Round two in Bali! After our excursion to Singapore and a few more weeks settling back into our daily routine, it was time for a weekend getaway. We longed to see more of the island than just the small community of Canggu, so we strapped up our motor bikes with a few weekend essentials and headed for the north.
Motorbiking quickly became one of our favourite past times. There’s nothing more exhilarating than the freedom of cruising through jungles, rice fields and mountain streams with all the freedom in the world.
Along our jungle ride up to north Bali, we passed through many monkey forests – a highlight for Spencer!
Since the day we met, Spencer has longed to travel to meet a monkey in the wild – and on this day, his wish came true š
So precious! These monkeys have taken over the old temple ruins and made it their home. Completely wild, they roam the streets, shy of people, but still daring enough to eat our bananas.
North Bali has a very different feel than the developed touristy area of Southern Bali. Less tourists and more of the locals live in this area, as well as ancient temples, epic waterfalls, and sunsets that take your breath away. We cherished our weekend time in North Bali.
After returning from North Bali, we settled into routine life for another few weeks with intense focus on our businesses and health back at home. As Christmas time approached, we were definitely ready for another exciting mini trip for exploration! On to the Gili Islands!
Being away from home for the holidays and battling the intense heat of the summer in Indonesia was a vastly different experience for us – but we embraced it by experiencing the best that this island had to offer: Scuba diving with the sea turtles. The Gili Islands of Indonesia are known to be the Mecca for Sea Turtles, so for our Christmas presents this year, we took the day to spend some time underwater with Teal’s favorite animals.
Christmas Eve, we soaked up one of the most beautiful sunsets we’d ever seen – feeling truly blessed for this unique moment in time.
Once we returned, it was time for New Years celebrations! We spent the evening with our buddies Blake and Sarah and watched fireworks from the beach as the locals set them off over our heads.
The months seemed to fly by as we stayed in Bali… Through January and into February. Next thing we know it will be time to come home – but we still had much more of the world to see. This meant it was time to wrap up our time in Bali and continue on before heading home in March. On our last weekend before leaving, we took a fun couples trip with Blake and Sarah over to East Bali for some more epic scuba diving and relaxation.
But this drive on mopeds was not quite as enjoyable. An hour into our 5 hour ride, we get caught in a massive downpour and the mountain temperatures permeated the freezing cold to our bones. We knew we had to meet our friends at the villa in East Bali, so we stuck it out on a very treacherous, cold, 5 hour ride in the rain.
4 hours in – we were saved by a stop over at JFC – That’s right – Java Fried Chicken! The Indonesian version š It tasted amazing after the long journey.
We arrived at our 3rd villa of the trip and were welcomed with such beautiful views, and the warm welcome of Blake and Sarah, which made it all worth it.
The next morning, we woke up early to go dive Bali’s most famous dive site: the USSA Navy Shipwreck dive right off the coast of Tulamben.
Navigating through the depths of the ship, corridors and rooms was a sight unlike either of us had ever seen. It was a truly phenomenal dive that we’ll never forget.
We enjoyed the rest of the weekend with Blake and Sarah at our villa and then went our ways to reach our final destination for the trip…
The Bali Bubble Hotel!
This was an experience like no other – literally sleeping in a bubble on the top of a mountain terrace over a large ravine with jungles all around us. The views were phenomenal, the bed so luxurious, and going to sleep under the stars was something we’ll never forget.
Bali will forever hold a special place in our hearts. It provided the space for so much growth, spiritually and mentally for both of us. It has such a variety of landscapes that make your heart open, and a magic that makes you melt with joy. It was a bitter sweet goodbye, but we know we will be back.
On to Australia!
Vivite Somnia 