CANGGU – BALI

20th - 24th August 2015

We arrived pretty late after an awesome day trip to Uluwatu. We instantly found a lovely guesthouse to stay in, with a lovely owner, then headed straight out for some Bintangs. We went to Old Man's, the bar we'd seen the day before. It was full of surfing stereotypes and everyone was gorgeous. We got a bit pissed.

The next day we went out in search of breakfast. Everywhere seemed dead, but there had been so many people at the bar last night... People had to be somewhere! We carried on along the road away from the beach and eventually found everyone at Crate, an awesome looking cafe that only did breakfast. We ordered the 'brekkie plate' which had poached eggs, salmon, spinach and mushrooms on amazing toasted sourdough bread. We sat on the big concrete table at the front - perfect for people watching.

The eggs and salmon on toast was amazing. So were the drinks. We decided there and then that we would be coming here for breakfast everyday - it seemed like everyone in the area had also decided the same thing! As we were chilling, a girl sat down with a book. I hadn't been able to find a good book in ages, usually I could pick one up or swap one at a hostel or hotel, but it had been slim pickings at the last few places. I thought I'd chance it and ask her where she got hers, I was desperate for something/anything new to read!!!

She was called Lia-Belle and we instantly loved her. Not only did she tell me about a book shop, she also ran back to her apartment and gave me a book she'd just finished reading. We stayed around for a chat and her partner showed up. Lotte had just been surfing and had brought a tiny puppy along. Turns out they are fostering 3 puppy's whilst trying to find them a more permanent home, as stray dogs are a massive issue in Bali. Will arranged to go for a dawny with Lotte the next day and me and Lia would meet up for brekkie. 

With tomorrow sorted, we went to explore the town. We walked as far as Deus before heading back in the direction of the beach.

Once we got to the beach, Will picked up a surf board and he headed out for a surf in front of Old Man's. In the evening we headed back down to Old Man's and got rather pissed again. It was really fun sitting on stool at the end of the bar, ordering G&T after G&T and chatting away.

Will headed off for his early morning surf at Brawa beach (just south of where we were staying) whilst I had a little lie in. We all met up at Crate for another amazing breakfast, this time with all three puppies in attendance!!! I had muesli, yogurt and honey, not as amazing as the eggs but probably better for me. When Will and Lotte arrived back from the beach they had gained two more lovely Aussies, Brenton and Honey.

We initially thought we'd stay in Canggu for 2 nights, but after already extending our stay to 3 nights the day before, we again extended by one more night and booked our boat to get to Lombok. We headed out to echo beach which was busier but with lots of great bars. After a surf and a sun bathe we went to a Japanese restaurant which was literally a shack on the beach. When we were walking back we had a couple of cocktails at the Echo Beach Club, making full use of their happy hour to get half price espresso martinis to watch the sun go down.

We walked back to our beach, dropped the board off at our room, then headed up the road to Deus as there was an acoustic night on. The guy was pretty good, and did an awesome mash up of 20 songs at the end of his set (including call me maybe - so I was happy) and they were giving out free wine and snacks! We stocked up on Bintangs during the happy hour so did pretty well!

The next day Will met Lotte again for a dawn surf then we all met up for brekkie as usual shortly after. This time I opted for the French toast with strawberries, banana and honey, then chilled out at the girls' villa. It was stunning!! They had their own beautiful pool, plus the villa itself was gorgeous. The bathrooms were in the open air. The little puppies were running around the place and looked cuter than ever. We ordered takeaway lunch to be delivered AND coconuts, as they had found the owners alcohol stash, and were told they could use what they wanted. Fantastic! We set to work getting into the coconut (easier said than done) and added a liberal amount of different spirits. 

The puppies drying out in the sun after their bath.

It had been an awesome day, and at 6ish we all headed down to Old Man's for a night on the town. Honey joined us, and later on, 4 other girls from England arrived, leaving Will very outnumbered! We headed up to Deus as that is apparently THE place to go on a Sunday night. It was extremely busy, the exact opposite of the night before! There was an awesome reggae band on and the crowd were all dancing. It was a great end to our short time in Canggu, and we look forward to seeing Lotte, Lia, Honey and Brenton in Australia!!

The next morning we headed out the house at 7am for the minibus to collect us and take us to Padang Bai for the boat over to Lombok. We were sad to be leaving Canguu and the friends we've made here, but super excited to get over to Lombok where we were meeting up with my sister!!!!