Monthly Archives: October 2022

Hello Gili Trawangan

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Wow! That’s all I got to say.

No, just kidding. But seriously. What a great first impression this island gave us. Well, not the first first, because it was raining when we arrived. But what a nice rain!

Okay, let me start from the top. This morning we had to check out from Taman Harum Cottages in Ubud. It was rather cloudy and we were so ready to go and see another place. Ubud was cool, much to see, but the diving on Gili T has lured us. And also, the weather is slightly less wet on Gili than Bali, so that was something to look forward to as well.

We got a really nice driver to take us to Padangbai Harbor from where we took the speed ferry out to the islands. We stopped on the way at his favorite local restaurant so we could try local Balinese food, suckling pig. He was even so kind as to talk to the waitress to not make it so spicy. We took takeaway and ate while waiting for the ferry. It was good, but I do understand why the Balinese like to add spices. Not sure that I liked the crunchy skin pieces which he said was his favorite. But it was great to try some real local food.

The ferry (which was just like an airplane on water with seatings) was not too bad. Not too bumpy and was over pretty fast. Gili T was the last stop and it took exactly three hours. It would have been more fun to have been able to be on the ferry that left at 9am instead of 1pm. But oh well.

What was not so much fun, was that after our second to last drop off at Gili Air, it started to pour. The AC was maxed in the boat and looking out at the grey wet was not nice. But honestly. When we got off the boat, it was the best rain I’ve ever experienced. It was still 28C something and the rain was really warm. I loved it!! So walking to the hotel was not too bad at all. And definitely not when the horse-drawn carriages ran past. So what’s pretty cool about this island, is that they don’t have any vehicles except bicylces, the occasional electric moped and several horse-drawn carriages. They all wore bells and it sounds lika Santa’s reindeer sleigh is coming when they are near. So cute!

We checked in at Scullywags Resort south of the harbor, pretty much in the middle of it all. We have definitely understood that this part of the island is the party island. I think we’ve gotten 5 proposals of buying organic party enhancers (=mushrooms) in the short amount of time when we took a walk. Our room is incredible! We have a front yard, the room itself and the bathroom which is mostly completely out in the open. I thought it was cool that our last hotel had an open slit in the bathroom, but this is fully open over the shower. It’s like taking a shower in the jungle.

The very first thing we did, was walking a few minutes to the most popular diving club, Blue Marlin Dive and booked not one, not two, but three dives for tomorrow! We are so excited! We then went on a walk to the south side of the island, we walked a little bit in the water and we both fell in love right there I think. This place might be the best place I’ve ever been! The water was almost 30C according to a website. That’s insane! I look forward to spending a lot of time under the surface tomorrow.

We walked back, tried the outdoor shower and then walked to Pearl Beach Lounge to have dinner. That salmon was incredible. So was the pina colada and steamed brownie. Wow! And the mouse falling from the ceiling, passing out until the waiter shoveled him up and went downstairs and he darted away, was crazy! The evening was pretty much as warm as the day and nothing else than a thin-striped dress was needed while eating outdoor. What a place! We’re in love. And I think I can speak for Mikael as well. I already feel that 4 nights and 3 days here won’t be enough…

rpt

Ubud day 2

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Three hours of sleep and a day full of events has taken its toll. We are so exhausted now. But wow, we’ve seen some things!

  • Mount Batur sunrise hike
  • Batur Natural Hot Springs
  • Tegallalang Rice Fields
  • Tegenungan Waterfall
  • Pool
  • Teba Rasi Resto

The day started at 1:30am when our alarm went off. Our driver would come pick us up at 2am at the hotel, to go to Mount Batur, hike the 1,7km tall volcano and watch the sunrise from the top. The weather gods were on our side today, no rain, a good amount of clouds and no wind. It couldn’t have been better.

There were tons of hikers and guides, each group of around 6 people had two guides, one in the front and one in the back. It was Mikael and I, two girls from northern England and a couple from Canada. Two hours to the top and one and a half on the way down. Up was not too bad. Except that it was pitch-dark and you had to have a flashlight and if you looked away from the path, you stumbled. It was a great hike and not too bad for me. One in our company had troubles with her cardio though and we didn’t quite reach the top top to watch the sunset, but we watched it while hiking the last way. Which definitely wasn’t too bad either. But a time-lapse video from the top of that incredible sunrise would have been awesome!

We were told there would be stealing monkey’s on the top and that we had to be careful with our food and things. My brother told me that he lost his breakfast egg up there to a monkey when he did it a few years ago. BUT. We didn’t see a single monkey. I was disappointed. I know they are annoying and might have rabies and we told ourselves beforehand to stay away from them. But I would still very much like to see them. They can be both annoying and cute at the same time.

