Nusa Lembongan - Lovina Bali - Lombok and "Travel Blues"

Hello dear ones ☀️

Wow, 4 weeks have passed already. It's incredible how time flies, and now my last week is approaching before I briefly return to Germany.

After my Sulawesi trip, I took a few days to relax in Uluwatu and treat myself to massages, delicious food, and relaxation on the beach.

Afterwards, I went to Nusa Lembongan. The small island is about a 40-minute boat ride from Bali and just before Nusa Penida. The island is really small and cozy, and there are very beautiful diving spots all around. Last year, I visited some spots when I got my Openwater diving certificate in Nusa Penida. Upon my arrival, I took a "taxi" - on the flatbed of a small truck, it took 10 minutes to get to the hotel. Once there, after having dinner, I went to bed. The arrival days are always exciting and beautiful because you see a lot, but also exhausting.

My Balinese tour guide Kadek will arrive later to spend the week with me on Lembongan. On my first day in Nusa Lembongan, we will go to the mangroves. With a small kayak, we can paddle along the river through the mangroves and the sea. For the right feeling, the Pirates of the Caribbean music is playing!

We paddle out of the mangrove forest and reach the sea, it is low tide and below us we can see the corals and a lot of spiky sea urchins through the clear water. Yeah... and it is low tide, and after 50 meters, we get stuck on the ground 😅 No one wants to get off because of the sea urchins, and we somehow free ourselves with the paddle. We almost capsized 🙈 This action gives me muscle soreness in my shoulders and arms the next day 😅

Of course, that doesn't stop me. In the morning, I go by scooter to "Devil's Tear." The waves break with massive force right by the rocky cliffs, and the water sprays up meters high. It's a completely different landscape, each island is really different and has its own individual beauty. Right next to Nusa Lembongan is the smaller island of Nusa Ceningan. The two islands are connected by a yellow bridge, and there I find a super beautiful coastline. The sea is dark blue to turquoise, and the waves break on the rocky coast. I sit at a small viewpoint and enjoy the beautiful view. And the next moment, a stingray just jumps out of the sea at a short distance!! I think it was an eagle ray, I've seen videos before, but never with my own eyes! I am incredibly fascinated and can't believe my eyes! A ray just jumps out of the water 🤩

On the way back, we stop at a restaurant right on a cliff above the sea. Haha, and then another experience, why I simply love Indonesia. When we pay, we realize that we are missing 15k IDR (1€) 🙈 and the next ATM is half an hour away... I have to leave my ID card behind, and we make our way to the scooter. There, Kadek asks a local, and he simply gives us the 15k. The people here are just so incredibly helpful.

In the evening, we go to the beach, and while having a margarita and beer, the sun sets beautifully over the sea.

The past few days, I had a bit of a sore throat, and I kept postponing my dive. But tomorrow, I finally want to start. My throat feels good again after 3 days🙏🏻

The next morning, we go to the dive school at 8:30 a.m. My dive guide is super nice, and she says there is some current underwater, which sometimes changes direction 4 times in an hour from left to right. I'm glad that before my trip, I bought my own dive computer and a buoy. Last year, my dive school didn't give me my own computer, and my buddy suddenly disappeared... and after a guest told me his story about getting caught in an underwater current that pulled him down and he needed a longer safety stop, and then he couldn't find any of the members of his dive group on the surface and waited in the water for an hour until he was found - I thought it was worth the money!

The dive is great! The reef is incredibly healthy, there are so many fish, and a turtle crosses my path as well. Diving is truly wonderful, you are just in a completely different world, your mind completely relaxes, you focus on breathing, and once you find your balance, you are just in flow with the water, floating with all the fish in the underwater world. I really enjoy it, all thoughts are silent.

After diving for about 50 minutes, we resurface, and our boat picks us up to go to the next dive spot.

During the second dive, I had some trouble equalizing the pressure, but after a few minutes, it's fine, and I can go down. There is quite a strong current at 12 meters. The reef passes me on my left side at lightning speed, or rather, I pass the reef. After 10 minutes, the current changes, haha, and we turn around. I hadn't experienced that before. We float with the current over the corals, and I feel like Superman, it's like flying.

After the second dive, we head back. For the rest of the day, I laze on the beach 😊 As I walk back to the hotel, I see that someone has moved into the room next to mine. And somehow, I feel like I know the woman. After 10 minutes of pondering, I approach her, and yes! We dove together for two days on Nusa Penida last year!

