Trying Freedom

As usual on the night before I am due to leave a hotel, I spent some time looking for the next one, which by the way is entirely doable, there really is no need to worry about booking hotels way in advance it you don’t mind being slightly flexible on your budget.

I had found a place which I decided to treat myself to called Pondok Wisata Patal Kikian, I say treat myself because it’s the first time I went over the £30 budget I aim for each day, this was £70. I went for it because of the incredible views you can get of mount Agung from your room which I really wanted to get after deciding not to trek to the top because the weather is so unpredictable at the minute.

The only problem being that when I woke up and started getting ready to checkout, I noticed they still hadn’t accepted the booking and considering I rely on WiFi everywhere, I had a small panic I’d have no where to spend the night.

I was also relying on them accepting to decide if I was going to book a boat to a nearby island called Gili Air which I wanted to do the following day, however I originally planned this with Gede and needed to give him the money to book it for me so couldn’t leave the area, regardless, I decided everything would work out and there was no point in stressing so I set off for a mid way stop at Agung Silver Sidemen, another one on my wish list.

Awful photo I grant you, another one I need to get the GoPro footage out for though as I went to have a go at making my own silver jewellery, it’s an awesome experience starting with choosing from a variety of designs to use as a template and then making your own from scratch including your own engraving, I went for a ring with my name engraved.

I also realised that pretty much everywhere can organise the boat trips for you, so a very kind person called Ari helped me out and took my number, later on messaging me to say the boat was booked and I just needed to turn up. At the same time I got on their WiFi and my hotel booking had been accepted, winner.

Quick stop for lunch at Warung Ume Anyar which again was a suggested from Ari, and a good one at that, incredible views too as usual.

Then onto my treat of a hotel, again the heavens opened so I didn’t quite get the views I’d have liked, I did however get a soaked passport and even all my copies which I stored in the same pocket, genius, but the views were pretty special at dinner.

Unfortunately, plenty of cloud cover in the morning as well which slightly took away from spending the money but none the less it was a great stay and well worth the money, I’d highly recommend it.

I’d also definitely recommend a visit to Sidemen in general on your Bali travels, it’s well documented as a very underrated destination and even just going for a drive around to take in the scenery is worth it alone.