Sampai Jumpa Bali, Hello Perth

Hi there, sorry for the lack of activity on here. I have been trying to make the most of my last few weeks in Bali, on top of being pretty sick with a solid round of the flu, fever and tonsilitis. Still not 100%, but feeling so much better than I was a few weeks ago!

I left Bali early Wednesday morning to go to Perth for a few days. Feels very strange to have left knowing that this time I’ll be gone for a while. I feel sad and happy, excited and scared, nervous and confident all at the same time.

There are a lot of pictures I want to share from the last weeks in Bali that I will get around to posting soon. I just need a few days to sort through them all and pick my favourites.  Preferably without becoming an emotional wreck, haha. I still get amazed at how attached you can get to a place and its people in just a few months.

In the meantime, I’ll leave you with these rooftop sunset shots I took the night I arrived in Perth. So far I am really liking the city, despite the cold haha. I only have a few days here before I head east, where work life calls and I’ll say bye-bye to lazy days.

Until next time,

Emilie x

Exploring the nusa islands

My last trip to the Nusa islands was a little, uhm what can I say, disappointing? Due to a round of not-so-nice balibelly we weren’t able to explore as much as we wanted. That is why I was even more excited to go back with Ingvild and Ellie the other week. We managed to see and do just about everything that we wanted to in the 3 nights we spent there, and have a whole bunch of tips and pictures to share with you guys. If you’re interested in reading my post from my last trip to the Nusas, you can check it out here.

Firstly, the best and most convenient way to get around is by scooter. We had a slightly hysterical/traumatising moment where both Ingvild and Ellie attempted to drive one. Both realised within a few dramatic seconds that that was not gonna happen. So instead of risking all of our lives by squeezing all three on my scooter, we opted for walking, and got a few lifts from our very lovely and helpful host.

On our first full day we did a snorkelling trip to Manta Bay, Crystal Bay and Gamat Bay. Manta Bay was definitely the highlight of the three, as we had an amazing experience snorkelling with three beautiful manta rays. At times there was less than ten centimeters separating us and the mantas, and it almost felt as though they were playing or dancing with us. Crystal Bay and Gamat Bay both had amazing, clear water and a lot of beautiful fish, but the water there was a lot colder and with pretty strong currents. Still gorgeous though.

Day two went to Nusa Penida, the bigger, less developed island of the three. We got a small fishing boat from the harbour by the bridge on Nusa Lembongan over to the harbour on Penida. Our host advised us not to pay more than 200K IDR in total one way. We ended up agreeing to 450K/return, as the guy was happy to pick us up whenever we wanted later in the day.

Once we got to Penida we hired two scooters, one that I drove with Ingvild on the back, and one with a driver and Ellie on the back. This worked out pretty well, although it did cost us a little extra. For the full day we payed 330K for both scooters and the driver. The only bad thing with the sights on Penida is that they’re a bit far away from each other, and the roads are not good, haha. You could say our bums were a little numb after 4 + hours on bumpy roads and bad scooter seats. The sights and nature was beautiful though, and most definitely worth it!

We drove to Kelingking Secret beach first, also known as the T-Rex (see above). Up there we got an absolutely stunning view of the secret beach and the surrounding T-Rex shaped cliffs. This was where I annoyingly realised that I had forgotten the memory card to my camera, so I ended up having to make do with my phone. Luckily this place is impressive enough to look good on most devices.

Next stop was Broken Beach and Billabong (see below). Nature and the strong waves here have created magnificent cliffs where the waves play around and crash up against the walls. Hard to describe, but beautiful to watch.

Apart from the above, we also explored Lembongan. The top spots to check out here are Dream Beach and Mushroom Beach (where I recommend the Margherita pizza at Hai Bar). As well as Sandy Beach (where you can get amazing tuna steak while watching the sunset) and Devil’s Tears. We also got to see many of the sights like the Blue Lagoon and Devil’s Tears while we were at sea on the snorkelling trip.

I think three days/nights at the islands is the perfect amount of time if you just want to explore a little. There are tons of boat companies that offer roundtrips including pick up and drop off at the harbour/hotel. Boats leave from Sanur and Padangbai on Bali and shouldn’t cost you more than around 4-6ooK IDR for the return (depending on where you departure from). I’ve tried Arthamas express, Scoot fast cruises and a few others but always book through  my homestay or one of the small stalls along the streets (if you book there you can sometimes bargain, although homestays normally have good rates).

As for accommodation, you can book in advance and get some great deals on fairly luxurious bungalows like Kencana Gardens or Dream Beach Cottages (highly recommend both). Or you can walk in to guesthouses that lie near the harbour/main beach and ask for available rooms on arrival. You’re bound to find something cheap here although the standard tends to be more basic. Perfect if you want easy access to the surf spots though.