The world is really small 🙈

The next morning, I go back to Bali, and in the next few days, I want to go to the northeast of Bali. On the way back, my ear starts to hurt a bit, I have the feeling of having water in my ear. I hope it goes away soon.

The ride is very bumpy, there are a lot of waves, and I can only recommend taking a seat in the back rows, it's not so bad there.

I have booked a hotel near Ubud for the next night. The ear does not get better during the day, and in the evening, the pain becomes unbearable. After 1.5 months of traveling, I'm lying in bed crying for the first time... It's worse than food poisoning, and I feel quite lost. But it happens, even when you are on a paradise island, and the nice thing is, nowadays you can easily make a phone call home and get some comforting words. Nevertheless, it sucks to be alone and sick and not have someone there to hold you or bring you a cup of tea or take you to the doctor.

I take a few Ibuprofen and try to sleep. The next morning, I discover that it is very swollen, and something has burst during the night because the whole pillow is full of blood. Okay, so I take a taxi to the doctor. There, I am prescribed antibiotics and painkillers, I think the tonsillitis was not completely healed, and it has worked its way into my ear... okay. I decide to rest for another two days before continuing my journey. I'm slowly getting tired of being constantly slowed down by my body...

My emotions are quite mixed - I really want to go there, as you can dive and snorkel with dolphins there... and now my ear is broken, and I'm not allowed to swim. I'm angry, disappointed, and annoyed... it's okay to feel that way, I grumble and sulk for a few days. Then, enough is enough, after resting for two days, I go to Lovina, Kadek drives me again, and the trip there alone is incredibly beautiful. Across Bali, over the mountains where it's really cool. Past strawberry fields and lakes, after 1.5 hours, we go downhill for another half hour to the sea. The good mood comes back to me, and I'm looking forward to the small fishing village. I found a super beautiful hotel where I stay for two days.

The next morning, it's time to get up at 5:30 a.m. and go to the harbor. A boat is already waiting there to sail out to sea for sunrise and observe the dolphins. By now, I'm really used to the hot weather, and despite wearing a sweater, I'm freezing at 20 degrees :D

The boat ride takes 15 minutes, and we arrive at the spot where the group of dolphins supposedly hunts for breakfast every morning.

It's a mixed experience - there are over 30 boats with tourists on the water waiting. Then it gets frantic, all boats start moving, and 50 meters in front of us, a dolphin fin appears, and all boats chase after it.

I don't know why, but encountering dolphins fills you with incredible joy. They keep popping up next to the boats, and in the background, the sun rises from the sea for the new day.

However, I wouldn't do it again, all the boats chasing the dolphins as soon as they surface, and it must be incredibly stressful for the animals. I actually don't want to support something like that, unfortunately, I was wiser in retrospect.

Back at the hotel, I catch up on some sleep before heading to a small waterfall nearby. After a 15-minute walk, we arrive and are completely alone in front of a really beautiful waterfall. I dip my feet in the ice-cold water and watch as the water cascades down the small slope. On the way back, Kadek picks a green cocoa fruit. I didn't know that you can eat the fruit like that. I try it, and it tastes sweet at first, but after chewing it for a while, it's just disgustingly bitter. I make a face. Kadek bursts out laughing - in case you want to try it - you only eat the flesh around the soft core 🤣 then it tastes good.

The next morning, we go to two hot springs where you can bathe. The water has a temperature of 26 degrees, and the bath is in the middle of a small temple. In the evening, we discover a small funky bar on the beach for the sunset.

We decide to spend two more nights in the middle of Bali in the mountains before driving back to Ubud. On the way, a motorbike in front of us is loaded with small plastic bags. When I take a closer look, there are goldfish swimming in all of the bags! They are simply sold from the motorbike. It's really different here 🫣🤭

I think about the poor fish, it must be so hot inside those bags... but if they didn't survive, it wouldn't be a good business for the owner...

There are many stands on the side of the road with fruit and strawberries. We stop and I buy a bowl of strawberries - besides the ones from my grandma's garden before - they are the best strawberries of my LIFE. The lady also sells fried leaves, and I buy a pack - no idea what kind of leaf it was, but it was really delicious!