Up there, we had steamed banana sandwhiches which was surprisingly good. We watched the sun rise next to the other two mountains on Bali. Can’t remember their names.

We took an easy way down, not so steep, and not so rocky. Which was awful for my knees. My left one is kaputt now and I really hope it isn’t anything worse than just after this hike down.

Right after the hike, our driver took us to Batur Natural Hot Springs. At first we thought it was weird to go to hot springs on Bali, but we withdrew those thoughts immediately. It was like a spa facility, with many pools and very warm water outlets. The water was warm, but those were really warm and great to ease the shoulder muscles. We only stayed for an hour and a half, and I probably would have wanted to stay longer. It was incredible. At the bottom of the big crater, right next to the lake. So worth it after that hike.

We switched driver after the hot springs and also got our local guide with us for the rest of the afternoon. We had decided that we wanted to see rice fields, waterfalls, and Monkey Forest and she came along for all of them.

First, we went to Tegallalang Rice Fields, which I thought would be just beautiful rice fields, but instead we ended up at a day pool club. And that place was all about Instagram and getting the perfect picture from swings to infinity pools and photo places. It was cool, sure. But I would have been happy just seeing the fields. We had lunch there at the restaurant with the great view. We had Satay which is a spicy course here on Bali, compared to back home when Satay is more sweet and peanut-y. We saw two Luwaks, the civit animals who are picky coffee bean eaters, who later poop out fermented beans that are then ground down to coffee. We tried a cup there and then and it was not as sour as the coffee we drink back home. Not too bad!

We had lunch with the guide and she told us that we were her first travelers since 2019 since she had a stroke then and was in a coma, wheel-chair and walked with a cane up until a month ago. It was sweet of her to share. When we were leaving, the rain began to fall.

Our next stop was the  Tegenungan Waterfall. It also had a day pool club with party music and soooo many shopping stands with souvenirs and stuff. I can only imagine how tough it must have been for so many people on this island when it shut down for 2,5 years. Our guide told us about this as well.

Our last stop of the day was supposed to be Monkey Forest. But the rain had gotten so heavy that we decided to head back to the hotel instead. The guide told us that we did not want to go there and see angry monkeys, they’re bad as they are, haha! SInce we’re leaving Ubud tomorrow, we might as her to set up something else for us when we get back to Sanur on four days. Going all the way up to Monkey Forest when we are staying in the south might be too much of a hassle. But I also don’t want to be here for 2 weeks and not see a single monkey!

Back at the hotel, we were so tried that we fell asleep for an hour before we took a dip in the pool in the still drizzling rain. And then we decided that it would be worth going out for a real dinner our last night here in Ubud. So we called a taxi which took us to Teba Sari Resto, which was a restaurant in Ubud close to a Koi pond. It was a bamboo construction and the pond had huts with tables in them. We didn’t get a pond table, but we still had a nice view. We tried fried duck and friend banana for dessert. Their drinks, Mango Berry and Cosmo Colada, were really good as well.

It was a long day, but such a fun one. We are both really excited to go to Gili Trawangan tomorrow and start our diving adventure together!!

Ubud day 1

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The first day of our vacation is over and it was great!

It started with the sun shining and a dip in the pool. In the light of day, we saw how lush and cosy the hotel is.


The view from our window.

We had Indonesian breakfast: fried noodles/rice with vegetables, egg and chicken at the restaurant in connection with the hotel. Weird to eat hot food at breakfast, but it was delicious.

The rest of the day was all about walking around in the center of Ubud, the cultural capital of Bali. It was touristy but still much enjoyable. And since it is the wet season right now, apparently there aren’t too many tourist. That’s good. But that also means that there is rain. But not as much as we dreaded before coming. The morning was amazing and the rain didn’t come until 1pm, which was the perfect time to sit down and have lunch anyway. So we took the first we found, Miro’s Garden and had Pancake Raja, a potato pancake. It was so nice sitting there under the roof, while it was raining quite a lot and the thunder roared. The freshly pressed banana and pineapple juices added to the experience positively as well.

The last stop, before heading home to the hotel, was at the Saraswati Temple in the middle of Ubud. We didn’t enter the temple but walked around outside. It was beautiful. Ponds full of lilypads and extremely intricate statues. Apparently, you are not allowed to enter the temple while on your period. I wonder why.

Our driver recommended a nice restaurant not too far away from here. But since we are getting picked up at 2am tomorrow, and it was already 5:30pm, we decided to have dinner at the hotel again. Not super fun perhaps, but we will make up for it on Gili and in Sanur later on.

We also took an evening swim in the pool and had something flying very close to our heads above the water. It took us a while, but eventually we realized we had a bat that was chasing us, haha!

So, tomorrow is a day full of adventures, starting at 2am. I hope the adrenaline and thrill of the agenda will keep us awake :D.