Island hopping in Bali, Gili Islands and Lombok

Our next adventure was to Bali, Gili Island and & Lombok. We had
two public holiday days over Chinese New Year so we decided to use the extra holiday days and take a whole week off. We flew late after
work on Friday evening and arrived at our hotel in Ubud late in the
evening. We were staying at the Kamandalu hotel located just outside Ubud and overlooking the paddy fields. The hotel had an enormous
grand entrance and beautiful decorations. We checked in and made our way along the pathway to our room. Each hotel room was inside
its own private villa and the hotel grounds were divided by a stream
which was flanked by layered paddy fields. It was beautifully designed. Our private villa was situated within its own walled grounds and the room was huge with a four poster bed covered by a
mosquito net and an indoor and outdoor bathroom.
The next day we went back to the main hotel entrance to have our
breakfast. The restaurant had a great view out over the rest of the
hotel and the food was good. My husband was not feeling well so he
spent the day in the hotel room. The weather wasn't great so I had a
massage in the hotels spa and then headed into town to explore. I
took the hotel transfer bus and was dropped in the center of Ubud
next to the market and Ubud palace. I had a wonder around and ate
an ice-cream. The market was full of local trinkets and clothes and
bags. Ubud palace is a small complex of temples. The walls of the
temples were covered in intricate Balinese design and it was a nice
place to relax.
The following day my husband was luckily feeling better. In the
morning we had booked a bicycle ride and we were picked up early by
our guide. We were driven further into the centre of the island up and
up towards the volcanoes Mount Agung and Mount Batur. On our
way we stopped at a coffee plantation. We were given a guided tour around the grounds of the coffee plantation where they grew the
famous Kopi Luwak (A.K.A cat poop coffee). They showed us the
process of making Kopi Luwak and we saw a civet cat. The coffee
plantation also produced an array of other fruits and coffee beans
including . At the end of the tour we sat at the edge of the hill
overlooking the surrounding countryside and tried 6 different coffees - ginger, kopi luwak, lemon and sweet coffee. We then made our way
up to Mount Agung and Mount Batur where we had our photo taken
in front of the volcanoes. Then it was time to get onto our bikes. The
roads were quiet and we were riding downhill which was a relief. We

started off riding past farm land where they were growing corn an
fruit. We road through some small towns and stopped at a couple of
temples. We then went off road and through the jungle and finally
reached the paddy fields. The paths were narrow and winding. We
saw a number of farmers working on their paddy fields and took lots
of photos. There was a couple ahead of us and the lady fell in the paddy field and was covered in mud! I cycled very carefully for the
rest of the bike ride. The views were stunning and it was a perfect way
to see the island. We went back to the hotel quickly to get changed
before jumping into the free shuttle bus and going into town for
lunch. We were dropped off in the middle of town and then started to
wander past all the boutique shops on the hunt for a lunch spot. We
ended up going to the Bebek Bengil - Dirty Duck Diner which had been recommended by a friend. The food was delicious and we lay on
day beds overlooking the paddy fields. After lunch we went to the
Ubud monkey forest and temple before going to check out Naughty
Nuri's rib house. We then went back to the hotel to relax and swim.
The following day we left for Gili Trewangan. We took a taxi to
Prebang Bai port and waited along with lots of other tourists for our
Blue Water Express fast boat to the Gili Islands. The boat was small
with only about 50 seats and the ride was extremely bumpy. We
arrived in Gili Trewangan after about 2.5hours and were glad to reach land again! Gili Trewangan didn't have any cars and the only way to get around the island was to either walk, bike or take a donkey cart. We lifted our suitcases into the back of the donkey cart and were driven to our hotel the Pondok Santi resort which was located on the south tip of the island and slightly out of town away from all the bars. The hotel was fantastic. It consisted of 6 private luxury huts with a huge outdoor bathroom. The hotel had a swimming pool and small
outhouse where breakfast was served. It had a private beach and huge grounds with rugby posts, hammocks, huts and swimming pool. In the afternoon we rented some bikes from the hotel and cycled around

the island. The island was tiny and it only took about 45 minutes. In
the evening we went for dinner at a pizza restaurant.
The next day we made our way down to the Manta dive school and I
signed up for a discovery course. Rich already had his advanced open water so he was able to go out and dive without me. I spent the morning watching videos and practicing with the equipment in the swimming pool. There were 2 other guys in my course. After lunch was went out for our first dive. Rich was on the same boat. We descended the line remembering to equalize our ears and then we were off. We dived for about 45 minutes. The viability wasn't great but we did get to see a couple of turtles which was amazing. In the afternoon we relaxed by the beach and went paddle boarding which was surprisingly difficult because of the waves. We drank beer and watched the sunset. In the evening we went for dinner at Scallywags Organic Seafood Bar & Grill. We had lobster and fish.
The next day we had to check out of our hotel. The hotel arranged for

us to use their private traditional boat to go snorkeling at Gili Air and
Gili Meno and then be dropped off at our next hotel on Lombok. The
snorkeling was fantastic and we felt like celebrities being driven
around on our private boat. We were dropped off at our next hotel
Tugu on Lombok island. Lombok was only a 30 minute drive from the
Gili island and we arrived in time for lunch. Tugu hotel is located on
the northern coast of Lombok on the beach. The style of the main building is decorated in authentic Indonesian antiques and artwork
including grotesque figures. The hotel was spread out with two restaurants, a bar, spa, private villas and private beach overlooking
the might Mount Rinjani. We checked into our private villa and then headed to the main house for lunch. In the afternoon we relaxed on
the beach. The atmosphere was a lot quieter than the neighboring
Gili islands. The next day we organized to go on a tour to the Rinjani National park and waterfalls. We traveled by car to Senaru village
where we walked to Sendang Gila Waterfall and then onto Air Terjun
Tiu Kelep waterfall. You could go swimming in the pool of the second
waterfall but you first had to clamber over lots of rocks to reach it. On our way back our guide took us through a tunnel filled with water. We then had a quick bite to each at Senaru village before going onto our third waterfall the Jeruk Manis Waterfalls. The waterfalls were not as big but our guide took us off the main path and we found another waterfall that not many tourists visit. We had to take off our shoes
and we waded through the water to the waterfall. We then had to
swim across the pool and climb up the wall and then balance along a
bamboo branch to reach the highest pool. We sat there watching the
water pound down on the rock. It was exciting but quite scary! That
was the end of our trip and we went back to our hotel to wash and
have dinner.
The next day we set off on the fast boat back to Bali. This time we
were headed for Nusa Lembongan on the southern tip of Bali. The
water was choppy and the fast boat was bouncing around. The journey ended up taking far longer than expected and we arrived in
Bali after about 5 hours on the boat! We made our way to our hotel in
Seminyak called Grandma’s and checked into our room. The hotel
was basic but clean. It was a perfect base for one night. We showered
and headed into town. The weather was terrible and we were starving.
We walked to Jl. Laksmana road and found the restaurant called The Corner House. We ate sliders and chips and drank a glass of red wine.
After eating we did a bit of shopping and then went for a drink in Ku
da ta on the beach. It was the perfect end of the trip.