The Botanical Gardens, a five minute drive from Strawberry Hill, were our final stop on the tour. As it was a public holiday, loads of families were there picnicking and enjoying the good weather. I don't know if it's because we went at the wrong time of year but I was quite underwhelmed by the displays, especially the orchids, none of which were in bloom. I actually think the giant Hindu statues were more impressive.
It was a quick drive back to Ubud as the bank holiday traffic was non existent. Unfortunately this meant that some of Ubud's many lovely cafes were also closed. We bumped into one of the girls from the first leg of the tour which was a nice surprise. I spent the afternoon sussing out the shops and the hit my credit card would be taking before I got to Australia!
That night was our final group dinner. The tour, especially the final week in Bali, absolutely flew by. To add a romantic feel to our goodbye, there was a big storm that evening and a power cut meant we ate dinner with our head torches on!
The next day I bought some trainers, a bikini and some flip flops, all much cheaper than Down Under. I said goodbye to my roommate and checked into my new budget accommodation. For £10 a night including breakfast I wasn't expecting much but it was surprisingly fine apart from the lack of hot water (even in the heat, a freezing cold shower doesn't appeal!)
I ttreated myself the next day to four hours of spa treatments, all for less than £20. I had a facial, traditional Balinese cream hair bath, manicure and pedicure. It was great though I was starving by the end of it, luckily I found another great cafe for late lunch, there are too many places to eat in Ubud and not enough days!
On my final day in Indonesia (sob!) I booked a downhill cycling tour after a recommendation. I also wanted to make up for missing out on the cycling when I was ill. It was an excellent day cycling through traditional villages and rice fields, stopping at some temples and finishing with lunch at the family home. They definitely weren't lying with the downhill description; my hands were aching from gripping the brakes so tightly!
And this brings to an end my time in Indonesia and in fact in Asia. The last 8 weeks have not disappointed me. As much as I enjoyed Burma and Malaysia, Indonesia is top of my list to come back to. Sometimes I wish I had the courage to be more fluid with my plans and then I could have visited Lombok in this trip. At least it's easy to get to from Australia.