Happy Birthday Shane! Last day in Bali - Thursday 27th March

I can't believe it was Thursday already and our week in Bali coming to an end soon. It was Shane's birthday today and we had grand plans for the day! We started the day early and headed to the beach for our first surfing lesson. The sea was a gorgeous blue and the waves were perfect for beginners. Our instructor first gave us some pointers and showed us the different methods on a practice board on land. We tried different styles until we felt ready to hit the waves!

Holding a surf board and handling it through the waves is quite a challenge. Everytime I stood up I would fall down off the board again and have salty sea in my face. It was so refreshing! I wasn't very good at it at all, but wanted to try a couple more times. I was still exhausted from my diving and from lack of sleep for few weeks, so wasn't at my best and after three attempts and achy knees, I decided to sit on the beach and watch Shane instead. He was managing well and enjoying it very much. Shane has great balance and core strength so took to surfing well and did brilliantly. I dried off on beach and tried to nap.

We were presented with our photos and they were brilliant! Shane and I explored more of the beach area and then we found a local place to eat some lunch. We then found a beautiful looking bakery and took about 30 minutes to decide which cakes to choose! We finally decided on Balinese flavours of avocado and white chocolate cake, Balinese coffee cake and Shane's favourite, classic lemon cheesecake with a birthday candle. It was delightful!

We headed back to the homestay and I got my things together to pack. Tomorrow morning I would be flying back to Thailand and meeting my tour group. The third chapter of my adventure with some new people and new countries.

Bali Part: Scuba Diving Day 2

This morning, I was picked up at 7am again to travel to my dive site. Today, we will be diving in Blue Lagoon. Famous for its white sandy beaches and chilled out atmosphere, it sounded different to the mountainous, stony beach of Tulamben yesterday. Blue Lagoon was an hour and half drive away and today we were picking up divers from other hotels to go to dive site too.

It was great to meet new people and fellow divers. They were all doing fun dives rather than a course. We were a nice mixed age group and from Singapore, Canada and Russia. We would be going on a boat and jumping off today. Yesterday, I just walked into the sea from the stony beach, so jumping off a boat definitely seemed more dramatic! 

It was exhilarating jumping off boat and diving down. The water was beautiful, so blue and warm. My first dive was a deep dive, so we descended 30 metres below. I expected it to be more of a challenge to equalise pressure in my ears, but it was actually just the same as any other dive. Going so deep had consequences which my instructor had warned me about before we descended. It is possible for nitrogen to build up in the body and cause the diver to experience something called Nitrogen Narcossis. The effects can vary person to person but resemble being drunk - having less acute sensory and feeling happy or anxious. It is not however, dangerous and passes within few hours. I don't think I experienced any effects, so probably didn't have too much nitrogen build up in me. I saw even more variety of sea life and coral and enjoyed the adrenalin rush of being so deep under.

We got back onto the boat just under 40 minutes later and relaxed and dried off. The other divers who were doing their fun dives, all returned back too and we all exchanged stories of what we saw. A cup of tea and some briefing for my second and last dive followed. My last dive was a fish identification dive. My instructor showed me a book identifying characteristics, both visual and personality, of different fish. I was to descend with a slate and pencil and circle the ones I saw. We jumped backwards off the boat this time and descended about 25 metres. Already we saw so many different fish! Nemo, the clownfish, was everywhere! There was such a range; from beautiful little electric blue fish to large, flat, camouflaged fish. I kept referring to the slate of fish and clutched tightly while swimming. Everytime something looked familiar, I circled the fish on slate with my pencil. My instructor helped by pointing out fish that were hiding away. We swam up and down changing direction often and weaving through things to best spot hiding fish. It was fascinating and just stunning to see such a wide array. I tried to soak up every second as I knew it was my last dive.

Climbing back onto the boat after the last dive, I felt incredibly happy, but sad at the same time. I'd experienced so much underwater and now it was the end of my course. I have definitely come to love diving as much as baking and reading! We all travelled back exhausted and falling asleep on the journey. 

Bali Part 3: Scuba Diving Adventures Day 1

I was so excited to be diving again, that I must have dreamt of fish! Finally, I would be back in the sea. Along with teaching English, scuba diving was an important part of my trip. I absolutely loved it when I first tried it, back in 2011 in Thailand. This time, I would be doing the Advanced Open Water course.

The diving school bus picked me up from our homestay at 7am. It was a two and half hour drive to the dive site, Tulamben. My diving instructor filled me in on the day's plan and we chatted on the journey. It was such a picturesque car journey to Tulamben. There were volcanos and lots of greenery. We were driving down windy little roads and normally I would be nervous about driving on such roads, but I was too impressed with the views to care!

Once we reached Tulamben, my instructor and I went through the diving brief and some basic theory as a reminder. I was provided with my equipment and wetsuit and taught about navigation skills underwater. Some practice with an underwater compass on land and I was ready to hit the sea! We descended down about 16 metres underwater and saw many different fish and other underwater creatures. There was a little current, so it was challenging at times to keep together. I used the compass underwater to navigate myself and find bearings. It was interesting how distracting fish and sea life can be when you are trying to focus! The dive was just under 40 minutes and I enjoyed every minute!

