My Holiday

This holiday was quite different to my usual trips.
I had planned to go to RailsCamp - a programming retreat on the beach in Perth, but that very same weekend, my yoga class was running a yoga retreat in Bali that I really wanted to attend as well!
So after talking with my boss to get annual leave and return flights to and from Perth for RailsCamp approved and also talking to my yoga instructor about booking in just the second half of the yoga retreat, I booked myself return flights from Perth to Bali and I was set for about two weeks!

My trip went something like this:

• Fly to Perth
• RailsCamp
• Fly to Bali
• Yoga retreat
• A few extra days in Bali for myself
• Fly back to Perth
• Spend some time with family
• Fly home

This holiday included programming, beaches, yoga, relaxation, photography, touristy stuff and some family time - a very diverse holiday!
As great as RailCamp and catching up with my family was, this blog will just cover my stay in Bali.
You can also find my photos on Flickr.

Day 1 - Introduction to Bali

I arrived in Bali fairly late, but luckily I had a transfer from the airport to the hotel already organised.
Once we got off the plane we caught a (very packed) bus from the tarmac to the terminal and made our way through customs.
Once outside, the first thing you notice is the humidity and lots of people - except the majority of the people there are taxi drivers!
I eventually found the guy holding the sign with my name on it, but even while I was following him I was still being offered taxi rides from all the other drivers!
I arrived at the hotel, checked in and the staff carried my bags to my room and gave me the keys.

Day 2 - Mount Batur, Coffee Plantation and Volcanic Holy Springs

After a much better sleep than the night before, I was up in time for the morning yoga session today.
Morning yoga here is great, its still very warm but nowhere near as hot as during the afternoon, which made these sessions a really great way to start the day.
Today at breakfast we spoke about going on a tour, so we booked a couple vans to pick us up from the hotel later that day.

Day 3 - Relaxation

Today was a day of relaxation.
We had our last morning yoga session and breakfast as a group before everyone said their goodbyes and headed their separate ways.
As everyone was packing there things and getting ready to go, I went for a swim and then had my first massage here in Bali.
As part of the package we get two treatments included, but because it also included a cooking class that I unfortunately missed out on, so I ended up getting an extra treatment instead.

Day 4 - Monkey Forest and Tanah Lot

Yesterday I spoke to a tour organizer about going snorkeling and it seems like there are three good options: The Gilli Islands (best), Blue Lagoon at Padang Bai (good) and Amed (also good).
The tour lady has return tours to The Gilli Islands for about $120 Australian Dollars, but they leave quite early in the morning and I had already organised a massage for 11:00am, so I would have missed it by then.
After breakfast I spoke to the hotel staff about going snorkeling, they suggested Amed, but weren't quite as helpful as I was expecting - I think I just got a staff member who didn't know too much about the tourism or just wasn't a confident English speaker, because our last tour seemed very easy to organise!

Day 5 - Snorkeling, Traditional Village and Mount Agung

Today Wayan was taking me to a beach called "Blue Lagoon" in Padangbai to go snorkeling.
It was going to take a little over an hour to get there, so Wayan also made some suggestions for places to see while we were out that way.
I met Suzy at breakfast and we met up with Wayan at 9:00am to start our adventure.

Day 6 - Farewell Bali

My holiday in Bali was sadly coming to a close.
Unfortunately the sunburn from yesterdays snorkelling prevented me from having the greatest night sleep so I was fairly sleepy today.
Luckily there wasn't much on the agenda. The goals for today were to pack, check out, get lunch, have a massage and slowly make my way to the airport - what a tough day!