Day 15 Mon 9/10
Our alarm luckily went off at 4:30 to wake us up for the 5:00 bus. In the bus, we met the first two members of our hiking group, Charlotte and Peter from Belgium. After our rough two hour drive, we were dropped off for breakfast, and yes, Maggie was sick. Interestingly, Charlotte and Peter taught us that in Belgium, they roll up their pancakes like burritos to eat them. Also at breakfast, I used a squat toilet for the first time, where there is a hole and some feet area, you squat, and its pretty much like you're peeing on the ground, but there is a hole there. We continued to the start of Mount Rinjani where we met the last four members of our groups, from Germany, two brothers and their wives, Erica, Nikko, Kati, and Josh. We really lucked out to get such a great group. On the hike, everyone brought backpacks, but Maggie and I, being unprepared, brought our Kavus stuffed to the brim. Everyone else in the group was doing three days/two nights. Every group had a guide and maybe 4 or 5 porters to carry all the camping gear across their back in a carrier that consisted of a large stick to balance across their back and two big baskets full of supplies. I know that the porter's were getting paid, but in some ways it almost felt like slavery to me. The hike was 8 hours straight up hill climbing. It was hard to say the least, but at the top, the view was well worth it. We got up there in time to see the sunset and the gorgeous view of the top of the volcano and a large peaceful lake with mountains surrounding it on all sides. During the hike, we stopped for lunch and at the top we had dinner, delicious soup and fried rice, served to us from our guide and porters. One of Maggie's favorite parts was the night spent in the tent.
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Indonesia- day 14
Day 14 Sun 9/9
Our last banana pancake breakfast was delicious. We got a boat to Lombok Island and went the town of Senggigi, where we found a room for $10 a night. The toilet was not built to flush, but there is a pale of water and they say to pour about half a bucket into the toilet to wash it down. I try to hold it. The bathroom has a lingering stench that's not going anywhere, no matter how much water is poured down. Senggigi looks like it was built for tourists and their are still locals selling stuff on the street and tourist restaurants, but hardly any tourists in the town at all. We went to the local's beach and watched all the kids play in the ocean fully clothed. Most of the beach is gorgeous like Gili, but some of it looks a dumpster, with a thick trash lining. I hate littering. We spent the afternoon in the spa and got a whole five hour spa package for about $17 that included a massage, body scrub, facial, manicure, and pedicure. It was delightful. For dinner we went to Young Cafe and pulled our table together with some other backpackers from Germany, Tennessee, Canada, Oregon, Switzerland, and France. It was a lot of fun and interesting hearing everyone else's travel stories. Everyone was raving about climbing Mount Rinjani, apparently the thing to do in Lombok. At 9:00 pm, and after a Bintang or two, we decide we are doing it and Maggie runs out of the restaurant to book it. We were pushed for time before we had to leave to go back to Bali, so our only option is leaving Monday morning at 5 am for the two day/one night trek. Clearly it was about as last minute as it gets, so bargaining the price of the excursion was not much of an option. We were doing it.
Our last banana pancake breakfast was delicious. We got a boat to Lombok Island and went the town of Senggigi, where we found a room for $10 a night. The toilet was not built to flush, but there is a pale of water and they say to pour about half a bucket into the toilet to wash it down. I try to hold it. The bathroom has a lingering stench that's not going anywhere, no matter how much water is poured down. Senggigi looks like it was built for tourists and their are still locals selling stuff on the street and tourist restaurants, but hardly any tourists in the town at all. We went to the local's beach and watched all the kids play in the ocean fully clothed. Most of the beach is gorgeous like Gili, but some of it looks a dumpster, with a thick trash lining. I hate littering. We spent the afternoon in the spa and got a whole five hour spa package for about $17 that included a massage, body scrub, facial, manicure, and pedicure. It was delightful. For dinner we went to Young Cafe and pulled our table together with some other backpackers from Germany, Tennessee, Canada, Oregon, Switzerland, and France. It was a lot of fun and interesting hearing everyone else's travel stories. Everyone was raving about climbing Mount Rinjani, apparently the thing to do in Lombok. At 9:00 pm, and after a Bintang or two, we decide we are doing it and Maggie runs out of the restaurant to book it. We were pushed for time before we had to leave to go back to Bali, so our only option is leaving Monday morning at 5 am for the two day/one night trek. Clearly it was about as last minute as it gets, so bargaining the price of the excursion was not much of an option. We were doing it.
