Indonesia: Bali and Gili Trawangan (Lombok)

Good afternoon from Indonesia!

Since May 11th, we have been exploring the islands of Indonesia. After landing in Denpasar, we were taken to Legian by Benny, our driver. The Balinese traffic overwhelmed us just by riding along. Cars and scooter riders everywhere, driving around in a wild and chaotic manner. It feels like everyone here drives however they want, without any traffic rules. It's a miracle that there isn't an accident every second. Never rent a scooter or anything similar in Bali! We saw enough tourists with bandaged and scraped arms and legs. Leave driving on these chaotic roads to a local.

The next day, we visited the Uluwatu Temple. It is located on a steep cliff, about 70 meters above the waves of the Indian Ocean. 'Ulu' means 'summit' or 'peak' in Balinese, and 'watu' means 'stone' or 'rock'. The temple is also known for its sacred monkeys. The long-tailed macaques can be found throughout the entire complex and are happy to snatch sunglasses, cameras, and anything else that is not nailed down.

In addition to Uluwatu, we also visited the Hindu sea temple 'Pura Tanah Lot'. Tanah Lot translates to 'land in the middle of the sea'. And here, the name says it all - it is located close to the shore on a rocky promontory and can only be reached on foot during low tide. Access is reserved for believers only. During high tide, Tanah Lot is completely surrounded by water and becomes an island.

Have you ever heard of 'cat coffee'? We tried it! It's called Kopi Luwak, and before it can be processed, the coffee cherries must first be eaten by the Luwak (Asian palm civet). The fruit is digested, and the coffee beans are excreted. It sounds pretty gross, but it results in a distinctive, full-bodied flavor. We liked it... and we're still alive. :-D

On the summit of Mount Batur (volcano), we witnessed the sunrise at 6 a.m. and had a wonderful view of Lake Batur and the lava fields on the slopes of the volcano. Although it is the most active volcano in Bali, with its 1,171 meters, it is smaller than its neighbor Mount Agung (3,142 m), which last erupted in 2017. In the darkness at 4 a.m., equipped with flashlights, we started the two-hour, arduous ascent. With the humidity at around 90%, we arrived at the summit completely soaked. It was very cloudy, and for the first part, we could only see an endlessly long wall of clouds in front of us, which became brighter minute by minute. The moment when the sun broke through the dense cloud curtain was incredibly beautiful! The clouds moved further away, and now we could also see the neighboring mountains, the valley, and the sea in front of us. There are cracks around the crater from which hot sulfur vapors rise. We briefly held our hands in the very hot steam. After the sunrise, the monkeys emerged from the bushes on the crater slopes and walked among us. In an impulsive moment, I held out my finger to a monkey. As if it wasn't predictable, he took hold of my finger and bit down with full force. Just for the record: I don't recommend monkey bites. You do have the full attention of the local guides, but it's also a very embarrassing situation. :-D When we started the descent, the sun bathed the valley in a warm light, making the landscape appear supernatural. The path made of rocks led us through vast lava fields. The soil on the slopes of the volcano is very fertile and allows for a diverse vegetation. We passed cabbage, bell pepper, chili, and tomato plantations on the way back to the starting point.

On Gili Trawangan, Lombok, we delved even deeper into island life. Instead of cars, there are only cidomos (horse-drawn carriages) here. We relaxed on the beautiful beaches, ate very delicious local dishes at the island's night market, and enjoyed ourselves at the Sama Sama Reggae Bar with Bintang Pilsener in the 620 ml bottle and freshly prepared tropical fruit juices.

Currently, we are spending a very relaxing time on Gili Air, Lombok. We will soon share our experiences on this small 173-hectare island in our next blog post.

Sampai jumpa - see you soon,

Vroni and Maria