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After a chill day of browsing the local market for souvenirs and getting a massage, I went to bed early since my alarm was set for 1.45am: I was going to do a sunrise hike! At 2.15 we were picked up and by 4am we were hiking up Mount Batur. It was very steep and the way up consisted of a lot of loose stones that caused many people to slip very often - thank god for my hiking boots! Some steps were so high that the guides would pull us up. It was very cloudy but every now and then, the clouds faded and we could see a glimpse of the start of the sunrise. By the time we got to the top and the sun started to appear on the horizon, the clouds disappeared for long enough to actually see the view during the sunrise. It was magical, despite the fact that I was freezing (and I was wearing long pants and a sweater).
Instead of going to bed, I refreshed myself and then met up with Marjolein, a friend who happened to be in Ubud for the day, and her friend Britt. We did a
nice 4km walk (2km each way) through some rice fields, browsed the market and had dinner and cocktails later. It was very nice to catch up after such a long time! After 2 cocktails I was starting to get very sleepy though, so I went to bed early.
With 2 new American friends, we explored Ubud during a Hindu festival but it turned out we missed it - it took place in the morning! It was still nice to see everyone dressed in traditional clothes. We also went for cocktails and dinner, and afterwards we ended up in a Latin bar. The live band was amazing, singing Indonesian, English and Spanish songs. According to the Mexican-American girl I was with, their Spanish was quite good (and so was their English)! The bar next door also sold “bitterballen” and “vlammetjes” so I stayed away from there since I'll be home in about 1,5 week anyway.
My next destination was Amed. The place wasn't very lively but it had a nice, black beach since the vulcano Mount Agung is nearby. I just went swimming and snorkelling; I saw Dory’s lookalike! It was another type of surgeonfish
which didn't have the right pattern but otherwise it could've been Dory 😉. One evening we had a “really fancy” dinner which everyone thought to be expensive: it cost me €6 for a meal and a drink.. Afterwards there was a live band in the hostel bar, which was fun too. It was supposed to be a Reggae night and although they did sing a lot of Bob Marley, they also sang Ed Sheeran and just put some reggae tunes under it (which I kind of liked actually).
On my way to Nusa Lembongan, I first had to get to Sanur. I took the shuttle bus, since this was a lot cheaper than Grab. When I was picked up, the bus turned out to be a car since there were only 2 other girls traveling south today. Lucky for me, this meant I was picked 10 minutes before the departure time, giving me plenty of time to catch my boat. I definitely won't miss the driving style here though. Constant manoeuvring around motorbikes, overtaking short before a turn and driving on two lanes at the same time are the norm here.
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