Eventually, we arrived in Ubud under a pouring rain, causing many traffic jams on our way. But as soon as we arrived in our hotel, the clouds went away allowing us to try the pool. And yes it was nice! We would stay 3 nights in this small yet charming hotel ideally located right in the heart of Ubud. Our program there would be simple: some walks in the rice paddies, some good times on various and delicious restaurants, etc. We also attending a Balinese dance show, quite spectacular! And of course, we indulged with amazing massages... Heaven on earth you said? One very nice place to mention was the rice paddies of Tegalalang. They were very impressive, and certainly one of the highlights of our trip in Bali. But again, check the pictures! After a comforting night in a very nice hotel in Munduk, we got an early start to visit one of the most famous temples in Bali: METTRE NOM DU TEMPLE. This temple is built halfway on a lake which makes it quite appealing for photographers. We stayed there for an hour or so, soaking up the deliciously relaxing atmosphere. Then, we were off to one of the most famous places in Bali: the rice paddies at Jatiluwih. The views were amazing and the landscapes, stunning! We had lunch facing a 180 degrees panorama to die for! Unforgettable! In the afternoon, as the weather was threatening us with rain and dark clouds, we quickly visited a remote temples which is certainly very often missed by most tourists. As a consequence, we had the place just for ourselves. Very sweet! On the big day, we went to the airport to welcome A's family! As soon as they cleared the customs, we took 2 cabs to reach our first hotel a short ride away, conveniently located in the upscale resort of Seminyak. We spent some time relaxing, especially for the plane travelers who had such a long plane ride. A couple hours in the pool later, our private car driver was waiting for us. We had decided to start our visits straight-away and our plan was to catch up the sunset from Tanah Lot Temple. It was a good move! Nice sunset, perfect spot for a refreshing beer, the holidays couldn't start any better than that. We topped this very nice moment with a dinner in a local place where we indulged with very tasty garlic prawns... It was perfect! The following day, our driver took us to Munduk with a couple temples to visit on the way. It took us the whole day as we stopped in several places for pictures, including in a coffee plantation to sample the famous Kopi Luwak Coffee. We also had lunch with a stunning panorama from which we could see both the mountain side of the island and the blue sea. It was simply perfect, once again! We also stopped at a very famous waterfall for a few pictures. It was quite impressive to be frank. Upon our arrival in our hotel, we were greeted with delicious welcome drinks (fresh fruit juices). We quickly decided that we were fit enough for a walk through the rice paddies. A short 2 hour walk enabled us to discover remote areas and breathtaking panoramas, especially as the sunset was taking place right before our eyes. The colors in the rice paddies did permit us to take great pictures! Check them out! Before Andrea's family arrival in Denpasar, we had a week to spend in Bali! Life is hard! :) we decided to settle down in Lovina, on the Northern shore of Bali Island. There we found a nice hotel with a pool for some lazy times. But we also took the opportunity to visit the surroundings. To do so, we rented a motorbike and drove in direction of the nearby mountains. We had the chance to discover amazing rice paddies and remote villages. However, we had a small accident with our scooter which made us a bit skeptical as whether we should be using the mean of transport the week after with Andrea's family. Long story short, roads were not in good conditions enough to take such a big risk and jeopardize our journey! During that week, we didn't do much more, just taking our time to reach the south of Bali and its touristic mecca: Kuta. There. We celebrated Andrea's Birthday with a dinner on the beach, directly facing the ocean. It was a very good break overall! The following day, we started a great journey which was supposed to help us reaching Bali. Over three days, we would drive from western to eastern Java! The first day was time spent on the road. Nothing more. We went to bed as soon as we could and the second morning, we were taken to a sunrise viewing point overlooking a volcano, Mount Bromo. Unfortunately, a dense fog wouldn't let us enjoy the panorama... But after driving down a mountain for a few minutes, we finally had the opportunity to discover a legen - wait for it - daryyyyy panorama. We were speechless! We even had the opportunity to climb the volcano to discover its crater. It was amazing, let's be honest! Then, we had to drive for hours to our next hotel... But it was fine, after such a great experience The third morning, we woke up even earlier - 12:30am to be precise. A short car ride and we started a 2 hour hike to reach the summit of another volcano, Kawa Ijen. It was so difficult and so strange to be hiking at such an early time in the morning... But when we got to the edge of the crater, we understood why it was worth it: it gave us the opportunity to walk down into the crater to discover what people call "blue fire". This fire is the consequence of sulphur burning... Yep, it has a blue color and it makes for a perfect 100% natural show. However, it was so cooooold up there, we were almost frozen! But thankfully, the sun rose and the temperature slowly increased. We discovered the panorama a little more after every second, it was another stunning place we will never forget. Going back to the car park was even more challenging as we were tired and also, we now know that going down ain't much easier than climbing up. :-) A few more hours in car and over a boat to cross the sea and we finally made it to Bali! We were