Week 2 was college, which was... not as exciting as expected. I thought I'd be in for learning something new and exciting every few minutes but instead it was risk assessments, manual handling and health and safety. The college itself is beautiful. Kingston Maurward, a big old manor house with sprawling grounds. They do horticulture, agriculture and outdoor adventure courses and they've got a huge equine area too. We spent 2 days at KM and 3 studying online from home. They've changed the course this year so instead of being a Level 2 Diploma in Environmental Conservation it's now a Level 2 in Countryside Working, which is a bit of a downfall, it doesn't have the same clout to it in my opinion. 

Week 3 was back to the office. This week I've done more bridges and stiles and I've also taken trees down. A big old oak had lost a limb over a footpath and it was our job to clear it and make the path safe. So - on the coldest day ever - we trekked down the overgrown path to find the beast and employed the trusty hedgecutters and the grillo to clear the way. The tree was leaning over on 3 enormous branches so we slowly cleared our way to get to them, cutting smaller branches off and flinging them into the bush pile. We used a chainsaw and a pole saw (quite literally a chainsaw on the end of a really long pole) to pull it down piece by piece and control the fall. Got absolutely soaked in the process as it chucked it down. I've never been so glad to get home and into the shower!! And it's not even winter yet...

Call Me Aragorn

 I've recently decided it's about time to grow up, get a real job and put down some roots. I know, it's shocked me too. But as much fun as I've had being a nomad and disappearing off wherever the wind blows, it's a very solitary life. And one that means you end up being a jack of all trades, master of none.

So onto the question I've been asking since I was old enough to know I could ask questions - What Do I Want To Do? And the only answer I have is BE OUTSIDE. So I've gone and got myself an apprenticeship as a Countryside Ranger. 

What's a ranger when it's not in Middle Earth I hear you cry. Putting it simply, rangers are the people who look after the crisscross of rites of way around the country. They also maintain nature reserves and Sites of Special Scientific Interest. They cut back footpaths and bridleways, mend bridges and stiles, put in sign posts and direction markers, cut down dangerous trees and invasive species, protect the biodiversity of the land and a million things in between. Sounds good 'ey? I think so. 

I've just survived my first week based out of Dorchester in Dorset. My team covers West and Central Dorset which is a massive patch of land. During the summer we mostly respond to comments from the public about things they see on their hikes or rides; 'there's a bridge that's rotting through on this footpath,' 'this bridleway is overgrown,' 'that stile has fallen down,'. But in the winter when the birds aren't roosting in the trees and hedgerows we can really get to work.

Week 1 was amazing. Me and the other apprentices were working with higher levelled apprentices and rangers on their usual day to day tasks. Tuesday I fixed a bridge, Friday made a stile. It's very hands on and learn-by-doing which is perfect for me. There's lots of finding beautiful places and walking down trails to find the problems. Often we'll be able to do an easy fix there and then by pulling rotten planks out and replacing them but sometimes there's not a lot we can do straight away. We might need more people, more tools, or maybe we need to replace the bridge instead of repairing it. You never know what you're going to find.

It's not all easy jobs and walks in the sunshine though. When there's tasks you can get down to it is HARD WORK. I spent all day Thursday using hedge cutters to cut back an overgrown bridleway and those things are heavy after a few minutes! By your lunch break your biceps are trembling and your arms are shaking so much from the vibrations that you can't take a drink without spilling it all down yourself. But it's a good feeling, eating your sandwiches surrounded by greenery and the sound of bugs and birds. When you cut hedges as soon as you turn off the tools and quiet descends all of the critters poke their heads out to see what was going on and what insects you've pulled to the surface. There were frogs lizards, shrews and mice pattering around. It doesn't get much better than that. Even if my arms are still aching three days later!

The rangers know so much and I'm so excited to learn from them. There's so much to experience, to have a go at and so many places to explore. Everyone seems to have a particular speciality too, some of the guys are into birds, some of them know everything about trees or wildlife. I'd love to be able to identify trees and wildflowers. Birds too - though my hearing is shocking which doesn't help with hearing calls... 

I'm just inspired. I feel like I've found my niche after all this time. I've loved going to work everyday, I've had fun doing my job and I can't wait for what comes next. 

Thought you'd like to know.

Singapore and Things You Should Know

Singapore is without doubt one of the coolest cities out there. Lets ignore the fact that it's pretty pricey and focus on all the free stuff to do. I spent my week in Singapore exploring, every day walking and walking and I know there's still loads I never saw.

