With Indonesia now firmly behind us we are back in Malaysia, all be it only for a night before we hit the road bound for Thailand once again to meet up with our super beautiful friend Sarah.

The last week of Bali and Indonesia have been spent in the very best way, beach bummery by day with our new friends Chaz and Hayley, Jo Jo the surf board seller and the rest of the beach hawkers working hard on the tan. Georgie has managed to conquer her fear of the waves and even go as far as boogie boarding the biggest ones like some sort of gnarly surf pro! 

Although yesterday – on our last day on Kuta beach, the waves happened to be the biggest we’ve seen yet and full of confidence Georgie and I headed out to tackle them… I smashed my face in on the board, nothing serious but it made my eyes water like hell and Georgie caught the biggest wave she ever has only to have it whip her bikini bottoms clean off, she somehow managed to keep a hold of them with her toes and surfed the wave right to the beach – and even managed not to reveal her womanly charms to the whole beach!!!

By night we mostly tried to do things on the cheap like watch every gorgeous sunset until it was dark, sink some Bintang’s while watching movies or chill out on the beach under the moonlight… But as usual decadence is never too far away from us however much we try to avoid it but saying that we rarely/never say no if it comes knocking.

One night last week – I cant remember which one, all will become clear shortly… We ended up with Hayley, Chaz, JoJo and his friend getting stuck into some dirty cocktails with names like jungle juice, strong island ice tea and Pandora on the beach. Then a drunken stagger to Legian street and a huge reggae club called Apache for a bottle of Arak (local spirit made from rice I think) to get totally ruined.

We drank, we danced, some of us passed out and those that managed to stay standing – Georgie and I included – staggered home and ate Cheeto’s in bed!… Classy!

Arak it seems is one of those drinks it takes at least a day to get your head clear of, I don’t usually get hangovers but that morning was as close as I’ve ever come and with that we slumped on a beach lounger and slept it off.

So there it is, our Indonesian adventure is over for now, although we have no plans to go back we also have no plans not to, so who knows. We love Indonesia and it has definitely been one of the best countries we have ever travelled but we are now getting proper excited to be moving north again, towards Thailand… Our first love. Sarah will be with us in less than a week and we can’t wait then Toby will be about a month behind so expect many more drunken shenanigans in the coming weeks!

In other rather exciting news we are very proud to announce that we will be featuring in an online travel magazine called Hip Compass Escapes that hits the digital news stands in September. In the article called “Juxtapositions”, we will be talking about the ups and downs of travelling as a couple and sharing things that never made it to the blog so why not subscribe now so you don’t miss out.

In the mean time here is a little teaser from the article…

…Things between us came to a head and at that point, in our idyllic mountain cabin, we realised the underlying issue had nothing to do with the market, in fact it was a problem which had been simmering beneath the surface for weeks or maybe even months. Somehow we had managed to grow apart as lovers, regularly finding ourselves in intense situations and constantly being around each other, we had become better friends than we could have ever hoped but with all the highs and lows that come with traveling foreign, unfamiliar countries we had forgotten to set aside time for just us…

Hip Compass Escapes September 15th

New pictures are now up and I think we are finally up to date with all pics and videos. Now that we are back on the road new episodes of Georgie’s world famous La La Land video diary (podcast as all the kids call it) will be coming soon…

With Bali at our backs we head north, KL first then to Thailand. was originally published by HappytimeBlog - Backpacking around the world - Backpacking travel blog

The rain stopped falling over Kuta Bali a few days ago so we decided to get serious on topping up the tans and went down for a beach day or two… It’s been really cool not having to worry about getting around to see things and instead concentrate on the tan, it seems like it’s been a while although I’m sure it probably hasn’t. Once again I am the colour of a chocolate bar and I reckon there is still room for more, Georgie’s coming along nicely too and by the time we leave here she probably wont be far behind.

