Munduk, Lovina and Amed

I got up and met Emma just after 8.30am and we wandered to Lazy Cats café to get some breakfast before our trip up North. I had a banana shake and the avocado, spinach, sun-dried tomato and poached eggs on sourdough which was amazing!

We were hoping to get on the wifi whilst we were there as we hadn't booked anything in Lovina for the night. For some reason though, neither of us could connect, even though the girl said it was working.

As soon as we were back at Puji, we sat in the reception area and both looked at different places on Agoda, finally agreeing on Mumbul guesthouse that Emma had found. The puppy was sat near us at this point and I couldn't resist getting a snap of him, he was probably the cutest dog I'd seen so far the entire trip!

The taxi driver Emma had booked was due to pick us up at 10am so I ran upstairs, shoved the rest of the stuff in my case that was in my locker and on the bed and dragged it all down to reception to check out. He was remarkably a bit early for those on Balinese time and we'd agreed that he would take us to Pura Ulun Danu Beratan temple, Munduk lake and Munduk waterfall before driving us up to Lovina in the very north for 400,000 (about £24 for the two of us).

The journey to the temple took about 2/2.5hrs but it went fairly quickly where Emma and I chatted away and sung along to the music on her iPhone.

What we couldn't believe when we got to the temple was how small it was! When you see the photos online, they look incredible but they don't give any perspective of the size of the structure. It was still incredible and we couldn't stop laughing as a few other tourists came up and asked us for photos with them (typical Asians!) we joked around pulling some yoga poses out whilst sat in front of the statues but where my foot was so swollen and my legs were in bits from the trek up Mount Batur, I couldn't rest my top knee down like I ordinarily would!

The drive after that was to the waterfall, stopping to look at the view from Munduk lake which again, was stunning! Whilst we were there, a man was trying to make money by getting tourists to pay to have photos taken with a huge lizard/iguana thing, a snake, birds or massive bats that he picked up and was swinging around; they looked demonic!!

The plan was to stop for lunch by the waterfalls so our driver/guide took us to apparently the nicest restaurant in Munduk which overlooked the view from high up which was great, although it was quite expensive.

Emma and I couldn't decide which dishes to choose so we went with two different chicken dishes and rice and I had a lemon iced tea too.

After that, we met our guide again and he directed us to a little pathway down the hill from the car so we could start our walk to Munduk waterfall which took about 15 minutes downhill into the rainforest area, past a super cute puppy. Because it looked like it was going to rain, the guide had grabbed two umbrellas and borrowed them from the restaurant in case there was a sudden downpour.

We paid to get in and we were so fortunate to arrive when we did as a couple of ladies were just finishing up taking their photos and we then had it all to ourselves. The umbrellas were so handy as we used them for props by the waterfall for some snaps and then got into our bikinis for a dip in the water too.

Just as we were in the water having our photos taken by the driver, a mass load of people arrived and sadly got in our shots but we'd been fortunate enough to get the time on our own there which they certainly wouldn't have had!

From that point, we had the short trek back uphill from the rainforest to the car, dashed back to the restaurant to use their bathroom and change out of our wet bikinis and made our way to Lovina to check in for the night. On the outskirts of Lovina, we looked out the window and saw a scooter with loads of balloons on it which made us laugh; it reminded us a bit of Up!

So it turned out that Mumbul Guesthouse was a bit further out than Lovina Beach where the majority of resorts are based and it was just up the road. Our taxi driver couldn't work out where he was going so I got my maps.me app out and navigated using that. Cheekily, when we arrived at the Guesthouse, he tried to ask for more money as it was further out but we refused because we told him it was still Lovina; I don't think he was too happy!

We checked in and it was certainly different! There were two smelly dogs wandering around and young children in the living room next to reception squealing and chasing each other! We got escorted to our room which had twin beds, a large bathroom and a TV with a DVD player.

On closer inspection when I looked at my bed before I put stuff on it, I noticed something which looked vaguely like a big mouse dropping; vile! After scanning the room, I found another one on the floor that I picked up and Emma scanned the bathroom to find a dirty sink. It was certainly not what we were expecting!

