Nothing else mantas when you're in Nusa

Number one on my dive bucket list was to dive with manta rays, and this weekend it finally came true.

Making the most of the easter weekend, Phil and I spent 4 nights on Nusa Lembongan which is a stone's throw from Bali's main island. Most of Friday was spent traveling but were able to arrive at our beautiful Sukanusa Luxury Hut before sundown and scope out our little bit of the island. 

We had pre-booked two days of diving with Legend Diving as they came highly recommended on trip advisor. We had a fantastic local guide and went with a lovely Swedish couple who were also AOW PADIs.

The main dive spot for manta rays is Manta Point, but the guide had said they'd been no sightings there for three days so we were to hedge our bets at Manta Bay instead. This was great as it meant Manta Bay was relatively quiet when we arrived. 

We descended down to 20 metres and saw one manta at the surface. It was incredible but such a brief sighting so I was pretty disappointed to think that was all we would see. It turns out I shouldn't have given up hope, as once we were back on the boat we saw a big black fin cutting through the water, then another, then another. We grabbed our masks, jumped back into the ocean and suddenly a few centimetres in front of us were huge, three-metre manta rays. There must have been three or four of them and they kept circling around to swim right up to us before ducking down. It was surreal and one of the most magical moments of my life. I honestly have to keep reminding myself that it was real.

That evening we went out for dinner with the Swedish couple we met diving. It was fun but impossible trying to find any nightlife - it's definitely more of a chilled family place rather than the backpacker vibe of Gili T or Seminyak.

We had two more dives booked for the next day which were stunning. No more mantas but endless coral reefs and numerous turtles and fish. The coral around Nusa was some of the most colourful we've seen and it was good to see such a healthy reef compared to a lot of bleaching we've seen on other recent dives. 

The island is fairly small so we rented bicycles and headed to Mushroom Bay to meet the Swedes and proceeded to drink the bar dry until the early hours. They're traveling around Asia with plans for Singapore next week, so I'm thrilled we get to see them again so soon!

Our final day was spent eating everything there was to offer at Indiana Kenanga (a delicious French restaurant on the beach) and nursing our hangovers. The ocean breaks far out at low tide so the sunset and reflection was absolutely stunning.

Altogether an epic holiday to remember. Nusa Lembongan is a peaceful paradise and an absolute must for any diver who wants to see some gentle giant manta rays.

My friends are here! Part 1.

I have had THE best long-weekend in Bali.

I flew over late on Friday night to meet two of my dearest friends from London. We spent the first day taking in the picture-perfect views of the beach from La Lucciola, followed by a long day of tanning and drinking at Potato Head. It was paradise. I don't think I will ever get bored of sun, sea and palm trees.

In the evening we spruced up and headed to Motel Mexicola for dinner. I've never been anywhere like it... kind of a split-level, indoor circus/market. It was raining so hard when we got there that water was streaming through a hole in the roof. In minutes the floor was wet up to our ankles, people were dancing on the tables and staff were pouring tequila into our mouths. 

Around midnight the done thing seemed to be for everyone to ditch Mexicola and jump into taxis over to La Favela on the main strip. I can see why. La Favela is a never-ending maze of a place with great music. We met some really cool people and continued on until morning. I don't think my feet have ever been so dirty.

I wasn't exaggerating...

We had pre-planned to go to Uluwatu for days 3 & 4 as I'd heard from a few people that it had breath taking scenery and beaches. They were definitely right about the views. We spent the first day at Uluwatu Temple taking heaps of photos...and just about avoiding the monkeys stealing our sunglasses.

We had booked ourselves in at an amazing villa called The Innpossible on Bingin beach. It was in a fairly remote location which meant we had to climb up and down 200 steps to get there - but it was totally worth it. We had the private penthouse to ourselves which overlooked the never ending-ocean filled with surfers morning, noon and night.

The view from our villa

I'm happy, can you tell|?

We had dinner and drinks at Single Fin just as the sun was setting over the ocean, before proceeding to have another long night of drinking, chatting rubbish and attempting to get back to our remote villa.

Sunset from Single Fin

Our last day in Bali was spent at Padang Padang beach (fun fact: this is where they filmed |Eat, Pray Love!). The waves were pretty angry so after two pairs of sunglasses had been lost to the sea we called it a day.

It was then BBQd fish and early bed ready for the early start to fly to Singapore the next day!

It was such an amazing holiday. One of the best. I was really sad to leave but exciting for my pals to see Singapore... maybe I can convince them to move over here too?!

The Gili Islands - 3 days in paradise

A couple of Phil's friends have been over in South East Asia so Phil and I made the most of them being this side of the world and had a little holiday ourselves.

