Location: Kuta, Bali, Indonesia

Do you suppose we’ll ever get tired of laying in the sun all day?

Perhaps.

BUT TODAY ISN’T THAT DAY.

We completely drenched ourselves in sunscreen since our new burns are pretty sensitive, and wandered back to Kuta Beach.

Coffee? Check.

Towels? Check.

Sunscreen? Check.

Ice cream for the fifth time in three days? Check. Are you even surprised at this point.

I laid in the sun to try and tan the parts of me that weren’t burnt (I did wear a one piece suit to cover up the worst of it), but lasted maybe 20 minutes before finding some shade and deciding I would just have to enjoy the sunshine with my eyes only. Look but don’t touch I guess!

Max on the other hand rented a surf board again and bounded into the waves. They were smaller today and a little harder to catch but he managed to ride a few back towards me. He had to wear a shirt in the water since his burn is a tad more lobstery than mine… although he still ended up burning even more.

One thing I didn’t mention yesterday is that there are locals walking all over the beach selling all manner of things. Imagine this: Some of them are carrying the usual fare like pooka shell bracelets and beer, other sell fresh fruit, some come by with coolers of ice cream or beach towels stacked high on their heads. They often stop and sit with you and stay long enough to make it awkward so maybe you’ll buy something just to make it stop. BUT TODAY. Today someone came by selling bows and arrows and blow dart tubes. Excuse me what?

WHERE ON A PUBLIC BEACH CAN YOU SHOOT ARROWS OR BLOWDARTS?!

I keep half expecting an arrow to *shunk* into the side of my chair and scare the hell out of me. I don’t understand why they thought ‘you know what tourists will buy at the beach? Weapons.’

Okay Indonesia. Okay.

Max finally burned his burn enough and was ready to head home. We were in desperate need of some aloe and I was itching to move a bit, so I went for a walk and Max went back to Cara Cara to cool off. It was awesome to walk in the backstreets a bit and see a few more ‘temple houses’ that could very well have been actual temples. People along the street were lovely and helpful and kind, and it turned into a longer walk since I was enjoying myself so much.

I was excited to get back to the hostel to drag Max back out towards a restaurant I’d found called Poppies, so we dashed back out right away for dinner. When you first walk into Poppies, you step out of a tiny dirty little alleyway, through an elaborate brick gateway, and into a lush garden. The roof is just a series of trellises with thick green vines growing all over it and down the support beams. The floor is a mix of stone and brick, and there are little ponds and mini waterfalls all artfully designed to have hidden areas for dining tables. We ordered the rice table which featured over ten different Indonesian dishes with sauces, sides and two kinds of rice. Our table was so completely full of delicious food we had no idea where to start! Little white and yellow flowers from the trellis kept falling all around us as we ate. It felt like wonderland.

We returned home, more full than I think we’ve ever been on this entire trip but with a whole new appreciation for Indonesian food (which may very well be one of my favourite cuisines now after trying so many things…).

We settled in for the night and aloe vera’d up, fingers crossed we’re in tip top shape for tomorrow!

Sav