We haven’t posted much for the last two weeks, because we’ve mostly been preparing for our road trip with Sky, the master nomad himself. We are planning to make a quick tour across Lombok, surf in Sumbawa a while, and then finish in mysterious Sumba. Well, maybe only mysterious to me, because I didn’t know we were going to Sumba until yesterday so haven’t googled it much. Anyway, after much planning and even more waiting on modifications to the van, which will be our home for the next two weeks, we are finally nearing the final countd0wn. Today has been a flurry of packing and running around for last minute items, and tonight we will be driving to Sanur and then taking the overnight ferry to Lombok.

Not sure when we’ll have internet next, but we’ll post pics and update as we can. Okay I better go finish packing so I don’t look like the slacker here!

It was a few days before our road trip, and Bali Bike Park was beckoning. They had a promotion going on- Free Fridays- where they waived the bike park fee and all you had to pay for was the rental. So off we went, past the bucolic rice paddies and up into the mountains, where we were greeted with spectacular views and (thankfully) cooler weather. The bike park is situated in north central Bali in the small town of Bedegul. When we arrived, we were given bikes, helmets, and protective gear, all of which was in great shape and fit well. They had a cross country trail that bordered the lake, which we started with just to warm up our legs, then it was off to do some downhill. They had two trucks that continuously shuttled people up from about 8:30 until 2, and it was about a 10 minute ride up, with each of the lines being about 10-15 minutes down. They had a few easy lines which they claimed were “family and kid friendly” but everyone thought that was a stretch. Ted’s remark was, “I’d like to see the family that goes down this” – about a steep section of one of the “easy” lines. So we mostly stuck to the blue lines, though another rider convinced us to give the “berm line” a try, which was a little more exciting and then met up with a blue line for an easier finish.

I finally caught some air on a few jumps (woohoo!) and we lost minimal amounts of skin, so all in all we felt very accomplished at the end of a great day.

Our next adventure with Sasha and Julian was to the small island of Nusa Lembongan. The Nusas consist of three islands, Nusa Lembongan, Nusa Cennigan, and Nusa Penida. Although only 11 miles from hectic south Bali, the Nusas are known for its quiet beaches, slow-paced village living (the population of Nusa Lembongan is only 5,000) and great surfing and snorkeling. We hopped on a fast boat from the town of Sanur in Bali, and within 30 minutes we were in Nusa Lembongan. As we approached Lembongan we immediately noticed how blue and clear the water was, and also how undeveloped the coastline was (lots of small boats, but no towering hotels or sprawling resorts).

Lembongan has one “town” area, so taxis aren’t really necessary. We walked along the beach for about 10 minutes until we arrived at our small, family run hotel.  There is a shallow reef that encircles the entire island and produces some great surf, so we didn’t waste anytime renting a moped and beginning our search for surf.  Lembongan has just one paved road and lots of intersecting smaller dirt and gravel roads with tons of potholes, so driving was a bit adventerous (the mopeds on the island go and up down battered roads much more suited for dirt bikes). We followed the one paved road until it ended, then took the curvy road up the hill, and turned right at the very bumpy ride that led down to the beach. After about a 10 minute drive, we arrived at Song Lambung Beach. Song Lambung is a small white sand cove that fronts a surf spot known as Playgrounds, which is the only surf spot on the island you can get to without a boat (the other spots are further off the coast and notorious for having very shallow reefs).  The other two spots on the island are called Lacerations and Shipwrecks, which both sound pretty intimidating. Within minutes, we rented boards and were enjoying beautiful chest to head high surf at Playgrounds.

On the way back to our hotel from Playgrounds, we stopped on the side of the road to enjoy the sunset and snap some photos of the Lembongan coast with Bali’s Mount Agung (10,000 feet) in the background. Night life in Lembongan consisted of eating dinner and watching a movie at Jungut Batu Restaurant and Theater.  Although it was entertaining to relax on futons and bean bags and watch a big screen movie, Jungut Batu has a very small kitchen and one cook, and we imagined meals were prepared in the order they were received (including our pie and ice cream desserts, which took just under two hours to get; fortunately we were preoccupied with a funny movie). This was also a great opportunity for us to practice patience, for which our Hindu hosts are known for.

