9. Indonesia @ The Gili Islands + Lombok

We arrived to Gili Trawangan around noon after an adventure.



We got picked up in Ubud by a good minivan. This shuttle bus took us and 6 other tourists the ca. 2 hours to Padangbai, which is the harbour town. There we checked in and waited for our boat. The check in was in a restaurant, where two guys sat by a table. It was a total chaos, but we got our ticket and fought our way back to our luggage. Then we waited together with many others... We waited what seemed like about 500 people on the little pier in not a lot of shade for our boat. The fast boat that should take us to the biggest of the Gili Islands, Gili Travangan. Also on the pier it was total chaos and once in a while huge trolleys full of luggage carried by at least 3 men fought there way through us. Everybody was screaming and the vendors were there as well trying to sell everything, but especially food and drinks. After about 1½ hours our boat came and we got on it and found some seats. It was an ok boat and it took us only about 1½ hours to reach our destination. We were so happy. Then Carina sat with the luggage while Markus found us a little guesthouse and we moved in.

The Gili Islands are in a local Lombok guide described as "three perfect coral islands".

The three Gili islands are; Gili Trawangan, Gili Meno and Gili Air. The islands are all fringed with white sand beaches and swaying palm trees.

They are situated in the sparkling Indian Ocean, just off the north-west coast of Lombok.

The word "Gili" means "small island". The guide further explains, that every year The Gilis attract tens of thousands of visitors from around the world. Visitors, including us, go to the Gilis for their pristine waters with white beaches,

great diving and snorkeling opportunities, laid back charm during the day and a nightlife that offers to party all night long.

The waters around the islands are home to an abundant variety of corals, aquatic life and thousands of species of tropical fish. But unfortunately people have been dynamite fishing so the reef is more or less dead.

Gili Trawangan is the most developed of the three island with the greatest range of facilities and activities. While the two other islands has a more laid back style.

This is an example of the means of transportation on the Gili islands. No motorised transportation is found on the islands.

We caught up with Christina, Ryan and Anna again. The same people as we met in Bali and celebrated Markus' birthday. We were all quite in the mood of relaxing, so that was how we spend most days.
Laying on the beach and drank fruit juice and beer all day. In the evening we went out to eat on one of the many restaurants and

after that we went for good cheap drinks on one of the many bars.

Not a bad way of spending the days.

The beach were a bit disappointing because it was not as sandy as we hoped for, but had a lot of different size corals we needed to walk on to get in the water. That hurt, but the water was lovely. Warm and clear.

One of the days at Gili Travangan we decided to rent a private boat for the 5 of us and go for a 5 hour snorkeling trip.

That became an adventure.

Carina got really seasick. Ryan had taken a seasick tablet to avoid seasickness, but instead were so drowsy that he slept most of the trip. Anna were seasick, but not as bad as Carina, while Christina just felt bad.

But Markus felt good all the way.

Markus wearing the GoPro. He was one taking pictures all the day.

Carina before she got seasick.

The first stop, we were all in the water and snorkeled around. It was pretty with all the fish, but there were not much living coral reef.

At the second stop, Christina was the first to jump in the water and the first to dislike all the small stingers in the water. They stung us. After being in the water for a very short time we went back to the boat. We saw a turtle, but it was really far away and I guess the guide was the only one excited about that.

At the third stop, Markus was the only one snorkeling.

Markus snorkeling

We were close to the beach and the water was beautiful clear.

The girls went to the beach to use the bathrooms and Ryan was sleeping/relaxing in the boat.

Now it was time for lunch, which we had on the island Gili Air.

We also walked a bit around on the island.

It was very pleasant.

Bikes are used on the island. Many off them have wide tires.

A nice looking restaurant and Ryan posing behind the face.

Now in the boat again, we all felt good.

In the front Christina and Anna, in the back Carina and Ryan.

We only had about half an hour before reaching our Gili Travangan.

Carina together with Ryan

The tour back started really nice and the sea was calm and flat.

But the it became very rough and on the way back we all got so wet by the big waves splashing into our boat.

We were soaking wet when we reached  our island, but we were happy.

Carina, Ryan and Markus want to eat and after we all lay on the beach and relaxed until evening, where we all went out.

It was a very interesting snorkeling trip.

All 5 of us wanted to go to Lombok, where Christina, Ryan and Anna were flying to Jakarta and Carina and Markus were going overland to Flores to see the Komodo dragons.



We went with a local ferry the 20 minutes to Bangsal on Lombok. From there we had rented a private taxi to take us to Sengigi, where we would stay together 1 night before Christina, Ryan and Anna were flying to Java and Jakarta. Markus and Carina stayed for one more night.

Lombok is similar to Bali, but without the same amount of tourists. There are more Muslims and mosques, but less temples. But most important the local people are just as friendly and smiling as in Bali. The island had a population of 3,2 million people in 2010 and is 4725 km2 big.
The indigenous Sasak people are all Muslims, but a minority Balinese Hindu culture remains on Lombok.