For my second dive, my instructor gave me a little background history. I would be doing a wreck dive. Tulamben is a famous wreck dive site as there are remains of shipwreck from 1942, which make for a great adventure and exploration dive. We descended down 18 metres this time. It was fascinating to see the ship remains and details of the wreck. I'd never experienced such a dive before so it was particularly interesting to swim and explore.

Diving is extremely tiring work - all that breathing underwater and carrying an oxygen tank on your back! We had a spot of lunch and relax before the brief for the third and final dive of the day. I would be practising my buoyancy skills underwater, so my instructor explained me some theory beforehand. We descended down 18 metres again with a hula hoop in tow. We swam to the bottom of sea bed and used weights and string to attach hula hoop. I was to swim through the hula hoop on my back, my front and my sides, in as smooth movements as possible. It was challenging at first as I was not kicking effectively, but once I got the hang of that, it was much easier. I really enjoyed swimming through effortlessly and felt like a fish! It was so rewarding to see improvement with my fluidity.

The three dives of the day left me deliriously happy and excited for more the next day! My dive instructor said that I was surprisingly confident underwater with breathing and flowing through, considering that I hadn't done any diving for almost three years. It was such a compliment and good to hear. I got back to the homestay around 7pm and was eager to tell Shane about my whole day. I didn't stop smiling all evening :)

Bali Part 2- Bali Spirit Festival - Sunday 23rd and Monday 24th March

Shane and I had a couple of hours with Sophie this morning before she left us. We wished her farewell and got ourselves ready to check out the Bali Spirit Festival. This is a yoga, music and dance festival held every year in Ubud, Bali. People here were so relaxed and happy. There were many stalls selling yoga clothes, spiritual stuff and dance and yoga classes held throughout the day. We were lucky to be able to catch it. Shane is a huge yoga fan and writes for a yoga company, so this was right up his street! He was in his element, making new contacts in the yoga industry and handing out flyers and business cards. I enjoyed the atmosphere and music.

While Shane took part in one of the yoga classes, I went along to a dance class. It was called 'Masala Bhangra' and it was a dance workout class -this was right up my street! The instructor and creator of Masala Bhangra is a lady called Sarina Jain. She is originally Indian but brought up in America and she told her story of how she came about setting up Masala Bhangra. It was really moving and we all warmed to her straightaway. The class was so much fun! It was such an energetic workout and there were happy faces all around enjoying the beat of the music. There were even live dhol (Indian drums) players!

We enjoyed the rest of the festival and then headed into Ubud town or lunch and a walkaround. We would be leaving for the south of Bali tomorrow, so we made the most of our motorbike and tried to see as much as possible.

On Monday morning, we travelled south to Canguu. We were staying in a homestay, tucked away in a quiet corner and very peaceful. A French lady called Maud had settled down here and opened up the homestay. Maud was from Lyon, where I have been a couple of times, so it was great to chat away in French to her. She was so lovely. Shane and I loved playing with her little son and her friendly dogs.

For the rest of the day we just explored our new surroundings and settled down. I had some reading to do ahead of my diving course starting tomorrow. I was so excited that I will be underwater swimming with fish and other marine life again tomorrow. It's been too long since my last dive!

Bali - Part 1 Ubud: Saturday 22nd March

Having just said goodbye to Surin and my fellow volunteer friends, I had mixed emotions of sadness, but excitement to see my friends Sophie and Shane, in Bali. I had a six hour coach journey to Bangkok from Surin and then a four hour flight to Bali. A good book and eye mask (thank you Marion!) and I was all set!

Sophie and Shane were already there and waiting for me when I reached Bali airport. It was so great to see them! I hadn't seen Shane since my visit to China and Hong Kong, back in 2009! A short taxi ride to our hotel and we were all set to begin our weekend together. The hotel was so serene and beautiful. We had our own private pool with jet spa too. This is all too luxurious compared to the rest of my backpacker trip! We caught up lots and enjoyed an Indonesian lunch and walk around the area. There were many beautiful scenes of greenery and rice fields in Ubud, it was so peaceful.

I felt a little ignorant as I had settled in Thailand and learnt some Thai words, but here I was in a new country and although some things were familiar, I felt like a fish in new waters. People spoke good English here though, and were very friendly too. It was lovely to speak to some of the locals about their way of life. We were invited to look around someone's  personal temple. Bali is a Hindu country, so there were many familiar looking dieties, statues and food offerings around, that I felt rather at home in a way! It was also so much more vegetarian friendly here than anywhere else I have experienced so far in South East Asia. We enjoyed Balinese coffees and fresh avocado juices when the walking got too much! Although a few degrees cooler than temperatures I was used to in Thailand, it was a dry heat in Bali, so didn't feel cooler!

Tomorrow we will be saying goodbye to Sophie, as she was only visiting us shortly. We made the most of our time with her though. Tomorrow, Shane and I will check out the Bali Spirit Festival. This is a yoga, music and dance festival held every year in Ubud.