They flew into Singapore first, so we did what I've been looking for an excuse to do in months and took them to Club 55 to devour plate after plate of cheese and chocolate. Club 55 is so reasonably priced at $48++ for all-you-can-eat. This time was even better than the last as they had a huge wheel of raclette bubbling away onto little individuals portions of fried potato croquettes, pickles and salad. Food heaven.

Not that anyone would need another reason to go there, but the view at Club 55 is also pretty special. It's on the 55th floor (if you hadn't already guessed) of Marina Bay Sands Hotel and I love seeing the expression on people's faces when they see the bay from a height for the first time.

After one night in Singapore, Phil's pals flew off to Bali whilst Phil and I counted down the days until the weekend when we were to head over to the Gili Islands to meet them. We were up at 3am Saturday morning to catch our flight to Bali where we then caught a taxi and a boat over to our first stop - Gili Air.

Advice for anyone travelling from Singapore to the Gili Islands: Don't do it this way as it's a right faff. Instead fly from Bali to Lombok then hop on a quick boat to the Gilis. We arrived a bit stressed and tired after around 10 hours of travelling, but any bad feeling melted away instantly the minute we arrived on the island.

The first thing I noticed was that there are no motorised vehicles anywhere. Instead of cars and motorbikes, everyone gets around by walking, horse and cart or bicycle which meant the whole island was quiet and peaceful. The other thing I noticed was that as there aren't really any street names. Instead the island is filled with colourful painted signs nailed to poles at the side of the streets directing visitors to the nearest villa, bar or beach.

I was expecting the Gilis to feel a bit like Bali, but it's different kettle of fish altogether.

We stayed at a place called H2O Yoga which was a lovely, idyllic little air bnb full hammocks and very fit looking yogis! Unfortunately we ran out of time to do any yoga or meditation practices, but I'd recommend H20 Yoga to anyone staying on Gili Air - yogi or not.

We spent the first afternoon on the beach and in various bars; finishing the evening with a delicious rendang curry (me) and nasi goreng (Phil) and an early night before a day of diving on Sunday.

The Gilis have got to be THE best diving I have done. We saw black and white tipped reef sharks, hawksbill and sea turtles, rays, trigger fish, unicorn fish, parrot fish and about a hundred other types. The visibility was about 20 metres and it felt incredible.

We were on such a high after diving (and the espresso martinis we had afterwards) that we then spent the rest of the evening dancing and singing along to a band called Old Town who were playing in one of the restaurants. Old Town are one of the best live bands I have ever seen or heard (sounds like an overstatement, but I'm not kidding)! I don't remember how many drinks were drunk, but I do remember feeling zero embarrassment when dancing barefoot in the sand in front of a restaurant full of people for hours on end.

Old Town

We met the guys on Gili T the following morning - just a 30 minute, $4 boat ride away. Gili T has a slightly different vibe; a younger crowd, a little busier, and a few more loud bars and souvenir shops. Someone summed the three islands up perfectly: Gili Meno is perfect for honeymooners, Gili T is perfect for young backpackers, and Gili Air is a perfect combination of the two.

We spent the day snorkelling in the crystal clear waters and spotted another huge sea turtle just 20m out from the shore.

We rented bikes and cycled the whole circumference of the island, stopping on the west beach to watch the sun set and take a few obligatory swing photos...

Sunset swinging

We didn't meet the couple that own the air bnb we stayed in on Gili T, but it was so beautiful and their bio has inspired Phil and I. The owners are an Austro/Italian couple who upped sticks and left Europe, and moved to the Gilis to start their air bnb - Rumah Cahaya.

It just shows; when the 9-5 job (or more likely, 8-6 job) and city life ever gets too much, there's always an option to leave it all behind to lead a relaxed life on a little island in paradise.

A birthday in Bintan

We spent two days, two nights on the Indonesian island of Bintan, just one hours ferry ride from Singapore. 

We arrived at our villa - Trikora Beach Club - quite late, so aside from a few fairy lights winding their way around the palm trees, our surroundings were completely dark. We went to bed and the next morning I woke up another year older with a big, fat smile on my face. We were staying in a little hut right on a long stretch of deserted beach. The skies were blue, the sea was calm and it was perfect. 

Trikora Beach

We spent the day drinking champagne and paddle boarding - absolute bliss.

A friend had recommended that we check out a fishing village and the fireflies whilst we were over there. Just before sunset, we headed out on a little boat with a guide who showed us the different fishing boats for sting ray, squid and tuna, and told us how the tuna fisherman would head out to sea for ten days, collect their haul, then spend another ten days travelling back to sell the fish at market, before repeating the whole journey again.

