Travelling kennedy May

My Experience Volunteering Teaching English

In Bali, I volunteered to teach English to help ease myself into travelling alone and I can confidently say that it worked! But what I really want to talk to you about in this post is the actual volunteering.

As part of the volunteer to teach English program I was on I volunteered in a few different places: a Muslim school, tourism school, kindergarten, local community school and a couple of local primary schools. Here are a few photos-

What I loved about teaching English was that I knew I was helping and making a difference in these children’s lives. I was part of helping them better their education, by learning English these children were becoming more employable and had more of a chance to get a better job. Especially as Bali is becoming more and more touristy.

You can see the smiles on their faces; they are happy to be at school, to be learning and have access to a good education.

I spent the mornings in different schools and the afternoons teaching a local community school. These are the children that I really got to know and become friends with.

Wulan, a 9-year-old girl who wants to become a lawyer. She was fascinated by my dimple on my face and I taught her about it and how to say the word. Something little, but I’ll always remember.

On my last day volunteering, I was genuinely upset to leave them but I am incredibly happy and thankful that I have been part of their English Language journey. I really felt good about helping them.

Scottish Highlands in April- What to pack

Having travelled to Scotland in April, I looked up the weather forecast and packed accordingly. Living in the South of the UK, it’s a lot warmer at home than it is in Scotland so I was prepared to pack for the cold!

Two pairs of skinny jeans

Three T-shirts

Two jumpers

One waterproof coat

One scarf

Pjs

Five pairs of socks

Two bras

Trainers

Sunglasses

Timberlands (I wish I didn’t take these, hardly wore them!)

Toothbrush

Hairbrush

Face wipes

Mascara

Lip balm

Matt lipstick

Powder foundation

No toothpaste as I used my friends

Highland Cows

Highland cows, how could anyone go to the Highlands and now see Highland cows? They are beautiful!

Loch Ness

There’s nothing else to say about Loch Ness but its beauty so let’s let that speak.

Dunrobin Castle

Another castle, we visited Dunrobin’s Castle which again, has a great history about it and has been used to live in until fairly recently. The reason why I went to this one is that it is incredibly photogenic, photos below.

There was one crazy part of this castle though and it’s something that I will never forget. Next to the castle, there’s a building named ‘museum’ and here I am thinking ‘oh, I thought the castle was a museum in itself’ which I was correct in saying, but this is another museum.

A museum of stuffed animals. I’d estimate about 1000 stuffed animals, all caught and shot by tenants of Dunrobin Castle. Birds, cats, deer, wildebeest, snakes and even fish were stuffed and there up on the wall. If you’ve read my other posts, I’m sure you’ve worked out that I am an animal lover with a soft spot for elephants- the first thing I saw when I walked into this room was an elephant head hanging on the wall opposite me. I was almost sick.

Not a nice sight but I made myself stay in there, take it all in and have a good look around because this is what was popular 200 years ago, this is what people with money did. They went off to Africa or the woods shot animals and took them home to stuff them. Totally normal back then.

I tried to change my mindset from ‘oh my god, this is horrid, I can’t look at it. Get me out of here’ to ‘okay, so these animals are beautiful, they are incredibly well preserved (even if they do smell funny) and this is what people did, it was part of their lives and something to be proud of. Once I did that, I was then able to picture people on safari in their beige clothing and hard hats laying in the bushes waiting for a giraffe to appear or come that bit closer to them. I then found myself thinking about that animals journey from being shot to then being transported back to Scotland and shown off proudly to friends and family members and, in fact, were there in front of me that day.

Museum

Urquart Castle

We explored Urquhart Castle which fascinating and beautiful.

Scotland’s history is incredible; lords, ladies, poets and kings, I’ll definitely be reading up on it once I’ve finished my book!

The castle is in ruins but that doesn’t stop you from being able to picture what the grand castle looked like hundreds of years ago when it was visited by St Colombia in 580 AD. One of the amazing features of Urquart Castle is that it’s right on the edge of Loch Ness so it has such amazing views!

7 Things to do in the Scottish Highlands

Visit Dunrobin Castle

This castle has an amazing 700 year history to it, it’s incredibly well kept and has actually been lived in until fairly recently. A home to Scottish Earls, Lords, Dukes and Duchesses, you can visit inside the castle, the grounds, as well as a museum featuring all the stuffed animals caught and shot by people who have lived in the castle. Not something I agree with at all but this is part of the culture of what was normal back in the 1800’s. It’s about learning about the lives of people lived in the castle, Scotland’s history. It’s amazing to see and be immersed in what life was like for a Duke back then and because everything here is in such good condition, you feel as if you’ve stepped back in time.