My favourite area in Singapore is the famous Gardens By The Bay. It's a huge stretch of land that is full of different styles and cultures of garden and dominating over everything is the Supertree Grove - a series of living 50m tall tree like structures. There is a Skywalk platform between two of the 'trees' with a view over all of the gardens and much of the city.

It feels like something out of Avatar, especially at night when they are all lit up. There's even a nightly light show where speakers throw out music and LEDs in the trees display an array of patterns and colours. When I was there the show was Retro Classics so there was Michael Jackson's Beat It, KC and the Sunshine Band's That's The Way I Like It, Tavares' Heaven Must Be Missing An Angel and more.

Like the light show in the Gardens By The Bay, over the road at Marina Bay, home to the super rich, another display of lights and music happens each night. For this one water is shot from fountains and lights and images are projected onto the walls of water.

I also loved the Botanical Gardens on the other side of town. These gardens are even bigger than the Gardens By The Bay and far less populated. I walked through woods and around lakes with hardly any other people disturbing the peace. I even discovered a trampoline in a treetop walkway!

And where could my Singaporean story end except with a picture of the Merlion, Singapore's mascot.

He's a lion. Crossed with a fish. 

That makes sense right?

Things You Should Know About Singapore

1. GPS does not like the skyscapers in Singapore and will frequently tell you you've just jumped through a building or across a road or that you've somehow time travelled across town without realising it.
2. Skyscrapers have a height restriction of 280m
3. Singapore is the city of shopping malls. They are so big its very easy to get lost; trying to find your way out is not as easy as walking in. It's pretty claustrophobia inducing when you're going up and down escalators looking for daylight or some hint of an exit.
4. The seats in the Singapore Management University are shaped like rabbits.
5. If you go to the Botanical Gardens you can find Swan Lake. With one swan.
6. People drive giant electric scooters. Some of them even have seats on them like a strange scooter-bike union.
7. You can find a canal inside a shopping mall. And you can even get a boat ride in a private gondola.
8. It's national anthem is printed verrrrry small of the back of the $1000 bank notes. Don't spend money without thanking your country!
9. While Malay is the national language (even though Malaysia kicked Singapore out in 1965), they also speak English and Chinese.
10. The city is remarkably clean and streamlined. 
11. Chewing gum is illegal. If you get caught you might get the cane, because that's still legal here.
12. While Singapore's people are incredibly polite and it is the 5th least corrupt country in the world, it is also the 5th largest importer of arms...

Malaysia and Things You Should Know

Malaysia seems pretty cool, though I can't speak for all of it because I only saw the tiny pocket that is Kuala Lumpur. As big cities go it's an impressive one with lots of skyscrapers and greenery jostling for space. One of my favourite spots in the city is the Eco Park, a small segment of rainforest in the middle of the city. There is a treetop canopy walk where you can see skyscrapers peeking through the trees.

I started off my week in Malaysia with a parkrun and impressed myself by achieving one of my best times despite it being one of the hottest runs I've ever done - even at 7:30 in the morning!

The one problem I had with KL was the rain. It would be crazily hot and humid and with no warning a massive crack of thunder would announce torrential rain to extremes I'd never seen before. My first night as I was getting dinner the rains came and the whole street turned into a river, drains were overflowing and gutters were waterfalls. For maybe thirty minutes or an hour, then the downpour stopped and the waters drained away and it was as if nothing had happened.

That's all fine when you're undercover in a restaurant. Not so much when you're on the highest peak of a quartz ridge that's taken you 2 hours to scale. Bukit Tabur was more rock climbing than hiking and I had views that stretched for miles; KL on one side and a beautiful blue lake on the other. As we started to head down the thunder rumbled and minutes later in came the rain. The climb up which had been difficult enough became treacherous. The water ran down the track in a river, turning the dirt to slippery mud and the rocks into waterfalls. By the time we finally got to the bottom we were drenched to the core. Normally on hot sunny days people cool off in a beautiful pool at the end. We jumped in with our clothes on because it's not like we could get any wetter!!

Then there were the Batu Caves;  an insanely brightly coloured stairway up to an enormous cave housing separate brightly coloured temples.

