Above the clouds and the first day in Ubud

24 hours can pass quickly; you know what to expect. Heat, a stunningly beautiful flora and fauna, beach and sea, a different, new culture. The flight information is quickly mentioned: Arrival Berlin Tegel, 10.20 PM flight from Tegel to Doha/ Qatar (3 hours layover) and off to Denpasar, the capital of Bali. Until then, a measly 21 hours - grab the suitcase (that takes a while.. e(?))! And then onward journey to Ubud, our first stop. Arrival local time: 2 AM; temperature: 27 degrees. Everything went well. Considering the distance covered, it's already ... remarkable, ingenious, frighteningly fast. On foot 14800 kilometers; according to Google Maps, we could cover this distance in 124 days... Oh well..

We rented a small "bungalow" from Mawa House. A paradisical idyll with its own terrace and pool, colorful plants and a pleasant coolness. The stars blink down on us between the palm leaves.

The room and bathroom are plain, everything is a bit wet because of the humidity. But we'll be outside anyway. The first night of 5 hours is short, but we have a lot to do. For breakfast on the terrace there are pineapple pancakes and eggs on toast, Caro eats Nasigoreng - our first time not from a freezer bag! The weather was good to us, 28 degrees and occasionally cloudy. Perfect conditions to explore Ubud. And since the Monkey Forest is only a short 8 minute walk away, that's where we're going first. 750 monkeys... and so greedy. Caro's earring seems to taste good, at least one of them is now in the nest of a little thief. The attempt to negotiate a deal with the little monkey failed... it was decided to not only eat the earring, but also to wash it down with water from a pulled bottle.

Along the Campuhan Ridge Walk, which takes us into Bali's surroundings, jungle and rice terraces alternate. The view is impressive. The locals have adjusted to the tourists along the remote hiking trail, small restaurants and cafes offer the opportunity to rest or buy empty water supplies.

In search of a coffee that was actually coffee and not just pretending to be, we walked into an appealing shop... where no one was sitting. When the owner intercepted us at the door during our attempted escape, I felt strongly reminded of a scene from "L’Emmerdeur". No way out... but as it turned out, the restaurant wasn't empty because it was terrible, but because it wouldn't open for another three days. Instead of a coffee, we were served 10 different vegetarian/vegan dishes to try, the owner and the chef discussed the menu... and we were spontaneously appointed as test eaters:).