Our guide also pointed out a row of houses on stilts in the water who belong to what he termed 'Sea People'. The Sea People are the fishing families who maintain old Bintan traditions; living on the sea, fishing without any modern technology (such as GPS), collecting rain water for washing and drinking, using petrol generators for electricity and teaching their children to become fisherman as soon as they are able instead of going to school. Their homes in the little village were beautiful and it was fascinating to hear how differently and separately they lived to the other land fisherman. 

We continued on the little boat towards the mangroves, and as we did so, the sky was set on fire by the sun. I've never seen anything like it.

We continued up the mangrove lined river and as darkness fell, the trees around us began to flash. Thousands of little green and yellow fireflies were signalling to one another and it was as if we were surrounded by rows of Christmas trees. It was so pretty and peaceful, and as we returned back down the river it felt as though we had seen something magical. 

Bintan was the perfect birthday retreat, and I would definitely stay at Trikora Beach Club again. The staff at were so friendly and welcoming, and they even made me a huge cake and gathered around to sing happy birthday to me in the evening.

Happy birthday to me!

My only negative is that they only stock Bintang beer, so if you're a wine or cocktail drinker like me you'll have to bring some bottles along with you or be left a little thirsty.

For anyone living in Singapore - Bintan is such a quick and easy place to get to and it's definitely the place to go if you're looking to relax and get away from the built up city for a day or two.  The only thing to watch out for is the expense - it's similar pricing to Singapore so if you'd prefer a cheaper villa, drinks and dinner you'd be better off heading further afield to Bali, Krabi or Phuket!

Four days in beautiful Bali

This week we went to Bali. Two nights in Seminyak and two nights in Ubud. I can say without hesitation that Bali is the most beautiful place I have visited in Asia and four days was definitely not long enough. Every Balinese person we spoke to was friendly, warm and welcoming; every restaurant or bar we went to served scrumptious (and cheap) food and fun cocktails; the two villas we stayed in were perfect and both towns had this wonderful dichotomy of old art and architecture mixed with the new, trendy and modern. 

Seminyak has such cool places to eat and everywhere was buzzing at breakfast, lunch and dinner. We had three stand-out meals in Seminyak - the first was brunch at Sisterfields which a couple of friends had recommended to us, and if we had more time I'm sure we would have eaten there again.

Braised short rib, brisket and black
bean chilli @ Sisterfields

We also had a great brunch at a place called La Lucciola which had beautiful views of the ocean and the morning's local fisherman casting their rods from the shore.

Brunch with a view

The final one I have to mention is the dinner we had at La Laguna. Getting there requires a short taxi ride as its not on the main strip, but well worth heading the extra distance. Phil and I had never been to a restaurant like it - the place was right on the lagoon with lots of floor seating, old carriages, statues, bridges and rivers running through the middle. We had a great cocktail there called 'Herb & Spiced' which we need to recreate with vodka, chilli, lemongrass, basil and lime. The Balinese seem to use basil in almost everything and it's something we are definitely going to take away with us - especially as we now have a little herb garden growing on our balcony in Singapore!

We only had one full day in Seminyak which we used to lie on the beach and surf. Phil was amazing and stood up almost immediately, I on the other hand was not so good, and probably managed to stand up for about half a second in the two hours we were out at sea...

I annoyingly wacked my head whilst surfing and got a bit nauseous and headachy after that - was then very unwell when we reached Ubud the following day. Popped in to the medical centre (as now seems to be tradition whenever I'm on holiday) and was prescribed some meds to get me better. A day was wasted, but luckily I felt completely well again for our final half day in Ubud so Phil and I hired a taxi driver and went to the Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary, the Tengenungan village waterfall, and the Jambe Asri coffee plantation. 

Being in the Monkey Forest felt like being in The Jungle Book. The trees and ancient statues were amazing and we are really glad we went.

The coffee plantation was also well-worth the visit. We each tried lots of local teas and coffees before having a cup of Luwak coffee. Luwak Coffee comes from beans which have first been eaten and excreted by a mongoose, before being dried, roasted and ground. Sounds a bit gross but something about the fermentation in the mongoose stomach makes great coffee, and it was one of he best cups of coffee I've had.

Luwak Coffee 

We want to spend more time in both Seminyak and Ubud, and also head to the Gili Islands and do some more diving. It's a fairly short flight from Singapore (2.5 hrs) so we are hoping to find a weekend in the next few months to pop back!

It is such a beautiful, relaxing place and there is so much more we still need to see.