And that’s about it! The Nusas are absolutely stunning and definitely worth a visit (or three, like me haha). If you go or have been, let us know what you thought.

Emilie x

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Canteen mornings

How most mornings are spent here. Sunny mornings with good coffee, good food and great company. Canteen is one of our favourites for a relaxed but really good breakfast or lunch. The atmosphere is amazing, they play great music and the people are lovely.  I normally get Deal #1 with fried eggs, chilli beans and a long black  coffee, but the hotcakes and french toast are amazing too, along with just about everything else haha. For lunch try the noodle salad or veggie burger – both are👌🏻. I’m definitely taking you here when you come Ellie!

Hope you’re having a great day! It’s rainy and grey here today so I’m spending the day  doing tedious stuff like tidying and picking up laudry… Speak soon x

NEW FEATURE: Norwegian Translation
/Slik ser de flest morgener ut her nede. Vakre soloppganger, god kaffe, bra mat og fint selskap. Canteen er en av våre favorittplasser for frokost og brunch. Her er det super avslappet stemning, bra musikk i bakgrunnen og utrolig hyggelige folk. De har hotcakes (pannekaker), french toast og bagels som er utrolig gode men min favoritt er Deal #1. Der får man fruktsalat, egg, chillibønner og en digg sort kaffe. Akkurat det en trenger for en bra start på dagen! Er du her for lunsj, bør du prøve vegetarburgeren eller noodlesalaten. Skal definitivt ta med Ellie hit når hun kommer 🙂

Håper alle har en super dag! Her regner det i dag så blir en “fikse og ordne” dag på meg. Litt klesvask og rydding, og kanskje litt mer blogging 😉  

Emilie x 

Jungle treks and unfortunate events

Written Saturday June 3rd, 7:10pm

I’m currently sat on the overnight train from Chiang Mai to Bangkok, reflecting on the week and my series of unfortunate events today. 20 minutes ago I managed to drop my phone on the bathroom floor in my hostel and smash the screen. I then managed to miss my train due to reading the arrival time as the departure time. Great job Emilie. So yeah, I had to buy a new ticket and run to the last train to Bangkok that left in a few minutes. Safe to say I’m a little flustered, and not entirely sure me and Thailand are getting along too well.
I’m not saying I don’t like Thailand, I honestly don’t think I’ve been here long enough to be able to decide that. However, this whole trip was so sudden and unplanned that my head was still very much in Bali when I got here. Anyone who loves Bali the way I do will understand when I say there’s no place really like it. I think I was expecting to love Thailand as much as I do Bali, and when I didn’t I was a little disappointed.

Regardless, I’ve done a whole load of fun things and actually really like Chiang Mai. So despite my series of unfortunate events today, and not being in awe of Thailand just yet, I’ve had a good time. I’ve included a few pictures from our trek in the jungle today, which was pretty amazing. I’ll be back later this week with more photos and a post rounding up what I’ve been up to.

Speak soon! x

Blue Lagoon on Nusa Ceningan

Hola, I’m back to make you jealous with pretty island pictures again. Sorry! Back when Agnes was with me, we did a little island hopping to Gili T, Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Ceningan. I managed to get struck by balibelly when we got to the Nusas, so the exploring wasn’t at its best. We did however see the Blue Lagoon on Ceningan, and Mushroom beach on Lembongan.

I am going to leave you with these pictures of the stunning Blue Lagoon, as that was the main event due to me feeling sick. I do not recommend walking an hour back and forth to the Blue Lagoon in the midday sun when you’ve hurt your knee and feeling sick. That is only gonna make things worse, as I experienced first hand, haha. The scenery was stunning though!

As for what I’m doing now? I just touched down in Bangkok yesterday and am spending a week here in Thailand. My camera is with me so I will make sure document what I get up to. In the mean time you can keep updated by following me (@emiliegarness) and our blog (@wearechasingcultures) on Instagram.

Ciao!

All photos taken on an iPhone 6S

Old Mans’ Saturday Market

Can never stay serious for more than two seconds when I’m in front of the camera, haha

Hey! Today has been a bit of a weird day. On top of that the weather has been overcast, humid and rainy, so it’s not been the ideal beach day. So instead we filled it with an active morning of surf and HIIT training followed by a late, long breakfast at Betelnut. We then stopped by the monthly market down on Old Mans.

The market has everything from food, arts & crafts, vintage clothes, swimwear, jewellery and cool independent brands. Me and Karoline did some very sweaty retail therapy in the humid and stuffy stalls haha, but despite the clamminess we managed to find some good pieces! The rest of the afternoon we spent  cooling off by the pool, surfing and testing the stunning Air swimsuits we both bought. We finished the day off with some real good mexican food at Taco Casa, highly recommended. 