Our second day in Lembongan began with enjoying larger surf at Playgrounds, and fighting a much stronger current than the day before.  Sasha discovered a great little infinity pool and restaurant that overlooked the surf, and we rested our weary arms and enjoyed a delicious lunch.  We also met an owner of a small boat anchored at Song Lambung Beach, and we negotiated a three hour private snorkel charter with him for $35. He motored us past the thick mangrove forests of northern Lembongan to the neighbor island of Nusa Penida. The reef was healthy and alive with colors, and we also swam with some really yellowfin large tuna. On the way back to Nusa Lembongan we got a great glimpse of the surfspots known as Lacerations and Shipwrecks, and although our boat was about 100 yards out past the break, the swell passing under our boat was monsterous (i think it made all four of us feel a little weak in the knees).

We spent our second and final night in Lembongan fine tuning our patience at Jungut Batu, before catching the 11am fast boat back to Bali the following morning.

Two of our Maui friends, Julian & Sasha, were having such a great time in Bali that they decided to hang out an extra week.  Another big swell was forecasted to hit Bali, so we decided to take Julian & Sasha to East Bali, aka Charles’s Chocolate Factory, to get some surf and explore one of the island’s quieter and untouched areas.  While the big swell didn’t materialize in East Bali, the chocolate factory’s guard dog, a goose, sure did. The goose works at the factory from 9 to 5 (not sure where he goes before/after work, but seems to show up during these hours) and always follows US around.  He loves attention, and will stand in front of you and “bark” until he gets some.  Curiously enough, once this unnamed goose gets enough attention, he begins to bite.  Both Renata and Sasha experienced these goose bites on a first hand basis (fortunately he has very small teeth).

On the road trip back from East Bali to Seminyak, we enjoyed a detour to Virgin Beach. Virgin Beach is a picture perfect white sand beach with turquoise blue water, and is void of any resorts or major developments, just beach front warungs (modest Indonesian restaurants) with fresh food. Virgin Beach is easily one of the most beautiful beaches anyone of us ever had the opportunity to dig our toes into.

 

I know this post is long overdue… we have been traipsing around having fun with friends! Which is what we’re supposed to be doing, I guess. After we got back from Gili Trawangan, four more of our friends from Maui arrived to visit. We rented a villa in Canggu for the week, which was awesome. It was called Villa Uma Girasole and we felt like rock stars there… such a nice place. Which was well deserved, since Juliana, Sasha, and Shaina all had birthdays there! It was a great week and a good mix of lounging and activity. We took two trips- one to Uluwatu and one to Ubud.

In Uluwatu, we stopped at a beach called Dreamland to watch the surf, which was pumping! We all carefully navigated the shorebreak and managed to stay in one piece. Onward to Uluwatu, where Shaina was accosted by some greedy monkeys that stole her cheese crackers and tried to take a slipper as well. After we managed to get past the monkeys, we meandered around the temple for a beautiful sunset along the cliffs.

 

The next day our driver was kind enough to take us to Ubud, which is up in the mountainous area of Bali, an hour’s drive or so from the coast. Apparently after the book “Eat, Pray, Love” came out, Ubud turned into a bit of a tourist mecca (since it’s mentioned in the book, and where the protagonist finds love), but we found it surprisingly not as overcrowded as we had expected. We stopped at an “elephant temple” which was really neat. It started out feeling like another tourist stop, with women waving sarongs at us to sell, but we ventured down a little trail and were soon in thick jungle with no other tourists in sight. Through the thick jungle we caught glimpses of other temples, and even a random door leading to… who knows? Maybe someday I’ll go back and find out. We stumbled upon a more approachable temple, where everyone stopped to regroup. At that point the mosquitos became an issue and we ascended some steps back into the “real world” of pavement, sunlight and noise. After walking barefoot through the jungle (it was easier than slippers) I was starting to have that peaceful, zen feeling I’d had at Kuang Si waterfall. There is something about connecting to the earth through bare feet that makes me feel like a part of nature, rather than just passing by on top of my rubber slippers.

Our next stop was the Ubud market to do some shopping, which was about as opposite experience as possible from the elephant temple. It was an hour or so of complete mayhem and chaos. Women clutching at my arm, shoving sarongs into my hands and yelling prices at me… I soon lost our group and found myself wandering aimlessly among stalls of vendors. After buying more sarongs and silver trinkets than I needed, I became overwhelmed and made a fast exit. Luckily, pretty much the same thing happened for everyone else and we beat a hasty retreat from the market of madness.