We left our stuff in a clean looking corner of the room, sat for a bit on our balcony admiring the view and then made our way to reception to find out where the closest place was to eat as it was late afternoon and we wanted to have a wander before having dinner. Whilst there, we mentioned the poo in the room on the floor and bed sheets and the dirty sink; the woman didn't bat an eyelid and spoke to one of the guys to ask him if he'd cleaned which he said he had. We said we wanted it to be sorted when we got back with clean sheets and they agreed that it would be.

The lady who looked after the children for the owners was finishing her shift so she walked out with us and pointed us in the direction of the beach and restaurants saying she would see us the following morning.

Lovina was exactly as I expected it to be; free from tourists, dogs, cats and chickens running around, small shops with bare minimum in them, children playing games in the street and restaurants with barely any bums on seats. It was so authentic but absolutely brilliant; just what we wanted it to be!

When we got to the beach, we spoke to a couple of ladies there who were selling jewellery and massages and they asked where we were staying. The beach had black sand which looked incredible compared to the other beaches we had seen as it was so different!

The ladies told us that the owner of the hotel drank at the restaurant next to the jewellery stall and we saw a couple on their way out so stopped to ask them about the food as there was no one else in there; they said it was great! The restaurant was Rasta themed with the woodwork painted red, yellow and green and the paintings on the wall and menu using the same colours too. We shared a large Bintang and I ordered a beef rendang curry which turned up with chips which was unexpected as it came with rice usually! We presumed that because Emma had ordered her fish with chips, they just did the same for me too. It didn't matter though as it was the tastiest rendang curry yet and the flavours were immense.

Whilst we were eating, a torrential downpour came into force, so much so that we had to move the table as we were getting wet; the splatters on our legs still continued even after that where it was so heavy and the front of the restaurant by the beach was starting to fill with puddles.

Once it had calmed down, we wandered back to the Guesthouse in the dark, navigating our way along the main road with the help of the petrol station lights and car lights too!

We spoke to the owner when we got back about the dolphin boat trips and she booked us in (we were both feeling pretty horrified at the thought of a 5.30am start though!) They still hadn't changed the bed so Emma and I chose a DVD from the cabinet in the restaurant in the meantime and then went back to our little hut. Neither of us had seen Honey for years and we both really enjoyed watching it, singing and bopping along to the music. After that, we turned the lights out and hit the hay, ready for our early start in the morning.

The alarm went off bright and breezy and after a fairly good night's sleep, bar the huge gecko that ran across the ceiling and made the weird noise just as I was dozing off (Emma asked if it was me haha!), we got up and dressed ready to be collected for the boat trip.

It was foggy and looked overcast but a man came to collect us at 5.30am and walked us down to the harbour where we had been the previous night. The boat got pulled into the water and we jumped in - it was a traditional looking fishing boat and there was only the two of us in it which was a result as we had far more space!

It felt like we were just being taken aimlessly further into the sea when after an hour or so there had been no movement. Luckily, it was very still and a little while after that, we spotted boats ahead all grouped together so we made our way over and low and behold; the dolphins were there swimming around them!

Was so worth the wait and it was amazing to see them swimming around in their pod in their natural habitat. We must have been there watching them for about an hour or so and then our guide turned the boat around and we made our way back to the harbour.

I spotted something quite large floating on the surface of the water when we were on our way back as a big piece of rubber had got stuck in the engine so we had to stop so the guide could pull it out. When it came next to the boat I felt sick; it was a dog that had drowned. Emma and I were both absolutely devastated and it definitely put a dampener on the amazing time watching the dolphins.

We both joked quite a bit during the trip that we had people 'upstairs' that we were asking for favours and they must have been looking down on us because shortly after, two dolphins on their own started swimming by our boat which was a huge distraction to what we'd just witnessed!

Once we'd arrived at the harbour, we only had a 5 minute walk back to Mumbul Guesthouse past some cute piglets and we were just in time for breakfast as it was about 8.30; we were ravenous! I had a coffee and a banana pancake which just hit the spot.

After that, it was back to the room (taking a few photos on the way) so we could pack and get ready to call an Uber and start the journey to Amed as I'd found somewhere nice for us to stay that was quite cheap!

