You're welcome ...

... means 'please' in Indonesian. But actually, I feel more like saying 'thank you', which is Terima kasih. On Wednesday, almost 3 weeks in Indonesia will be over and so will the first small part of my journey. However, that was more like a vacation instead of WORK and Travel. Well, let's start from the beginning. After more than 20 hours of travel from Nuremberg to Indonesia, the city of Denpasar took me by the hand and dragged me through the night in Indonesia by taxi. Destination Ubud, a city with a lot of this: ease, heat, yoga, healthy food, scooters. That is also the first big difference compared to my home in Franconia. In every small unused space, there is always enough room for at least one thing. Right, a scooter. Or 2. For simplicity, let's abbreviate that to 'UER' = And a scooter. 😬

If you have ever been to an Asian country, you will know that 40 km here is not like 40 km through the Franconian Switzerland, but more like a journey over the 40 km long Stachus. Monday 5:00 PM. UER. UER. UER ......

So the journeys already take 5 hours, I don't get very far.

Next stop, Lombok, and then Gili Trawangan (I got my diving license! Yes!). Lombok, an island that is picturesque beautiful but is even less prepared for tourists.

They said if you fly to Australia, you should consider getting a diving license.

So Jacky and I ended up at the coolest diving school in Indonesia. Actually, an Open Water Diver is only allowed to go to a depth of 18m. But I wanted to see a shark! The guys were as relaxed as you and me on vacation, but just as professional! So, it finally happened. Saturday morning. 25m deep. There it was. White Tip Shark. 1.5m. Not the ultimate monster, but for a beginner, it was a moment of two big eyes! To be continued! Thank you, Dragos! 😏

But all the locals have one thing in common. The honest, unbridled friendliness that goes so far that the typical Westerner might think: he must be joking. If the way back to the hotel is too far or you have had one too many Bintags (average Indo beer), then there he is. The typical Indonesian. Brown skin, white teeth, UER. Then he'll just drive you up to the hotel quickly. During the drive, you think in the best European 'one hand washes the other nonsense' how much you should give him. He only smiles and refuses the 50,000 Rupiah (3 EUR or a dinner)! Um.... Terima kasih! And he's gone.

Klaus