Lembongan Island - Bali

 

 

The morning we were to leave Ubud to catch the boat to Lembongan Island from Sanur, it was raining heavily. Bags packed and covers on we put our coats over us and our backpacks and towed/lifted the cases 200 meters down the hill to the pick-up point looking like the hunchback of notre dame.

Not sure what side of the street we had to wait we chose a shop front which had a small amount of protection from the rain. 15 minutes later a 12-seater pulled up and we were the only ones on it. Sweet.

Hmmm, not so sweet. Several pick-ups later we were chocca. 12 people and all their bags squashed into a van on a humid wet day… not priceless. But wait, there’s more! The driver stopped again and you guessed it, another girl and her bags were expected to squeeze in. That makes 13 plus the driver. I thought no way, she will have to lie horizontally on someone’s lap, but the driver took two large cases from the back and put them on OUR knees, the only spare space available. Would have preferred the first option! Cathies view of the road was blocked and god knows whose cases they were but we had to support them all the way to Sanur. The driver was heavy on the brakes and quick on take-off, so it was difficult to concentrate on anything but the bloody bags….and they weren’t even ours!

By the time we got to the beach at Sanur, an hour later, it had stopped raining so lined up to present our tickets. We had chosen the cheapest tickets on the slow boat, half the price of the fast boat. Yeah, I know, trust Gary! We were pointed to a boat bobbing around in the waves at the beach. It was called a Public Boat as mostly only the public going to and from the island used it to carry goods. The sea was a bit rough and Cathies face was showing some consternation. A porter took one of our bags and took off down the beach. He waded in up to his waist and heaved the bag aboard. (thank goodness for the pack cover) He came back and did the same with the other. I thought he would have to throw Cathie over his shoulder and put her on board next! We trooped off, all 10 of us cheapskates and quite simply waited for the waves to recede and stepped gingerly on. Sure we got our feet wet, but hey it was an experience. On climbing in past the three big outboard motors, and down into the cabin we saw that the seating arrangements were just a series of boards nailed to a post on which one sat.  Safer to stand up if it was rough. We motored out through the breakers amongst the surfers and were thankful that the boat had outriggers, like an island canoe, only bigger. Once past the breaker line it soon smoothed out and it was rather pleasant. There was about a two meter swell running but that was fine.

Pulling into the beach on the Island was just the reverse of getting on. Easy peasy. Now we had to find our way to the hotel. Unbeknown to us the slow boat did not go to mushroom bay where we were staying, so looked around for a taxi. Hmmmm……. A guy said “ this is not Bali, no taxi here, only motorbike. I will take you and the bags on my bike”. Yeah right, Cathies face was once again telling a story. The helpful chap said there were only 11 vehicles on the Island but he would get one for us. We waited 20minutes in the humid sun with our bags and chatted with a young Australian couple. We were told the ride would be 150,000 Rps (NZ $18.75) We didn’t haggle as we just needed to get to the accommodation and rid ourselves of the bags. We piled on the back after offering the Ozzie couple a ride too, but they had someone coming to meet them. Off we went through narrow lanes and some shops and then wound our way up the hill out of the village. Where the hell were we going? The track got rougher and still we hurtled on. Trees were whipping over the top of us and motorbikes were following us. God we are being abducted and will be raped and shot! I don’t want to be raped! The truck stopped on a bend beside a steep cliff with a view of the village below and the beach we had just left. This is it, we are going to be thrown over! The motorbikes tooted and continued on. The driver got out and said “ Do you want to take a picture?” He smiled. We smiled and obliged. Back on the track again, you couldn’t call it a road, we took a wrong turn and had to reverse 100meters. Very soon we were at the top of a hill and pulled up by a concrete wall and smiling faces came out to say hello and take our bags to “reception”.

Relief all round. We were given cold juice and filled in the forms sitting on a couch in the sand. Nice touch. Looking around to the dining area, we liked what we saw. In fact this place soon stole our hearts. The room was great, the staff were awesome, the pool was incredible, the food was fantastic and the managers kids were cute. We only booked for two nights, but wished it was for longer. The bathroom was outside in an enclosed yard (only bathroom I’ve been in where you can get a tan.) The bed was a king size with a canopy and mosquito netting looking out to the beautiful gardens and our front patio. It had aircon but no fridge and the free wifi was not too bad. We even got reception around the pool. Now the pool…. That was built up high so you got a view and it had one end which the water flowed over to create an infinity effect. It was spotless and clear and we pretty much had it to ourselves. There were only 5 villas on the property and were about 8 months old, so in pretty good nick, unlike most Balinese places. Our shower did run out of hot water, but the manager fixed it quickly.

