INDONESIA - One Way to Lombok and Back

Hello everyone :) ,

Just like the last blog, I am writing today from Ubud. However, that does not mean that nothing happened in the past week!

A week ago, we left our beloved accommodation in Ubud. We are back here now and it feels a bit like coming home! OK, the hosts couldn't remember us very well, but that means we didn't make a negative impression. (Yes, I am trying to convince myself :P)

After a 2-day stopover in Amed, we took a boat to the Gili Islands. We were particularly excited about the snorkeling tour and the possibility of seeing turtles. And indeed, we were able to catch a glimpse of the turtles along with many colorful fish!!

Although it wasn't the culinary highlight, we will always remember a dinner on Gili Meno. We were on our way back to our accommodation and came across a small stall equipped with only 2 tables on the beach. At first, we kept walking, probably out of the habit of thinking that if it's empty, it can't be very good. But we turned around because we liked the location and the idea of supporting a 'local'. And the view was truly unique! On one side, we could see Lombok, on the other, Gili Trawangan, and even Mount Agung shimmered in the evening sun. We were so glad we turned around because our second thought was definitely the right one.

Thanks to a several-hour power outage on the entire island, we spent the late evening lying on the grass, looking at the stars! Because it was so dark, we could see the stars very clearly, and we even spotted Jupiter in the sky! (Melli has a great app that displays constellations and planets)

After 2 days in Senggigi, we traveled further inland in Lombok to Tetebatu. We treated ourselves to a tour guide recommended by Fine. It's cool - being on the other side of the world and having the same person show us the beautiful surroundings of Tetebatu :) I think we are equally excited as Fine and Marc were 2 years ago!

Mu (the tour guide) took us through the agricultural fields, to a waterfall, and through a monkey forest! The people in Tetebatu mainly cultivate crops for their own consumption. Mainly rice, of course, but also papaya, bananas (yellow and red), beans, chili, coffee beans, cocoa beans, vanilla, pineapple, jackfruit, nutmeg, macadamia, cinnamon, anise, and much more. Mu told us that you can grow anything here because the soil and climate conditions are optimal in this region. And every available space in the rice fields is used to grow something. Although the people there don't have much and many, like Mu, have never left Lombok, they seem to be satisfied with what they have. And I can understand it to some extent. They live in simple conditions and feed themselves with the food they grow amidst beautiful nature. Ultimately, the most important thing is health, and as long as you are healthy, you can also be very happy there - I am convinced of that.

Before heading back to Bali, we took a few surf lessons in Kuta. Without wanting to brag, I must say that I had a good feeling on the board right away. I will definitely get on the board more often during my trip and improve my surfing skills!!

Originally, we wanted to fly back to Bali as the flights are quite affordable and it would save us time compared to the boat ride. We wanted to book the flight the night before but that was too last minute, and the cheapest flight was already sold out. So, we spontaneously booked a transfer that is much cheaper but takes four times as long.

In total, we were actually on the road for 12 hours. Five of those hours were spent on the ferry. Although we were (seemingly) harassed for hours by vendors before departure, the toilets were a disaster, as was the cleanliness in general, waiting before departure and arrival, and the over-air-conditioned interior. Since it was a ferry, there were mainly locals on board whose staring eyes made us quite uncomfortable - BUT! We absolutely don't regret it! On the contrary, we thoroughly enjoyed it. We stood at the bow and enjoyed the view of the sea and the breeze, or we lay on the 'sun deck' on top. Behind us was Lombok, the island we had just left, and in front of us, we could already see Mount Agung on Bali. It is incredible to be on the sea and be between the islands that you usually only know from the map. You are sooo far away from home, and you only know from a map which island to expect in the north, east, south, and west. And when you can slowly recognize the outlines, it's an indescribably great feeling! I have to say that it was on this trip that I realized where I actually am, and that made me very happy! I listened to the song 'Drive' by Incubus, which fit so well with the experience 'whatever tomorrow brings, I'll be there with open arms and open eyes'.

So, this post has become longer than I planned, but the past few days have been very eventful, and all these moments were worth mentioning :)

Tomorrow we will take the scooter to a temple that we actually already tried to reach from Amed. This trip ended with us (or rather, me, Melli was smart enough not to go any further when it said there were still 1440 steps to go) covering a total of 1000 meters in altitude to reach a temple that is actually somewhere else.

But it was still a beautiful day, and at 1500 meters, you have a nice view - even without a temple :P

See you soon

Best regards from Ubud