After reaching Amed on day 4 and settling into the village of Lipah on the east coast of Bali, we were ready for another day at the beach! The previous afternoon the beach was lined with boats, however when we woke up, the beach was practically bare. The boats soon returned to the bay from their early morning fishing trips, and it didn’t take us long to throw on our swimsuits and head down to the beach. I snorkeled in the bay and found a really amazing area where schools of fish were swimming around a huge coral-covered rock. There were literally hundreds of fish right in this small area. Forty-five minutes later it was time to swim back to shore and catch some rays. Lauren and I went to lay out on the beach. It was deserted, save for a few beach boys trying to sell us on all sorts of things. One of them sat down to chat, I got distracted and stopped mid-sunscreen application. Bad idea. An hour later the strong sun had done its damage. My back was fire engine red. It was due to my own stupidity, and since I’m not great at multi-tasking, next time a beach boy approaches me while I’m putting on sunscreen, I’ll just have to tell him to Hold, please.

We both decided we needed a break from the sun so we stopped for a quick bite then headed back to our room with the amazing view for a relaxing afternoon on the balcony. By the time dinner rolled around, I had no appetite and wasn’t feeling so hot. I sent Lauren down to the local warung solo, while I stayed in bed. And that is when the stomach bug hit me. Though no one wants to read about my excellent upchuck reflexes, I can assure you it wasn’t any fun. I finally stopped throwing up at 2am, at which point I literally slid down the wall of the bathroom and sat on the floor until I could muster the energy to crawl back into bed. I assume it is something I ate, and therefore don’t think I’m posing any risk to my friend who is sleeping 18 inches away from me.

The following day I didn’t make it out of bed until 6pm. I alternated between reading and napping until I found myself physically able to walk out the door. The owner of the warung was very concerned for me and fed me plain rice every meal after that (which I basically ended up living off of for the next seven days because I was lacking an appetite).

I woke up on Day 7 ready to take advantage of our last full day in Amed. We drove to some of the other villages for a day of mini exploration. We stopped in Salang for snorkeling and a little relaxation on the beach and in Aas to snorkel the Japanese shipwreck. Both places had decent snorkeling, but we still enjoyed Lipah the best. Once back at the guesthouse, I had to go for one last swim. I circled our area of the bay, watched the sun set, ate one last exciting meal of rice at the warung, and savored the last day in Amed. Because on Day 8, we were heading south!

Now, who wants to guess how much we paid per night for our guesthouse (pictured)? We had a gorgeous view, a balcony, complimentary breakfast, and air conditioning. On the island of Bali. Ready, go.