Hi everyone, this update is a lot later than usual! And the worst part is that I already finished the blog at the airport of Bali a while ago, I just kept telling myself over the past month that I didn’t have time to post it (because there is a bit more to it). Anyway, below is what I wrote down a month ago. Enjoy reading 😊.
Hello everyone! Nice that you read this blog again 😊 This time a slightly different update than usual since it will be about Indonesia! I’m currently in a hotel room in Bali, and will be walking to the airport in about an hour (where I’ll probably finish the rest of this update). My bag is already packed, so all that remains is to inform you about my adventures, let’s go!
Yes, so Bali. Quite different from Australia and also with different company. In recent weeks I have been traveling with one of my better friends (more of an acquaintance actually) Younes. The first week we were going to travel together with 3 other guys we know from the Netherlands and then another friend joined us, so enough fun! 😊
I arrived at the airport and Younes was due to arrive 4 hours later, so I was kind enough to wait for him there. Fortunately, time passed quickly and he arrived in a ridiculous outfit. After we got the first jokes out we said it didn’t feel like we hadn’t seen each other for 7 months (it felt like much longer, just kidding 😉). Well, in the taxi and on to our 1st destination; Uluwatu! We soon noticed that it takes a long time to travel from A to B in Bali, because the traffic is incredibly slow. Due to the many scooters, it takes a lot longer by car. Uluwatu was a nice place to start, nice places to eat and beautiful beaches. We rented scooters and went to explore some places. The first day we surfed according to Balinese tradition, which was more difficult than expected. At one point we wanted to get out of the water, but because the current was so strong, it was almost impossible. When I even saw some panic on Younes’s face, I knew we had to get out of there quickly. Luckily it worked out in the end!
A traditional fire dance is performed every day at a temple along the beach in Uluwatu, and this was highly recommended by everyone. Well for anyone who ever wants to go there; we strongly advise against it! Unfortunately, it was quite disappointing, and we had queued for 2 hours, haha! Actually, we should have known it when it started to rain heavily while we were waiting…
The next destination would be towards the rice fields of Tegalalang. We slept 2 nights there, and another 2 nights in Ubud and I was really looking forward to that. The first 2 nights we were in a remote place surrounded by rice fields and other beautiful nature and that was nice. The disadvantage was that when we wanted to go to the city center, we couldn’t even get a taxi and so couldn’t go anymore. Fortunately, we were able to enjoy ourselves with the necessary games and riddles that evening. On the way to Ubud we even saw an elephant walking, that was very cool!
Ubud was also a nice destination with an authentic center. But what was even more fun was that Bali United was playing football that night. I had seen that a week before and was really looking forward to it. The people who know me know that I really enjoy visiting football matches and so I could also get my money’s worth here! Buying tickets was a bit complicated and as it always goes ‘abroad’ we got into a taxi from a taxi driver whose friend works at security at Bali United and was therefore able to arrange tickets. In hindsight it shouldn’t have been very difficult as there were still plenty of seats available in the stadium. With a jersey of course (for €7) we all went into the stadium to see Bali United win 2-1 against Madura United. Just as many goals as red cards, because there were 3 of them!
The Monkey Forrest is also located in Ubud, and the name says it all; a forest where monkeys roam. We are all not the greatest heroes with animals so that was a nice few hours through that park haha 😉.
The other boys had to go back to the Netherlands again so we ended up in Seminyak, which was closer to the airport. We had a nice day at the beach there and had a beautiful evening, and then we had to say goodbye to each other again. It was a lot of fun traveling together, so it was a pity that we had to say goodbye again.
Younes and I continued our journey to Nusa Penida, this is a smaller island that officially belongs to Bali. Nusa Penida was great fun. We rented scooters again and went around the whole island in 1 day. There were very nice beaches and viewpoints and we were able to enjoy ourselves there.
