Due to YouTube's policy of copyrighted audio tracks, the audio of the video on YouTube has been removed, but fret not my friends, you can view it here on DailyMotion, perfect except for the lowered quality due to size limit!

Bali... was one of the best beach vacations I've had. I've been to Phuket, Pattaya, Krabi and the likes, but Bali far surpassed them. It is undeniably still a tourist trap with the touting and common scams targeted at people who don't speak the native tongue, but boy, Bali was amazing. I don't know if it was the company (thank you Brendan) or perhaps I just really enjoyed the local food and cheap cafe grub. The beach was peaceful and the sunsets, exceptionally pretty.

The best part of the trip was definitely the hike up Mount Agung. So when I was planning the trip in June, I read countless of reviews and decided that I wanted to try the hardest route up the most challenging volcano (Bali is home to two volcanoes -- Mount Agung and Mount Batur). Of course, Bren had qualms, but I was insistent and he gave in. 

BUT I NEVER EXPECTED IT TO BE THAT CHALLENGING. 

The experience was truly, truly unforgettable and it was easily the most difficult task I've ever completed in my life. Whenever I talk about our hike up Mount Agung, I genuinely wish I could articulate my feelings throughout the entire journey. The four and a half hours were bittersweet (honestly, more bitter than sweet until you reach the peak). I'm extremely grateful for our guide's help along the way and for preparing extra layers for us because we were so undressed for the chilly weather as we scaled higher. And of course how could I ever forget Bren's constant encouragement (it wasn't always pleasant okay sometimes it was pressurising hahaha) and for carrying our bottles of water in his bag pack throughout the entire climb.

The view at the top of the volcano was b-r-e-a-t-h-t-a-k-i-n-g. It was majestic, for lack of better word. Sure there were clouds blocking our view of the sunrise but nonetheless, being there savouring the fruits of our (very very very very very) hard work was an amazing feeling. The feeling of standing on top of the world with someone you care so much about will be something I'll always remember.

I shall not describe our climb downhill because it was 10x tougher trust me I really felt like our lives were on the line...

The next few days were spent touring a small part of the island, drinking while the sun set and we ended out trip with a rather disappointing white-water rafting (being adventurers we both expected so much more than a 4km cruise down the river). 

We vlogged over the five days and everything is better understood in the video :') I finally got around to uploading it although it was ready before summer ended earlier this year. Wow, has it already been six months? I remember the both of us returning to work the moment we landed back home and I never got the time to properly write about our first trip together.

Bren and I rarely spend long, consecutive days together because we're both too caught up with our own stuff so these five days really gave me a new perspective towards our relationship. I realised that it isn't always just rainbows and butterflies between two people. You can't always live in a dreamy bubble full of smiles and little hearts floating around. You have to learn to expose your ugly side to that someone, and be ready to accept his.