18° Lombok

Today we have planned a smaller tour. There are several viewpoints and we want to make another attempt at a different Monkey Forest.

The way to the first viewpoint was much more relaxed than yesterday's drive through the big city. We mainly drove through the jungle and smaller villages. The last section reminded me of mountain biking at home (with Michl on the Denkalm). Somehow we managed to get up there with the scooters and I keep reminding myself of Michl's braking tips. We find the 'ticket booth' deserted, just like the rest of the area. Just as we get back to the scooters, it starts to rain lightly. Jan, Laura, and Katharina decide to go home. Under the protection of our rain gear, I find the route back to the villa for them. Suse, Tim, and I really want to visit our next destinations, and as soon as the group has split up, the sun starts shining. We drive up into the mountains and have a wonderful view. The next stop is the Monkey Forest and we find another abandoned place. Abandoned restaurants, rotten viewing platforms, etc. We wonder if this is really all due to Covid and what it might have looked like here in the past. We don't find any monkeys in the forest. They prefer to stay by the roadside and feed on the trash thrown out of cars. We stop several times in the next few kilometers to the coast and watch the monkeys. Suse and I keep a safe distance. But when Tim is hissed at several times, we continue driving. In the evening, we are caught in the rain and a small storm, just as we are having dinner. So that we don't get completely soaked, the owner lowers the blinds in a small beach hut for us. It feels like sitting in a little cave.