From Lovina to Amed

Yesterday I left Lovina to go to Amed. Overall, Lovina didn't really impress me. It's a small town that consists of several villages and while it's possible to see everything on foot, it's not very relaxed. I think the highlights were only the dolphin tour, snorkeling, and the hot springs. Since I was also a bit sick on my last day in Lovina, I didn't want to leave my room anyway. But don't worry, I'm feeling better now :)

Since it's simply not possible to get from Lovina to Amed by shuttle bus when you're alone (if at least two people don't sign up for the route the day before, no bus is running), I had to dig a little deeper into my pocket and take a driver. Of course, this is also much more comfortable and costs about 27 euros for a journey of about 2 1/2 hours. For German standards, this is a great price, unfortunately not here, because a shuttle bus would have cost about 8 euros.

Nevertheless, I made the best of it and got along great with my driver. He told me a lot about his religion and the differences between Bali and the rest of Indonesia. I probably wouldn't have learned all of this on the shuttle bus.

On the way to Amed, we made a quick stop at Pura Beji. A small temple that is very impressive. There the rice and fertility goddess Dewi Sri is worshipped.

As the tour continued, we had to wait briefly on a road because a ceremony was being held right in the middle of the road. My driver explained to me that it's a full moon today and that it's always celebrated in Hinduism.

Then we finally arrived in Amed and I was really impressed by the facility here. In the middle is a large infinity pool and around it are small bungalows that are equipped with everything you need. What I like the most is the day bed on the terrace from which I can look out to the sea. It's maybe 20 meters from my bungalow to the beach. The sand here, like in Lovina, is black and rocky. Right by the water, there are also a handful of warungs where you can enjoy your dinner or a cold Bintang with the most beautiful view. When you stand on the beach, you also have a direct view of Mount Agung. This is the largest volcano here in Bali and looks quite intimidating.

Yesterday evening, as I was sitting in a small warung on the beach, I was approached by Wayan. He works in the Reggae Bar next door and looks like this :D a dark-skinned, casual guy with dreadlocks. It is really true here that people are extremely interested in you and ask you about all sorts of things. I don't know this from Germany either.

When it was dark, I jumped into the pool again and I was joined by Wawan. He works here and tried to flirt with me when I arrived. We talked for a long time and he invited me for a Bintang. I also learned a lot from him about life in Bali. It's so interesting to learn something new every day.

By the way, I also have a small and somewhat annoying roommate here. Under the roof tiles of my bungalow lives a relatively large gecko that makes extremely annoying noises when it gets dark. I even took a picture of him when he briefly showed himself, but I'm just too stupid to load the photo onto my laptop. When I told Wawan about it, he just said, 'That's cool, you have gecko music.' I hadn't seen it that way yet.

Now that I've had my banana pancakes and coffee, I'll explore Amed a little bit more.

Nicky