Wrapping up the trip

The last month of Bali absolutely flew by. It felt like we were there for all of 10 days.

We spent a lot of our time laying low and just enjoying the day to day life in Canggu.

Going to the beach to grab lunch with a view of the ocean, enjoying nights out at Old Man’s and Sand Bar (most times followed by grabbing 20k IDR ($1.30 USD) street corn), and shopping for Christmas gifts at little stands lining the street to the beach.

At the beginning of our last month there we took one last mini trip to Nusa Penida, an island just off the east coast of Bali.

Bryce drove us the hour on the moped to Sanur, which is where the port our speed boat to Nusa Penida was leaving from.

It was a relatively smooth hour-long ride to the island and a short three minute walk to our villa from the port.

The first day we walked around, got some food and cooled down in the pool just outside our room.

The second day was when we did most of our exploring.

We hired a driver, whose name was Wayan, and he drove us around to all the sights on the island. We opted for a driver instead of renting a moped because the roads there are not maintained and the blogs we read suggested against driving yourself around.

We left at nine in the morning and our first stop was Kelingking Beach. The most popular sight-seeing location on the island. It is a beautiful, jaw-dropping cliff that is nicknamed Cap de T-Rex after its dinosaur-like shape.

Bryce and I hiked down the steep staircase about ¾ of the way, took in the view and captured some pictures.

In my opinion, it was the most stunning view we saw in Bali.

Next we went to another cliff, Paluang Cliff, which is just off to the left of Kelingking, where you can see Cap de T-Rex from a second angle, further away.

Wayan took more pictures of Bryce and I overlooking the ocean and cliffs.

At this location there were many places that were made for photo ops; the bow of a wooden boat hanging over the cliff, a large hand statue/chair, a woven oval chair, a large bird's nest and one or two more I can’t remember.

It was obvious that the locals were trying to capitalize on people’s obsession with getting the perfect picture for social media, charging money for a photo on the largest prop there.

It definitely seemed like Wayan thought that was our main priority as well because he moved us from place to place, just posing and taking pictures of us at every look out.

Which was nice in the beginning but over time it definitely started to feel more like a photoshoot than sight-seeing.

Moving right along, we went to our next location which was Angel Billabong. This is a natural infinity pool with crystal clear water surrounded by cliffs on three sides. We hung out here for a little bit before walking to the nearby Broken Beach.

Broken Beach is a circular cove with an arch carved out of one side by years and years of erosion. The 360 degree cliff surrounding Broken Beach ranges from 100-200 feet tall.

The view of the beach below is crazy as you get to walk around the entire area to see it from every angle.

On the side closest to the ocean Wayan pointed out a manta ray swimming along the top of the water. He told us that there is a bay nearby that the manta rays like to hang out at.

Wayan told us that when he was there the day before, a tourist fell down onto the beach from the top, while doing a flip for a picture. Unprompted, he showed us a video of the man laying there with obviously broken legs. You aren't allowed to go to the beach there because it is terribly dangerous to get to/swim in so it took a rescue crew hours to get to him. We looked up articles about the situation a couple days later and the man surprisingly and luckily survived.

The last stop of the day was Crystal Bay Beach. I lounged on the beach while Bryce enjoyed the water and waves. It was a cloudy day but the view was still pretty. An island filled with cliffs and trees was not far out from the beach and boats were anchored everywhere.

We relaxed there for a while then stopped at one of the warungs (local restaurants) on the beach.

Bryce had chicken and rice and I had chicken and noodles while we talked about the day so far.

After we ate, Wayan brought us back to our villa.

When we got dropped off we tipped him 150k IDR, which is just under $10 USD.

His jaw dropped when he saw what we tipped him and he repeatedly told us he couldn't take it.

When he finally accepted the money there were tears in his eyes and he expressed how much it meant and how greatly it will help put food on the table for him and his family.

That really touched Bryce and I’s hearts.

He hugged us then left Bryce and I there in awe of how we just helped Wayan and his family so much.

It was our last night in Nusa Penida, we walked to get dinner, got ice cream cones from the grocery store and watched some TV in our villa.

In the morning, we grabbed breakfast, got on the speedboat and made our way back to the main island.

Arguably the cutest and most bittersweet part of the whole trip was the dogs that lived at the last AirBnb with us.

The first one we met was a light brown medium sized stray we named Tony.

Tony, of course, named after our favorite pizza place in Bali.

Next came a smaller black and brown stray we named Tony Jr.

Clever, right?

After about a week of earning their trust with dog treats we may or may not have fed them everytime they scratched on our door, Tony Jr. rolled over for a belly rub and we learned Tony Jr. was a girl.

Naturally, she became Tonita.

They would scratch on our door all hours of the day and night.

As you can imagine we went through treats quickly.

There were many times we would step out onto our porch and they would be there sleeping. It was so cute.

The dogs quickly stole our hearts and it was one of the hardest parts about leaving Bali because we just knew they'd be scratching on a door we weren't on the other side of anymore.

When we left the AirBnb, the manager there, another Wayan, told us he noticed the dogs were always hanging by our room and they would miss us.

I told him we were going to miss them too.

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Our day to day lives in Bali consisted of work and school, hanging at the AirBnb, driving to the beach, restaurants and grocery stores. Towards the end of the trip, going out to bars became a more regular occurrence as we were determined to make the most of our last week there.

Old Man’s and Sand Bar was our go-to night-out combo.

Old Man’s was under renovation while we were in Thailand and when we came back it had doubled in size. The side that was previously the main dance floor and bar area became a more relaxed side and 20 feet away was an entire new area where the party moved to.

Sand Bar is next door and is simply a bar and DJ right on the beach. Sand Bar played way better music but the party didn’t move there until 1am so you have to start the night at Old Man’s.

One of the last nights we switched it up and went to Finns, which is a huge pool party day club overlooking the ocean.

Bryce went the last time he was in Bali and wanted to show me what it was about. We ordered some food there and watched everyone on the dance floor and in the pools. It definitely seems like a fun place to spend the day hanging in the pool with a drink in hand.

Our last real night in Bali we went to kickboxing and MMA fights put on by SOMA Fight Club. It was definitely more legit fighting than the last Muay Thai fights we went to. It was a blast and the talent was obvious.

After the fights we went to Old Man’s for a bit, got some street corn and called it a night.

The last three months, traveling and exploring Bali and Thailand together, have easily been the best of our lives.

We have made an incredible amount of memories that will last a lifetime and learned a lot about other places and cultures around the world.

It was sad to see it come to an end but we know we will be traveling again.