The next few days we remained in Canggu, going out for Shaina’s birthday, recovering the next, doing yoga, shopping and lounging. It was a lovely week with wonderful people and lots of laughs, and we are very grateful that everyone came such a long distance to hang out with us and keep us company in Bali.

 

 

After the chocolate factory, we spent a week around Seminyak getting settled in and taking care of necessities – renting bikes, buying boards, surfing, etc. Yes, surfing is a necessity. .. but I digress. Our friend Jules came out to visit us on the 12th, and for her birthday wanted to visit the Gilis, so off we went.

The word “gili” actually means “small island” in Sasak, an Indonesian dialect. Though there are many gilis around Bali and Lombok, when people talk about the Gilis they are referring to the three small islands off the northwest coast of Lombok. Gili Trawangan is known as the party island, and this they do well. They are quite fair about it too; the bars take turns hosting a party every night so that each place gets its turn. Coming from Maui, where the town of Lahaina shuts down around 10 pm, it was funny to see people leaving to go out at midnight. Of course, we had gone earlier, and were returning to our hostel around then. We passed the young crew from our hostel on their way out, one of the British girls asking, “Was it rubbish?” Presumably because we were returning early. Little did she know it was already way past my bedtime.

Other than partying, Gili T is also now for its pristine and uncrowded white sand beaches as well as diving and snorkeling. The other two Gilis, Gili Air and Gili Meno, are known for the same things minus the party scene. It was a nice change from the crowded beaches of southwest Bali, so a big thanks to Jules for suggesting the Gili adventure!

After the last several weeks of being constantly on the move, we were looking forward to settling into Bali for a while. However, shortly after arriving and unpacking our bags, our gracious host informed us it was time to go to Charles’s chocolate factory. Apparently the swell was the right size and angle for the surf break adjacent to the factory. So there was no choice but to rent a moped with racks and pack up once again, heading for the northeast shore of Bali.

“Settling in” was soon forgotten as the lush green jungle beckoned us onward. The rice paddies whispered secrets of a much different Bali – no traffic, no one trying to sell us anything. The road down to Charles’s was a pothole-ridden dirt road that arrived at a shoreline surrounded by huts looking more like an Ewok homestead than a factory. The factory itself was inside one of the huts. Later, the tour took about two minutes- enough for the worker to show me where the samples were and what was in each of the samples. It consisted of one small air conditioned room (so the chocolate wouldn’t melt) and there were packages of various items for sale.

And the surf was beautiful! And not too many people, at least until about 9 am. After we had enough of the crowd, we decided to explore the area a bit. Sky took us on a ride up a TINY windy, steep “road” (about 2 feet wide) for some killer views, and then onward to the end of another (and thankfully wider) road to a temple at the end. He said from that temple you could hike a few hours to another temple at the very top of the mountain, but we opted to save that for another day. Later, we had some delicious curry at a small restaurant and bungalows surrounded by rice paddies. After feeling like I’d had a good workout surfing for an hour, I felt humbled watching 60+ year old women carrying loads of rice on their heads, walking barefoot up a steep series of steps between the rice fields. Sky says they are a different breed. I guess if you did that your whole life, you would be.

On the way back we stopped by a spring to fill our water bottles, and Sky and Ted took an impromptu bath to cool off. Back at the homestead, we enjoyed a beautiful sunset and then meandered off to our little hotel next door for some shuteye. The next day I enjoyed a smaller but still fun session before heading back to the madness of the city. Now we just wait for the next perfect swell so we can go back… and maybe hike that mystic temple trail to the top.

The last stop in our mini eight day Thailand adventure was a brief visit to Bangkok, where we could catch a flight on to Bali.  Instead of getting back on to another bus for what could be a long eight to twelve hour drive, we opted for the much comfortable night train option. The Bangkok Express departed from Chiang Mai Rail Station at 6:30pm, right before sunset.  For the first three hours of the train ride, the seating was configured so that every two seays faced one another.  Dinner was provided onboard, complete with the challenging task of eating soup onboard a moving train. Promptly at 9pm, the cabin attendant hurried down the aisle and converted the seats into two folding bunkbeds (impressively enough, it took him only about two minutes to make up two beds at a time, including linens and pillows).  The beds were comfortable and provided lots of leg room. We both enjoyed some zzzzzs until the train felt like it derailed around 2am (it didn’t, but the train manuevered some sharp and sudden turns on the tracks- for about 3 hours).