The dress in the photos above, is one of todays’ finds and is from a local brand called Many. They have beautiful, self manufactured and hand dyed pieces, that are perfect for island living or warm summer days. All the products are lightweight and soft, yet of really nice quality fabrics. Go check them out on Instagram here or at the One Love shop on Batu Bolong here in Canggu! As for the sunset, that’s from a day with nicer weather that I just had to share.

Hope you’re having a great weekend, whatever you’re up to!

Speak soon x

Medewi Secret Surf Camp

Hey there, I’m currently using the overcast weather here in Berawa (part of Canggu) as an excuse to stay inside for a little bit and write up this post. Don’t want to sacrifice too much of the sunny days, so today is a good one. Anyway, despite how much we love the Canggu area, we’ve been pretty set on trying other places too. One of those being Medewi, a small surf village op on the North-West side of Bali. It is surrounded by stunning rice fields, Tarzan-like jungle forests, uncrowded waterfalls, and really good surf.

We stayed at Medewi Secret Surf Camp, a place we’d been recommended by some of Robin’s friends. The camp is like a homestay where we, and a few other groups, stayed in Muklis’ house. There’s no wifi, but a whole lot of friendly faces and good conversation. I can’t recommend the place enough, Muklis and his family are the friendliest and most helpful bunch! Muklis is also an amazing surfer and teacher, having surfed pro for Volcom.

Muklis Warung

Juwuk Manis Waterfall


While we were there the swell was pretty big so the waves were a little (a lot) too big for me, but the others had a go and caught some pretty epic waves. There isn’t a whole lot to do in Medewi apart from surfing, but you’ve got the sacred tree with a hole in it, beautiful waterfalls and in general stunning nature, so it’s definitely worth a visit!

Speak soon!

ISLAND LIFE: GILI TRAWANGAN

Hey there, long time no speak! I’ve realised that blogging when travelling has proven to be more challenging than I thought. In the past 3-4 weeks I’ve been moving around a lot, visiting the islands Gili Trawangan and Nusa Lembongan as well as exploring more of Bali. It has been very fun but a little tiring so blogging has not been prioritised too much. However, I think the next few weeks will be a lot calmer so I intend to put a lot more effort into Chasing Cultures.

Agnes left two weeks ago so I have been spending time with my sister, her boyfriend and their little baby Jorm since then. But before she went home, me and Agnes spent a week exploring Gili Trawangan and Nusa Lembongan, a couple of the smaller islands in between Bali and Lombok. It was my first time to Gili T and I have to admit I arrived with pretty low expectations. Having heard it was “the party island” I wasn’t super keen to begin with, but I ended up being very pleasantly surprised!

Thanks to our friend Samantha, who’s been to Gili T several times before and loves it, we had the best guide. She helped us avoid the drunk teens and tourist traps, and instead find the hidden gems. I swear you would love it Ellie. We spent our days sunbathing on white sandy beaches and snorkelling with turtles. In the evenings we went to watch the sunset from a beach bar with cocktails and dinner. We should really go together one day! For anyone else planning a trip to Gili, here are Sam’s top tips to make the most of the island:

  • Rent a bike and cycle to Le Pirate for a nice beach day. Later, head to Casa Vintage for dinner and a sunset drink.
  • Go to turtle point, rent snorkelling equipment and snorkel out from the beach on your own. Here you’ll find turtles, corals and beautiful fish without having to pay for a guide or have 30 others chasing that same turtle.
  • If you stay in a hotel or homestay you will have more peace and quiet as opposed to a hostel.  can always just head to one of the party hostels for pre-drinks instead. That way you avoid being around rowdy drinkers all day long, but still have the option to party.

I’ll leave you with that for now, but I am working on many more food reviews and posts covering visits to Medewi, Uluwatu and Nusa Lembongan, so stay tuned!

Bali Breakfast Eats: Crate Cafe

Hello hello, I’m finally back in Bali and already feel at home. The next four months are going to be amazing. But first: oh my god. I am in breakfast heaven here! I’m telling you, Crate Cafe (and all the Canggu  cafes to be fair) is freakin’ breakfast and brunch heaven. You’d love it. The breakfast bowls, the eggs, the french toast, the juices and oh the coffee. It is out of this world. If you go definitely try “The Melville”, “The Barber” or the chia pudding “Smack Ass”. Paired with an iced long black and a fresh juice and you’ve got yourself one helluva brekkie. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.

And with that I’m gonna head off to uhm.. eat some more🙈 I’ll be back soon with more Bali posts and food recommendations. In the meantime, you can keep up with my adventures on Instagram @wearechasingcultures or @emiliegarness. Speak soon!

Emilie x