Bali

Every now and then, far out to sea we notice a wave breaking, and it is at least double the size of what we are riding. So we arrange with Jason to meet us down the coast and order us up some special fried rice and Red Bulls for when we arrive. The wave doesn't turn out to be that great, big, but soft and bumpy. We do however manage to connect up with a couple of really fun waves on the journey down, making it all worthwhile. What's more, as the sun sets out on the horizon, we look back to the beach and appreciate what we have right now.

We have gone on many a trip together, and there are special moments on each and every one - catching the last few waves on that day as the sun set, just the two of us far from anywhere and anyone will certainly remain etched in my memory for years to come. I often feel as though we're filling in a logbook of experiences and moments in life through what we do. Everyone has their own way of interpreting these moments, but I have this feeling that when we're old and grey we'll be able to look back on them and smile, knowing we lived some incredible things in all four corners of the world and it is something for which we will always be grateful.

To top it all off, the fried rice is out of this world, and the welcome we get from the owner of the café, as we emerge from the sea hungry and tired is truly memorable. I think you could safely say that we were the first to arrive for dinner by windsurfer, seemingly from nowhere!

We venture over several more times to this special place, far from the hustle bustle of Kuta and lost amongst the rice paddies and open fields that are the Bali countryside. We find ourselves drawn to both the sailing conditions and the piece and quiet that is this quaint little seaside town. On the way back from our last visit we our blessed with yet another incredible experience. As we race down the small Canggu side streets we come across a huge commotion on the side of the road and stop to take a closer look. It turns out that for the people of Canggu, today is an extremely special day. A new place of worship has been established and all the elders of the village together with its inhabitants have come together to celebrate and give thanks to their gods.

One of the younger members of the congregation soon catches sight of us peering in and insists that we come in with him and take a look around. We soon find ourselves on the ultimate guided tour not only of the new temple, but also of Hindu traditions and religious beliefs. All the women are dressed in sombre, off white dresses, and form the choral part off the celebration, whilst the men are all seated at the other end of the room, dressed in blue and playing traditional Balinese instruments as an accompaniment. We then walk through to the heart of the new temple where we find the elders performing traditional rituals and offerings to their gods.

The offerings themselves are unbelievably elaborate, with whole wild boars, huge arrays of vegetables and fruits and various other paraphernalia placed meticulously around the temple to show the gods the people's devoutness and the holy intentions of this new place of worship. I must admit that I find the whole occasion fascinating, but am conscious of intruding into a world that is far removed from our own. Our hosts however insist that we stay and enjoy the celebratory meal with them and refuse to accept any kind of donation that we feel we should make towards their new temple.

Instead, our young guide takes us to another part of the temple, showing us 'heaven's gates' and explaining to us the nature of prayer, who should be worshipped and for what, including to whom and how we should be praying in order to ensure good wind and waves! Finally we manage to slip out without being noticed, as the celebrations look to be going on all night and there's people waiting for us back at home. Once again it is one of those moments that I wont forget in a hurry and I finally feel as though I have had a true taste of Balinese culture, something that until now had been lacking in our trip.