the day was 7 Commando Beach which had a really lovely swimming area where we chilled while the sun went down. It was a pretty amazing end to El Nido and we'll always remember it.

All the Sergeant Majors!

Paradise

Lunch is served

Big Lagoon

Small Lagoon

A nice place for some lunch

Han and Georgie

By the time we got back to Puerto Princesa after the 7 hour bus, we were pretty tired and hungry. In the Lonely Planet, they recommended a restaurant that was "possibly the best seafood restaurant in the Philippines". It did not disappoint! It was called Ka Lui and was decorated with lots of bamboo and small gardens throughout. We all had the set meal which included tuna, seaweed, prawns, fried aubergine, curried white fish and rice. For dessert we got a fruit salad served in a coconut! It was a lovely way to say goodbye to Palawan.

We flew to Manila the next day where we would spend a couple of days before heading to Bali. We were not very impressed by Manila. A lot of the accommodation we looked at was overpriced and not very nice. We finally decided on the Malate Pensionne. It was at least clean but the rooms were still boiling without air-con. The manager was quite a funny man who seemed to pop up all over the hotel to offer us advice and kept saying that we needed to stay "street smart" in Manila because "thieves can be friendly too"! He also recommended a restaurant for dinner that did a nightly traditional dance show while you eat. We decided to go along and because Nina had lost a card game earlier in the day, we forced her to join the dancers on stage! The food was quite suspect as well. Nina and I shared the 'Fisherman's Delight' which was a big mixture of seafood in a basket while Georgie accidentally ordered ox-tail curry without realising what it was.

The following day we said goodbye to Georgie and then got ready to go to the airport to make our way to Bali! Unfortunately Nina came down with a bug so once again she had a long travelling day feeling absolutely rubbish!