The next accommodation is in the middle of the mountains, and the room is quite simple. A mattress on the floor and a semi-open bathroom 5 meters away. But the view is amazing. It's only 20 degrees, and for me, it's really chilly 🥶🙈

In the evening, the owner makes a small bonfire. The starry sky above me is breathtaking. We spend two days in the mountains, go to a waterfall and a hot spring. Then it's back to southern Bali.

My ear is still not good, I'm deaf in my right ear and still feel like there's water in it.

A heated discussion takes place in my head. I notice that I have hardly any energy. Packing my backpack every other day, processing so many new impressions, and a body that is not at its best. I decide to rent an apartment in Keramas, with a kitchen and a small garden. Amidst the protests from Quatschie... 'You wanted to travel, now you're already in Indonesia, you can't spend a week in one place. How boring to stay in an apartment in one place, this is all wrong!' My inner judge can be pretty hard on me.

Fortunately, I have great people around me, and a conversation with my mom and my best friend Laura helps to calm down Quatschie. Before driving to the new apartment, however, I decide to go to an ENT specialist to finally have a look with an endoscope to see what's going on. I suspect it's not just an ear infection, but a barotrauma from diving. After 3 attempts, a closed practice, 2 hours of waiting in a hospital to then be told that the ENT is in surgery, I finally find an ENT. He looks into my ear with the endoscope. It is still crusted with blood and swollen. He prescribes me stronger antibiotics and cortisone and another week of no swimming... Since the ear is still so swollen, he cannot say if the eardrum is intact.

Okay, then more medication and waiting.

While waiting in the hospital, after 10 minutes, I have to stop sulking and being angry and start laughing... I quit my job to not go to the hospital every day, and now I'm constantly in the hospital again 🤦🏻‍♀️😅 You just have to take it with humor.

I spend the next few days in my small apartment, one day just in bed with Netflix, accompanied heavily by Quatschie, who thinks it's all wrong. To counteract that, I look at my pictures from the past few weeks. 10 different places in Bali, Gili Air, Sulawesi, Nusa Lembongan, Bima - I tell my dear Quatschie that he can relax now, and so can I.

Also, I have finally decided to learn how to ride a scooter! Kadek puts me on the scooter and off we go. We practice for two days, and I'm really proud of myself. In left-hand traffic, on bumpy roads, and crazy traffic, I have overcome my fear and learned to ride a scooter! The good thing is, you only have to learn the handling, not the traffic rules - because there are none 🤷🏻‍♀️

For me, this means incredible freedom! Now I can just leave the house, go shopping, quickly get food, or go to the beach without having to figure out where to go, how to get back, if there are taxis there, or hire Kadek, etc. Nothing can hold me back.

I rent a scooter and get a wonderful pink one, and I have to laugh at myself when I see myself in the reflection of a window, sitting on my pink Barbie scooter.

After two days of driving around the area, I gather the courage to go on a trip.

I found a waterfall high up on a mountain in Google Maps, where you have an incredible view. So off we go! After half an hour of driving, I end up somewhere in the forest. The navigation doesn't have a clue, and neither do I, as I have no sense of direction anyway... I follow a sign, but it leads to nowhere. Okay, I think to myself, the drive was already an experience, so now it's time to go back. I drive back along the narrow forest path, past a small house, where a lady waves to me. She asks me if I want to go to the waterfall. Yes! We can only hike there, not drive, it takes half an hour - she would be happy to take me there. I think to myself, mega! She hands me a walking stick and asks if I have water with me. Yes, walking for half an hour shouldn't be a big deal, I think. Her little dog Booboo accompanies us, at the beginning, we walk along a small river over a bamboo bridge, and she shows me that I should only walk on two specific planks. It will be fine, I think 😅 We are in the middle of the jungle, she has brought 3 small offerings that we place at small temples along the way. Booboo sprints ahead of us with his 4 legs at a speed through the jungle, and we follow at a snail's pace. It's very steep uphill, and I'm already looking forward to the way back 🙈

We talk in Indonesian, and I'm amazed at how much I understand now. She climbs to the waterfall three times a week with tourists. Wow, quite a workout! It's really exhausting, and I'm grateful for the walking stick and envying Booboo's four legs 😅

Once we reach the top, the view is incredible - the hike was definitely worth it! You can see the sea, the beach, and steep slopes below us. I look over the palm canopy of the jungle that we climbed up through earlier. My lovely companion becomes the photographer and takes pictures of me. We eat some snacks she brought, and after a while, we start the way back. Going down is definitely worse than going up. We hear that someone is working somewhere in the forest. She calls into the forest, and there is a response from somewhere. It's her neighbor, the two of them talk through the jungle. I have no idea where he was sitting 🙈😅 On the way back, she offers me a coffee, which I gladly accept. I thank her warmly and make my way back.