On Thursday we met a cool English couple on the beach while having a good old sizzle and decided over some of the usual sunset Bintang’s to join our beach bum friend and surf board renter JoJo at a bar called midnight and celebrate their last night on Bali… We went, we drank, we passed out… At 3 am we had a power cut and our fan cut out, exactly what we didn’t need while trying to recover from a heavy night, so the best part of yesterday was spent catching up on the sleep we missed out on.

By sunset we had managed to get ourselves together and fed so we took a stroll to the beach hoping to catch another one of the famous Bali sunsets… It wasn’t to be, but we did bump into a friend called Warren we met on the Perhentian Islands a month or so ago, he was here to catch a flight home so we just sat on the beach chatting and catching up on what we’ve all been up to since the last time we saw each other. Warren’s flight was at 6 am this morning and since he didn’t arrive until 6 pm it seemed stupid for him to get a room so we offered up our porch for him to string up his hammock on, took him to our favourite fish restaurant and then all got down to an early night.

Sorry things are a bit thin on the ground at the moment but we are trying to sit tight until our flights on the 22nd and save some cash, which means doing as little as possible as cheaply as possible. We are starting to get itchy feet being in the same place for such a long time but it doesn’t make any sense for us to change our flights around and spend money on nothing really, it could be a lot worse than being stuck in Bali for a week!

Anyway, I have laundry to pick up so I best go or the next post will be called naked in Bali…

Lazy days and crazy nights in Kuta Bali was originally published by HappytimeBlog - Backpacking around the world - Backpacking travel blog

Today is our fifth day back in Bali, we got here just after midnight on Thursday and considering that we got up at 3:15 am that morning we didn’t do at all bad. The bus from the heady heights of Bromo back down to earth and across to Bali was a lot longer than we though, but at least it was comfortable.

We both had a pair of seats each and blankets were provided so we both spent the best part of the journey catching up on some much needed kip.

The bus stopped several times for food and once for the ferry crossing and each time I got talking to an old feisty Indonesian man who was on his way to Bali to spend some time with one of his three wives!!! Considering he said he was 70 years old I could help but admire him!

The ferry crossing was really quite choppy and the last thing we needed to be honest but our new friend’s tales of his troublesome harem kept us entertained and once on Bali we were soon asleep again.

As I’m sure you can imagine, by the time we were finally at Kuta we were good for nothing but food and a comfy bed.

With no real plans for our time in Bali we have had a good chance to relax and catch up on a few thing – like Georgie’s La La Land.

We don’t leave Kuta, Bali until the 22nd when we fly away on a jet plane back to peninsular Malaysia and the friendly warm streets of Kuala Lumpur, then on the 26th our beautiful gorgeous friend Sarah will be flying out to Bangkok to mucho mucho love… Come join in! We cant wait but in the mean time we will be doing what we do best and bumming out on the beach.

I’m not sure if it’s the start of rainy season or what but so far we have seen at least some rain every day and yesterday was a completely rainy affair, but a little old thing like that never stopped us and so far I have managed to get up at 6:30 ish and partake in that morning phenomenon known as “jogging”, Georgie has been less keen but she has at least made it out a few times.

The climate up in Bromo was similar to that back in good old Blighty, the sun was warm but the general temperature can’t have been much more than 15 degrees and having just got over the flu in Singapore I was rather pissed off to then bring a cold back down to Bali with me. But in general we are happy now we have the sand between our toes again, it’s always good when traveling for as long as we are to come to a familiar place and see familiar people… Somewhere where everybody knows your name…

From Bromo Back to Bali was originally published by HappytimeBlog - Backpacking around the world - Backpacking travel blog

As I’m typing this we are cruising at 30000 feet 45 minutes away from Singapore, off to meet up with the rents (Jo and Mandy). YAY… We cant wait!

We managed to get ourselves in ship shape with our last day in Bali, Georgie spent an entire day at the spa having all sorts scrubbed and waxed and painted and I did whatever any self respecting bloke would do faced with a day alone on Kuta beach Bali… I enjoyed the beach, I enjoyed the Bintang’s and I enjoyed the sunshine!

