Bye bye beautiful Canggu, hello Ubud

02/04/2019

A wonderful week in Canggu and thus also the first week of our trip is over and it feels as if we have been on the road for much longer.

Canggu was the perfect start for us. Relaxing, surfing, collecting first hostel experiences, plenty of Bintang (Indonesian beer), and lots of good food, all of this perfectly describes our first week.

After not having really good experiences (not even worth mentioning) with our second accommodation, the Surfing Nomads, we decided to move to Mojo Surf Camp (hostel) after only one night in the guesthouse. That was definitely the best decision. The hostel usually offers complete travel packages, which include surfing, food, surf photos, etc. However, you can also just book a night there and organize the rest yourself (4 girls room/dorm, €13 per night including breakfast).

In the hostel, we met a lot of nice people from all over the world. Finland, Sweden, Canada, Norway, England, Switzerland, Brazil, Chile, USA. Almost every nationality was represented. We particularly liked Emily from Oregon, Angi from Stockholm, Michael from South Africa, and Omar from Chile, who currently lives in Brazil. We often went out as a group in the evenings and during the day and we all left the hostel at the same time and went in different directions.

We also wanted to give surfing a second chance. So on Friday at 07:00, we got up, had a quick breakfast, and went to the beach together with Angi, where we each got a surf instructor right away at the first beach. After about 15 minutes of dry exercises on the beach, we went into the water for two hours. With a personal guide who supports you when paddling out, pushes you onto the wave at the right moment, and saves you the embarrassment when getting out of the water, it was sooo much fun. I actually stood up on the second wave and all the following ones :)!!! However, afterwards we were all pretty exhausted and the muscle soreness made itself felt.

After this second successful attempt, I am so excited to get better and learn more that I booked a surf camp for the end of February, also with Mojo, on the neighboring island of Java, Red Island. There I will have six days of surf training, professional surf photos, surf theory, delicious food, and secluded beaches. I'm really looking forward to it :)!!! Johanna will probably continue to Borneo, so our paths will separate in about three weeks, and everyone will have some time for themselves before the boys arrive.

So, that was a 'short' summary of Canggu, we love it :)!

Today (Monday, 02/04), we continued to the highlands of Ubud with our driver Putu. Ubud in Bali is the cultural and artistic center of the island, surrounded by temples and rice terraces. Emily recommended the Puri Garden Hotel & Hostel to us. Currently, we are still waiting for our room/beds. However, from what we have seen of the hostel so far, it looks fantastic.

We will stay in Ubud until Friday and we have a lot planned for our time here. Among other things, we want to see the rice terraces, hot springs, and traditional temples. A hike up Mount Batur for sunrise is also on the agenda.

I will definitely report back to you soon!

Love you all,

Lisl

PS: For those who haven't seen it yet, the photos have captions indicating who or what is shown, or where they were taken