Jimbaran (Bukit Peninsula)

After a short ferry ride, we reached the Bukit Peninsula and thus the Balinese "mainland" again. We had chosen accommodation near the airport and found a really nice hotel in Jimbaran. Slowly, we realized that we would soon say goodbye to the first part of our world trip. Unlike Nusa Penida, where we had visited quite a few places in a short time, the days here were less planned, and we made final preparations for Australia. The places here were touristy again, although quieter than Canggu or Ubud, but unfortunately also significantly more expensive than Gili Air or Nusa Penida. After picking up our passports with the visa extension, we drove to a peculiar beach. The access road was huge, there were many modern signs, large statues carved into the rocks along the road, and there was a large bus parking lot down below. It seemed like the whole facility was designed for large groups of tourists, but they seemed to be absent - probably due to the pandemic again. The beach itself was moderately beautiful, but the water was super clear and turquoise. We just walked along the promenade, had a coconut, which was as oversized as the logistics of the beach - it was bigger than our heads! - and then continued our journey. The next destination was the slightly more remote Nunggalan Beach, which required a 20-minute climb down. Once again, this kept the masses of tourists away. Except for a small stand with drinks, there was nothing here, and no one to keep the beach clean, unfortunately, the sea constantly washed up new plastic waste. We cleared some lids and plastic parts to the side and had a super nice partly shady resting place under a palm tree, as the sun was scorching hot from the sky. At the water's edge, you could lie in the shallow water, just had to avoid the small waves and withstand the current, which sometimes came from all directions at once. The beach was beautiful and felt like an enchanted place, as deserted as it was, with the wild jungle in the background and the crystal clear water all around us. We sat in the water for a long time and let the sun shine on our bellies. Eventually, hunger drove us back and we went to the well-known Bingin Beach for sunset (somehow our new thing in Indonesia), which is popular among surfers. From a terrace, we watched the last brave ones dash across the waves in the orange-pink light of the setting sun.

We spent the next day at Uluwatu Beach, where we found a small cave and watched many surfers. Philip also collected trash in a plastic bag he found in the sea. Since we had seen a small snake when entering the sea, we decided not to go deeper and instead stayed in the shallow water. For sunset - yes, again 😄 - we went to another very beautiful beach, Padang Padang. After a surprisingly short staircase, you reach a clean sandy beach with calm water - almost like the Mediterranean that Jana loves 😜. Except for the fact that something was being burned in the background (driftwood, garbage, old coconuts?) like in many places in Indonesia, we were able to end the day nicely here.

And there it was, our last evening in Southeast Asia. Somehow a strange feeling, soon not to be here anymore. We really liked the first continent of our trip, some countries were different than expected, others pleasantly surprised us. We experienced beautiful nature here, unbelievable kindness of the people, fabulous food, a lot of culture and religiosity, but also poverty, trash, and corruption. Despite all of that, you have a great sense of life here, and we want to try to maintain some of the casualness, lightness, and friendliness of these countries in the future. In addition, Philip definitely wants to buy a scooter in Germany to drive around with. This will not be our last trip to Southeast Asia!

Nevertheless, we feel ready for a new chapter, our second major destination and at the same time the second continent of our journey: Australia!