Day 75-81

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Day 75
Today I decided to actually do something so I joined the group trip to Borobuda the biggest Buddhist temple in the world. It was a 90 minute drive that turned into a 3hour trip due to volcanic ash from Mount Merapi built up in the rivers that burst the banks and blocked the roads. Well we eventually arrived and after some free water we set off on our guided tour. We weren’t allowed to climb the actual temple due to a clean up operation to remove the volcanic ash so we walked round it instead. Again going to sound really ungrateful but didn’t seem anything special or even particularly big! But glad I saw it! After about an hour and a half and battling through about 50 locals flogging crap in a very persistent way we set off back to the hotel. A swim and late lunch followed by another trip to the supermarket for bus supplies and donuts. Very tired by this point so an early night ready for our early start the next day.

Day 76
We left at 6.30am for the long drive to the village of Cemorolawang 3km from the currently erupting volcano Mt Bromo. We arrived about 6pm driving the last 45mins in mini buses as the coach couldn’t get up the steep hills. Hotel was nice but reminded me of a ski chalet as did the temperature it had gone from hot and humid to cold due to the height we were at of 2300m. So I bought a nice woolly hat from one of the sellers outside the hotel. We had a free group meal provided for us as well as a local singer who was pretty good. Very tired and starting to get another cold so an early night.

Day 77
Woke up about 3am and after dressing in loads of layers and my new hat set off in a jeep up an inactive volcano to watch sunrise and the erupting Mt Bromo. We arrived at 2700m and the top of the mountain after about an hour and after waiting about half an hour for the clouds to blow away we eventually got a pretty decent view of the volcano and all the ash billowing out. Mt Bromo hasn’t erupted for 5 years and not as big as this for 10 years so we were very lucky to see it. Bromo isn’t a lava flowing type of volcano just ash and smoke and rocks but the risk factor had recently been downgraded so it was safe to be near! After about an hour watching the volcano and admiring the view I decided to join a few others and be healthy and walk down the mountain back to the hotel. We were lead by a local guide and a village dog that decided it wanted to join us! We arrived back at the hotel about 8.30am just in time for breakfast of rice, scrambled egg, toast and fruit after this was full and knackered so back to bed for a few hours. Was really not feeling good and my sinuses were screwed and after you’ve seen the volcano to be honest there isn’t much else to do! The cloud had once again rolled in and the rain had started So after a quick wander round the village and some lunch I chilled out in the hotel restaurant and got very very bored! Feeling like crap I decided bed was the only option so that’s what I did at the pathetic time of 7.30pm!

Day 78
We were leaving at 6am again for the beach resort of Kuta on the island of Bali. I had slept really badly and been pretty much wide awake since 1am so not the best of days. It was a long drive involving a quick ferry ride over to the other island and another long drive to the resort. After switching again from the coach onto another set of mini buses and saying goodbye to our indonesian drivers we drove to our hotel. A nice place set back from the main strip with a nice pool area. We were all pretty tired so a quick meal and a drink before an early night.

Day 79
To be honest can't really remember what I did in Bali as it was ages ago from when I am typing this but think on this day I went to put a whole load of washing in and then went for a wander on the beach. Bali and particularly the resort of Kuta is a bit like a malia for aussies so there are a load of stalls flogging the same stuff and rip offs in an extremely annoying way and a lot of arrogant, drunk, blonde aussie surfer guys who all look the same and act like twats. Anyway beach was really nice apart from being asked if I wanted a sunbed or surf lesson every 30 seconds. After the beach and a wander through the town we headed bcak to the hotel for a swim and a chill our before getting ready for a big night out. First stop was a bar where for fairly cheap you get unlimited heineken for 2hours...bargain! and I clearly made use of this! After that we found another bar further down the road where after a quiet start we soon caused chaos by dancing like idiots after this and I think lots of vodka redbull I don't really remember much but Good times!

Day 80
Woke feeling not too bad and after a swim and breakfast went back to bed to chill out for a while and have a nap. In the afternoon went for a wander back through town and lunch with the girls. Afternoon spent by the pool relaxing before heading out for a quiet meal. Or so I thought...turned into a pretty late night at the same heineken place with fellow alcoholic Anna!

Day 81
Went down to the beach in the late morning to watch the boys have a surf lesson and a swim in the sea. Decided to get a sunbed just to stop the hassle but were still bombarded by locals selling fruit, drinks, sarongs, ice cream, paintings, tops and most bizzarely a bow and arrow set! After a really nice lunch we headed back to the hotel for a swim before packing up our things and having a shower etc before our late flight to Darwin. There was a free group buffet meal provided by the hotel which was lovely so after stuffing our faces we made our way to the airport. After a quick check in and hanging around the airport for a while avoiding duty free ( 80USD for a small bottle of perfume!!!!!) we got on our flight to Australia!!!

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