Georgie managed to fit me into her complex beauty regime some time around sunset so we of course popped along to the beach and met up with our favourite gang of hawkers for a not so cheeky beer or two and sat and watched another melting sun disappear lazily below the horizon. We decided on our last night in Indonesia for a while we should celebrate, our friend and surf board merchant JoJo invited us to a quite, little known reggae bar hidden deep within one of Kuta’s quiet back streets where we enjoyed some pretty dodgy cocktails made of Arak (a local rice wine) and some pukka live music… Unsurprisingly in the form of Reggae.

We were up bright and early but definitely not breezy after all that Arak but we still managed to drag our arses along the beach in a kind of shuffle that nearly resembled a jog, had breakfast and packed by 10am. Having a couple of hours to kill before our flight to Jakarta we swanned down to the beach to say our goodbyes and Georgie had her lone dread-lock tidied up a little.

The flights have been short and sweet and any flight thats less than 2 hours always manages to seem more convenient than anything, a little confusion with terminals at Jakarta and a mad rush across Singapore’s airport found us in the nick of time outside Jo and Mandy’s arrival gate as they walked out. It was really good to see them again and despite the fact we had all been traveling all day there was much jumping and hugging… I didn’t mind really.

A short taxi ride found us at the ever so plush Ritz Carlton hotel and our stunning rooms, we dropped our bags and went straight to a bar to finish catching up and have a nightcap.

Although we plan to head straight back into Indonesia after Jo and Mandy head off home again we were sad to leave, quite frankly we loved it! And we have only just scratched the surface.

It has been by far the most challenging country we have travelled through yet but not necessarily the most rewarding… It’s always been quite hard work but what we got at the end of every journey was always worth the effort and I think if you work hard for something you always seem to appreciate it that much more…

Bye bye Bali hello Jo, Mandy, Singapore and The Ritz Carlton. was originally published by HappytimeBlog - Backpacking around the world - Backpacking travel blog

The journey back from Gilli Trawangan two days ago couldn’t have gone any better really, I had taken some inspiration from a Michael Palin DVD we watched in which he said

“Any fool can make themselves comfortable.”

We got the small boat from the Island back to Lombok which was painless enough and then a short pony taxi ride to the Bemo station (Bemo is what the Indonesians call a minivan) then a little bit of banter and a few cigarettes secured us the breezy and spacious front seats all the way to the ferry port a good 2 hours away.

Fatigue was unavoidable but armed with a few sachets of Extra Joss (a powdered form of energy juice to put into a bottle of water which makes Redbull look like a sedative!) it didn’t hang around for long, but next up was the worst part… The 5 hour ferry ride between Lombok and Bali, I had sussed out which side the sun was hitting on the journey over and so as soon as we were on board we headed for the opposite side. Luckily this ferry was a lot newer than the last one we were on and it had much better shady areas, nonetheless our hammock was deployed instantly in the best spot I could find… Much to the jealousy of every other passenger!

Comfort is paramount!

Obviously the gentleman in me prevailed and I left Georgie to enjoy the hammock for the entire journey, if Georgie is comfortable then somehow even if I’m not… I’m comfortable!… It’s mainly because if she’s not then I don’t hear the end of it!

So the ferry journey passed by in no time with the only real point of interest being a troop of dolphins that played and jumped alongside the ferry for a few minutes… Wild turtles and wild dolphins all in 24 hours!

Finally back in Bali all we had left was a 2 hour bus ride back to Kuta and after the day we’d had it was a piece of piss! We went back to the place where we stayed first time we were here but this time got a much nicer bungalow! Then straight to see our friend with the fresh fish for a gut busting meal of Barracuda before the Extra Joss wore off and bed called loudly.

Now we get on to yesterday… We spent the whole day getting ourselves sorted, by that I mean doing laundry and other boring things that needed to be done and were neglected the whole time we were on Lombok and Trawangan.