Saturday, September 8, 2012
Indonesia- day 13
Day 13 Sat 8/8
Another relaxing beach day. We woke up, went straight to the beach, and lounged all day long. Throughout the day, the electricity went out a few times, but the locals acted like it was the norm and all pulled out their candles. For dinner we went to the market again, but tried out a different stand. We got satays, like kabobs, and I tried one of each meat, chicken, steak, and shrimp. With the meat, we also got three sides and rice, all for only about $2.50! We went back out to the reggae bar, but the bar was having a party, so the music wasn't as much of our style as the night before. Things I'll remember about Gili Trawangan are the gorgeous breaches, the cats all over the island, no cars in sight, the horse carriages, and the local night market.
Another relaxing beach day. We woke up, went straight to the beach, and lounged all day long. Throughout the day, the electricity went out a few times, but the locals acted like it was the norm and all pulled out their candles. For dinner we went to the market again, but tried out a different stand. We got satays, like kabobs, and I tried one of each meat, chicken, steak, and shrimp. With the meat, we also got three sides and rice, all for only about $2.50! We went back out to the reggae bar, but the bar was having a party, so the music wasn't as much of our style as the night before. Things I'll remember about Gili Trawangan are the gorgeous breaches, the cats all over the island, no cars in sight, the horse carriages, and the local night market.
Indonesia- day 12
Day 12 Fri 8/7
Beach day. The room we are staying in served us breakfast in the morning and I had some delicious banana pancakes. Since Gili Trawangan island has a bunch of scuba places, I thought it would be a good idea to try it out while we were here. I signed up for discover scuba, which included instruction, pool scuba practice, and one dive. I liked the six people in my group: Rajj, a girl from Canada who we had lunch with, two guys from England, and a blonde couple. I went through the instruction and got in the pool. I really didn't like it at all. The whole time we were doing practice skills in the pool, I felt like I was gasping for air through my air tank, my googles kept filling with water, and my ears were suffering in the two meter deep pool. I decided today wasn't a good day to scuba dive and didn't force myself any further. I was only charged half price, and if I feel like I should've gone through with it later on, there will be plenty of more places I can try again. Maggie and I spent the rest of the day lounging on the beach, finding the comfiest open chairs we could on the sand until comfier ones opened up and we'd grab them. We did happy hour with three guys from Holland and Whales. They gave us the tip to avoid malaria, drink gin and tonics. Funny. When we returned to our room we met two Americans from New York, Sarah and Andrew. It was really weird that there were more Americans here. We went to dinner with them to Blue Marlins, a restaurant they recommended on the beach, and afterwards headed to a Reggae bar. The bar played really good songs, some nonreggae songs that they just added a guitar to and called it reggae. We danced and one local who was there was dancing with a full cup on her head, while drunk and smoking. Afterwards, Maggie and I went to Rudy's, the party place on the island, and found out it was just like a club, packed all the way from the bar to the beach. They only have one kind of beer on the island, Bintang, in two sizes, small and large. Maggie is trying to get me into it, but it hasn't worked thus far. Good day. HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!
