With the passport shenanigans firmly behind us, the next stop off on the tour was to the beautiful country of Indonesia and more specifically the island of Bali. Check out how we get on below.
Gili Islands
With the lads having a few days head start over myself in Bali, they wasted no time in getting as far away as possible and made the boat trip across to the infamous Gili Islands on the east coast of Bali. After a one hour boat journey, they made it to the island of Gili T and checked into the Gili Backpackers which is well known for its long history in making life long alcoholics. They took it easy the first day on the beach, taking in some snorkelling which they say was some of the best they have done so far on the trip. After one day in rehab, the next two days descended into partying madness, until they could take no more and made a very rocky boat trip back across to the mainland to meet me in Ubud about an hour north of the airport in Denpasar.
Gili Islands
With the lads having a few days head start over myself in Bali, they wasted no time in getting as far away as possible and made the boat trip across to the infamous Gili Islands on the east coast of Bali. After a one hour boat journey, they made it to the island of Gili T and checked into the Gili Backpackers which is well known for its long history in making life long alcoholics. They took it easy the first day on the beach, taking in some snorkelling which they say was some of the best they have done so far on the trip. After one day in rehab, the next two days descended into partying madness, until they could take no more and made a very rocky boat trip back across to the mainland to meet me in Ubud about an hour north of the airport in Denpasar.
Ubud
Having landed fine and spent over 2 hours filing through immigration, with a serious amount of cursing en route, I grabbed an extortionately overpriced taxi and made the trip up to Ubud at night arriving at about 9pm. The trip up itself was nice passing through various typical Indonesian towns and almost hitting 36 cyclists too. After checking into the Happy Mango Hostel it was straight to the bed as the Asian Belly symptoms were kicking in.
Having landed fine and spent over 2 hours filing through immigration, with a serious amount of cursing en route, I grabbed an extortionately overpriced taxi and made the trip up to Ubud at night arriving at about 9pm. The trip up itself was nice passing through various typical Indonesian towns and almost hitting 36 cyclists too. After checking into the Happy Mango Hostel it was straight to the bed as the Asian Belly symptoms were kicking in.
Feeling much better the next day, I headed to the local Italian restaurant, which would prove to be the only one visited over the next four days, and waited for the lads to arrive in the mid afternoon. Ah sure when they arrived they were broken men! The few days partying in Gili had hit them hard and were seriously feeling the effects. So after a little bit of dinner and a small walk around the town it was straight to bed for the three Boys in Green.
After a not so early rise, it was back to the Italian for breakfast. Kev was still feeling unwell so it was back to the ranch for himself while Chris and I walked down to the Ubud market before going for a famous Balinese massage, which was quite strange as the masseuse just pummelled on the arse cheeks for about 20 minutes. Slightly limping, we grabbed some lunch trying the typical dish of Nasi Goreng which is absolutely delicious. That evening was quite chilled as we just stayed in the hostel with fellow travellers and got eaten alive by the mosquitos.
After a not so early rise, it was back to the Italian for breakfast. Kev was still feeling unwell so it was back to the ranch for himself while Chris and I walked down to the Ubud market before going for a famous Balinese massage, which was quite strange as the masseuse just pummelled on the arse cheeks for about 20 minutes. Slightly limping, we grabbed some lunch trying the typical dish of Nasi Goreng which is absolutely delicious. That evening was quite chilled as we just stayed in the hostel with fellow travellers and got eaten alive by the mosquitos.
3 Paddies in the field The following morning after stuffing ourselves with a Nutella pancake we walked down to the monkey temple located in the centre of Ubud. Essentially it is a small park with a load of mad monkeys trying to eat your food, rob your belongings and bite your face off. Pleasant right? As we were not adequately dressed we were offered a David Beckaham-esque sarong before we could enter and got a few snaps with the monkeys before one tried to attack us, so we felt it was the right time to leave. After some Mie Goreng, we spent the afternoon wandering around some of the rice paddy fields before a couple of beers in the evening at the hostel. We were in bed and all by 9. Living the dream!
