Hey there - it's L! Sorry I've been a bit absent, though I do think that I have a pretty decent excuse: I was vacationing in Bali with my mum and my dad. As my parents live in Korea, it's really easy for us to travel around Asia, and pretty affordable. I've been to Japan while I was here - incidentally, for the earthquake! - and they've been to Thailand, and will be going to Australia at the end of the month (without me - expressing just a little bitterness, yeah?)
So for our summer trip, we decided to go to Bali! My father's friend owns a villa - named Villa Purnama - that he rents out, and so we acquired it for 10 days. I couldn't be more pleased. Ten whole days! In paradise!
We got in on a Monday night, and naturally, the first thing we did on Tuesday was go down to the beach! The villas you see on the cliff are of the Four Seasons variety.
Offerings left to the gods every morning and night; my favorite part: a half burned cigarette. Because the gods like to smoke, right?
This particular woman was nursing a baby, injured monkey back to health. The thing was cute. And looking a little feral.
Super, super cute little rock sign someone made on the beach. Thinking of framing and hanging in my room as a memento of my vacation!
The surfers here run rampant; they fly in with their checked boards amongst their luggage, and come back scruffier, a little less articulate (if they know what articulate means), and a whole lot tanner. I didnt get the chance to take some surfing lessons, but if I go back, it's definitely on the agenda.
Part of our villa. To the left you can see the third bedroom.
Every night for dinner we had grilled fish, prawns, lobster and crab with rice and corn. So delicious! The seasonings they put on the seafood are to die for.
Just one of the beautiful views of the Ayana Resort, which I fell in love with. So beautiful, with traditional Balinese touches, with a modern twist. Staying here for my honeymoon for sure!
The Ayana has a super hip and trendy place to have drinks called the Rock Bar; you take a little ride down, and it's literally carved into the side of the cliff. Here's the view on the way down.
For me, the time after the sunset is the most beautiful time of all.
The woman here is batik weaving! It's all hand done and requires a bunch of steps. I got two scarves. So perfect!
We took a trip to a silversmith village - everything is hand done, even though the silver is imported from Borneo.
One of my favorite views of all time: the rice terraces. So beautiful and intricate to look at.
We also took a trip up to the volcano. It was at least 20 degrees cooler up there, and felt so nice after all the heat from the beach.
We went to an organic spice forest; for free, they let you try all of these yummies, which involved luwak coffee (the bean is ingested by the luwak, fermented in their tummies, and then comes out the other end; has a very, very nice flavor), ginseng coffee, hot chocolate, ginger tea, and lemongrass tea. FOR FREE! Yums all around! Ended up buying some of the cocoa, and some coconut oil (perfect for your skin and nails and hair, and you can cook with it too), and lots of incense and candles and soap, all grown organically.
Here are my mom and dad with their new baby chimp. Wish I had been there!
Having a little fun at the pool!
Our last night: dinner on the beach, as per usual.
Our trip was overall amazing, though I would suggest spending only about a week, as ten days was a bit much sun for my Irish/English skin, but if you can handle more, then by all means!
Hope your summers are all fantastic!
L.
