Well, since my last post we spent an amazing time in the Balinese mountains in a town called Munduk. I recommend this little haunt to anyone wanting stunning sunsets and an authentic Balinese mountain village experience. Nothing about this village screamed tourism, the pace of life is slow and the people genuinely friendly. I still haven't had better Cap Cay(Balinese dish) any where on the island!
Niki blogged Munduk pretty well including our motor bike mishap which I have been recovering from well. But If you go, visit the Banjan Holy Springs, it was a magical place. In our search for the undefined essence of life some days I feel as though it's too elusive and abstract to meet and then you have days it hits you like a blow to the gut. We were more than enthralled with our jungle holy springs but what is most memorable was a small smile from a man who couldn't have been older than forty and spent what must have been the most part of the day wading his quadriplegic wife around in the water. She may have been in a coma we aren't sure and for all we know she was his sister or friend. But he was there when we arrived and still there when we left 4 hours later and he looked so content and just joyful. When we exchanged smiles I felt like I learned something. It was a good day and my motorbike injuries that came on our drive home from the holy springs seemed like nothing but a gentle reminder.
Munduk sunsets are also surreal or storms if your lucky! I've never seen sheet and bolt lightening together with such furor, spectacular!!!
After Munduk we headed to Padang Bai which is a port town where boats head to Lombok and the Gilis. We planned on only staying a night but it ended up we found quite a charmer of a place to stay and along with the fun and interesting people we met and rustic laid back nature of the town, it kept us there for 3 nights!
Also, we just so happened to be right down the street from the town medical clinic so I visited the doctor a few times regarding my fractured foot and she was great.
Made, (it feels like everyones name here is Made!)the owner of our guesthouse was a fascinating fellow. He was quite an eccentric,an example of this was how without miss, everyday we woke up some part of the grounds in the guesthouse was painted a different color! Often repainted a different color from the day before! And his pool looked like a psychedelic rainbow! But we was a gentle a nice man who made us feel at home instantly. It was also a quirky and pleasant touch that he and his family took in stray dogs and cats so there 15 cats and 5 dogs roaming around, one in particular Bandi had the cheerful temperament of Diego which made us miss that fluff ball! There was also a nice beach directly beside our guesthouse and though I couldn't swim at this point due to the foot(not the fracture,the scrape, it burned in the salt water!) we enjoyed just lounging on the beach and by our pool (which I could swim in!)). After almost 4 months of sightseeing it has been nice as of late to just vacation.
We also met two German girls, Nora and Marlena who we ended up spending a lot of time with. Nora had basically spent much of her youth in India as her parents were big fans and was planning (and hoping) to land a job in Kashmir translating health documents.So sharing stories on India was fun and interesting. Also Marlene had just graduated from Social Work and her boyfriend did very similar community transition work that I do so
we just hit it off well with them and the conversation never went dry. We have decided to make a point of getting to Germany over the next couple of years as we have had such a good time with our German friends we have met over the last 4 months.
I recommend giving Padang Bai a couple nights instead of just a stop over on the way the Gilis,you will be pleasantly surprised! And visit Ozone Restaurant, amazing and affordable food with a fun and friendly vibe!!
We are now in the Gilis, Gili Trawangan to be specific and this is another one of those places that lives up to the legend.
Just as we had read about, talked to
people about and imagined it is all
of that.
Beautiful white coral sand beaches with clear blue water and great snorkeling. Definitely the Caribbean of the east. Absolutely the most serene and gorgeous beaches and water I have seen on this trip or maybe my life. The island has no motorized vehicles, only pony carriages and bicycles of which we rented 2 and rode around the island (which takes all of an hour and some change). We stopped at different beaches(which I needed so the foot could take a break!) and I decided to try the salt water yesterday and it was a success albeit some stinging pain the first couple minutes in the water. But it subsided and we enjoyed snorkeling and just lounging by the beautiful sea.
Gili Trawangan is considered the most developed of the 3 north Gili Islands however it still retains a rustic feel and finding your own private beach takes all of 10 minutes on a bicycle!
Today we just plucked ourselves down on one of Gili T's powder white beaches and snorkeled to our hearts delight, couldn't name any of the fish we saw but they covered every color of the rainbow, it was magnificent!
There is a very pleasant local food market near the town center which we enjoyed last night and probably will tonight though for travelers pinching your wallet, we ate about 10 minutes out of the centre right on the beach for almost half the price.
