It was our last morning in Seminyak today! Jamie and I woke up early, took our time eating a delicious breakfast at TS Suites, and then went back to our room to organize and pack our backpacks. It felt so nice to be able to nest a bit, even if it was only for four days. It felt nice to not live out of your backpack.
Our check out time wasn’t until 2pm, but we had to have everything ready and packed becuse at 9:45am we were meeting Jamie’s brother Scott, and his friend Chris (both will be traveling the same route as Jamie and I for the next weekend a half or so) to go surfing!
I have NEVER been surfing before in my life. The only other water sport I have ever done was scuba dive (which happened in lakes and pools…definitely not in the ocean). And swimming…in a pool…or pond.
We took a taxi to legion beach, a 10 minute drive from our hotel. BY THE WAY! Something good to know if you ever travel to Bali. The taxi’s here are very different than in Japan. You never have to worry about getting scammed in Japan when you take a taxi. It is almost like it’s against their culture and family’s honor if they ever did that. Bali on the other hand…They will cheat you out of thousands of rupiah. For an example, you should make sure their meter is always running. If they don’t have a meter ask their price offer. You should never pay over 50,000 rupiah to go anywhere in Seminyak. And you have to be stern. For example, last night one taxi driver offered Jamie and I 100,000 rupiah for a 15 minute ride. We both laughed out loud and said we’ed never pay anything over 30,000 rupiah and started walking away. He said, “WAIT! 30,000 I’ll do for you ladies.”
Our surf lession was from 10-12pm with one of Scott’s friends who would be our surfing instructor! His name was Chandra. The first 30 minutes of the lesson was done on our boards in the sand. He taught us how to properly paddle with our arms, stand up and balance. After that, we all headed out into the water with our surfboards. The waves were relatively big for beginners, but a fun challenge. The water was so warm! I forgot how it felt to be in the ocean But then again I’ve never been in salt water that warm and inviting before. Fighting against the waves with your body and your board out from shore to get to a good surf spot was a workout in itself. Chandra and his younger brother Johnny helped guide us pretty much the first whole hour we were in the water. They’d spot a wave coming in, tell us to hop on our boards, paddle, and then stand at the appropriate time.
The first couple times I fell, but the third time I rode the wave all the way to shore!!! Ahh, the feeling was so incredible! It was so addicting too! We only took a small break for about 5 minutes, had coconut water, and then we went back out. We even took my GoPro and Chandra got a few sweet clips of us catching our own waves!
When we asked him what time it was he looked at his watch and said, “1:15pm.” We went over our time by an hour and 15 minutes! AND Jamie and I had to check out of our hotel by 2pm. We rushed back, rinsed the salt water and sand off our sore bodies, and checked out by 1:57pm. Not bad for a couple of girls. 💪
Scott and Chris met us at 2:30pm and all four of us split a taxi to Ubud. Ubud is in the uplands of Bali. Beauty just overcomes Ubud. Lots of rice fields, and not as hectic as Kuta and Seminyak.
The guys booked a place more in the central part of Ubud, whereas Jamie and I were staying in a small villa 15 minutes by scooter from downtown. It is such a secluded area that our taxi driver couldn’t even drive to the villa, so Jamie and I walked a quarter of a mile with our backpacks to where we were staying. Our host met us and helped us with our luggage. His name is Made. Him and his son run the villa for people to stay in all year round.
After we settled in Jamie and I walked a little over .5 mile to dinner, a quaint place called Yellow Flower Cafe. The food was very fresh. I got Kombucha which was so delicious. And our food! I don’t know if we were just hungry or what, but the food was immaculate! We could have eaten there all night long.
With tummy’s satisfied and tired bodies, it’s now time for bed.
Melissa's Globe-Trotting Adventures 
I have been so incredibly thankful that the Lord is blessing you with new and wonderful experiences each day! Thank you Lord for answering prayers! Be safe and keep writing can’t wait for the children’s book ! Love you!