exhausted and made it to Lovina as first as possible. Lovina would be our headquarters for the next 3-4 days so we looked for a nice play where we could enjoy some good time. Our journey in Bali could finally start! :-) We flew from Siem Reap to KL and then, from KL to Yogyakarta, one of the biggest cities on Java Island. Yet it is not to be mistaken with the capital city - Jakarta. After a quick taxi ride, we found a cosy room in a centrally located and family-owned home-stay. Sweet! Unfortunately, Andrea wasn't feeling so well so we ended up spending most of the first day resting in the room. On the second day however, we decided it was now time to have a look at the city centre. Not much to see apart from the sultan's residence. Anyway, we took time to write this blog and to plan the very next day. An early wake up, a one hour car ride and we were climbing Borobudur Temple for the sunrise. This Buddhist temple is very impressive and often classified among the top 3 places to visit in Asia (alongside Bagan and Angkor) and deservedly so. We spent a couple hours discovering the different levels of the temple, it was great as the place wasn't packed with tourists yet. Then, we had a small breakfast AND we were ready for a second temple: Prambanan, one of the biggest Hindu temple in the world. The heat was killing us by then, so we had a quick walk in the gardens, and quickly found some shade to rest. We were finally taken back to our hotel for the end of the day. After three weeks in Vietnam, we were happy to change for another country: Cambodia! We had been especially looking forward to Cambodia as this is where we would meet again with our French friends from Nantes: Lola and Cyprien. As soon as we arrived in our hotel in Phnom Penh, we contacted them and gathered for a beer. One thing to point out was how hot it was! So hoottttt.... We would definitely suffer from the heat on the following days. Anyway, we were so happy to catch up with our friends. We celebrated and went to a very local restaurant, indulging with local specialties and lots of beers. We took the opportunity to plan the upcoming days together and within a few minutes, we agreed to go a South in order to reach the coast as we expected the temperatures to be a little more bearable. So the very next day, we took a bus for the city of Sianouhkville. It took us more or less 6 hours to reach our destination. By then, it was late afternoon so we looked for a hotel (which proved to be very unwelcoming - comfort close to none!) and had diner on a terrace overlooking the ocean. Can't tell whether the view was nice as it was already pitch dark when we got there. Anyway, the food was alright and it was all we were asking for. We booked our boat tickets for the next day and went to bed! The following morning, we were all excited to go to Koh Rong! We had heard lots of positive reviews about this little germ so we were looking forward to checking whether those good reviews were deserved... Or not. It took us quite a long time to reach our final destination as we ended up on a tour boat, meaning we had to stop on several occasions to let the day-trippers enjoy snorkeling sessions and lunch. We had paid the same amount but only asked for a direct transfer... But this was a tourist trap and trapped we were! So we had to bear with the situation... Ok the landscapes were amazing so it made the wait easier. However when it came to the lunch being provided to the day-trippers and not to us, direct commuters, we ended up in a verbal dispute with the organizers. They finally had no choice but to let us have some food too: fresh BBQ-grilled fish and vegetables. It was very good so we did well to complain! By 3pm, we got to Koh Rong (instead of 11am!) so we quickly looked and find a cheap homestay. The room was very basic but again, we were on a budget so we certainly couldn't afford the much more appealing bungalows located by the end of the beach. Our room was in a simple wooden-house located in the back street of the village, somewhere in between backyards and trash disposal areas. But hey, again we were on a budget. David was struggling at night as it was very hot in the room, and the fan was anything but inefficient. There, we decided to stay for three full days, enjoying the beach, the restaurants and doing nothing. It was amazing!!!!! After that heavy program, we were ready to go back to the civilization! A few days in Phnom Penh, including a very nice day in the countryside with families of locals was enough to get a glimpse of the Cambodian lifestyle. Indeed, our minds were already focusing on our next destination and long-expected expedition: Angkor and it's world-famous temples! Another long bus ride (one day) and we arrived in Siemens Reap. There we got to our hotel and got to bed. It was terribly hot already but it was nothing compared to the following days. Lucky we had the aircon in the room! The following day, we went to the historical area for the sunset only. A good introduction to the site we thought. Day 2 and day 3 were fully allocated to the visit of the area. We started around 5 in the morning to check out the sunrise as well as to take advantage of the deserted temples at such early hours. By 12pm, it was too hot and we had to get back to the hotel: more than 42 degrees in the shade! Day 4, we stayed in the hotel with our friend as it was our last day together. At night, we went to the local market and had our last dinner. The day after, we would fly to another destination: Indonesia. Overall, Cambodia was a nice part of our journey. First, because we gathered with our friends and had a lot of fun. Second, because we enjoyed a mix of beach time and temple sightseeing! Angkor deserves its fame. This is an amazing place well worth spending at least 2 days exploring! Certainly a highlight of our whole journey! Make sure to pay a visit to Cambodia if you have the opportunity! |