The last few days

Friday, 14th September 2018 / Fabian

In our new accommodation, we feel much more comfortable again! There are several shops, bars, restaurants, and cafes all around. In hindsight, we would have been better off in the less populated north than the touristy south 😱. But as life goes, you can't plan everything and sometimes things don't go as planned.

Currently, we are in Kuta, near the airport and in our last accommodation. I'm doing well, Gianna is doing even better, but I'm starting to get tired of Bali 😬. Somehow, being in the city for this long and being around so many people is too much! Even at night, it's never really quiet because the walls are so thin that you can hear every car as if it were driving in your living room.

The last few days, we mainly indulged in the restaurants and tried to survive the Balinese traffic with our scooter 😬!

No, don't worry dear moms, it's not that bad, but you do need to get used to it and be fully attentive when riding a scooter in the midst of the chaos. Some tourists were walking around with bandaged arms, legs, and faces.. Interestingly, we never witnessed an accident ourselves!

Since we live near the beach, we also dared to go there. Not everything is cozy in Asia. In our case, we were offered everything from marijuana, surf lessons, to a bow and arrow or blowpipe for fishing 😅!

Otherwise, it's very nice to sit on the beach, have a cold beer, and just watch. 👀

Unfortunately, there was no cold beer, but I did have a surf lesson to show me how incredibly unsporty I am! While Gianna indulged in the nearby shopping center, I ventured into the water with my super motivated surf coach. 🏄‍♂️

What looks easy for others is actually hard work. The waves were pretty good, but also quite high for a surfing newbie like me.

I also experienced the immense power of a wave when I paddled after my coach.. The wave threw me somewhere into nowhere and halfway back.. Well, keep on paddling and face the next monster wave. I could hardly concentrate on surfing as I struggled not to drown like a stone! 😬

Well, I did manage to ride a wave about 2 times in the end! 🌊 Unfortunately, I didn't really feel joy and so, after 2 hours of surfing, I arrived exhausted and a bit disappointed to the freshly rested shopping queen. She didn't buy anything, as Gianna doesn't necessarily like it when she's constantly approached during shopping and bargaining is not one of her favorite things, nor her strengths. 😬

By the way, one of my strengths is continuous complaining when

- I'm tired

- I'm hungry

- I'm thirsty

- I want to go home

- I don't feel like shopping

- I'm too hot

- Gianna smokes

- I don't do enough exercise

- I've done too much exercise

- I have to wait too long for food

- mosquitoes bite me

Or simply when I'm underemployed!

This is an interesting point on a big trip because when you suddenly can do whatever you want all day, you also have to deal with it and try to structure your day. Since we don't have space for books, we read on the iPad or watch TV on the phone. Of course, we also do sports, depending on our mood 😬 Keeping busy or especially planning activities is not always easy. It gets even more difficult when we don't always have the same opinions (which is almost never the case 😂)! But we're getting better at it and haven't fought too much yet. 😃

The biggest points of contention actually revolve around food (Gianna always wants pizza, I always want Nasi Goreng) and shopping! So, you see, we don't really have any problems 😜.

Maybe all of this doesn't interest you at all, but I think it's important to mention that not everything is sunshine and rainbows all the time. Even though we're really enjoying the journey, we're spending 24 hours a day together, and there's bound to be some conflict potential 😉.

I have created a short film about our first country on our journey under the following link. Diligent blog readers may already know some of the photos 🙂!

Link to the film: https://gopro.com/v/daeb1Gp7w1Gz

Currently, we're already really excited about Australia, and Gianna has already made a shopping list for our survival trip in the Outback. Just to be safe, I will buy a bow and arrow from a beach vendor in Bali. Because if Gianna's calculations don't work out, someone has to provide food, and I think a 7-meter crocodile will provide plenty of meat 🥩 🐊!