We left by taxi towards Sanur, taking the boat to Nusa Lembongan. In the cab, there was a Dutch couple with whom we started a conversation. On the boat, we had to wait a long time before everything was in order to depart. All the luggage was loaded manually. The young sailors sometimes carried up to 3 backpacks or suitcases above their heads to wade through the water and load them onto the boat. Seeing that they do this up to 6 times a day was painful. Once on the boat, we took our seats. The total ride would take just over half an hour. The sea was rough, but we had never experienced a boat ride of this caliber before. After ten minutes, my stomach started to turn a bit. I had to focus on the horizon the entire trip, which sometimes also disappeared due to the rocking, to avoid getting sick. Inez had a hard time. She started to sweat, turned pale, had heart palpitations, and after persevering for a long time, she had to use a bag. It was hellish. In Europe, I believe they would never have sailed in this weather. When the island came into sight, the waves became less high, and the last 5 minutes of the ride became a bit more pleasant. The sea was beautiful. The light blue and crystal clear water immediately made us shine. We were looking forward to it. It was low tide. As a result, a small boat came to pick us up and drop us off ashore. The boat company had a taxi that dropped us off at our hotel Dayung Villas. A beautiful and well-maintained room completed the island picture. We were both hungry and ate a small snack in The Other Bar. We walked to Mushroom Bay and had a drink at Hai Rai Zen. Here we stayed and enjoyed a few cocktails and delicious sharing plates. It was a pleasant evening. The great thing about the island is that most large restaurants have a pick-up and drop-off service. This is because there is no taxi or public transport on the island. We were dropped off at our hotel in the evening and enjoyed a wonderful night’s sleep in a blissfully soft bed.
The next morning we ate a delicious breakfast and explored the island. A nice walk took us to Dream Beach. It was beautiful but busy. We posed for some photos and quenched our thirst. Devil’s Tears was similar to The Blow Holes in Australia. But still less impressive. We had never seen so many Chinese people together. I even think there were none left in China at that time. They arrived in droves. There are some in every photo. It gave us the feeling of being back on the coast of Australia (except for the thousands of Chinese then 😀 ). We ate at Oiishi (thanks to Flore for the tip). A very famous sushi place. Incredibly fresh and delicious. The fact that you can get this for so little money is simply amazing. We spent the rest of our day enjoying the sun and the pool at our hotel. A beautiful garden made this too good to be true. We jumped into the pool and had a lot of fun. We ate at Hai Bar Grill in the evening with a sea view. Here too, we drank delicious cocktails and enjoyed delicious food.
Komodo Garden was our next stay. The man was pushy and made us feel uncomfortable. There was a beautiful pool, and we used it all day. A day of rest certainly did us good. In the evening, we walked to Sandy Beach and had a cozy tête-à-tête in Sandy Bar with a beautiful view of Sandy Beach. We chatted about our future, and the dreams were endless. At 3 o’clock in the morning, we were woken up by barking dogs and two people in the hut next to us who found it more enjoyable to call their family loudly. Inez had enough and knocked on their door to “politely” ask them to go to sleep.
After a bad night’s sleep, we quickly booked our previous place to sleep because the huts here were too noisy. We ate a delicious banana pancake and left for Dayung Villas. We spent some time at the pool before walking to the other side of the island to rent a bike. We had our lunch at Eco Deli and rented a bike from a friendly lady. The bikes were passable, but we weren’t expecting much. We cycled to Nusa Ceningan, a small sister island we had not yet explored. We could reach this island via The Yellow Bridge. Due to all the hills and the scorching weather, it was tiring to cycle, but we were happy with the extra exercise and had a lot of fun. It was nice to explore the island differently. We had a drink at Mahana Point, a strange spot with a beautiful view of a bay. We also saw some surfers braving the big waves. After the strenuous bike ride, we enjoyed a massage, and in the evening, we ate at The Deck. We ate incredibly well, cheerfully clinked a few glasses, and enjoyed a beautiful view. We were already looking forward to our blissful place to sleep in the delightful beds at Dayung.
The following day it was time to leave for the next island, Nusa Penida. For this, we took a 10-minute boat ride on a small boat. These boats wait at The Yellow Bridge, and we shared them with some locals.
x Ely & Inez
I'm convinced that you should do what you love and go for what you want in life. I go through life with a no-nonsense mentality and a passion for travel, blogging, and the digital world. In 2018, I embarked on the journey of my life with my girlfriend, and since then I want to continue traveling and discovering the world.