It was nice actually to be back on the chaotic narrow streets of Kuta Bali, unlike many people Georgie and I can take a place for what it is and enjoy it instead of bitch and moan that it’s not as nice as the last place we went to. Somehow we always seem to manage to find our own little place in the local community.

We popped to the beach at sunset to watch the waves crash and catch up with the hawkers we made friends with, sat with some sunset Bintang’s chatting until it was dark. Because our days normally start at 7am now by 9pm we are almost always tired and so despite an offer from JoJo the surf instructor to go to his bar and get all fucked up we hit the hay early.

Comfort is paramount on the road to Bali. was originally published by HappytimeBlog - Backpacking around the world - Backpacking travel blog

Georgie’s in the wars… Feeling poorly in paradise. was originally published by HappytimeBlog - Backpacking around the world - Backpacking travel blog

Georgie's in the wars… Feeling poorly in paradise. was originally published by HappytimeBlog - Backpacking around the world - Backpacking travel blog

Kuta Beach, Bali at sunset

After yet another day of relaxation fuelled by glorious sunshine we decided we would give surfing another go, seeing as we’re pro’s and all.

We met up with Philip in the afternoon on the beach for another lesson but unfortunately there was almost no swell, this was good for us but at the same time not so good. Regardless we had a go and Georgie did really well, she managed to surf all the way back to the beach, maybe 60m! Didn’t quite manage to get on her feet but still a marked improvement on her first attempt. I too did better, managing to stand on every wave but because the swell was so small the waves were a little too slow… We had fun but all that far out surfing made us mighty thirsty!

We sat on the sand with Philip knocking back the Bintang (local beer) and chatting to the beach hawkers, who by now know we don’t want their wares and so are happy to sit and teach us Indonesian, have a laugh and just hang out.

By the early evening the beach was packed with tourists and locals alike and for a very good reason, the sky was just right for a real nice sunset. We sucked the innards out of a few more Bintang’s and played a little poi on the warm sand while the sun slowly crept below the horizon and turned the sky a dusty pink and the sea a vibrant orange.

It’s evenings like that that make it all worth while… That we will never forget.

After the sun had gone to bed and the beach side beer seller wanted to do the same we retired to our rooms for a shower and all that before hitting up the local fresh fish restaurant called Utopia.

Everyday when we pass by the German manager sits outside Bintang in hand and opens up his big chiller to tempt us with all manner of dangerously fresh fish, he also has a thing for Philip and calls him his “slumpfh” which is German for Smurf!

Anyway Georgie and I were tempted enough by a particularly fresh looking shark, maybe Philip was more tempted by the Smurf comment but hey he went for shark too so maybe not, it was our last night with Philip for a while, at least until we leave Bali for Lombok, so we had plenty of Bintang’s most of a whole shark and a thoroughly good night. We sat on our balcony, said our goodbyes and swapped details then headed off to bed humming the Jaws theme tune.

Today by the time we were up and about Philip was long gone, off on his moped with a bag and a surfboard all the way to Lombok.

We however had much less intrepid activities in mind, we took a walk down the beach to meet up with poi supreme Thomas, he is heading back to europe in a few days so we don’t really know when we will see him again… Also Georgie was after a little lesson, some new moves she can practice until the next time we see him.

We sat, we chatted and Georgie learned some new moves so all is well and good. Georgie is currently sat in the spa next door to me in Utopia having a manicure and pedicure and hopefully in an hour or so we will hit up the beach again for another beautiful melting sunset and of course Bintang a plenty!..

Sunsets, sharks and of course Bintang! was originally published by HappytimeBlog - Backpacking around the world - Backpacking travel blog

What a bounty of fire, cocktails and sunshine… Oh My God! was originally published by HappytimeBlog - Backpacking around the world - Backpacking travel blog

Surf’s up and we’re going down. was originally published by HappytimeBlog - Backpacking around the world - Backpacking travel blog