The next morning we decided to rent some bikes and go around the outer area of Ubud. Little did we know we would be risking our lives as the Indonesian roads are some of the maddest I’ve ever seen. As we left the bike rental shop I can only imagine we were the spitting image off Julia Roberts in Eat, Pray, Love. Firstly we cycled over the Goa Gajah temple about 10km outside of the city which was really quite impressive. It is a 9th century temple built when means it is feckin’ old! We went for a mini hike after entering the temple which took us down a ravine and to some cool waterfalls. On the way we bumped into a local priest who invited us into a mini chapel where he made us sit down, pray and anointed us when leaving. As we were walking out the door, he carefully pointed at the tip jar on the altar. And they say different religions have nothing in common?! At least they don’t have 2 collections like back home.
The next morning we decided to rent some bikes and go around the outer area of Ubud. Little did we know we would be risking our lives as the Indonesian roads are some of the maddest I’ve ever seen. As we left the bike rental shop I can only imagine we were the spitting image off Julia Roberts in Eat, Pray, Love. Firstly we cycled over the Goa Gajah temple about 10km outside of the city which was really quite impressive. It is a 9th century temple built when means it is feckin’ old! We went for a mini hike after entering the temple which took us down a ravine and to some cool waterfalls. On the way we bumped into a local priest who invited us into a mini chapel where he made us sit down, pray and anointed us when leaving. As we were walking out the door, he carefully pointed at the tip jar on the altar. And they say different religions have nothing in common?! At least they don’t have 2 collections like back home.
As we were making our way to the next waterfall it began lashing so we took shelter in a local shop for an hour or so before deciding to call it a day and head back to the hostel to dry off. Kev was still feeling a bit unwell so headed down the local doctor who gave him some antibiotics and a strict diet of no beer or fatty foods…ah here! He took it handy that night while Chris and I had a few beers with some English friends we’d met and belted out a few Westlife tunes before calling it a night. We checked out early the following day and grabbed a bus to Kuta, which is the main tourist spot in Bali, infamous for 1000s of Aussie travellers.
Kuta
After arriving in Kuta we headed over to Granny’s Hostel which was recommended by many travellers on the trip for its laid back atmosphere and friendly staff. And it’s true. The staff knew your name in 2 minutes and made us feel right at home. We just chilled most of the day in the hostel and had some Nasi Goreng with fellow travellers before hitting the hay as we were all a bit wrecked.
Kuta
After arriving in Kuta we headed over to Granny’s Hostel which was recommended by many travellers on the trip for its laid back atmosphere and friendly staff. And it’s true. The staff knew your name in 2 minutes and made us feel right at home. We just chilled most of the day in the hostel and had some Nasi Goreng with fellow travellers before hitting the hay as we were all a bit wrecked.
The next day, Kev headed off to the local quack who just told him to take it easy for a few days, so he is getting in some serious rehab at the moment. We caught a few rays of sun in the afternoon before getting our glad rags on for the Ireland- England rugby game in the evening. After scouring the internet for hours we eventually found a bar which might have it on and headed over around 11pm for some good seats and to get a few beers in (not Kev of course). Well needless to say it was a devastating loss made even worse by a few arse fans of the opposite team who were giving it all that throughout the game. So after we headed back to the hostel very depressed men indeed.
Arising a little later in the day, we chillaxed in the garden playing some rugby before going to the hotel next door to use their pool and top up the golden bodies. After some tasty lunch we headed to record our Irish dancing at a spot we had seen a few days previously. The taxi dropped us off a little bit from the spot, so we had to walk down what must be the equivalent of the M50 to get there. We then returned to the hostel for a few beers with the hostel crew and headed out to the nearest bar after which was in fact a Reggae Bar. So you can imagine my surprise when Peter Andre “Mysterious Girl” came on. It was a special moment to say the least. Needless to say it was a late one so the alarms were not set the following morning and we just managed to check out at 12pm. We moped around the hostel for the afternoon, going to a quick swim next door before packing our back and heading to the airport. We even got a standing ovation upon leaving. Standard. All checked in, we waited at the boarding gate ready to head to Malaysia.
A big thanks to all the cool people we met during our short time in Indonesia, both fellow travellers and the locals, who were especially welcoming. Nasi Goreng will always be a personal favourite. Terima Kasih!
The Lads
A big thanks to all the cool people we met during our short time in Indonesia, both fellow travellers and the locals, who were especially welcoming. Nasi Goreng will always be a personal favourite. Terima Kasih!
The Lads
