Gili Trawangan, Lombok (26-30 Aug)

25 kms west of Bali and just off Lombok are the three Gili islands. This place is mostly about partying but I am here to unwind and maybe do some more scuba diving. The return transfer is 63€ which is quite a lot of money on Bali.

now I know why it is called fast boat

Ubud, Bali (23-25 Aug)

As said before I scheduled a shuttle at 7:00h to get me to Ubud. The driver (a heavily tattooed young guy) finally arrived shortly past 8:00h reasoning “I have to pray, is very important for Hindu”. Pissed off I got into an old mini van with no seatbelts. But driving around this beautiful landscape and with some good old Bob Marley from the speakers you cant keep up a bad mood and so I enjoyed the ride.

Area around Ahmed

Tulamben, Bali (21-22 Aug)

I had a shuttle organized to drive me from Kuta to Tulamben where the famous USS Liberty is just 50m off the beach. The vessel was torpedoed in WWII and then was put on the beach to retrieve the valuable cargo. After some years a volcano erupted and pushed the ship to its current location. That is also why you got black sand on the beach which is quite a nice sight. On the first day I organized my dives for the next day and befriended some fellow divers just two doors from my bungalow and the locals. Once again I have established my dislike of cheap Oakley copies and T-shirts, the Balinese are really friendly and want to get to know you better. The receptionist’s English was surprisingly fluent and so the conversation exceeded the normal small talk.

my bungalow in Tulamben

Kuta, Legian & Seminyak, Bali (18-20 Aug)

Ah, finally leaving Australia. Although I liked it very much and I will be going back there I am really looking forward to my trip around Asia.

The flight took about 3.5 hours from Perth in a 737-800 with Pacific Blue, a sister company of Virgin Air. Every seat had its own screen and while we were near Australia it even had live TV.

Landing in Ngurah Rai you get the usual temperature and humidity shock exiting the aircraft. After handing over 25 USD cash to be allowed into the country you can appreciate the “you are new here” overcharge for the taxi ride.

After having spent 4 month in dorm rooms I reckoned I will treat myself with a single room including air conditioning and a private bathroom. I figured the rate of 18 Euros was ok ;-). One of the highlights was a proper towel although it hadn’t seen a softener for a while. After 4 month of travelling with that microfabrics that was a real treat. Don’t get me wrong, the microfabric dries fast, is light weighted and very compact and so I wouldn’t buy a towel. Also, I don’t need a converter any more to charge my electronic devices.

The a/c wasn’t working properly but cooled the room to 5 degrees lower than outside and it was enough to sleep comfortably. 18 Euros may not sound much but you could also get a simple and basic room with shared bathroom for 4.5 Euros and so it will probably be the most expensive room I will have on Bali.

air conditioning switch - I dare you to touch it

Perth (04-18 Aug)

The 4 hour flight to Perth was pretty basic in an A320 with Jetstar. Arriving to 7 degrees it was a bit chilly waiting 30 minutes in shorts for the bus which even dropped me off at my accommodation. As usual I stayed at the YHA which is centrally located just north of the CBD. 4-share and 6-share rooms had the same rate and so it was an easy decision.

The next three days it was not just raining but pouring and by the time the sky cleared up I became sick for some days. In the end it was either pouring or I was lying in bed with a fever.

So unfortunately I just had a few days to explore the city.

The Bell Tower

Cairns (07 Jul – 03 Aug)

The rest of my time in Cairns I just spent enjoying the great weather and the nice people I have met. Big shout out to two guys from Hamburg Andre and Robin and to two fellows from NSW Mark and Jules.

YHA in Cairns