Kuta Beach, Kuta Beach

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So nice, they named it twice... okay not really, that's just me. But it was a fantastic little beach town that we could have definitely spent another day or two in. How many times have we said that? It is extremely hard to leave each of these gems we find along the way, but moving on to see more of them is just as exciting!

Kuta, Lombok: surf town, friendly locals, weird sand. The sand was not tiny stones like we are used to in Canada, it wasn't powdery like the Gili's, it was more like little balls. Must have something to do with the coral reef that is about 300m from shore.

We had one whole day in Kuta and we spent it walking around looking for a monkey forest. There are little kids everywhere trying to sell you bracelets, scarves or whatever else they have and they told us there was a monkey forest at one end of the beach. A guy in the room next to ours also said he had been there the day before and the little buggers were quite mischievous, even taking a girls glasses right off her head and smashing them. We wanted to see monkey's so we found a good walking stick and off we went... we missed it the first time and ended up going on a more scenic walk of the countryside. There were cattle in the fields, nice birds wading in what's left of the marshy areas, and as usual, unique homes and farms. It is extremely dry around Kuta, I'm not sure if it is just because it is the dry season or if the majority of Lombok is dry like that.

After going in one big circle we found an alternative route to take right along the shore. No monkey's there either! Instead, there was a cute little secluded beach. A few other couples came across it before us, but there was more than enough room for everyone to get their privacy. We sprawled out our sarongs, had a little snack (good thing we packed oranges and bananas in the day pack) and alternated between reading our books and cooling off in the beautiful turquoise water. It was such a nice day, I would have repeated it exactly the same if we stayed any longer in Kuta. But as it always does, hunger crept in and we had to find some food. We stopped at Full Moon Restaurant on the beach for lunch and had some amazing local dishes, as well as fresh pineapple juice and coconut water served with the coconut to drink it out of, then went back to our room to relax for the hottest part of the afternoon. In the evening we went to a restaurant that had a yoga class and happy hour Bintangs (perfect combo for Rebecca and Tyler). Unfortunately the yoga instructor didn't show up, so we both took advantage of the cheapest beer we had found in weeks, and made use of the wifi to plan getting to China. After a few hours we settled on a plan to get our Chinese visas and ended up booking flights to Hong Kong where we will stay for a few nights while getting our visas, then we will take a 24 hour train up the coast of China to Beijing. Very exciting!

After dinner, bedtime and breakfast, we went to dip our toes in the ocean one last time before we had to leave. We won't be seeing the big blue again until November when we get to Vietnam. Just think, we will be getting back to the beach while Canada awaits its first snowfall. That is months away though, so let's not get carried away!!

We made it to Medan last night and even though we didn't plan accommodations in advance and had to wander around in the dark, no one got frustrated! Yay progress 😊 Today we are going to just relax and possibly tour Mesid Raya a grand mosque built in 1906. We have been surrounded by Muslim religion in this country, it's time for us to take this opportunity and learn a little about it!

I can't even tell you how excited we are to be in Sumatra! Java, Bali and Lombok have been spectacular and soooo beautiful! Sumatra is going to be an entirely new part of Indonesia to explore. After spending a couple days in Medan, we will go on to see Bukit Lawang, Berastagi, Danau Toba, Samosir Island and so much more. We get three whole weeks to spend in Northern Sumatra! It's going to be great! We will catch up with ya'll in a few days, probably when we get to Bukit Lawang after making some orangutan friends.

Xoxo Ty+Becs

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Photos

Beach
so pretty

Jeep
Where did the rest of the jeep go?

Mooooo
After the cows survived crossing the road, it was back to grazing as usual

Chickens!
The homestay we stayed at had baby chicks and a baby billy goat. Super cute!