I spent about 2 1/2 hours here and the entry fee was £11 per person.

2. See live bagpipes be played

You’re going to Scotland, what are the first things that come to your mind? Gin, kilts and bagpipes! Being in the Highlands, there is a definite advantage as you have a bigger chance of hearing the more traditional songs of bagpipes. I stayed in a small village in a friend’s home and one evening I ended up being absorbed in a local bagpipe band practising in a garage. If I were at home and I heard bagpipes I’d probably moan about how squeaky they are, but being in Scotland, with the locals it was as natural as a bird’s song.

If you’re headed to a more busy area such as Edinburgh, I’m sure that you’ll be able to find a local busker in town trying to make some extra cash. It is worth donating a few pounds to be able to record the kilt-wearing man making that squeaky sound with a bag of air because it’s something you’re going to remember forever.

3. Take in Highland Cattle

The famous Scottish Highland Cattle are the most beautiful cows I’ve ever seen. Their messy mops create fabulous artwork for you to take home from your trip, It will take pride of place in your sitting room and you’ll smile whenever you see it and think back to these fluffy creatures. With horns, fringes, those cheeky tounges and pink noses you can’t help but fall in love with them. A lovely trademark of Scotland you won’t want to miss!

4. Visit Loch Ness and look out for the monster!

Loch Ness is most probably the most famous loch of them all and located in the Highlands, there’s no excuse not to go and visit this giant loch. It’s breathtakingly beautiful and goes on for miles and miles. Try, if you can, to make your visit on a sunny or not cloudy day because the photos you will take will be amazing. This is something that is on most traveller’s bucket list so much sure you tick it off! See if you will be one of few spotters to see Nessy, the Loch Ness monster!!

5. Visit another castle!

Scotland has so much history and if you’re in the country, you should learn about it! I visited Urquhart Castle ruins as it’s located on Loch Ness so you can fit them both in one after the other. You will get wonderful photographs of the ruins with the Loch behind and learn the dramatic history of the castle.

6. Take a hike

The Highlands are incredibly beautiful and you would be crazy not to want to take a hike or even a walk in the neverending fields and forests out there. I could spend hours and hours getting lost in the beauty of the old, traditional houses and the fresh air. I bet you could too!

7. Eat like the locals

Scottish food- haggis, mm haggis! Just the thought of a sheep’s or calf’s offal mixed with suet, oatmeal, and seasoning and boiled in a bag, traditionally one made from the animal’s stomach makes me just want to… puke! Okay okay, so I didn’t try haggis! Do you blame me? “Do as I say, not as I do” someone famous once said!

There are other local alternatives which filled my stomach that was not cooked in an animal’s stomach. One of these meals was “tatties and mince” which translates to potatoes and mincemeat. A pretty plain meal but traditional and tasty! One thing I couldn’t get my head around was a meal my friend got from the fish and chip shop one evening. Now I’m English and I do love my fish and chips, my battered sausage and chips and my chips and gravy, but a Scottish alternative is Mac and cheese Pie!! and chips. As in four carbs in one meal- chips, cheese (okay pretty normal), pastry, and pasta (I just can’t!) Anyway, here’s a picture…

Traditional Tattoos In Bali

Spoiler alert! I didn’t get one.

There are three factors as to why:

One- I hate needles! So I’m a bit scared.

Two- My grandad hates the idea of any of his three precious granddaughters getting body piercings or tattoos and considering I lead the way to getting 7 piercings as the oldest granddaughter, I don’t want to break his heart and get a tattoo. I respect him too much for that.

Three- I’m too picky. If I were to get a tattoo, I would want it to mean something to me rather than a random peace sign or whatever. It’s there forever.

I did, however, go with two of the volunteers to get theirs done. You know the saying “when in Rome, do as the Romans do?” Well, they did as the Balinese do (or did) and got traditional hand-poking tattoos.

You can see a picture and a boomerang I took of them. A mountain, tree and wave to symbolise Bali and her experiences and a simple ‘B’ for Bali.

Check out what else I got up to in Bali.

Ubud

Oh Ubud!

This cool, arty and cultured town about an hour north drive from the airport is a definite go-to location if you’re in Bali.