Beach day. The room we are staying in served us breakfast in the morning and I had some delicious banana pancakes. Since Gili Trawangan island has a bunch of scuba places, I thought it would be a good idea to try it out while we were here. I signed up for discover scuba, which included instruction, pool scuba practice, and one dive. I liked the six people in my group: Rajj, a girl from Canada who we had lunch with, two guys from England, and a blonde couple. I went through the instruction and got in the pool. I really didn't like it at all. The whole time we were doing practice skills in the pool, I felt like I was gasping for air through my air tank, my googles kept filling with water, and my ears were suffering in the two meter deep pool. I decided today wasn't a good day to scuba dive and didn't force myself any further. I was only charged half price, and if I feel like I should've gone through with it later on, there will be plenty of more places I can try again. Maggie and I spent the rest of the day lounging on the beach, finding the comfiest open chairs we could on the sand until comfier ones opened up and we'd grab them. We did happy hour with three guys from Holland and Whales. They gave us the tip to avoid malaria, drink gin and tonics. Funny. When we returned to our room we met two Americans from New York, Sarah and Andrew. It was really weird that there were more Americans here. We went to dinner with them to Blue Marlins, a restaurant they recommended on the beach, and afterwards headed to a Reggae bar. The bar played really good songs, some nonreggae songs that they just added a guitar to and called it reggae. We danced and one local who was there was dancing with a full cup on her head, while drunk and smoking. Afterwards, Maggie and I went to Rudy's, the party place on the island, and found out it was just like a club, packed all the way from the bar to the beach. They only have one kind of beer on the island, Bintang, in two sizes, small and large. Maggie is trying to get me into it, but it hasn't worked thus far. Good day. HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Indonesia- day 11
Day 11 Thurs 8/6
Our second stop in Bali began. We made it to Gili Trawangan Island on the fast boat. It was a tough decision between slow or fast boat, but we chose the fast because it took only four hours, opposed to a whole day, and cost $15 more dollars than the slow boat. We walked around and found a room for $15 a night with two beds, so we took it. It's not the fanciest, lots of ants, no fresh water, and a bit of wood rot on the door knobs, but it will do. The island is gorgeous. I don't think I've ever seen a beach where you can see mountains on the next island over. We got there around 3 and got lunch and laid out for the rest of the day. Trawangan is supposed to be the party island, and it is pretty crowded, but I wouldn't say there were partiers everywhere. For dinner we walked down the beach trip to the local's set of a couple booths and ate there. We have zero idea what we ate, but it was good. It was some sort of noodles, veggies, chicken, and spices. Asian food is spicy! Afterwards we enjoyed some piña coladas on the beach and called it a night. The beach is lined with a street and all through the street there are shops, restaurants, dive places, and more. We've liked the restaurants on the beach that have the comfy chairs on the sand. The island feels like vacation.
Our second stop in Bali began. We made it to Gili Trawangan Island on the fast boat. It was a tough decision between slow or fast boat, but we chose the fast because it took only four hours, opposed to a whole day, and cost $15 more dollars than the slow boat. We walked around and found a room for $15 a night with two beds, so we took it. It's not the fanciest, lots of ants, no fresh water, and a bit of wood rot on the door knobs, but it will do. The island is gorgeous. I don't think I've ever seen a beach where you can see mountains on the next island over. We got there around 3 and got lunch and laid out for the rest of the day. Trawangan is supposed to be the party island, and it is pretty crowded, but I wouldn't say there were partiers everywhere. For dinner we walked down the beach trip to the local's set of a couple booths and ate there. We have zero idea what we ate, but it was good. It was some sort of noodles, veggies, chicken, and spices. Asian food is spicy! Afterwards we enjoyed some piña coladas on the beach and called it a night. The beach is lined with a street and all through the street there are shops, restaurants, dive places, and more. We've liked the restaurants on the beach that have the comfy chairs on the sand. The island feels like vacation.
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Indonesia- day 10
Day 10 Wed 8/5
On Tuesday, we talked to our yoga instructor, Carlos, about a private lesson Wednesday morning for flying yoga, because it was only offered on the weekends and we were leaving Thursday. He emailed back late Tuesday night and in the end, the meeting place was unclear. We got up and tried to meet him at the monkey forest, then at the birth center, but in the end our meeting Carlos turned into an hour power walk around Ubud and eventually, giving up on yoga for the day. Maggie wants to try to buy a piece of jewelry from every place we journey. Her first piece was a brown one, and I got one that was brown and green. We found our way to a cafe, where Maggie read and I blogged a little. I'm really shocked at how many of the cafe's here have wifi. The day was a lazy day and most of it was spent cafe hopping. We were worn out from Monday and Tuesday. We also took advantage of the ridiculously low prices here, and made a trip to the spa, where I got a facial and Maggie had some waxing done. I feel like in the three days we were in Ubud, we really got a good feel of Ubud living. The only thing I would probably do different would have been to take advantage of the yoga here, because many of the travelers solely come here for it.
