The End

So basically this is it. Hoad's blog finished. I am now in Ko Phnangan, Thailand spending my last days on a beautiful white sand beach, doing a couple of hours yoga a day, lots of swimming and eating the best Thai food ever before I head back home.

Yesterday the sun had a ring around it which was a little weird but after numerous conversations with my fellow beachites I think it can be put down to the full moon on the 20th. The girls, Carys and Laura, are from Hackney ... such a small world.

Finally I just wanted to say a few big thank yous which I know sounds all very awards ceremony-like but I really do so .... to Emma for sorting out my mortgage - no mean feat and I am sorry it was so stressful but also for the most useful going away present - namely the pink whistle which I have of course used every single day of the trip ... ; Tobes for looking after Hoad stuff and for the incredible NYC eyemask that has been the envy of many fellow travellers - I cannot wait to see you, Lina and the Gloop; Jessie for looking after the flat - I hope it has behaved itself as well as I know Tabby will have; Emilie for showing me how to set up and keep up the blog and for the incredible bag of skin goodies; Gill and Tim for looking after my shoes, the incredible Himalaya defying socks and earplugs (I have one left and am keeping it for you to marvel at); Joris for advising me on downloading photos in the early days; Dan, Resh, Irene, Tobes, Tom, Gill, Fleur, Joris, Ben, Tanya, Emilie and Heath for buying me the Ipod - invaluable but just pipped to the post by the ever so useful pink whistle; Irene for the adapter and for being 'Renie; Ben and Tanya for the Point It book which has provided endless amusement to everyone I have shown it to; Elke for the bronzing powder so I can keep the dream alive for a little longer; Dan & Loo for introducing me to Elliott Smith ... this is getting silly ... but also everyone at BB for the stuff and for making going away so easy and finally my family for being my unique and wonderful family. I miss all of you buggers and cannot wait to see you.

Ubud

Up on north I went to Ubud where Nick and Lucy (Latitude last year for those of you who went although looking a bit like Wallace and Gromit here ...) had just arrived from Java. I braved hiring a motorbike so we could go up through the rice fields and on in to the hills to see the volcano at Batur

Jimbaran

Leaving Vicky and Luke to look at waves and ponder about whether or not they were going to ride them I headed north to Jimbaran to gorge myself on the freshest fish you can eat and to see the infamous fish market ... The fish being carried is a tuna .... big big big

Bali - Bukit Peninsula

After leaving the boat everyone, apart from Michael, went on to Sumbawa - the little visited island between Flores and Lomobok famous for big waves. Whilst the everyone else paddled and caught waves I took to the infinity pool and enjoyed life not on the boat. Lots of fantasic pictures of waves for all the surfers and yes James and Heath the swell certainly did hit the day we left ... you would have loved it.

After an emotional goodbye to first Judith and then Jeff, Vicky, Luke and I headed down to Padang Padang on the southern tip of Bali. Vicky and I braved the motorbike again so we could go and see the infamous Ulawatu which as you can see is incredibly beautiful. You can also see what happens when monkeys are fed too many bananas ... it couldn't move and no it wasn't pregnant.

Finding Dwagons

On the way to the dwagon's lair we first came across some of its poo - white dusty stuff in

case you ever need to know - and then one of their nests more easily identifiable to us humans as a hole. Just so you know dwagons can grow up to 3 metres in length. I even risked my life (well ...) to capture them up close and personal on film but sadly the machine tells me it is corrupt so once again you will have to wait until I get home to see it. Oh and no they don't breathe fire but I understand they can move very very quickly if they want which they didn't when we were around.

Dwagon Hunting - setting off

So on to Komodo and Rinca our merry little band went - home to the infamous and human eating (if hungry and no buffalo or deer around) Komodo Dragons. Whilst some may have been a little sceptical about this stop off I can assure you I was leading from the front in my keeness to see them. Before setting out on the trek our guides had to arm themselves with sticks in case of attack ... personally I was a little worried as to the effectiveness of the stick but then what do I know being a mere Suffolk girl.

All things beautiful

The coastline from Lombok to Flores is dotted with lots of stunning emerald green islands ringed by white and, in some places, red sand beaches. Fish and dolphins jump from the sea as the sun sets (no photos I was too gobsmacked to reach for the camera) but as you can see the sunrise was blood red (although I cannot take credit for the photo as I was asleep at the time having spent the night in fear that we were going to sink as we ploughed through the mother of all storms).

Finally a sample of the catch to be had from Flores Sea ... completely illegal apparently but the crew didn't tell us that until it was dead. They said it was a snapper of some kind but I think that may have been the only type of fish they knew the word for in English as it doesn't look like any of the other snappers I've seen but then what do I know!

Sailing from Lombok and heading towards Komodo

Upon leaving the Gillis and having decided that we hadn't had enough of each other we chose a 4 day and night 'cruise' down to Flores via Komodo and Rinca ... The Lonely Planet gives dire warnings about going with a 'reputable company' as the seas can be treacherous but the agent was a very personable guy and talked about the sea being as calm as a pond and assured us the boat was stocked with life jackets, radios and ... err GPS .. When we arrived the boat definately looked as though it may have seen better days but the crew were funny and we had enough food (including a couple of live chickens and an ocean full of fish) and drink to see us through. When asked about the radio and err ... GPS the captain held up his mobile phone and as the boat set off it seemed to be leaning heavily to the left.

That said once the Bintangs were broken out everything seemed an awful lot better - Judith strung up her hammock and the laughter started flowing again. Left is the boat (obviously) and right are Jeff and Luke.

Indonesia - Leaving the Gilli Islands

K

A month on and so much has happened. First up I am now in Indonesia - I flew in to Jakarta and took a train down to Yogjakarta then on to Bali and a boat over to Kuta, Lombok. The trip didn't start off particularly well as, having decided to hire a motorbike for the first time in my life, I got overly confident and crashed in to a tree flying over the handle bars (injury: sprained thumb). A few days later in Kuta Lombok we had to hire another bike - no other way to get around - and Vicki kindly agreed to take the drive with me on the back ... unfortunately one hill proved too much and we did a great wheelie that left both of us on our backs (injuries: minor cuts and scrapes to the leg and knee) . As K L is one of Indonesia's surfing meccas I decided to take Vicki's offer up to teach me to surf. Honestly I tried but having never seen anyone really surf before I found it almost impossible to understand exactly how it was that you were supposed to get from lying down behind the wave to standing up on its face. (injuries: wax burn to the chest, painful ribs and neck, cut toes and bruised knees).

Whilst in KL we hooked up with a fantastic bunch of people ... Jeff, Luke, Judith and Michael and all headed out to the Gillis for some serious R and R. The first night with the almost full moon shining on the sea it seemed like a fantastic idea to go swimming - I should have known better with my recent accident history as I managed to stand on a sea urchin (injury: about 10 spikes in the sole of my foot).

All good fun and I have some lovely photos of all of the above but another technical hitch prevents me from posting them so instead above is a photo of Vicki, me and Luke in the horse cart leaving the Gillis and another of Michael trying to scare a monkey and the consequences of trying to mess with an Indonesian monkey ....