ROAD TRIP: MENJANGAN ISLAND

Clear skies, translucent waters with a backdrop of Java's beautiful mountains in the distance. 

This was the atmosphere that Menjangan Island bestowed upon us, which we happily soaked in. We call it a road trip because it takes roughly 3 hours from the capital Denpasar depending on the traffic, located 5 miles North-West of Bali. Close cities near Menjangan are Singaraja, North of Bali, and Banyuwangi, located on the Eastern Coast of Java.

It is greatly advised that one travels to Menjangan in the early hours of morning to get the best experience. We traveled with three other friends of ours and made our trip at 6 am. We arrived around 8:30 AM and rented a boat (with two travel guides) out with 5 other tourists. Each person payed a fee of 135k rupiah, which is roughly 13 USD. This fee includes all equipment needed for snorkeling. The boat ride to Menjangan Island takes about half an hour.

It is said that this is one of the best locations in Bali for snorkeling/diving and we wouldn't argue with that statement! The waters were absolutely crystal clear, making the colorful fish and corral all the more evident. It's a shame we didn't bring an underwater camera to capture all the beauty!! We were given two hours to snorkel in two different locations around the island and enjoyed the beautiful scenery. Frankly, two hours is not nearly enough to take in this piece of heaven! Planning our next trip here already :) 

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KNOT ME UP

A great combination of design, pattern, and simplicity is found in the products from local Indonesian brand, Knot. They design their products with both modern and traditional elements while not forgetting to add rich colors into the mix as well. We have the 'Little India Clutch Bag' as well as the 'Sunshine Camera Strap' to share with you guys today. We've been using both recently and we love it! 

We find the Little India Clutch Bag quite versatile; great for both casual days out to the beach or more formal nights out with friends. This particular bag uses India's songket material--which from different angles and lighting--creates change in it's color, and is quite unique. The songket has a rich sand yellow color with a slight of magenta and turquoise hue peacock pattern. The inner and outer material of the clutch is of rust brown colored suede. 

The camera strap on the other hand uses Thailand's songket as the material with a very pretty geometric pattern. The back of the strap is brown synthetic leather and black nylon. The camera stopper is changeable, which is very convenient, since the strap has a universal width size of 1.5 cm. This is a fun alternative that turned our very boring black camera strap into a very chic one!

For more information on Knot's products, please check out their website! 

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