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Published: September 21st 2006
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The Public Ferry
We met new friends, Hank and Maarjte (from Holland)...we kept crossing paths and I adored them!! Gili Trawangan (Gili Islands)
Sunday (Sept 10) I headed over to the Northwest coast of the island of Lombok to the Gili Islands. I started at 6am, and I arrived in the Gilis approximately 13 hours later! But compared to the roads and the conditions in Flores, this was easy traveling! My travels included a 2 hour bus to Padang Bai (Port on east coast of Bali), then a 4 to 5 hour public ferry across to Lembar on Lombok, then another bus trip north through Mataram, and to the port of Bengsal. From Bengsal it takes about another 30 minutes on a small boat to Gili Trewagan. And I can't tell you how excited I got to be on that little boat with a beautiful view and only 30 minutes left to go....
The Gili Islands are famous for their beautiful white sand beaches and relaxed atmosphere (Gili Trewagan is also known as a party island). But there are only small beach bars with handfuls of people, but it was a great time...Lazy days are spent on the beach and watching dvds in bungalows...my kind of place, and after all the days of traveling etc, it was nice
The Gilis
Enough said to be somewhere with nothing to do but to hang out on the beach!!! I needed a few lazy days. There is no fresh water on the island, what I mean is, your shower water was filtered but still salty...kind of weird at first and hot showers only existed at the posh hotels (not where I stayed!!). The island is small and it only took Lisa and I about 2.5 hours to walk around the entire island but that was stopping every two minutes to take a photo or to look at seashells...
I spent a lot of time at an Irish Pub called Tir Na Nog. I met an irish girl Katie visiting with her boyfriend Donal who happened to be the brother of the owner. There are more irish that worked there and my homestay happened to be across the street so it meant I didn't have to walk anywhere alone if Lisa went to bed before me. I always had nothing to do, but Lisa would have to go diving in the morning sometimes. We also did some snorkeling, but the coral here was grey and boring compared to Labuan Bajo, but tons of fish. They
Barong and Kris Dance
Traditional Balinese Dancing... used to use a lot of dynomite near the gilis which has killed all the coral, but the local dive shops are now participating in programs to help rebuild the coral at 5 times the natural rate (some kind of bio-technology stuff) but they have a LONG way to go!!
Lisa left the gilis before me because she wanted to see Sengiggi (Lombok), and hoursafter she left, I stepped on a rusty nail outside of my homestay (thank god I got my tentus!) I was supposed to leave one day after her, but ended up staying an extra day to make sure my foot was okay. But on a good note, staying an extra day meant that Lisa and I crossed paths again on the public ferry back to Bali. (You can't take your luggage with you to the nasty bathrooms on the ferry, but you can't just leave it to go to the bathroom either, the ferry is not fun to begin with, but it's worlds better when you have a friend!!) After the ferry, Lisa stayed in Padang Bai, while I continued to Ubud, Lisa would then arrive in Ubud two days later.
Ubud (Middle of
Goa Gajah
Me by the waterfalls Bali about 1 hour north of Kuta)
Sunday evening (Sept 17) I arrived in Ubud. I arrived after dark (another 13 hours of travel, and this time Bengsal lived up it's name as the "scary port"...I was hassled left and right, people tried to steal my ticket, and another even tried to get away with telling me my bus had left me (but of course he would help me for more money!!)...but no worries, no one succeeded and I got on my bus with all my luggage alright!! The night got worse when I headed home around 11 (sober) after some exploring and someone (no idea who) was knocking at my door, I pretended not to be home, but every five minutes or so they would knock again. Long story short I did everything I could to secure myself and my room, and I woke up the next morning still sitting up with bug spray in hand (figured it might work like mace??) but I have never been so happy to see sunrise.
Day two in Ubud was MUCH better! I moved to a new homestay, and got myself familiar with the area, and arranged to have a
Jewelry Class
Not sure if you can see it and sorry not sure how to rotate the photo, but I am wearing the new piece I made in class in Ubud. local take me touring around the next day on his motorbike. So next morning our tour started with a traditional balinese dance at a place outside of the normal tourist area. This means I really saw a "traditional" dance vs a dance show pretty much put on for tourists! It just so happened to be a field trip for hundreds of kids from Java (another island), and they all wanted to take photos with me. At first they were quite shy and even sneaky about it, but as soon as I said, no no it's okay....they all started screaming and I was like OMG!!! Next we headed to the artisan production villages of Mas (woodcarving), Celuk (silver), and Batubulan (painting, batik, etc). I got to see artists at work and how everything was made, but it was exhausting having to look at ALL the stuff and tell them I didn't want to buy anything! (you have to look though, it is rude not to view all their stuff before denying a purchase) We had some good pork at a local dive and headed on to the fun scenery stuff. Next we headed to Goa Gajah (Elephant Caves) and it was gorgeous and then to the Holy Springs. Here if you wash/drink the water you are supposed to be relieved of anxiety and internal health problems. As Rai (driver) says, it clenses the body AND the mind. I wasn't a believer but I must say, it was uncanny how good I felt after washing my face there and drinking some water. On the way back to Ubud, we took a detour around all the rice paddies and hills to take photos etc. My pictures are horrible, but the views were amazing!!! I then met up with Lisa when I arrived back in Ubud.
Wednesday morning (9/20), Lisa and I both took classes. Lisa took an indonesian cooking class and I took an aweeeesome jewelry class with Studio Perak. See photo for the piece I made in my three hour course for approx $15. Lisa and I just shopped that afternoon because we were leaving Ubud for Kuta again on Thursday.
I am now back in Kuta and leave tomorrow night (Friday 9/22) for the land down under. I will arrive Saturday morning in Australia and I am very excited. I will miss Lisa, we have grown really close over the past three and half weeks but her family and friends are actually taking care of me my first few days in Sydney. Her dad will be picking me up from the airport, and I will head to the beach with him (he runs there in the morning), and later that afternoon another friend of Lisa will be picking me up and I will stay with her Saturday and Sunday night.
My closing comments about Indonesia.....it is amazingly beautiful, but it tests your patience every day...those with a sense of urgency or no sense of humor should think twice. Prices are cheap but people are hassling you/begging you/screaming at you etc constantly. Some locals were great and interesting people and others made you never want to come back. But all in all, it was a fantastic experience, and I hope to return someday.
Hugs and Kisses...Kristen
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Jill
non-member comment
safe travels
Hi Herbie-so glad you are enjoying your travels. I've had several friends live in Australia for a year or so and I can't wait to hear your take on the land down under. Have a safe journey and keep the updates coming!!