Bali, Ubud & Kuta

After 14 days in Indonesia, our last 7 days in Bali finally began on Sunday, September 24th. We took a speedboat from Nusa Lembongan back to Sanur for another hour and then went to the center of Bali / Ubud. On the way there, we had another discussion with the "taxi" driver about the volcano (which was still threatening to erupt). But for us, the situation was clear (after researching local media), everything will be fine (it rhymes :D).

In the afternoon, we arrived at our hotel "Kori Ubud..." where we promptly ordered a "Beef Goulash Soup" for Herbert. At that time, Herbert was not feeling well at all. The soup, by the way, did not even come close to Austrian standards... In the evening, we ordered 3 bananas, 1 beer, 1 fork, 1 plate to be delivered to our room at 9:45 pm... I wonder what the waiter was thinking?!... We definitely needed the bananas for Herbert's stomach, the beer for the missing electrolytes, and the fork and plate to mash the bananas.

Monday - a decent portion of lazing around was on the agenda, so we slept in and enjoyed the peace (no annoying sound of the sea like we had in Nusa Ceningan). Herbert was feeling a little better and we spent the day shopping, eating, and exploring Ubud. Then we went into a supermarket to get a "normal snack." German salami, black bread, Danish hard cheese, feta, cucumbers, tomatoes, bell peppers. We missed that. Plus a sip of nut liqueur from Stefanie's grandfather.

Tuesday - We started the day motivated and hopped on our scooter after a pleasant breakfast and a brief scare of encountering a 15 cm spider. Monkey Forest was on the agenda. See for yourself in the pictures. Awesome. Good thing Herbert did some research beforehand. No backpacks, no jewelry, no sunglasses, cellphones, no food, no flashy colors... it was best to only wear what we had on and carry a small camera. Then it was a pleasure to see how the cheerful and unpredictable monkeys skillfully snatched the surprised tourists' earrings from their earlobes, the water bottles from their hands, pockets, and even the entire backpacks in seconds. It was a delight. In our case, the monkeys were cute and tame, and they even relaxed on Stefanie's lap and looked at her in astonishment. Since they didn't find anything in their pockets either, they eventually spent their time just sitting around with us. Another nice tourist trap: banana stands along the paths in the monkey zoo... "Bananas for the tourists maybe?", the Balinese pointed to the bunch of bananas. "Sisi.. yes... sisi wants", the tourists said with gleaming eyes, already thinking of taking a great photo feeding the monkey. Bananas are handed over, money as well. Tourist takes a step away from the stand... and ZAAAAAAACK, the entire overpriced bunch of bananas is already stolen by the next big monkey. The puzzled tourist goes back and quickly gets another bunch to at least get ONE usable photo for the money. Bananas and money change hands. Tourist takes a step. And ZAAAAAAAAACK... :D Delicious!!

Wednesday - 4:30 in the morning... Herbert has a fever. Steffi gives medicine. Bone pain, fever, stomach problems DLuxe, joint pain, headache... Malaria? Damn it! Quickly, in the morning, we went to the Clinic Ubud for a blood test/examination for malaria and dengue. Then back to the hotel, medication, shower, sleep, complain (says Stefanie). Herbert wants to go home, he's had enough of Indonesian food and climate. In the evening, we received the test results. All negative. Diagnosis: Fat viral mega infection of the utmost kind (added Herbert). Maybe, just maybe, it had something to do with the menu that Herbert insisted on trying in a street vendor away from the tourists: chicken, liver cooked strangely, breaded and fried bone parts, a green/gray boiled egg, and rice with spicy sauce... Well. Maybe (according to Herbert. Stefanie says, "it was definitely the egg!")

Thursday - the fever has subsided a little, Herbert is feeling a bit better. Taking medication and electrolyte powder from the clinic. The volcano is about 30 km away and about 140,000 people have already evacuated. The media reports an "imminent eruption." We are gradually getting nervous... especially since toxic gas has already been released from the volcano (Mount Agung) and sudden bird deaths have started around the volcano. So, we decided (since we couldn't go on any more excursions due to Herbert's condition) to put more distance between us and the volcano for the remaining days. We drove to Kuta in a hotel called "Berry Glee Hotel" (colorful to the extreme and full of Chinese people...). Rest of the day, lemongrass tea, check-in, sleep.

Friday - Sunday - Scooter to the beach. Perfect surfing weather, waves, beach, sand, palm trees. Then: Herbert is still surfing, riding the waves like a pro. Conquering the wild sea foaming as if in a battle with a fire-spewing dragon... meanwhile, Stefanie suddenly gets to witness the release of 200 baby sea turtles. Over 200 people gather at the beach, all surfers and people move aside. Baby turtles distributed to everyone. And then, on the Indonesian's command of "GOGOGO", the little turtles are placed on the sandy beach from their plastic bowls. They immediately instinctively start running towards the waves and after several attempts, they are finally carried into the cold ocean. In between, you could see their little heads popping up, taking one final breath before diving again. Herbert misses all of this in his heroic battle with the merciless waves. Stefanie is overjoyed and can't stop smiling. A very good day. Later, we played pool and went swimming in the large pool. The next day, we bought new bikinis and swim trunks, and finally had McDonald's again (apparently, it is still the most tolerable for the stomach in Indonesia after weeks of highly-spiced food). Scooter tour to Tanah Lot Temple. About 3 hours of scooter driving. Visited rice fields. Temple on a stone island. Stefanie is blessed with rice, flowers, and holy water. The volcano still hasn't erupted, but just in case, we are in close proximity to the airport and the largest city.

Sunday - Monday morning: Since the departure from Bali was at 01:10 (after a delay, then 01:30), we took the time and didn't return from the sightseeing tour until 17:00. Then some more pool, billiards, tea, showering, packing backpacks. Off to the airport by taxi. Arrival and waiting for the delayed flight. One last worry about the volcano (hopefully, we can escape before it erupts and have to wait for several weeks...). Sent the first two postcards of our trip (to our parents). Admired orchids at the airport... and then...

...The end of Indonesia. Departure to Australia. We are definitely leaving the islands of Indonesia with mixed feelings. 1 honeymoon week in a wonderful ***** resort with memories of the wedding, 1 week of exploring islands between beaches, cocktails, and diving trips, 1 week of worrying, getting sick, recovering, and enjoying in Bali's main cities... A time full of experiences. But when the plane took off, we were already looking forward to the new and cooler sea air of our second chapter: Australia.

And now, on to the new photos: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B_6nDp69Y6H0Zy1RTndWc09xdWs?usp=sharing

Addition: another funny story happened when we ordered a waffle with ice cream, fruits, and whipped cream. Because - whipped cream in English is called 'Whipped Creme Cheese'. So, a cream made from cream cheese. However, the Balinese must have misunderstood that and incorporated a piece of Emmental cheese into the cream (for the ice cream with waffles) and salted it... You can see the result of the taste test in the photos... :D