East Pray Love

 I was a bit worried leaving Amed that Des wouldn’t like Ubud. Driving from coastal paradise towards the busy, noisy town of Ubud demands a shift of all senses, an adjustment to the pace, noise and so much to see and take in. I have learnt more about Ubud each time I’ve been there over this trip. My friend Charlie had booked a guest house surrounded by paddy fields surprisingly near to the centre of town.  As we turned onto the jammed Monkey Forest Road, I wanted Des to close his eyes and ears and get to the guest house before he started to judge. Sitting in traffic, surrounded by people on bikes, foot and just the milling masses, we couldn’t do anything other than watch the world and his wife go by. Just as I left Ubud last time I had the best massage of my trip. He told me his teacher had taught him everything he knew, so I’d booked a massage with the teacher - go to the source, right? Balinese massage isn’t really a thing in the same way Thai massage has a distinct style and set of

 Bit of a theme going on here. Amed is a laid back sleepy beach town and we both love it. On my previous two stays at Amed I had wanted to but failed to snorkel at either Jemeluk or Japanese wreck sites, my aim for this third and last stay in Amed. Our ‘home’ was a guesthouse on the beach made from various scraps and off-cuts of carved wood crafted into a tiny complex of five houses in a lush garden, surrounding a pool, on the beach. Our ‘house’ was on four floors, topped by a tiny spire. snorkeling is straight out from the beach and wonderful to the left and Jemaluk to the right. We were so busy with the snorkeling to the left - more of everything and turtles galore, that we almost forgot to explore to the right. We had a dive arranged with a very cool diver from the local community, Ketut, who partners with a guy we work with in Kenya on coral restoration, Rolf from Reefcare. The dive had none of the professionalism and care of a paid dive, but it was great to be left alone to enjoy

One of the great things about having Des here is that he pushes the pace on certain issues. I was keen to go to Nusa Penida but feeling so content at Amed I might not have done it. However, Des wanted to pack as much as possible in his short 10-days which means Nusa Penida was a must. We set off from Amed in a bright yellow inside and outside taxi which made me feel like I was in a yellow submarine. After so much time underwater I’ve got that wavy feeling even when I’m on land.  We stopped for a Lewak coffee - amazingly smooth but eye-wateringly expensive. I guess most people have seen ‘The Bucket List’ and therefore know what lewak coffee is. For those who don’t, its made from the beans left behind by lewaks - wild mongoose. The other coffee flavors and tea varieties included in the taster offered were amazing. I loved the avocado coffee which sounds foul but is surprisingly good. We sat on deck of the fast boat to Nusa Penida - the island views are wonderful and away from Bali I star

When Des actually made it to Bali I was amazed. It is a long journey, one I did in stages, yet he did it in one long haul. 30 grueling hours of travel. He is amazingly robust and apart from losing a bag of insulin, the journey was smooth and he took it, and the 5 hour time difference - in his stride. Lovely to be together after 5 weeks apart. I swam in the hotel pool as Des slept a little more in the morning - great to get some proper lengths in a pool designed for it; so many pools here are weird shapes that mean swimming is curves rather than lengths. Leaving half our luggage at the hotel, we set off much lighter. Our driver Ketut was keen to talk but after all the time apart, Des and I had lots to catch up on. It felt amazing to have my mate back beside me and enjoying the beautiful lush Bali scenery. We stopped at a temple - Phra Goa Lawah - one of the six holiest places to worship on Bali -  just outside of Candidasa, donned sarongs and scarves and wandered through the ornate temp

15th Oct 2022 I’ve had some really lovely days in Ubud this last week. Without the relentless rain, I got out more and off the main streets. It is a fascinating town and I very much hope to come back. Along the streets are what look like temple doors but are front doors of Ubudians. With ornate family temples in the front garden and usually a complex of individual houses amid lush gardens, these guesthouses or home stays are a fantastic place to stay. My first attempt a few weeks back was not so successful and I lasted a night before the noise of scooters and a windowless room (‘it got a door’ the owner told me defensively as I left) drove me to an upmarket hotel version of the same concept.  Cito’s Guesthouse is a wonderful place to stay in Ubud - not far from the centre but passing traffic - foot and scooter - is local people and very different from the craziness on Palace Road or Monkey Forest Road. I feel very at home in Bali which is enhanced by places like Cito’s where I was welc

Everything is so easy in Bali and needs about three minutes advance planning. I reluctantly left the shabby but charming Classic Villas and hopped on a moped to go about 10km north to Tulamben. The view of the volcano was stunning - it looms ever present and my driver told me how when it erupted in 2019 he left the area and went to Jakarta for a year. It is hard to imagine this beautiful lush green area thick with smoke and ash and uninhabitable only a few years ago. The dive centre where I had booked for a night was not on the beach but perfect for a night and within an hour of arriving I was getting my diving stuff ready for a reef dive. Dive Master Steve briefed me with his Grimsby drawl so incongruous in Bali. The dive was so beautiful - very easy and gentle and the sea bed littered with temple ruins and full of fish of all types, sizes and colors. Steve had warned me that it was likely we’d see sharks but they didn’t show up and the warm water, unbelievable marine life and the joy