We met a French couple who spoke no English but we got by with our rudimentary French and sign language. The interaction was great fun. They left and a German couple from Heidelburg arrived. We planned to go to Heidelburg so swapped addresses and e-mails. Nice young couple. Spent a few hours at the pool together. Cathie has now learnt to swim freestyle! With expert coaching from me I might add, and some determination by her. She can almost beat me from end to end. Now underwater swimming is another story. Dunno why, but she just can’t get down! She thinks she is under ‘cause her face is in, but her backside is ducking and diving like an asthmatic whale trying to breath. ( Sorry sweetheart ) However we still have time to practice. We did have lots of laughs trying tho. Even the German couple got involved. This guy actually swam 5 lengths underwater! We went to the beach about 10minutes walk down a track and visited other restaurants by the water, we went for cliff-top walks and visited another resort to compare. $200 a night as opposed to $62?, no contest and no atmosphere.

After just two nights on the Island we now know that we should have spent less time in Ubud and more time here. On the last day we spoke with Putu, the owners son, about changing our return ticket for a later time and a faster boat. He was so obliging. He took us in his truck (now we have ridden in 2 of the 11 cars on the island ) and tried to sort out what we had to do and find the company we had the tickets with. No such luck….the company was only on the mainland, so we had to buy two new tickets on the fast boat and try for a refund when we got back. Fat chance I thought. I explained to the chap at the ticket window but he wasn’t interested, so I was prepared to forfeit the 250,000 Rpa. But do you know what? My fabulous lady e-mailed the Ubud hotel we paid the money to and after a few e-mails we had the money delivered to us to our hotel in Sanur! Job done very nicely my dear. We can afford to buy a few more Bintang Beers.

The trip back was by fast boat this time but we still got our feet wet. 30mins later we were back on the beach we started from almost 3 days ago. Wet feet again. We were descended on by porters to carry our bags and unofficial taxi drivers to take us anywhere for a price. We had the name of our hotel on a card and after haggling from 50,000 down to 20,000rpa we were delivered to our next hotel. Found it on Wotif.com I think. The Mai Meseree Villas. Absolutely awesome! We were shown to our villa behind high stone walls and Cathie said “Is this all ours?” There are two big bedrooms each with ensuites, a huge open plan lounge/dining area with Plasma TV and a fridge! The best part is that directly off the patio we have our very own private pool about 6mx3m and 1.6m deep. Just what the doctor ordered. We didn’t leave the place for the rest of the day as we swam and read and just soaked up the surroundings. We went down the street later in the evening and found a roadside stall selling local takeaway food so we pointed to choose the things we wanted and paid 40,000rpa ( $5.00 for the lot) It was great and no after effects were had the next day. We also bought 4 large bottles of Bintang beer for about $11.00 and put them in the fridge. Heaven must be like this.

Next day, after a bad sleep due to the frogs mating calls going on all night, we walked in the searing heat 2or3 km to Sanur Beach (the one we paid 20,000 to leave the day before) Very commercial with the same shops selling the same items everywhere. When I last stayed in Sanur it was pretty much the same. You are pestered to visit their shops and pleaded with to buy something to give them good luck. Cathie has bought a couple of dresses and tops, but other than the obligatory t-shirt I have yet to be tempted. Mainly because we are just starting our journey and my case is full and heavy! We did succumb to temptation and had another massage each though. My very first massage was on this beach about 25years ago. This time it was done on rickety trestle tables under a tarpaulin right in front of a nice resort. Both had to strip to our underwear in full view and men were just sitting watching! The massages were for an hour and cost 50,000 each ($6.50)… still not as good as the one Eleni gave me in Melbourne though.

 We changed into the second bedroom the next night and got a better sleep. Four nights here altogether and we both really don’t want to go outside again. We have everything here. I might add that we are the only guests here and could have shifted to any of the other villas if we wanted to. They too had private pools and were even more opulent with outdoor bathrooms, wardrobes, and the lounges were outside too. Only the bedrooms were enclosed. Quite nice really but we didn’t need all the extra room and their pools were too far from the patio. Picky aye? However, the best thing that happened was that we were invited as guests to a traditional Balinese wedding being held at the hotel. Nearly didn’t make it as Cathie went to shower after being in the pool and fell heavily on the tiles. She hurt her arm and head with a large lump and bruise coming up immediately. She rallied but we missed the actual ceremony and only got to have the eats. Still we were included in photos and as the groom was a policeman there were lots of Bali cops around. We sat and had a chat to the Bali chief of police! Could be a good contact if we ever get into trouble here. The groom’s sister is teaching English so was keen to practice with us which was nice and her parents hung around although they couldn’t understand. Her mum was too shy to try, but I got her saying “I love you” All in all a great day and then back into the pool for a late night swim

Off to Singapore next and we have just wasted a day looking at booking accommodation in Malaysia after that. So confusing… ah well we’d better get used to it.

‘Till the next one…. Take care

Gary & Cathie