Not too much report on this little island just beach beach and beach! We're off to an even smaller Island tomorrow Gili Air so will report soon!
Peace:)
Niki blogged Munduk pretty well including our motor bike mishap which I have been recovering from well. But If you go, visit the Banjan Holy Springs, it was a magical place. In our search for the undefined essence of life some days I feel as though it's too elusive and abstract to meet and then you have days it hits you like a blow to the gut. We were more than enthralled with our jungle holy springs but what is most memorable was a small smile from a man who couldn't have been older than forty and spent what must have been the most part of the day wading his quadriplegic wife around in the water. She may have been in a coma we aren't sure and for all we know she was his sister or friend. But he was there when we arrived and still there when we left 4 hours later and he looked so content and just joyful. When we exchanged smiles I felt like I learned something. It was a good day and my motorbike injuries that came on our drive home from the holy springs seemed like nothing but a gentle reminder.
Munduk sunsets are also surreal or storms if your lucky! I've never seen sheet and bolt lightening together with such furor, spectacular!!!
After Munduk we headed to Padang Bai which is a port town where boats head to Lombok and the Gilis. We planned on only staying a night but it ended up we found quite a charmer of a place to stay and along with the fun and interesting people we met and rustic laid back nature of the town, it kept us there for 3 nights!
Also, we just so happened to be right down the street from the town medical clinic so I visited the doctor a few times regarding my fractured foot and she was great.
Made, (it feels like everyones name here is Made!)the owner of our guesthouse was a fascinating fellow. He was quite an eccentric,an example of this was how without miss, everyday we woke up some part of the grounds in the guesthouse was painted a different color! Often repainted a different color from the day before! And his pool looked like a psychedelic rainbow! But we was a gentle a nice man who made us feel at home instantly. It was also a quirky and pleasant touch that he and his family took in stray dogs and cats so there 15 cats and 5 dogs roaming around, one in particular Bandi had the cheerful temperament of Diego which made us miss that fluff ball! There was also a nice beach directly beside our guesthouse and though I couldn't swim at this point due to the foot(not the fracture,the scrape, it burned in the salt water!) we enjoyed just lounging on the beach and by our pool (which I could swim in!)). After almost 4 months of sightseeing it has been nice as of late to just vacation.
We also met two German girls, Nora and Marlena who we ended up spending a lot of time with. Nora had basically spent much of her youth in India as her parents were big fans and was planning (and hoping) to land a job in Kashmir translating health documents.So sharing stories on India was fun and interesting. Also Marlene had just graduated from Social Work and her boyfriend did very similar community transition work that I do so
we just hit it off well with them and the conversation never went dry. We have decided to make a point of getting to Germany over the next couple of years as we have had such a good time with our German friends we have met over the last 4 months.
I recommend giving Padang Bai a couple nights instead of just a stop over on the way the Gilis,you will be pleasantly surprised! And visit Ozone Restaurant, amazing and affordable food with a fun and friendly vibe!!
We are now in the Gilis, Gili Trawangan to be specific and this is another one of those places that lives up to the legend.
Just as we had read about, talked to
people about and imagined it is all
of that.
Beautiful white coral sand beaches with clear blue water and great snorkeling. Definitely the Caribbean of the east. Absolutely the most serene and gorgeous beaches and water I have seen on this trip or maybe my life. The island has no motorized vehicles, only pony carriages and bicycles of which we rented 2 and rode around the island (which takes all of an hour and some change). We stopped at different beaches(which I needed so the foot could take a break!) and I decided to try the salt water yesterday and it was a success albeit some stinging pain the first couple minutes in the water. But it subsided and we enjoyed snorkeling and just lounging by the beautiful sea.
Gili Trawangan is considered the most developed of the 3 north Gili Islands however it still retains a rustic feel and finding your own private beach takes all of 10 minutes on a bicycle!
Today we just plucked ourselves down on one of Gili T's powder white beaches and snorkeled to our hearts delight, couldn't name any of the fish we saw but they covered every color of the rainbow, it was magnificent!
There is a very pleasant local food market near the town center which we enjoyed last night and probably will tonight though for travelers pinching your wallet, we ate about 10 minutes out of the centre right on the beach for almost half the price.
Not too much report on this little island just beach beach and beach! We're off to an even smaller Island tomorrow Gili Air so will report soon!
Peace:)
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