Savannah & Abby's Adventures in Bali
After a productive two weeks in Java, we were excited to head to Bali for a few days of relaxing by the beach before traveling back to San Francisco to start our internships. Thankfully, Alex had picked out a beautiful Moroccan style villa for the girls (+ Alex’s partner Adam) to stay in Uluwatu. The villa was well situated near Padeng Padeng beach, along a long strip of hip cafes, shops, and spas. The first night, Abby and Sav hurried down to the beach just in time to catch the beautiful Balinesian sunset. Sitting on the beach that night, I (Savannah) felt so at peace and happy with both what I had accomplished during IBD and what was ahead for the next few days in Bali.
Over the next few days, we explored Uluwatu where the café scene is unmatched. You can find a great cup of coffee (with plant milk!), a colorful smoothie bowl, or a beautiful stack of pancakes on almost every corner. Beyond the cafes, a key highlight for Savannah was getting a Balinese massage to relax and reset.
We decided to take a day trip to Canggu, a nearby town, by boat. We figured the 40 minute boat ride was preferable to the 2 hour car ride. What we didn't realize is that we were signing up for a full-on 40 minute front-row splash zone experience. Two minutes in we were already soaked to the bone. Luckily it was warm, and in true testament to our team's culture of positivity, we played 20 questions to pass the time and laugh off the ridiculousness of our very wet boat ride experience! In Canggu, we found great linen clothing and Abby showed off her bargaining prowess to secure a deck of cards. Abby loved getting the chance to surf here in the warm waters with easy, small rolling waves. She found a "Tiny wave surf club" t-shirt, which is her new favorite! We came back to our home villa (took the boat back - this time claiming the sole dry spot on the boat) and I (Abby) also got an extra ear piercing at the cutest piercing studio I've ever seen - partially inspired by the positive trip and sense of ease and confidence that Bali inspired.
Overall, we're both so grateful to have had the chance to visit Bali and grow closer to each other before heading home ready to conquer the summer.
DJ's time in the Philippines
I have always been interested in going on a solo adventure to explore a new country on my own time, but always backed out worrying that I would not enjoy being alone while traveling. IBD allowed me to push myself out of my comfort zone and finally book my first solo adventure to Cebu, Philippines!
Day 1 - Swimming with Turtles and Canyoneering
Since I only had 3 full days in Cebu, I wanted to maximize my time there and departed at 3 am on my first day for a snorkeling / canyoneering tour. I got to swim with giant sea turtles and jump off of tall cliffs into a water filled canyon.
Perhaps the best part of it was that I met a lovely Filipino family on my tour and had an incredible time learning more about them!
Day 2 - Missed Whale Shark Encounter
The second day was another early start with leaving the hotel at 2:30 am to swim with Whale Sharks. Unfortunately, after a 3.5 hour drive to the city of Oslob, I found out that the coast guard had shut off the coast due to a Typhoon warning, and that I would not be able to get my encounter with the Whale Sharks.
With slight disappointment, I continued on to visit Tumalog Falls (a local waterfall in Oslob), and ended the day with gratitude for my trip by visiting a church of St. Mary.
Day 3 - Navigating the City
For my last day in Cebu I decided to take a leisurely start from the hotel at 11 am, and navigate the city by going to various historical sights and museums: Sirao botanical gardens, the Temple of Leah, and the museum of emotions.
After a busy 3 days of exploring all that Cebu has to offer, I could not be more grateful for getting this opportunity to embark on this solo adventure. I definitely think that there will likely be more solo-trips in my future!
Alex's Adventures in Bali and Bangkok
After 2 productive weeks hard at work with Dagangan, Savannah, Abby and I headed to Bali for a few days of adventure and relaxation! My partner Adam met up with us in Bali, as we had planned to stay in Asia for a week after IBD to celebrate by 30th Birthday! Savannah, Abby and I flew from Yogyakarta to Bali, and got to a beautiful villa in Uluwatu. In Uluwatu, we enjoyed the local beach (Padang Padang) for some surfing, beautiful ocean views and sunsets.
After two days in Uluwatu, Adam and I headed to Ubud, for a few days exploring the mountains and the rice fields. For the first day, we were off to an early rise, and left our hotel at 2:30 AM to climb Mt. Batur, the nearby volcano. Watching the sunrise on top of Mt. Batur was more than worth the two hours of hiking in the dark for almost 2000 meters!
Later that day we visited a coffee plantation were we tried Kopi Luwak (coffee eaten and pooped by Luwak animals), rice fields and a beautiful Hindu temple! We were tired but happy that we got to see so much of Bali just in one day.
On day 2 in Ubud, we set off early again, we left the hotel at 5:30 AM to take a boat to Nusa Penida for the day. After almost 3 hours of travelling, we finally got to the first beach in Nusa Penida: Angel´s Billabong and Broken Beach. We took some pictures in the natural infinity pool and then set to the next beach on our list: Klingking. Klingking is probably the most beautiful beach I have ever seen! Well worth the long travel day. After lunch, we set off back to our hotel, after yet another exhausting but amazing day!
On day 3 in Ubud: June 1st we stayed and relaxed at our hotel, taking advantage of a free yoga class and foot massage. At lunch time we set off to the airport where we´d take a flight to Bangkok, to visit our friend Pam, also a Haasie 24 and a Bangkok native! We´re excited to explore Bangkok with Pam over the next two days, exploring temples, floating markets and delicious Thai food. After being gone for nearly 3 weeks I am also looking forward to returning home to California and starting my internship at Google next Monday!