The day after we went to Lombok, another island that is next to Bali and is about the same size as Bali. We first made a stop in Koeta, which was a surfer’s town where we didn’t do much. We were already mentally preparing for the ascent of the 3,726 meter high volcano Rinjani. A friend had advised us (thanks again for that!) to do it so it was easy said, easy done to book a 3 day 2 night trekking. Well, the hike was definitely not easy said, easy done.
The first day we had to get up around 6 am to be taken to the start of the hike in a truck. After a medical check up (measurement of blood pressure) we were ready at the foot of the volcano around 9.30 am to start! The first day we would walk up to 2,390 meters to camp above the clouds. We were with one other person in the group, and for the rest we had a guide and two porters. These were the people who took the food, drinks and sleeping bags up and we had a lot of respect for them. They walk with a stick with a box on both ends, and in their flip flops up the mountain. 2x as fast as the rest as if it doesn’t take them any effort, and there we were, slogging away!
Well, the beginning went pretty well. We walked for an hour – 2 hours each time and then made a stop to recover. I only had trouble with the very last part, I noticed that my legs were filling up, but luckily we could easily reach the camping spot. There we had a beautiful view and we could relax, we were there at half past four and therefore had plenty of time for that. That night we had to get up at 1 am to start the trek to the top, because we were supposed to be there at sunrise (6:15)! By 20:00 we were in our tent and trying to catch some hours of sleep, luckily that worked out fine since our body was quite tired.
We wanted to leave quickly so that we would at least arrive on time, so we were ahead of other groups. It took about 3-4 hours to reach the top and the last hour in particular was pure hell! It was super steep and there is a kind of sandy surface so that every 2 steps up, 1 step back. So a lot of slogging, but with mind at 0 just go! Finally, we were one of the first to reach the top at 5:30! 45 minutes before sunrise we chose the best spot and we could enjoy our well-deserved view. There we got to know some Dutch people who we would hang out with again later!
Going down was a lot easier and faster and after 1.5 hours we were back in the camp. We got 1 hour (!) to rest and then we would go to our next destination; the lake and hot springs. This took us about 3 hours again and you can understand that our legs (and body in general) were already completely exhausted. Then the boy from our group found out that he was supposed to be in a group for 2 nights while he had only booked 3 nights. After some discussion and calling, it was decided that our guide would go down with the boy, and we had to continue with the porters. Of course they ran over that mountain and now had to adapt a bit to our pace, although we (especially Younes) sometimes managed to keep up with their pace. The porters didn’t speak English so communication was just hands and feet.
The hot springs were wonderful and we just laid there for almost an hour. Unfortunately, that did not necessarily have the desired effect because afterwards our legs were of course completely dull, and then we had to go uphill for another 3 hours! That was the toughest part of the whole tour for me, those 3 hours were really tough. Our legs felt like spaghetti strands, but luckily, we reached our camping spot eventually. During that trip, I met a girl who was also half Dutch half Italian, so that was funny. We first spoke Italian and then Dutch, nice! Once at the top we really couldn’t do anything anymore and we were just staring ahead with music in the background, waiting for it to be 20:00 and we could go to sleep.
The next morning around 6:00 the alarm went off and we had to be ready for a 5-hour trip down! The first hour was still difficult because I slipped a lot, but when we reached the rainforest it all went smoothly. Running after our porters, we finally reached the end of the ride!
The planning for the next few days was relaxing on Gili Trawanang, an island that is so small that there are no cars and you can get around by bike or horse and carriage! Well, that’s where we were, doing nothing! It was nice because several people from the Rinjani tour also went to this island, so we went out with some different people! We cycled around, laid on the beach, watched a movie at a beach cinema, and snorkeled and life was beautiful again 😊.
Then it was over and we had to travel back to Bali. We had a great time and unfortunately time flies too fast. It was a very nice time in Indonesia and I am happy that after 7 months I saw my friends again (and made new ones). But I’m also looking forward to going back to Australia and exploring new places with Samantha. More on that in the next update, thanks for reading! Lots of love!