Our first overnight stop on the mainland of Lombok was Senggigi. Senggigi is the biggest tourist destination on Lombok, which does not mean a lot of tourists. The area is known for its beautiful west facing beaches.

Christina, Anna and Ryan taking pictures of and enjoying the sunset.

In Senggigi the sunset is amazing.

The locals were also on the beach and the kids were playing in the water.

Specially from the town beach it is spectacular.

In the background we could see the silhouette of the Balinese volcano Gunung Agung.

Ryan and Christina on the Senggigi town beach.

Other than spending time on the beach, we walked around and had a massage. Nothing much to do in Senggigi, but we had a very nice hotel with a very nice pool.

Now alone again, we went with shuttle bus to the little town of Kuta Lombok on the south side of Lombok.

We had a short stop in the provincial capital and largest city on the island, Mataram to change car and driver.Then we drove to the south coastal town of Lombok, Kuta.

Kuta has 2 streets, this is one of them.

Most Kuta retains its sleepy character as a little fishing village, where the indigenous live more or less undisturbed from tourists.

On the street we could buy fresh chili and

other spices and vegetables, but not a lot of fruits...

Dried fish were also sold on the street.

Markus at our favorite restaurant.

The view from the restaurant.

In Kuta there were many animals.

cows and

goats were everywhere.

In Kuta we rented a scooter and drove around.

Not to anywhere specific,

but to the beaches and villages around.

one of the many amazing views on the Island.

While we drove around we saw many tobacco fields among all the palm trees.

Other than our scooter drive around the region, we just relaxed on the beaches,

took it easy and used the internet.

The sand on the beaches here were also a bit rough, due to the coral sand.

We found a beach,

 with a nice restaurant.

Here we sat and enjoyed the view and peacefulness, before we headed back to Kuta.

After staying a couple of nights we went overland to the island of Flores, better known as the place from where it is possible to take a tour to see the Komodo dragons.

The tour took us more than 27 hours and we decided to take a flight back. :)

8. Indonesia @ Bali - Ubud

We came to Ubud after about 2 hours driving. We were went in a shuttle bus. It was a much more pleasant drive than expected.
It was much harder to find a place to stay, than we thought it would be due to it being high season here. But in the end Markus found a nice little guesthouse with a pool and a breakfast, while Carina waited in a restaurant with the luggage.

Ubud is a town in central Bali.



The town is regarded as the cultural center of Bali and the town itself and the nearby villages seems to consist of artist's workshops and galleries. Around the area there is a general feeling of well being to be found and enjoyed, all thanks to the spirit, surroundings and the climate of the place.

While Ubud seems like one small town, it is in fact fourteen villages, each run by its own banjar or village committee. Ubud has grown rapidly and some central parts are almost not coping with the number of visitors. Growth continues apace, but there are still terraced rice fields along the rivers and away from the town center, regular quiet village life carries on relatively undisturbed.

Everywhere here in Ubud and surroundings there are temples and statues,

big and small in between the village houses.

In according, with Balinese Hindu philosophy peace and liberty are obtainable in our lives only, when we respect and observe the three harmonious relationships known as "the Hita Karana Doctrine".

1: The Gods blessed life and created nature and all of its contents
2: Nature offers sustenance to support the needs and activities of human beings.
3: Human beings have an obligation to establish a traditional village structure, to build temples in which worship, to hold various ceremonies, to make daily offering, to preserve nature and to solve problems together.

We visited "Mandala Suci Wenara Wana" or the Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary as the first thing in Ubud.

Some people told us it is not a nice place, due to the monkeys being aggressive and the place over crowded with tourist, but we liked it.

Its a beautiful place with nature, statues and temples in one.

The Balinese macaques (monkeys) live in the sanctuary and are also known as the long-tailed macaques.

About 600 macaques currently reside the monkey forest.

There are approximately 77 adult males, 194 adult females and 334 young monkeys.

Some monkeys were helping each other in the shower,

They looked like they enjoyed it. :)

while some monkeys sat alone

and looked so sad.

These macaques live primarily in three clusters of females and males and each of these groups tends to use different areas of the forest at different times of the day.

There were many families.

The babies were really cute.

The way the grown up kept their young close looked funny. They did it by holding the tail of the baby... :)

But sometimes the babies got away.

One of the rangers in the forest, asked us if we wanted to give a little piece of a cookie to this monkey.

Markus said yes.

Based on an analysis of the "Pura Purana", a holy lontar book, which is a sacred Hindu historical writing of the temples, The Holy Monkey Temples, were built in the mid 14th century, during the Pejeng Dynasty or early Gel gel Dynasty.

There are tree sacred temples in the Sacred Monkey Forest:

The Pura Dalem Agung Temple, which is the most prominent temple of the sanctuary.

The Holy Bathing Temple, with a structure of the three Mandalas. A mandala is a Hindu or Buddhist graphic symbol of the universe, more specifically, an enclosing square with a deity on each side, that is used chiefly as an aid to meditation.

The Pura Prajapati Temple or funeral/cremation temple, which is placed alongside a little graveyard.

and the Sacred Monkey Forest serves not only as an important component in the spiritual and daily lives of the village, but is the site of several research and conservation programs.

