Bali phase

Yes, dear, sentence with x, was probably nothing... Unfortunately, our last days in Bali were different than expected. First David lay flat and then it was my turn. Unfortunately, we were only able to discover the island of Nusa Lembongan to a limited extent or separately. The trip to the neighboring island of Nusa Penida unfortunately fell down the toilet in the truest sense of the word. Annoying, but what can you do. Health always comes first and let's be honest, even the best beach isn't half as nice if you're not feeling well. In any case, it was good accommodation to be sick. If you can put it that way. After all, you always have to see the positive. Having such symptoms while camping would be a lot worse! No, that would be sheer horror! So you had your own accommodation, your own bathroom and air conditioning. In addition, you had a lot of friendly people around you and you don't have to call in sick at work. It's one of the things I really don't like doing. But if I'm completely honest, despite everything, this is the moment when you just want to be at home. Can have rusks and a vegetable broth brought to you and have your usual surroundings. Ask an Asian for rusks. Hopeless 😂 The choice of food on the island was also shockingly small and very unusual. Well, somehow you make ends meet. And one thing is always and everywhere, namely rice 😄.
Another big plus is that you are not traveling alone. This way you can support each other and be there for each other. Being sick is exhausting anyway, but in this heat? That's crazy. I really wonder how the locals manage. They certainly can't lie down in the air-conditioned room....
The island is quite small. In every shop where David was alone for the second time, people asked about me and wished me a speedy recovery. Isn't that sweet?
So here are my thoughts on Bali... From beautiful rice paddies to coffee plantations, beautiful waterfalls and lots of hustle and bustle in the city. Here you can have a really good time for little money. As always, I liked nature best. I found the colors, the vegetation and the atmosphere really impressive. Riding a scooter across the country was a feeling of freedom. Ubud is just a city. Beautiful are the temples, which appear everywhere. In my opinion, all the markets and stalls are a bit removed from the real Bali and very much geared towards tourism. Unfortunately, people lose a bit of friendliness here. The intrusiveness quickly got on my nerves. Many restaurants are certainly far removed from the traditional Bali. Here, too, an attempt is made to follow the "lifestyle" of today in order to do justice to tourism. Of course, the food is also adapted to tourism. In many warungs (that's what cheaper and traditional restaurants in Bali are called) you could still enjoy the traditional Balinese cuisine. Ubud was very exhausting, but still a very exciting experience. There are some beautiful beaches with very clear water. Many beaches would really be a paradise if it weren't for the many boats that bring tourists from A to B. I've often heard that Bali was very different just a few years ago. I can well imagine. Tourism is messing with people in some way. Yet they make a living from it. The pandemic has certainly left its mark, because somehow people have to catch up on this time.
What bothered me was that you had to pay for each attraction. A small amount, but still. Whether waterfall, viewpoint or temple. I still put up with temples, but pay for everything that was actually only created by nature? Sometimes there were even different tickets. For example, whether I just want to look at the waterfall, bathe in it or go for a walk. Eh hello, am I in the wrong movie? Well, as you can see, money is really made with everything here. So you could also take pictures on a swing on popular rice terraces and even rent a dress for it. A dress that is so long that most of nature is hidden in the picture. Well, to each his own 😄. In New Zealand and Australia you never had to pay for anything. At least as far as nature is concerned. Maybe for a national park. But that's about it.
Despite everything, I really liked Bali. It really is a small paradise on earth with many loving people 🙂. The weather was around 30 degrees every day and we didn't have a single drop of rain in 24 days.
Unfortunately, the 14 days also pass quickly. In hindsight I would have liked a few more days. Especially because a few days were lost due to illness. But we had already booked our other flights and had to say goodbye to Bali with a heavy heart. Unfortunately, I was not feeling particularly well on the journey to the next country. I was so glad that we hardly had to carry the backpack on our backs and only had to climb from one vehicle to the other. Transfers are scheduled and operated by the property here. It all went very smoothly. So we first went by car to Nusa Lembongan Port. Then by speed boat to Sanur and then by taxi to the airport. The luggage is always carried by the employees.
Once again we were on the road from morning to night. A trip to a new country always takes a lot of time. But there we were. After 4 hours flight time we were in our 4th country on our world trip.

Welcome to Thailand!

(By the way, we're both completely fine again and we can finally enjoy the trip again 😊)