And of course the famous Petronas towers

And now the overall round up with Things You Should Know About Malyasia;

1. It's wet. Very wet. Not always (apparently!), but when I was there it went from dry (but humid) to flooded streets in 30 seconds flat. The thunder is also the loudest I've ever heard.
2. It's a mad mix of Malay, Indian, Chinese, Iban and Kadazan people and cultures.
3. You can't walk anywhere. Pavements suddenly end and you'll find yourself on the side of a highway. Bridges and underpasses are often closed so you might find yourself (like me) walking up spaghetti junction and crossing 5 lane traffic to get to a meeting point and ending up in the closed off basement of the building!!
4. I stayed in an area called Bukit Bintang which is funny because Bintang is the national beer in Indonesia. Apparently it means stars, so Bukit Bintang means Star Hill.
5. There's an odd mix of super modern buildings next to run down ones.
6. KL is the land of enormous playgrounds.
7. They love their skyscraper rooftops. From bars and restaurants to infinity pools and yoga spots. You can even get a drink on a helipad.
8. There are 272 brightly coloured steps to the Temple Cave of Batu Caves fame. There was drama when the stairs were painted last year as it was not authorised by the heritage department and as far as I know the disagreement is ongoing...
9. Early in the mornings, on a Saturday at least, the parks are full of people being active. There's walkers, runners, yoga, tai chi and even dance groups.

Things You Should Know About Bali

1. It's amazing (lets start with the obvious).
2. There are rice fields everywhere.
3. Bali is a volcanic island with 2 active volcanoes, Agung and Batur. I can't speak for Agung but climb Mount Batur and you'll see smoke rising from the crater.
4. The volcanic-ness of the island means though it does have white sandy beaches it also has a lot of black sand ones that sparkles as though a five year old has been running around with a bucket of glitter.
5. Ice is government regulated so no dodgy tap water cubes and no Bali belly - unless you drink the tap water of course.
6. Like most of the countries in the area everyone in Bali wants to give you a massage.
7. Daily offerings are given to appease the spirits and ward off malevolent ones. This consists of a banana leaf bowl filled with flowers, food and incense.
8. The monkeys in Bali do not understand the concept of Personal Belongings. If they see you with something - a bottle of water, your phone, sunglasses - they want it. And they'll take it. And it's goodbye phone because they'll bite it til it smashes.
9. Kopi Luwak, the world's most expensive coffee comes from Indonesia. Apparently (I can't stand coffee) it tastes amazing. Honest. I'm not shitting you...

Finishing Up In Bali

I am gutted to have left Bali. I had the most amazing time and can't believe it is over. 

The surf was brilliant. I learned so much and my confidence and ability skyrocketed. Each day we would go to different spots to find the best waves and avoid the crowds - it wasn't easy to find a quiet line up, it seems like the whole world wanted to surf in Bali as much as I did, but by the end I was pretty good at avoiding all the people around me. Except when they broke the number one rule in surfing and dropped in on me. The first person to be up and riding the wave owns the wave. If someone then decides to paddle and drop into the wave in front of you that's a biggggg no no. But it happens way too often when the break is crowded. Like this girl who snaked my wave;

But when I did get a wave to myself, oh man it was amazing!

But what I'm going to miss just as much as the surfing is the friends I made at the Wave House. I had a fantastic group of friendies that grew and shrunk with each arrival and departure. I was the longest standing member, being the only one to stay more than a month, but most people were around for at least a week, and even when they left some came back. The final 4 of us all left within a day of each other and I'm glad to have gone at the same time - it wouldn't have been the same without them.

Finals Day of the Bali Pro was one of the best days. We headed back to Keramas to see the quarters, semis and finals of both the male and female World Surfing Championship. As we arrived Kelly Slater was battling it out with Felipe Toledo! I got to see the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) compete again in the semis against Kanoa Igarashi who was just on form and went on the win the event. He is an absolute powerhouse and will definitely become a world champion sometime soon. In the girls race the final between Steph Gilmore and Sally Fitzgibbons was unforgettable, those girls were charging so hard, but Steph's perfect 10 blew her out of the water. To see surfers I've been reading about it magazines and watching online since I was 12 years old was a dream come true. 

When there were no superstars to watch I spent a lot of time in beach bars drinking cocktails. 

Hopping around on the back of a moped was a lot of fun.

Travelled up to Ubud to a monkey forest and the famous Tegangalang rice terraces. 

Went running, walking and cycling around Canggu.

