Ubud, Nusa Lembongan, Kuta 2.0, Perth

Ubud
Day 20
We took the fastboat to Padang bay and the the bus to Ubud. People with accommodation were already awaiting us. We asked for air-conditioning and we got an offer for 250.000 rupiah. Wehaggled a bit and got a deal for 240.000. Not much but at least it's something. Our accommodation had a pool which we used before it started raining.

At night we drank/ate our first fresh coconut. The taste and texture was however a mere faint resemblance of the coconut taste we're used to. I guess nestle and Unilever has been lying to us all along. European coconut flavor to real coconut is what banana is to banana candy. Not even remotely similar.

Day 21
The owner of the accommodation explained to us that we could take a tour up to mount Batur. However, as we triedtohaggle for a better price he was quite offended. We explained to him that we needed to haggle everywhere or we would be screwed all over the place. He was still upset though.

We ate at a restaurant overlooking a bunch of rice paddies where we saw a bunch of monkeys which were chased off by the locals. Although chasing them didn't last for longer then 5minutes. It did keep them at bay.

That night we went to bed early because the tour started at 2 am so we could see the sunrise over the mountain.

Day 22
We woke up at 1 in the morning, ate some bread and were picked up to go to a height of 1100meyre above sea level. There was a base camp for cars there, we'd have to climb the remaining 650 meters to the top in a distance of 3 km.Which means an average incline of 20% or more. The incline in the beginning was wayless than 20%which obviously meant that it would inevitably become way more steep towards the end. The tour guide asked us if we wanted to run up and I took him up onhis offer.After about 3 to 4 minutes I had to give up. There was no way I was gonna make it running up. We did do a fast steady pace though with only a few short breaks. Quite a view though. Especially after a physical challenge like that. The tour guide ended the tour by telling us something about mount Batur and that it was an active volcano. He then proceeded to tell us that instead of any rescue plans in case of injuries, they prayed to the god of the vulcano to let us on and off without harm. Encouraging......

After the descent, which was quite tricky, we went back to the shuttle bus and went back to Ubud. Before arriving though,we were introduced to some place where they made all different kinds of coffee. After this we went back to our hotel and slept for a bit before going to Ubud market to buy souvenirs.

The vendors were kinda annoying though so after a while we started playing them out against each other again. I'd tell them to give me their best price and that I'd go to their competition no matter what to ask them their best price. I also explained to them that the one with the lowest price would get my custom and that my absence meant that they'd lost the bidding. That trick worked quite well.

Nusa Lembongan
Day 23
Off to Lembongan. We took a fast boat and arrived at around noonish. We found our accommodation and decided to rent bicycles to get around. The island Nusa Lembongan isn't all that big, think 3 km across, so bicycles should be just dandy to get around. However, Lembongan isn't as flat as we're used to so we had to walk up quite a few slopes instead of peddling. After a while we reached the Mushroom bay beach which supposedly was the place to be. It fell kind of short in comparison to the beaches we've become accustomed to on the gilis and Kuta if we're honest. It was also raining so we decided to explore some more of the island. We then set off to finthe beach called Dream beach. It was kind of small, but it had nice pristine white sand which was cool. We met a few other dutch guys there and after about an hour we decided to find a few dive centers for the next day. Most were closed though but we had enough information to figure out where and at what time I needed to be for a dive the next day.

Day 24
I got up early in the morning and headed out to a dive center to see if I could join them. It had been more than a year ago since I earned my open water PADI so I was somewhat anxious. I did 1 dive in Crystal bay to around a depth of 18 meters. As a novice at diving, I burn through oxygen like there is no tomorrow. In the end I had to share oxygen with my instructor/buddy to be able to pause for 3 minutes at a depth of 5 meters to adjust my nitrogen levels. It became a bit scary to me when the pressure gauge reached the red (50 bar I think) at about 10 meter depth. I communicated this with my buddy, but he seemed to take notice and then still guide me to all kinds of different sea creatures. So I figured he knew what he was doing as he is the dive master. Then the gauge said 20 bar which meant it was well in the red zone. He then guided me to 5 meters to do the air sharing thing I mentioned earlier.

I'd never done the buddy sharing thing before. Or at least not this long, it all worked out fine though.


After an hour long break we did another dive to approximately 7 meters in Manta point. I especially liked the one in Manta point because it was the first time I saw Manta rays. They're huge,flat,friendly fish. I also saw a frogfish, which are supposedly quite rare or at least well camouflaged, a barracuda and several lobster like thingies.

