Bali - the last days

We spent the rest og our time in Indonesia on Bali. We had some days in Denpasar, Ubud and Kuta. Honestly we only went to Denpasar because of the Magic the Gathering shop but we ended up visiting Bali Museum there too. We learned a lot about the culture and local traditions. Then we checked out no less than 3 shopping centers of which some where way more luxurious than others. Bali Awakening Zone (the Mtg shop) turned out to be super cozy with friendly players and a friendly shop owner. Ubud was a really chill place that also offered many possible activities. Almost every building looked like a temple (yeah the guesthouse, the restaurant, the theater etc.) We saw an amazing women's kecak dance and a trance dance / fire dance. The dancer actually danced / stomped through burning coconut shells while in trance. We saw it after sunset so the flames looked extra impressive. Linda went to a yoga lesson (vinyasa flow) and was surprised by how exhausting yoga is. She liked it though the chanting was just a bit freaky. We rented a bicycle to see the rice terraces in Tegalalang 10 km north of Ubud. The view was amazing and the view on our way out there was too because rice fields and terraces were everywhere as soon as we got out of town. We also saw many elderly tourists in comparison to the other cities. We think it's caused by the book and movie "Eat Pray Love". Ubud was apparently the place to solve a midlife crisis. Kuta was more young in the spirit with backpackers on the beach or surfing. We had a lot of fun in Waterbom park, Asia's nr. 1 water park. They had some crazy slides. Some of them almost vertical and you step into a "closet" and 3 seconds later them he floor disappears and you are sliding the 25 m to the ground while you are almost vertical. They had some other slides that twisted too. And then finally there was the Lazy River (you get a tube and just go with the flow) we had a couple (or perhaps much more than a couple) rounds. Kuta is more modern and there was this really fancy mall called Beachwalk in which we saw The Legend of Tarzan (censored version, thanks Indonesia). Linda went out surfing and actually managed to stand on the board with the first try. Yeah she is proud of that.

Komodo national park

We heard in Vietnam that Komodo Island is one of the seven new world wonders along with Halong Bay and other places we can't visit this time. Therefore Komodo Island was a must-see (we prefer to call it Komodo National Park because the wonder consisted of more than just Komodo Island but also Rinca Island and the surrounding marine life). We had a long way (36 hours from Lombok) to Labuan Bajo from where we booked a 2 days 1 night trip into the komodo area.  So we got on a small and not especially impressive ship but the others on board and the crew made it super cozy. The first day we snorkled 3 places. The first place had really clear water and amazing corals. They were in all colours and all shapes. Many corals meant many fish. The surprising fact was we also saw bigger fish (same size as our head perhaps). The second place was Manta Point. The name reveals the attraction: manta rays. Linda didn't have big expectations because she never felt lucky when it came to spotting animals. But this time there were many manta rays and we saw up to 3 of them at the same time. Once two of them began to swim upwards. We were afraid we were going to be eaten but of course it didn't happen. That was the first of the many special experiences. The last snorkle point was Pink Beach. The sand on the beach was light pink because red corals broken into tiny pieces blended with the white sand. We saw dolphins and flying fish from the boat. As the last thing that evening we saw thousands of flying foxes fly from their trees to hunt in the night. The sight was impressive combined with the sunset. Day 2 we trekked on Komodo island and Rinca Island. On both islands we saw the komodo dragons. The smallest one we saw was about 9 months old and the biggest one was about 40 years old. One of them felt trapped by the many tourists surrounding it and attacked but the rangers fought them of. We have now seen the komodo dragons walk, sleep, attack, yawn, climb trees and eat. In total we saw 13 of them and we were told that they only spotted one in total on both islands the day before that! We had our last chance to snorkle before going back to Labuan Bajo and there were some special fish like the tiger fish. We also saw a clown fish (nemo) and Dory (from finding Nemo)!

Gili Trawangan

So after being dumped on Gili Trawangan by a speed boat we enjoyed our dinner with a sea view. It was a calm feeling to sit down and watch the waves. Our limbs hurt every time we moved but it didn't matter because we didn't move much while we were on Gili Trawangan. The days passed with small walks in the narrow streets and along the beach. The most exciting thing must have been when tough looking soldiers with big guns were guarding the ATMs so some professionals could fill money in them. Else we have been on a 3-island-snorkling-trip. (Gili Trawangan, Gili Meno and Gili Air, one smaller than the other) we saw corals and colourful fish but the most stunning fact was the size of the area of dead corals. They were everywhere. On the beaches we saw pieces of the dead corals all white and broken. 

For some reason some muslim sings and speaks through a speaker from the mosque nearly all evening and night. It could be normal or maybe it's because of the Ramadan. Fact was that it was much worse than church bells in Denmark. He even begins again 5 am in the morning. Restaurants closed between 18:15 and 18:45 so the staff can eat after a whole day of fasting, as such it was obvious that the majority of the population in Indonesia is muslims.

