Indonesia 2019 | www.hollylacey.com

INDONESIA

Java

Java was a place like no other. It felt completely different to the western world.

My original motive for coming here was to teach English but it soon became a place full of adventure and joy.

I stayed with the surf camp Moji Surf in their Red Island location. Here they taught me how to surf which I have to admit I wasn't the greatest at!

Whilst in Java, I took a long-tail boat ride to the 'secret beach' a location shared with us by the locals. They wanted to keep it a secret from tourists and I could see why.

The beach was stunning, white sands and crystal clear water, so I don't blame them!

On the Island, I took two long trips out to two active volcanos; Mt Ijen and Mt Bromo.

To experience the sunrise at Mt Ijen, I started the trek to the volcano summit at 1am which was tiring to say the least. Once at the top of the volcano, a guide navigated us down a precarious path into the crater to see the Blue Fire/Lava.

Thinking back it was quite an idiotic and dangerous thing Ito do, but it was so memorable and quite incredible to actually visit the center of the earth!! ' The sunrise didn't disappoint either.

Mt Bromo, was a little more relaxing as we took a vintage 4x4 to the top of the volcano to watch the sunrise. What surprised me was that there was actually ice on the ground at the top!!.

Whilst traveling around the Island, I had the opportunity to visit coffee plantations to discover how coffee is made, and also visited rice fields.

Sukamde Turtle Sanctuary was an experience I will never forget. I witnessed in the early hours of the morning, a mother turtle lay 148 eggs.

When the sun rose, I even helped to release a few baby turtles into the ocean.

This was one incredible experience,!!

During my stay a 5.8 earthquake hit Java.

It was scary as I was in the middle of the jungle with no cell service, but luckily no one was hurt.

This was normal thing to the locals who were quite blasé about the whole thing

Java was beyond incredible, and a place that holds memories I'll never forget.

Bali & Gili Trawangan

Bali was everything I dreamed of and more.

When visiting the popular town of Ubud, I spent time at the Tegallalang rice terrace

where I swung over the abyss.

It was cool to see the rice fields below from a different perspective.

I also visited the Tegenungan Waterfall, a beautiful waterfall to see and experience.

I could not get over how many bird nests there were in Ubud and the whole of Bali.

Definitely a cool place for a photo op.

Goa Gajah (Elephant Cave), a selection of temples, and the Ubud Monkey Forest were some of the other locations I visited.

Gilli Trawangan was another paradise Island.

The surroundings reminded me of Phi Phi, however, it was a lot smaller

I stayed at the Pearl of Trawangan, a fabulous hotel for relaxation and just

a five-minute walk to the part of the island that held the restaurants and shops.

Sunrise Yoga on the beach was something that I really enjoyed doing!

I found my love for scuba diving on this island, managing, 17m underwater.

I saw the coral reef, wreckage like a treasure chest, and even swam next to a sea turtle. This was one of the best experiences of my life.

My only regret is that I didn't have my underwater camera with me to capture this underwater paradise.

I definitely want to return and dive again to earn a PADI diving certificate.