Spent a lot of time at Mickey's, a restaurant owned by an Italian called Mickey with a BIG personality and a lot of tattoos - including his own face on his leg! He had a bouncy castle in the garden, not just for the kids... (Unless you count me as a kid, which most days I do).

Adopted a dog after she followed us back from the beach one day - called her Rodrigo until we realised she was a girl, then she became Ona which is Spanish for wave, and also because she had no owner. It seemed to fit. She's now being fed by the Wave House! There's already a cat who spends his entire time tucked under pillows on the couch. He's about as lazy as I feel.

The plan is for a reunion next year...

When I'm Not Surfing

There's a lot of stuff going on. Always something exciting happening. From pool training, fitness classes and yoga, there's free entry to Finn's recreation club with its gym, water park and tennis courts, the Friday bbq, surf quiz and movie night. Never a quiet moment, unless of course you're seeking one laying on the loungers by the pool.

Saturday is day off. Except mostly they're just as busy as the rest of the week and start even earlier. 3:30am start my first week to head to Lovina in the north. Went out on a boat to find some dolphins at sunrise. 

Then to the stunning Aling Aling waterfalls where I did lots of very brave and courageous cliff jumping. I even slid down the natural slide on the waterfall. It's more of a massive drop than a slide, but it is smooth so I guess it qualifies for slide status. There's a heck of a lot of water coming down with you and forcing you under before spitting you out further downstream. 

There was Lake Beratan water temple

Pondok Indah Bedugul abandoned hotel

I took a day trip to Nusa Penida, the nearest island to Bali. The plan was to go snorkelling with manta rays, but they were clearly having a duvet day and didn't want to show themselves. Disappointing, but the beautiful boat trips were still worth it. Went to a natural archway, much like Durdle Door back home, though the sea was a bit bluer over here! 

Me and my Spanish homie Paula have been doing a lot of exploring. We've rented out a scooter and travelled around the island. First stop was Uluwatu to see sunset at the temple. There's loads of monkeys there who like to steal things. Caught this fella chewing on someone's sunnies, and saw a guy running after one who had stolen his phone. One tried to take my flipflop as we were leaving  but I kept my foot on the floor even though his little hands were clutched around the thong!

We saw more monkeys at the top of Mount Batur volcano. What we didn't see was the sunrise. We left camp at 2am and hiked over 2 hours in the darkness. When we finally made it to the top after many stumbles and trips we discovered thick cloud that masked everything. Boom.

Heading back down, we found smoke rising from vents in the crater. And of course the monkeys. The view started to open up as the sun burnt the fog off.

One of my favourite experiences in Bali so far has been Tirta Empul Temple. Tirta Empul is on the site of a holy mountain spring, and Paula and I drove there to take part in a purification ceremony. First we meditated with an offering. This is very common in Bali, every building and home has a shrine and coconut leaf offerings consisting of flowers of different colours representing the different gods, food and incense are placed daily.

Once our minds were clear and devoted to our task we entered the water. 3 pools with spouts of fresh spring water, each one with a different purpose. The first pool had 13 fountains for cleansing the different parts of the body; eyes, ears, nose, mouth, hands etc. There are two spouts in this pool to avoid, one for special ceremonies and one for cremations. At each spout you repeat 'namaste' three times, wash your head, then your face, then dip your head under the torrent. 

At the second pool, the Karma pool, there are just two fountains. One for confession and one for promise. You repeat the same process focusing on things you want to move on from and resolutions for the future. 

The final pool is for your chakras. The first fountain, the largest is the Fountain Of A Thousand Wishes. Same again, only this time you have to make a wish - very carefully, we were told. The others are for the seven chakras.

It was a very beautiful experience that left us both feeling lighter and airy. The feeling of the cool clear water cleaning body and mind was uplifting. 

It is currently event #3 in the World Surfing League, right here in Bali, the Corona Bali Pro. This morning we headed over to the event on our Saturday off. Only for the competition to be called off for the day as it has been for the last two. They're waiting on a big swell that is coming in. But we went along anyway and were treated to a wave that grew as we watched. The world's best surfers are all in Keramas for the event, so a lot of them were out in the water. We spotted seven time world champion Stephanie Gilmore heading out, and I'd kill to know who some of the other pros out there were, the level of surfing was beyond anything I've seen in the real world - not on a tv screen. We watched from a bar's pool practically on the shoreline.