After 2 successful dives we cleaned up our stuff and I went to our hotel to meet up with Linda. We then chilled for a bit on the beach and managed to go snorkeling with a boat tour the next day with captain Coconut.

Day 25
We went snorkeling with the Manta rays first. I had already seen them the previous day but snorkeling among them was even more fun as do ing generally means you're below them instead of amongst them. Captain Coconut also had a gopro with him so we made some cool pictures of our group (of 6 people) as well.

We also went to 3 other places where we saw loads of fishies and we even fed a few of them. We even had a girl in our group who could swim to a depth of 10 or more meters with just a snorkel and fins. I can generally manage about 5 or 6 meters before the pressure and lack of air gets to me,but she didn't seem to have any trouble at all.

It was cool to finally have pictures of our snorkeling trip because we've actually done quite a few snorkeling trips and we've spent entire days snorkeling trying to find the turtles on the gili islands.

Day 26
We decided to go explore the adjoining island of Nusa Cenigan. We rented a scooter and headed off to the suspension bridge joining the two islands. The first road we took was a bit of a mistake. Although it seemed like a road,it really wasn't. It was actually a path through the woodswhich clearly wasn't suitable for a scooter. We managed though. Even if it meant I had to walk beside the scooter and open up the gas with full force to get it over a few boulders.

After arriving at Cenigan we found a cool little beach with a cliff dive thing is close to it. It seemed to be about 7 or 8 meters above the water (judged merely by comparing a persons height to the cliff from about 50 meters away). I tried it once. After crashing in the water all was well,but then a wave smacked me onto the cliff giving me a few scrapes and bruises. The kinda deterred me from trying again.

We then set out to explore the jungles of Nusa Cenigan (if you could call it that. The locals seemed determined to do so,but whatever). We used the scooter to do so and after about 30 minutes we had been around the entire edge of the island. We then headed back and did the same with Nusa Lembongan. So in a few hours one can basically see every road of these two islands.

Kuta
Day 27
We went back to kuta a few days before our flights. We had already been to this place before so there is not really that much to tell. This time we stayed at a hotel that is a lotcloser to the beach so it would be easier to go there without having to take our phones and international driving licenses.

Day 28
Went surfing again. Linda tried to surf as well this time. She got stung by a jellyfish which made her a bit itchy. I also met a British surf teacher whom was willing to give me a few tips. At night we went out after getting another hour long massage.

Day 29
My hands were still pretty blistered from surfing the day before so I didn't surf that day. It was also our last night together so we found a nice restaurant to eat.

Day 30
Linda would fly back to the Netherlands that day. So we said our goodbyes. However, when the security personnel saw us saying goodbye he said I could pass the security checkpoint for a 50.000 rupiah bribe. We didn't do it though. Not because it's a lot of money,but basically because we didn't want him to take advantage of the situation. That night I got a back massage for 3.33 euro/hour. However, this time the girl stood on my back for a while and I let it happen. She cracked a few vertebrea. After the massage my upper abdomen hurt a little bit, I didn't really think much of it at first, but it lasted the entire evening.

Perth
Day 31
Time to go to the airport to go to Perth. My abdomen was still hurting though. Especially when I walked or twisted my upper body. This is about the time where I thought it might be more serious then I previously thought and this is about the time your mind goes to darker places. I figured the cracking noise might have been a rib bruising or worse fracturing. I googled the symptoms and as per usual when you Google for medical stuff; I had a combination of a parasite and super aids (just kidding). I could still walk and carry my back though so I figured that there is not much you can do about a broken rib except wait it out.

I flew to Perth and went to the hostel. I met a lot of people here whom all seem to be staying in Australia for about a year, working and traveling. What amazed me most is they wages in Australia for simple labour jobs such as building fences or breaking bricks. They make 20 euros per hour and more on the weekends. I heard that IT personal entry level wages can go up to 60 euro per hour after tax. They're all nice guys though and I joined them for a night out in a disco type thing called The Game. It was fun although a beer is roughly around 7 euros.

Day 32
Woke up a bit later then usual. The pain in my abdomen was already a lot less than the day before which was a relief. I planned ongoing to Kings park and the inner city. However, I ended up talking to a bunch of guys and girls for the day in the garden which functions as a common room. That night we played a few drinking games.