Andro #51 hatramin'ny #53

Hey everyone,

As we mentioned, we went diving two days ago. The first dive at the USS Liberty wreck was really impressive, although due to the condition of the wreck and the not so good visibility, the entirety of the ship was not recognizable. One can imagine that there are huge metal parts lying around and thousands of fish swimming. It was definitely an experience. At one point, we could even swim into an old cargo room with columns, but our diving certificate didn't allow us to go any further. The second dive took place at a sheer cliff that dropped deep into the sea, we went down to about 25m (my camera is only waterproof up to 18m, but luckily it survived both dives). Besides lionfish, barracudas, microorganisms, and moray eels, we saw all sorts of tropical fish as usual. We really enjoyed diving here as well.

After having a meal at our favorite beach restaurant, we went snorkeling in Jemeluk. In addition to the underwater creatures, you can also admire a small temple that was sunk there. Unfortunately, there was also a lot of plastic waste in the sea because there is virtually no waste disposal in Indonesia (it is either burned in the backyard or dumped in the hinterland).

After enjoying the peaceful days in Amed, we went to the tourist hub Ubud yesterday. On the way there, we made a stop at Tirta Gangga, a water temple (see pictures).

As soon as we arrived in Ubud, we immediately explored the city and of course visited the famous Monkey Forest. Unfortunately, you have to pay an entrance fee even there... but the forest itself is really beautiful and the little gray monkeys are everywhere. You can feed them or let them climb on you if you want. However, we decided not to do that, as the monkeys are also known for stealing anything they can get their hands on, even zippers don't help... just a few days ago, a British woman told us that a monkey stole her camera.

For dinner, we had ready-made meals from the supermarket again, as our accommodation had a hot water dispenser. The accommodation was amazing, especially the breakfast: you could choose from 9 different dishes, such as toast with omelet+tomato and watermelon juice, etc. Unfortunately, it was already fully booked for the next few days, so we moved to another place today.

We got up at half past six this morning because we wanted to visit the traditional food market, which is only open from five to eight o'clock. Compared to the markets in Thailand, it was rather boring. After breakfast, we went back to the market building, this time to the art market, where we bought the last souvenirs.

This afternoon, we had two waterfalls on the agenda again. Unfortunately, we were stopped by the police on the way there because we drove in the wrong direction on a one-way street, which everyone does here anyway, but tourists have to pay, of course... the problem is that Jakob is not allowed to ride a 125cc motorcycle. Well, we had to pay almost 21 euros as a 'fine' and were allowed to continue, and we went to Tegenungan Waterfall. Although it was really crowded there, we managed to take some nice pictures, and it was a bit quieter at the top of the waterfall. The second waterfall, Kanto Lampo Waterfall, was a disappointment because it currently has no water due to construction work.

Well, but this didn't matter anyway, because in the same city, Gianyar, we wanted to visit a traditional night market. It was really nice there, and above all, we could eat so cheaply (10,000 idr for a whole fried fish with rice - Jakob was full from it!!), but it soon started raining. Unfortunately, it was a great, heavy, and long tropical downpour... so we arrived at our accommodation completely soaked. As usual, we had forgotten our rain jackets - our own fault. Tonight, we went to a nice place for an arak cocktail (arak = rice schnapps). The day was really exhausting.

Tomorrow morning, we're going rafting. We're curious to see if there will only be unfit, screaming Chinese people participating :P

Yours, Teri Yaki

P.S. Pictures will come tomorrow