The nature was amazing,

with small paths in between the big old jungle-forrest.

After this visit we went for great Balinese food and drinks and because it rained in the evening we did not go far from our hotel.

The next day the rain was gone and we decided to take a walk to the rice fields.

The rice in Bali is harvested 3 times a year, but this rice still have some growing to do.

A woman working in the rice.

Not a bad job...

Blue sky and beautiful setting everyday... :)

Just a nice little house.

A house where people could practise yoga. We agreed on, if we would do yoga, then this is not a bad choice for a place.

We did the "Campuhan Ridge Walk", with beautiful and breathtaking scenery while we were walking.

During the day we saw wild eggplant.

On the way we met Augustus. He showed us a very local way to an idyllic river.

On the way he climbed a coconut palm tree

It is funny the way they use just a piece of banana bark to climb a tall tree.

Some of the way was steep and slippery and Augustus were Carinas Balinese taxi.

On the way we saw local animals.

In the end we were at the river and the setting was beautiful and

we were there all alone.

After our walk we visited " Puri Saren Agung" or the Royal Palace/Water Palace.

This was the palace of the kings of Ubud until the 1940's, and

some royal descendants live there to this day.

Most parts of the complex are off limits to the public, but the rest is free.

This temple palace was over crowded with tourists and we did not stay for long.

We also had a quick walk around the market.

It is a big market and

we bought some shirts, 

4 dollars sunglasses for Carina,

had some food and

took some pictures before we went to see the Kecak dance show.

The show/dance was amazing partly because all accompanying music is provided by the human voice, the gamelan suara.

The dance is old and is redeveloped about the years just after 1930.

The piece is performed by 150 or more men in a circle plus some main actors and actresses. The men in the circle are percussively chanting "cak" and throwing up their arms, depicts a battle from Ramayana, a great Hindu epic.

In the epic the monkey helps Prince Rama defeat the evil King Ravana. The Kecak-dance has roots in sanghyang, a god-inspired trance-inducing exorcism dance.

The day after was a day for a scooter adventure.



This was our itinerary for the day.

We rented a scooter from the hotel. It was only 5 dollars and then we visited some temples:

1: "Goa Gajah" or the Elephant Cave.

The complex is situated at Bedulu village just 2 km south east of Ubud. Here the main attraction is a cave dating back to the ninth century. The entrance to the cave is an ornately carved demon's mouth with large, carved guards around near the entrance. Inside are some fragmentary lingam (mark or sign as a representation of the Hindu deity Shiva) and yoni (the symbol of Goddess, the Hindu Divine Mother) statues as well as a statue of Ganesha, who is a widely worshipped deity in the Hindu pantheon.

Some parts of the Goa Gajah complex were not excavated until the 1950's.

We both found the site quite disappointing.

2: "Gunung Kawi" or the Poet Mountain is situated in the little village of Tampaksirring,

18 km northeast of Ubud.

It was built in the eleventh century and is presumed to be the burial complex of King Anak Wungsu and his many wives.

The huge structures are carved in to the steep river side stonewalls

We climbed down 371 steps to reach the temple in the bottom of the steep valley lined with rice fields.

It is really worth to climb the steps to one of Bali's oldest and largest ancient monuments situated in lush "jungle forest".

In the bottom of the valley a river divided the site in two, which made the scenery look like in a fairytale.

To get from one side to the other, we had to walk on this stone bridge from where there were a stunning view over

the river.

The smaller complex on the south side of the river is presumed to have been built for the King's wives, while

the larger complex is thought to have been the residence of the King himself and perhaps his concubines.

3: "Tirta Empul" also situated near the little town of Tampaksirring, is one of the holiest temples in Bali and dates to year 960 ac,

but the present buildings are largely modern reconstructions.

The temple is built around hot springs, that bubble in the central courtyard.

The Balinese go there to bathe and purify themselves physically and spiritually. Water from the springs is clean and believed to have magical powers.

We did not bath with the locals, but we were welcome to do that.

But we looked around in the palace. It was beautiful, but much of it was closed to tourists.

The area around Ubud is characterized by rice paddies, which can be seen everywhere, and create an impression of greenness, which we both found startlingly beautiful.

On the way back to our hotel in central Ubud we stopped just north of the village of Tegallalang to see more rice terraces.

The place is a tourist trap, but we found it worth it to make a short stop there and take some pictures of these rice fields because they are known to be the most breathtaking in Bali.
They were stunning, but we have already seen many.

The last days spend in Ubud were relaxing days. We did not have any plans. We just walked around, were on the internet, which here in Bali is a million times better, than in Australia, went to the market and hang out around the pool. In the evenings we went to some local bars with live music.
We both like Ubud a lot.

On the day we were to leave Ubud, we were picked up at our hotel early in the morning. The very nice guys who run the hotel came with breakfast for us on our terrace. Next stop was the biggest of the 3 Gili islands east from Bali and west of Lombok. Gili Trawangan.