Welcome to Uluwatu

Nothing says 'Welcome to Asia' like being dropped in the middle of nowhere with a 15kg backpack to navigate through sand, reefs and rock pools in pitch black darkness and 30*C heat. After forty minutes and countless falls, I was delighted to finally stumble upon Nyoman hostel but less so, to find it completely locked up. Despite booking months ago and re-confirming my late arrival to Bali the previous day, it seemed the owner had neither waited around to let me in, nor prepared me a room. 

Thankfully this was not my first time to Asia and so I knew what to expect in that I should expect absolutely nothing. As much as I adore this part of the world, there's simply no argument for it being anything short of useless in terms of organisation. Instead of despairing I drew in a deep breath of the Asian sea air and went in search of the closest hostel which might still be open. The Hostel Owner at Rocky's was incredibly kind and whilst he regretted to inform me there was no room at his inn, he promised to call around and see what he could do. 

In the meantime, I met some Kiwis on the terrace bar who invited me to join them for a bintang. Tanned, tattooed and with a vocabulary which stretched no further than 'chill' and 'relax', they were one acoustic guitar away from fitting the perfect wanker backpacker stereotype. On the other hand, one had just offered to give up his room for the night and sleep in a hammock so by the end of the conversation I wanted to both kiss him and whack him over the head with a flip flop. 

In the end I did neither as the Hostel Owner came bounding over with a beaming smile to announce that his Aunt had a spare room a little way up the hill. Along with the Hero Kiwi who'd scooped up my heavy backpack, I followed the Hero Hostel Owner and his flashlight up to my room. 

It was basic as hell but it had wifi which meant I could finally get in contact with the other girls who'd arrived the previous day. For my first night in Uluwatu I was staying alone because by the time I'd made up my mind to join them, their hotel was fully booked. Thankfully though it turned out to be no more than a hundred metres away so within minutes they were all four at my door and marching me even further back up the hill to their luxurious crib. Though rather late by this point, we still found time to catch up over cheese, red wine and Australian Tim Tams on the veranda. Of all the heroes who helped me that evening, my friends remained my favourite.

A little after midnight, I climbed into bed with the hope that the sounds of the crashing waves might soothe me to sleep. Perhaps they would have, were it not for the fact that they were also making me extremely thirsty. With only a drop of water left on my bedside I embarked on a 3am mission to find a single person still awake in the surrounding area. Of course I failed, but I did find an open fridge so left a 5,000 rupiah note and returned to my room with the satisfaction of knowing I'd survive until morning. 

Despite my rather sleepless night, I woke up in the best of moods. Daylight shone brightly through the window and a soft sea breeze seeped in through the cracks in my little shack. It felt good to be back. 

At 8 o'clock I met Stephanie for a morning yoga session at the Cashew Tree. We were joined by just three other yogis and a mutt called Mocha who'd truly mastered the downward dog. The sequence was simple compared to my classes back in London but focused far more on relaxing the mind which was wonderfully refreshing - this was a holiday after all. 

Following a quick cold shower, we met the other girls back at their hotel. In the daylight I could truly appreciate just how stunning this place is. Their bungalows overlooked a small infinity pool which in turn overlooked the wide open sea. The tide was so high that the rocks I'd been walking along late last night were lost beneath swirling waves. Everything was so blue at this point it was difficult to differentiate between the pool, the sea and the sky. 

Extremely content, we sunbathed until mid-afternoon and then jumped into a taxi which took us to a bar called Single Fin. It's a popular spot to watch the beautiful sunset and becomes lively later on in the evening but after a couple of cocktails and a delicious Indonesian dinner, we called it a day. The next morning we had to be up at 6am to head to Gili T which we all agreed, was worth saving ourselves for!