Satisfied and fulfilled, I fall into bed. (By the way, I had muscle soreness for the next two days)

I spend 10 days in my apartment, and folks, I was happy when I made my own breakfast, made my bed in the morning, swept, and watered the garden. It did me incredibly good to have a routine and to finally settle down a bit. After a week, I go to the doctor again and get another round of antibiotics and cortisone because I was still deaf and the infection hadn't gone away. However, this time, he could see my eardrum, and it is actually slightly perforated. Despite all this and another week of no swimming (really tough for me), I'm glad that it is like this now - because I really don't want to imagine sitting in an airplane with a perforated eardrum...

The days go on, I'm really busy with myself, and with the calmness, many thoughts come up. Quatschie is still not okay with the 'staying in one place' thing. I cannot completely go against it, which is also fine. I decide to give in and book a ticket to Lombok. However, only after Galungan in Bali.

It is the second highest holiday in Bali, and for days, everyone on the island has been preparing for it. The temples are decorated, a 'penjor' is set up in front of every house. It is a long bamboo pole adorned with palm leaf weavings and a coconut.

On Galungan, the whole family gathers, they eat together, pray, and go to the temple together. On this day, the gods come to visit the island, as do all deceased family members. Bali is decorated all over, the penjor on the streets is a wonderful sight, all Balinese people are wearing sarongs, the scent of incense sticks is in the air everywhere, and you can hear the traditional Balinese music everywhere - it is an incredibly beautiful atmosphere. I'm glad I can experience this. 🙏🏻

The next day, I go to Lombok. I follow my inner voice to travel more and discover other places. I first booked two days in Kuta and then extended it for another two days. I don't feel like moving, packing my things, and going kilometers on Lombok. I rent a scooter and go on smaller trips, meet super nice people, but can't bring myself to go on the volcano tour and to the other end of Lombok, where there are super beautiful waterfalls and rice fields. I had researched all of this in advance and planned to do it.

But the thought of driving there for 2 hours just to drive back after 3 days to get to the next place completely goes against me. However, I can't give up completely, so I drive from Kuta to Senggigi, a place that's already on the way to get back to Bali later. There I book 2 nights and end up staying for 4 again. Moving on is incredibly difficult for me, I don't feel like it, and now Quatschie finally accepts that and gives me peace.

I really enjoy being on Lombok, on the way to a beach, I drive through a pure palm forest - the best thing there is for me. Completely surrounded by palm trees, the beaches are completely empty, and the water is turquoise blue. I experience sunsets that seem unreal, ride around on the scooter, and simply enjoy it.

After almost 9 days, I want to go back to Bali. It was good to give in to Quatschie and follow that urge, I didn't have peace before, and only on Lombok did I really understand that everything is right the way I am doing it, and that I have a tired body, it's exhausting to change places every two days, and I can accept that I'm just tired of traveling.

Now I've been sitting in Bali in a small apartment with a kitchen and a small communal pool for a week. I cook, go to the beach, went to a traditional Balinese Kecak dance, went shopping, and simply rest and live a life without a job, without obligations (which is also something you have to get used to)

In 9 days, the plane will fly back to Germany. But before that, I have to do something a little crazy.

The volcano I wanted to climb is about 150km from Bali. And the area where you can see the blue fire at night has been closed by the government for the past 3 months. Now, it has been reopened for 3 days, and I will drive 6 hours on a scooter to Java to finally climb that volcano. I'm really looking forward to it and I'm already excited. Until then, I rest here and enjoy doing nothing, no planning, no organizing, because it's finally possible without Quatschie.

By the way, the next adventure is already fully planned - in mid-September, I will fly from Frankfurt to the next journey!

By the way, so far I had to give way to:

• various dogs
• cows
• about 100 ducks all at once
• 12 water buffaloes
• some horse-drawn carriages
• a lizard

Let's see what will come on a 150km scooter ride 😅

Warm hugs to all of you! See you soon!