There weren't any Uber or Grab taxis around the area at the time so we spoke to the owner again and they had a driver they recommended who was happy to take us at 10 for the 2.5hr journey down the coast to the East so we could get to Amed. He stopped at the petrol station so we could get some snacks that would fill us up enough until later - I had chocolate milk, spicy chicken crisps and chips ahoy cookies!

The journey went by really quickly considering how long we were in the car and there had been plenty to see out of the window whilst we were chattering away and listening to music on Emma's phone.

We finally arrived and were surprised at how small and underdeveloped Amed was as a town; there was literally nothing there but a few restaurants and basic looking shops/diving schools but it was rustic and authentic which was just what we had hoped for!

We checked into the Manik Garam Boutique Villa hotel and felt like we'd walked into a parallel universe compared to the hostels we'd been living out of. The restaurant overlooked an infinity pool which was situated right by the beach, the rooms were spacious, light and clean and we had a bathroom and balcony too!

We wandered into the town to see what was around and enquired about snorkelling at a couple of places and then went back to the hotel. I had a thumping headache so I went to bed and Emma went to sun herself by the pool for the afternoon!

In the evening, we got showered and dressed and made our way back into town to see the guy about snorkelling. Neither of us particularly wanted to pay 250,000 for the trip as there were only 2 stops so I sat and negotiated with the guy until we were both a bit happier and he only charged us 175,000 each including lunch; every little helps!

The restaurants in town weren't tickling our fancy so we wandered down to the beach and found a reggae bar serving food so ate there. We shared some spring rolls, had an ice cold Bintang and then I had a chicken dish with rice and prawn crackers.

We crawled into bed and had a fairly early night and I did some blogging until I could barely keep my eyes open! The following morning, Emma had woken up before me so I met her down at the restaurant for what has got to be one of the best breakfasts I've had so far on my travels; coffee, Balinese omelette, fruit and toast with butter and jam. Was absolutely dreamy and the best thing about it was that it was included in the room costs so we didn't have to pay for it!!

Our lift for the morning of snorkelling was arriving at 10am so we got ourselves ready and covered in sunscreen lotion so we didn't burn with the water reflections and then we made our way out.

The first stop was at the Japanese shipwreck which was really cool to see but sadly there was loads of rubbish floating around which Emma and I absolutely despised and it made the snorkelling more of a nuisance as you felt like you were just trawling through it constantly. Some of the fish were nice though and we were glad we went, although the sea lice/termites were stinging away so that was quite uncomfortable!

The second stop was at Sandy Beach which was much better! The sea had far less rubbish in it and was clearer so we could see all the amazing fish and coral :) the current was quite strong there though so we felt like we were getting swept away a bit but we managed to spend over half an hour swimming around.

The guy we'd booked with waited for us at both stops and let us take our time to sit on the beach for a while and check out the views before we moved along so we were able to let him know when we wanted to go. Once we were ready, he drove us back to town to his shop/restaurant/guesthouse and we had our Mie Goreng that was included in our package with an orange juice.

The rest of the afternoon was spent at the infinity overlooking the sea which was glorious! There were a few other brit backpackers staying there that Emma had met the day before whilst I was napping so we chatted to them too until it was time to go and shower ready for the evening.

We went back to find our snorkelling guy at his shop to book ourselves a taxi to take us to Sanur the following day with a stop-off at the water temple on the way down. It was 200,000 each which wasn't bad really for a 2.5hr trip when you think about it (approx. £12!)

In Bali, you're never short of seeing a Reggae bar or restaurant and we were constantly coming across them! We had dinner at another Reggae bar that was in the town but still only a couple of minutes away from the hotel. I had a Bintang with a chicken and vegetable curry and rice; wasn't too bad but I'd definitely had better elsewhere.

It was so quiet that there wasn't much of an atmosphere in there so once we'd eaten, we made our way back to the hotel so we could pack and get ready to leave for the south the following morning.

Despite there being a choice for breakfast, it was a no-brainer for me and I had exactly the same as the day before! We then made our way upstairs to the room again, got ready and packed the last bits before getting ready to hit the road again!

Quote for today from Oscar Wilde: "To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people just exist."

Ciao for now xxx