Tag #54 to end...

hello there,

we're checking in again from our trip as a couple.

As mentioned before, we went rafting three days ago. From Ubud, we took a one-hour car ride to the hinterland. When we arrived at the starting point, we were surprised that we were the only ones. So, just the two of us with a guide got into the boat. On the river, we quickly realized that we were not alone. The rubber boats - occupied by tourists with their yellow helmets - lined up here. Unfortunately, the weather was not particularly good, the drizzle soon turned into heavy rain and didn't let up until the end. Well, that made the action even bigger: the river was really rapid and had a lot of water due to the heavy rain, which was channeled into the river through small streams and waterfalls. So we went 16 kilometers in almost two hours, passing through rapids and tight curves, past rice fields, and through waterfalls cascading down the cliffs. In the end, we even went down a small waterfall to top it off. Completely soaked to the bone and freezing, we were looking forward to the freshly prepared buffet and filled our bellies: Mie and Nasi goreng, sauted vegetables and ayam; as a dessert, juicy watermelon.

The next day we went to Sanur and stayed in a quite fancy accommodation with a pool. As we researched before, a 'Lost Place' is not far from the city: the Taman Festival, which was never completed. From a distance, you can already see the framework of the large hall, which arches into the sky - almost eerie. The entire festival grounds are huge and consist of several abandoned buildings with ticket counters and even a theater. It is fascinating to see how nature has reclaimed its lost territory over time: the walls are partially overgrown and embraced by plants and trees. The graffiti give the place something magical.....

In the evening, we walked through the city, which is very upscale and appeals more to wealthy tourists. There are many upscale hotels and restaurants lined up - we were also offered an all-you-can-eat deal for 88,000 IDR with elegantly arranged dishes and a salad buffet, as much as you wanted. Jakob loved the idea and finally persuaded Therry to go there for dinner. Well, the 35,000-water times two did raise the price a bit... but the 43 dishes we ordered were worth it (they were actually just small bites.... like Chicken Satay skewers, Tiger Prawns, Mini Beef Burger, Mini Pizzas, Fried Fish......).

The next morning we continued to Kuta (where we returned our scooter after 10 days). We spent the day walking through the city and looking for a hard drive, which is really hard to find in Indonesia... Well, we finally found one at a small tech stand in a mall - so we were able to back up our pictures.

In the evening, we indulged ourselves with a feast at the Sushi-Hana restaurant to end the trip - after extensive research and pre-selection of the best sushi in Bali. It was definitely worth the effort! The restaurant itself was already awesome: you enter through an elegant corridor lined with water walls, and it even has an outdoor area with a bar. After studying the extensive, huge menu for a long time, we selected several dishes - including a sushi boat :D So we ended the evening...

Today we went to Nusa Dua - to the accommodation where we stayed on our first night in Bali and where Jakob will be staying during his time at school.

Tomorrow marks the end of a beautiful vacation... Therry is flying back to cold Germany (brrrrr) and Jakob is going to Singapore for three days (yes, this 30-day tourist visa...) and then back to Bali for the next six months.

We'll still keep you updated, whether it's a photo collage of the best rooftop bar views from Singapore or a final report with all our vacation and country impressions or future experiences in Bali ;)

Your TeriYaki :)

P.S. Pictures will be available again with good WiFi!