Uluwatu and a New Tattoo

Yep, that's right, I have a new tattoo! I decided it was time for my next one. I've been looking at my wrist for a while now and thinking, something needs to go there. I was also told that getting a tattoo in Bali is pretty cheap (compared to back in London, obviously) and seeing as though yesterday was a Carpe Diem sort of day, I thought 'sod it'. So here we are, folks:


It took about 20mins and didn't hurt a single bit. As you can see, it's a feather. A symbol that holds the obvious connotations like, flight, freedom and weightlessness. It is also associated with spirituality, purity and cleansing. I believe I said it here when I explained that I used to collect feathers (I still pick them up and keep them occasionally) mainly because they reminded me of Native American culture...also the grace of birds, the magic of angels etc etc the meanings and interpretations are endless and all of the above apply.

And so, it marks my trip. A stamp on my passport to flight, freedom and weightlessness.

Before zooming over to the tat studio, grinning from ear to ear, I had something else to be very proud of yesterday, I snorkled!


A pat on the back for me. Ladies and Gentlemen, who'd have thought it? Ok, granted I didn't see too much as we were on a 'practice' kind of beach, if you like. But I did see fish and rocks; the foundation level. It would have been nice to have done it in Amed where the fish and coral come in colours that dazzle but this was a baby step. My main fear about the ocean is the unknown, the whatnots and the whossits down there and the darkness...oh the darkness. The great power of the ocean, the beauty of it and the utter destruction it could cause. Being able to swim with my head beneath the surface and breathe at the same time was wonderful and of course, being able to see exactly what was down there, appeased me just a tad.

Now that I've snorkled and have gotten on a boat to go dolphin-spotting doesn't mean that I'm now in love with sea life and will spend weeks sailing across the seas, but my mini breakthrough is something I sure am proud of. At first, I was yelping like a wuss as we went deeper and further out and when something tickled my foot I promptly swam back the other way until I could see sand again. But I did it, and that's what counts, right? Go me.

Before our afternoon at the beach, we made a quick trip to Tirtagangga, the royalty owned water palace, about fifteen minutes from Candidasa. It's quite pretty indeed:


Although the experience was made a little awkward by a group of random strangers who asked their guide to take a photo of them with us...why?! Even more awkward when it became an order rather than a request; we were shoved over towards a tree and made to squish together and smile. No conversation, no extra exchange. They said 'thank you' and swiftly left.

And just to throw it in for good measure, on Monday we went to Uluwatu, a temple and beach on the southwest coast. It gives a remarkable view of the Indian Ocean:


If I headed in this direction, I'd end up in Mauritius....could say 'hello' to my nana.

Yet again, there were monkeys everywhere in this temple but these ones seem to go straight for ciggies and cameras so I kept both safely zipped up in my bag. We looked very fetching in our sarongs (mandatory attire in an Indonesian temple)...an extra layer of clothing in this heat is unbearable so we didn't dawdle. We pretty much just came for the view. Apparantly this is the place to be to catch a gorgeous sunset...I may not make it here again for sundown but I can live with that.


So one week left, and I'm pretty chuffed about my victorious couple of days (although a slight fail with the motorbike which I did give a tiny bit of a go - it's definitely not for me).

Can I have my Blue Peter badge now?