Indonesia - arrival

After landing in Denpasar, Indonesia, we were driven to a guesthouse near the sea, where we spent two nights. It was pretty luxurious and there was a swimming pool. Then we were driven to a boat which took us to lombok, the neighbouring island. There we spent a night in another very luxorious hotel. We then had to get up fiveo'clock in the morning, where we were picked up for the following three days trekking tour on the Rinjani mountain / volcano. The first day we spent 6 hours trekking uphill to the base camp on the volcano crater edge. The second day we had to get up two o'clock in the morning to trek to the mountain summit without breakfast. It took about four hours to get to the top. It was an insane trek since we were walking in sand and loose dirt and rocks. Every time we took a step we slid half that step back down again. The temperature was around zero degrees and the wind was blowing like a storm. Freezing and hungry we reached the top(3726m!) just to take a picture. There was no view since we were unfortunate enough to be in a huge cloud. But it was a feat in it self that we both reached the top. Linda was having a real hard time and almost gave up multiple times. After reaching summit we hastily turned back to get down to less windy and less cold environments. On the way back to base camp we saw monkeys. It was a godsend when we finally got our breakfast, even though it was only a banana pancake. Adrian luckily got a second one. We then proceeded to trek 5 more hours that day. First down into the volcano crater, down to the lake formed at the bottom, where there was hot springs. We bathed in those and we got our lunch besides wild monkeys. We then trekked back up the crater to another camp with a beautiful view of the sunset and the colored clouds. The third day our legs were hurting from the get go, and we only trekked downwards that day. Adrian who had been able to keep up with the front the other two days, got ankle pain and ended up being so slow that he had to be picked up by a motorbike because the others had reached the end of the trek and didn't want to wait anymore. Linda got the same treatment because she stayed with Adrian during his slow descent. We were then driven to the harbor and sent to one of the three small isles near Lombok, widely known as the Gili isles. (Even though we suspect that gili just means island )

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) - last stop Vietnam

For us HCMC (Ho Chi Minh City) seemed like a more modern city compared to other big cities in South East Asia. But still they have the same problem with parked vehicles on the sidewalk. We saw a lot of the city when we walked and when we took the bus. Notre Dame Cathedral in HCMC and the old post house were really nice and old buildings. We have been to different markets (Ben thanh market and the street food market) even though we have bought everything we need already xD. We had a one day trip to the Cu Chi Tunnels which were in Cu Chi, 55 km from HCMC. (Yes, it might sound like the Gucci tunnels) because of the Vietnamese traffic system the trip to and from the tunnels took almost 3 hours each way. We got the chance to actually crawl in the tunnels and get attacked by mosquitos. We also saw a film about the brave villagers who fought against the Americans with the use of those tunnels. They must have had at least 7 kinds of bamboo traps to get rid of the Americans. Our last day was spent in the zoo & botanical gardens. It was more a zoo and amusement park combined with loud music and doped animals. We are not sure they actually doped those animals but they definitely weren't fresh. The botanical part was minimal but otherwise very fine if you can handle the amount of fake animals.

Hoi An

Hoi An is a nice old town with many interesting buildings with influence from China and Japan. We saw temples, bridges, old houses and assembly halls. The old town is most beautiful at night because of the many street vendors who sell lanterns. The river is also all lit up by small baskets with candles which you can buy for 1$ and put in the water. We accidentally went on a shopping spree but we think we made some decent deals without paying way too much. The shopping spree continued for Adrian the day after. He bought a new phone! (Since the battery of the old one could only last one and a half minute, and no vendor in south east asia repairs HTC one minis) You can't really walk on the streets of Hoi An without being stopped by eager tailors who want you to visit their shop and most importantly buy stuff spontaneously. While waiting for the bus onwards towards Ho Chi Minh city the last day, we had a few billiard games (Linda won). The local dishes are really tasty but they could be more generous with the amount of food. Google: white roses (shrimp dumplings), cao lao (noodles), fried dumplings (these were really really really tasty).

Phong Nha

Our trip to Phong Nha has been compact. We arrived 04:00 and got some rest in a hotel and 8:45 our trip to the caves began. We saw two caves, Paradise Cave and Dark Cave. Paradise Cave is a large cave (31 km long, up to 100 m wide and 60 m high) and contained many stalactites and stalagmites. We walked 1 km into the cave and was amazed by the size and also the coloumns. These caves are also limestone caves. We ziplined from a platform 15 meters above the ground to the opening of the Dark Cave. Inside dark cave we could bathe in mud. It was really a weird experience because the buoyancy was insanely high and we could just float in the mud. There was also a mud slide in the cave which was funny until you fell into the water and hurt yourself on the rocky bottom. We spent the rest of the day in the water park around Dark Cave and did a bit of kajaking. Adrian completed an obstacle course over water. It took him a second time to do it though. We met some nice Danish girls, some Dutch girls and some Russians too.