On Tuesday, we talked to our yoga instructor, Carlos, about a private lesson Wednesday morning for flying yoga, because it was only offered on the weekends and we were leaving Thursday. He emailed back late Tuesday night and in the end, the meeting place was unclear. We got up and tried to meet him at the monkey forest, then at the birth center, but in the end our meeting Carlos turned into an hour power walk around Ubud and eventually, giving up on yoga for the day. Maggie wants to try to buy a piece of jewelry from every place we journey. Her first piece was a brown one, and I got one that was brown and green. We found our way to a cafe, where Maggie read and I blogged a little. I'm really shocked at how many of the cafe's here have wifi. The day was a lazy day and most of it was spent cafe hopping. We were worn out from Monday and Tuesday. We also took advantage of the ridiculously low prices here, and made a trip to the spa, where I got a facial and Maggie had some waxing done. I feel like in the three days we were in Ubud, we really got a good feel of Ubud living. The only thing I would probably do different would have been to take advantage of the yoga here, because many of the travelers solely come here for it.
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Indonesia- day 9
Day 9 Tues 8/4
A lot of the travelers in Ubud come here to further their yoga knowledge. I tried out yoga a couple times in high school and never loved it, but since Ubud is known for their yoga and they have a ton of yoga places, we had to do it before leaving. We went to an intro to yoga class at the Yoga Barn that overlooked a scenic pond and greenery. For the first twenty minutes, Carlos, our teacher, talked to the class and taught us a soothing meditation song that went along with his guitar. The class lasted for an hour and forty five minutes and when it was over my muscles felt stretched and relaxed. For lunch we went to Kafe and I had a fruit plate with a smoothie. My travel doctor would not have been too happy. In Bali, I have really enjoyed trying out all the different fruit juices and smoothies they have. I like papaya juice a lot and had a great omega 3 smoothie at lunch. We took a long walk to find the rice paddies today, that are also really popular in Ubud. Ill admit, I'm glad Maggie dragged me out there. The rice fields stretched for miles and miles and walking paths weaved through the fields. Before walking through, I experienced my first coconut drinking experience. The man that sold us the coconut chopped it off the limb, cut the top and bottom, and handed us a coconut with a straw in it to drink the coconut water. Typically, about two steps into our walk through the rice paddies, I fell into some mud and ended up with a muddy sock and shoe the rest of the day. Some parts of the rice fields had building construction in process, and the materials were brought to the construction site from the women carrying them on their heads. Its crazy to think that people still have daily routines that involve transporting things over their heads. Some of the really talented women could do it with no hands. Afterwards, I went running around the soccer field in the middle of the village. In one corner of the field, all the local kids were playing and another traveler that was standing on the street looking in, was taking pictures of me as I ran through the kids. I felt like I was one of the local people that we've been taking pictures of all week. At the field, there was a European boy, about 10, on his bike, that I raced around the field and a local old man who talked to me every time he passed going the opposite direction. The people of Bali are really kind.
A lot of the travelers in Ubud come here to further their yoga knowledge. I tried out yoga a couple times in high school and never loved it, but since Ubud is known for their yoga and they have a ton of yoga places, we had to do it before leaving. We went to an intro to yoga class at the Yoga Barn that overlooked a scenic pond and greenery. For the first twenty minutes, Carlos, our teacher, talked to the class and taught us a soothing meditation song that went along with his guitar. The class lasted for an hour and forty five minutes and when it was over my muscles felt stretched and relaxed. For lunch we went to Kafe and I had a fruit plate with a smoothie. My travel doctor would not have been too happy. In Bali, I have really enjoyed trying out all the different fruit juices and smoothies they have. I like papaya juice a lot and had a great omega 3 smoothie at lunch. We took a long walk to find the rice paddies today, that are also really popular in Ubud. Ill admit, I'm glad Maggie dragged me out there. The rice fields stretched for miles and miles and walking paths weaved through the fields. Before walking through, I experienced my first coconut drinking experience. The man that sold us the coconut chopped it off the limb, cut the top and bottom, and handed us a coconut with a straw in it to drink the coconut water. Typically, about two steps into our walk through the rice paddies, I fell into some mud and ended up with a muddy sock and shoe the rest of the day. Some parts of the rice fields had building construction in process, and the materials were brought to the construction site from the women carrying them on their heads. Its crazy to think that people still have daily routines that involve transporting things over their heads. Some of the really talented women could do it with no hands. Afterwards, I went running around the soccer field in the middle of the village. In one corner of the field, all the local kids were playing and another traveler that was standing on the street looking in, was taking pictures of me as I ran through the kids. I felt like I was one of the local people that we've been taking pictures of all week. At the field, there was a European boy, about 10, on his bike, that I raced around the field and a local old man who talked to me every time he passed going the opposite direction. The people of Bali are really kind.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)