We arrived in Bangkok shortly after 6am, and got to our hotel around 7am. We were on the 25th floor of a hotel located on Embassy Row (directly nextdoor to the US, New Zealand, and Dutch embassies). We had a great view of the Bangkok skyline from our room. When we finally left the hotel later that afternoon, we discovered we were in a very swanky part of Bangkok, where inexpensive meals were hard to come by. We unknowingly wandered into the most expensive shopping mall in Bangkok trying to find a late lunch, The Central Embassy Shopping, where a celebrity save-the-wildlife press shoot was taking place (at least that’s what we gathered based on dozens of photographers and groups of excited Thai gathered around a handful of sharply dressed people).  We finished the day with a fine dinner of crepes and cider at Crepes & Company.   We woke up painfully early the next morning to catch an early flight to Singapore (an airport with touch screen “rating” displays everywhere, so you can rate the quality of the service you just received or the cleanliness of the bathroom you just used), and then on to Bali, Indonesia.

 

 

Our next stop in Thailand was to the city of Chiang Mai (not to be confused with Chiang Rai, just three hours away). Chiang Mai is the largest city in Northern Thailand, and sits amongst the highest mountains in the country at just over 1,000 feet above sea level.  Due to its elevation, Chiang Mai is normally a bit cooler than most of Thailand, but during our four day visit the temperature still hovered well over 100 degrees.

We had planned on mountain biking in Chiang Mai, but had to change plans and enjoy cooler activities. We caught a 3D IMAX movie at the monsterous, five story Central Festival Shopping Center (thank you Renata for watching Captain America with me; I know it’s a total guy flick).  We didn’t realize until the movie started that we had purchased tickets for a Thai dubbed version of the film, but the movie staff was nice enough to let us exchange our tickets and come back the next day for the original English version. This same shopping center has a 4D theatre (didn’t know that existed), which includes motion sensor seats, fog, mist, wind, and even scents (unfortunately this theater was only playing Thai dubbed movies at the time). Central Festival Shopping Center even has its own ice skating rink.

The modern city of Chiang Mai was built around “The Old City,” a 12th century city that was protected by a moat and walls. Mostly just the corner sections of these walls remain today, but it was cool to turn off a street lined with 7-11s and suddenly see a 1,000 year old section of the Old City. On the way back from the theater to our hotel, our back moped tire got a flat and we had to push the bike along the outskirts of the Old City. Although all the mechanics were closed that time of the night, we manged to find a gas station and inflated the tire enough to get back to our hotel.

Chiang Mai also has some incredible food. Thanks to Sky’s happycow.net recommendation, we found some great vegetarian restaurants throughout the city, as well as one of the best hamburgers ever at Burgerholics (the triple decker; defintely a meal for two).

 

Following two 3 hour non-air conditioned bus rides, a crossing of the Friendship Bridge and the quietest customs-border crossing we’ve seen, as well as a series of short tuk tuk rides, and we arrived in the northern Thai city of Chiang Rai.  This was our fifth border crossing in the last 10 days, so we were looking forward to staying put in Chiang Rai for a few days. The temperature the last two weeks has been hovering between 95 and 105 with lots of humidity, so we were also looking forward to fine tuning two of our current favorite hobbies, shade seeking and air conditioned reclining.

We rented a moped beginning our second day in Chiang Rai. Although there was very little traffic, driving on the left side of the road took some getting used to (good practice in preparation for Bali). In hopes of escaping the heat, we headed out of town, past scenic Singha Park and lots of tea fields, to Khun Kon Waterfall. It was a 45 minute drive and we ended up driving on the right side of the road only twice, so all-in-all a successful drive.

Important tip when renting a motor bike: always check the fuel gauge before heading for the country. For the third consecutive time, we rented a motor bike that was near empty. Fortunately, we found a stand alone, no one around, pay-at-the-pump gas dispenser nearby, that also played some catchy tunes while fueling. Following our gas purchase, we continued our drive toward the waterfall, stopping to buy some mystery meat-on-a-stick from a parking lot street vendor.

The 45 minute hike up to the waterfall from the parking lot was crowded with locals also trying to escape the heat, but it was a beautiful trek through a thick bamboo forest. In the end, we were rewarded with 200 foot Khun Kon Waterfall, and fresh cold water.

We managed to stay on the left side of the road the entire drive back to Chiang Rai, and enjoyed a nice subset as we passed Singha Park and its Golden Lion Statue.