Day 9 – Our final day together

Everybody was very hungover today. I somehow.. Felt fine. Must have been those noodles!

Our plan for the day would be to venture the Gili Islands and go snorkelling. Wasn’t overly bothered about this since I’m not a strong swimmer but figured I’d give it a go.

First time I’ve ever worn snorkelling gear, the flippers and goggles felt rather weird!

I spent most of the day chilling with Amanda who I’d also gone out with last night. She was very hungover and ended up being sick off the boat. It was funny because this was the second time on this one trip that she’d been sick, the first time on the coach the week before!

She wouldn’t come in the water with me as she was afraid of it being so deep which is close to how I feel. I’m actually more afraid of just big masses of open water. I decided to brave it though and get in. The goggles and flippers actually really freaked me out. I felt very overwhelmed with too many things going on so had to take them off.

It was at that moment that I realised my waterproof camera had gone wrong. The compartment with the battery in had come open which is not supposed to happen at all. I knew that meant everything would be ruined so I panicked and got out the water. I was more worried about my photos and videos than anything but it is still frustrating that my waterproof camera that is now only a year old is broken 😦 grr. But it’s okay, next year I’ll treat myself to a Go Pro! My photos and videos actually ended up being fine which is great as I want to make a montage again like I normally do for my YouTube channel.

So whilst I didn’t really do snorkelling I still saw some fish from the boat. Didn’t see a turtle like the rest of the group but I did escape being bitten by jellyfish!

After snorkelling we stopped by Gili Island Air for lunch. I figured I’d get fish with it being close to the ocean but it didn’t actually taste great to be honest..

When we got back to Gili T I had my second dilemma of the week where I wasn’t able to get any money out of my debit card. The first problem happened in Ubud where both of my debit cards were blocked due to ‘suspected fraud’ which is incredibly frustrated when they tell you that you don’t need to tell them you’re going away anymore! This time it turned out to be the first 5 ATMs I tried not allowing me to take any money out. Bare this in mind if you ever visit the Gili Islands that the cash machines won’t always work!

Managed to sort this out in time for our farewell dinner. The last time we’d have together as a group! This is where they brought out a birthday cake for me and Ali as we were both celebrating our birthdays on the trip. They also gave me a birthday card. This was sweet!

I figured we’d be having another party night so I started on the drinks. Discovered the jungle bar had Disaranno after chatting with the bar owner. He was from Toronto and I was interested in hearing what he was doing in Bali.

It actually ended up being a very disappointing night where the entire of my group went to bed early rather than celebrating the end of the tour! So rather than wasting my night I headed out alone.. Hit The Jungle Bar and went back to chat to the owner. He told me he’d worked all over the world as a chef and was asked to manage the bar in Bali, he figured rather than manage he’d just buy.. Now he’s living the cushty life where everyone on the island knows who he is.

He introduced me to all the workers on the island. They were from Australia, England and all over. Some of them had gone on holiday to Bali and just not gone home. It was this night that really got me thinking about not returning home. If I wasn’t tied into a house contract and an important job then yes.. I would stay in Bali and live out of a backpack until they kick me out.

After The Jungle Bar, me and Bryce the owner headed for The Irish Bar which was the club for that night. I ended up staying with Bryce for the night as it was good conversation and besides, id rather not spend the night on my own! I sat at the bar and by sheer luck.. The guy from the night before who I had eaten noodles with and had chats with was working behind the bar! Haha he was so happy to see me bless him.

I’m very aware that even the smallest bit of attention paid to the locals can land you in deep with them following you around. So I’m always careful to not get their hopes up that I might start giving money away. He was however, the cutest local I had met on the whole trip. He came out from behind the bar and just stood staring at me smiling. I didn’t know what to do other than just laugh as it’s funny how fascinated these guys are with you. My skin is not tanned at all and my hair is as white as snow so I can imagine it’s not really a common sight for them!

I told him he should carry on working or he’d get in trouble then he went behind the bar and made me a flower out of a napkin.. Awh.

I knew that would be the last time I would see him and it made me sad just thinking about how much of a different world it is being on the island around people that live completely different life’s to me back home. Made me not want to leave Bali at all.

So I headed back to the hotel feeling sad and stopped by the beach for one last listen to the ocean at night. I sat on the dock and just basked in the paradise for one last time.

On my way back to the hotel I stopped on the roadside to sing Bob Marley songs with the locals and their guitar before heading to bed. There was another English girl with them also singing. One moment I will never forget is hearing the guys singing Three Little Birds and replacing the lyrics ‘Singing sweet songs’ with ‘selling sweetcorn’ because that’s what there job was.. To sell corn on the roadside. I don’t know why but I found this really funny and as I laughed they all started to copy. It’s one thing I’d picked up on previously that made me laugh a lot.. When you say something such as ‘strawberry fanta’ they will repeat it in the background.. Not to you. Just in the background almost like mimicking your accent.. Haha it’s definitely a moment you had to be there for but something that will stick with me forever.