My last post I wrote about my thoughts on the plane, finally on my way to get where I wanted to go and I'm telling you now my trip did not end up being what I expected.
I got over my home sickness and I finally got to hang out with my brother. I feel like I got my urge to travel and explore back again. And this feeling is amazing!
Without further explanation, let's get to the point: My trip.
My first destination was Ubud. Ubud was beautiful, not at all what I expected. Beautiful rice fields and jungle but also a nice city center with beautiful small cafe's and shops. We had a private villa with an infinity pool. It was surely amazing and an awesome start. Unfortunately I only had 2 days there since I was 4 days late from my original plans. Our only full day in Ubud, we hired a driver who took us to a temple, hot springs, waterfalls, beach and a coffee plantation.
But just as an advice to everyone considering this kind of a trip: Don't take the offer the hotel or Villa offers. Get a private driver and it'll be at least half the price.
The second destination was Gili trawangan, which is one of the gili islands in Lombok.
Early in the morning we had organised a bus for us, to take us to the harbor. We shared a bus with heaps of other backpackers. The bus drive was few hours and following that we had a boat ride for about 1,5 hrs to Gili trawangan. I recommend to take a good backpack, nothing with wheels, they are hard to carry and really inconvenient. There's no proper harbor so everything extra just stands on your way.
At trawangan we stayed in a hotel, owned by a finnish lady. It was a nice quiet hotel with a pool. ( Then again, everywhere was quiet cause of the volcano.) Personally I think it was the best time to travel there. We rented push bikes and cycled around the island. (Must thing to do!) We found all these beautiful spots with swings and beautiful quiet spots to relax. Most of our time in gili went exploring the island and relaxing at the beach or by the pool.
After trawangan we went to Gili meno. Personally Gili meno was NOT my favourite. I'd say it's for couples and people who wan't to be left alone and just relax in the sun. Our hotel was really, and I mean REALLY close to nature. In our 4 days there I had lizards, birds, a CRAB and a nice huntsman spider in my room or in my stuff. I love animals but all that took my sleep and peace of mind. The crab was somehow in my luggage, so when browsing my stuff I came across it. Yikes. Also the huntsman spider was in my bed. A slight nightmare in the middle of the trip.
We did go snorkeling and it was the best thing in the whole Meno island. After a minor panic attack in the water I got really into snorkeling and definitely going again soon! I saw turtles, statues, shipwreck, a moray eel and heaps of different beautiful fish. Anyways Meno island wasn't my favourite. Everything was really expensive, not much to do and it was hard to cycle around cause of the soft sand. They do have these horse carriage taxis there, but the horses look really miss treated so we decided not to support such business.
Our last destination was Seminyak, Bali. Can't begin to tell you how amazing the Villa was. It was a small paradise in the middle of loud and busy seminyak. Not complaining though, after deadly quiet Meno it was a welcome change. I could've stayed there for another week. We had a pool, a fish pond, living room, full equipped kitchen with a freezer full of magnum ice cream and a big beautiful rooms. My room was furnished with my favourite colour: Blue.
First day there we spend shopping and the second one treating ourselves. I got a manicure, pedicure, massage, waxing and a candle wax treatment. Service was great, but unfortunately the work was bad. So if you wan't to treat yourself, check a place with good ratings.
My brother and his girlfriend Jenna left a day before me, so I had a day just for my self. I saw 3 different temples, went to the local markets and to a monkey temple. I've never seen monkeys in the wild before and it was amazing! One monkey even jumped on my lap out of nowhere. What a hungry cuties. I bought them some peanuts. Unlike I was told, they didn't try to steal anything just curiously following and asking for food.
At first I was worried and thought that Bali would be like Thailand. A lot of people kept telling me that. It was nothing like it. I would go again. Not straight away but at one point. People were really polite and helpful and there was a lot to do and see. I found a few most beautiful places I've seen.
Yes, it's a common thing in Asia that people keep selling you stuff and trying to make you pay for everything, but that's the only similarity I could come up with between Thailand and Bali.
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