Backpackers galore, scouts everywhere and restaurants and alternative cafes on every corner. I knew I was going to like it there. Although busier and more crowded than say Barcelona Las Ramblas, this small town has something for everyone. It’s even got a palace you can visit! This is home to one of Bali’s many Royal Families and it pretty much in the centre of the town. A great photo opportunity if you’re walking past.

In the short time we were in Ubud we managed to fit a lot in. We visited the Monkey Forest which was awesome! You pay to get in (no more than a cup of coffee though) and wander around a forest nothing like anything in the UK. Where monkeys are free to roam around. In fact, you’re on their territory so play by their rules and avoid eye contact with them! This is the golden rule when it comes to interacting with monkeys. They see eye contact as intimidation and will attack anyone who meets their eyes.

We ventured into the forest for a good two hours and saw a beautiful waterfall, many many monkeys and such beautiful sights. In the forest, there’s a part where they sell bananas for the monkeys, you stand tall with your arms out and the monkeys run up to you, up your body and sit on your shoulders or head. This is definitely a unique experience, one I’m glad I did!

Poo coffee!!

I mean, I’m not a fan of coffee anyway. Love the smell, hate the taste. We had heard rumours about Luwak Coffee (or civet coffee) which, we heard, is made from monkey poop! In reality, it’s not too far off. It’s coffee which includes part-digested coffee cherries eaten and pooped out by a civet. I didn’t try it but my friend did and she became a little obsessed with it for the rest of her stay. But I did buy some and tried to get my family to try it when I returned home but there were no takers. It may be more of those “you have to be there” things.

Dinner and drinks

The night we spent in Ubud was one I’ll never forget. With me were three other volunteers from the PMGY programme, Ginny, Scottish Carrie and Johnathon (dubbed Jaya by the kids we taught) from California. Johnathon, being 18 and not legal to drink in his home country, wanted to do the weekend properly. Oh and we also picked up an Austrian guy whose name has slipped my mind (but there is a picture of him on this post so if it’s you, contact me with your name!)

We had a lovely Indonesian dinner together in a local restaurant and after a couple of 2 for 1 cocktails (all cocktails seem to be 2 for 1 in Bali WHOOP!), we headed to a shish bar.

In this bar, we shished, drank and made new friends from the UK. Our new friends seemed to not to be travelling on a shoe-string and were ordering bottles of Moet champagne steadily. So naturally, we made friends with them and drank their champagne. Not bad!

We just spent the night talking, laughing, singing to the live band, drinking and having a great time.

Check out what else I to up to in Bali here.

Bali’s Mount Batur

On one of my free weekends in Bali, my fellow volunteers and I decided to go on a proper adventure and push ourselves out of our comfort zones. We decided to hike Mount Batur. This is the now active volcano in the north of Bali. Not only did we decide to hike the volcano, we decided to hike it so we saw the sunrise when we got to the top.

I must say that this is one of the hardest things I’ve done. I’m not the fittest person but I do sometimes lack motivation, and boy did that happen here but it was worth every second of it and I would do it again in a heartbeat.

We stayed in a hostel at the bottom of the volcano the night before as we had an early start. Our alarms went off at 3:00 am and off we went to meet our guide.

Setting off a little later than we hoped (due to stragglers) we were in high spirits to get to the top before sunrise. The beginning was okay, we were trekking through the jungle, nice and cool through the cover of the trees and no sight of sun yet. We were told that the whole hike would take about three hours.

Well, an hour had passed and we weren’t half way up! We had a fantastic tour guide who kept us motivated. “Just do it” he kept saying, in fact, he said it so often that it became a funny saying between us volunteers. I still have a smile on my face when I think back to it. Ketut was incredibly physically fit, so fit that he told us that he and another tour guide run up and down the volcano and a nearby mountain for fun and try and beat their last time! I’m going to give that hobby a miss but kudos to him! I don’t know if I’m gullible for believing him.

The last stretch was the worst, we were climbing on rock hard, red lava from the last time the volcano had erupted. The ground was so steep that it was almost like walking vertically!

After an hour and a half, we made it. Oh, we missed the sunrise and it was cloudy but the views were still breathtaking. We had breakfast while at the top which made the saying “breakfast with a view” an understatement.

Then, we had the trek back down. It didn’t feel as it took half as long as getting to the top. Perhaps that’s because we saw more people on the way down. We also took a stop to see the monkeys that live in the trees on the way down. They were wild but good around people as long as you remember the golden rules with monkeys. Do not make eye contact!

This definitely was a once in a lifetime experience for me. Although I may climb and hike other mountains and volcanoes in my life, this will always be my first.

Here’s what else I got up to in Bali.