On the road, almost like the locals

There’s nothing in Lovina at this time of the year, except some retired people from Australia. For sure, we did not chose it for the excitement. I skip the dolphin tour in the morning – I had enough chances to be sea-sick lately. While watching sunset, our plan is formulating. The best offer I got for my trip was 500 thousand rupee. This means, that there’s just a few tourists around, so they need to maximize their income somehow. I just don’t dare to risk riding a scooter after I’ve seen the traffic and knowing, that I should drive uphill a lot. Finally our host agrees to take me on a scooter for 200 thousand (about 15 USD).

We say goodbye with Mina, and I go for my trip. Of course the guy I agreed with doesn’t come, his friend appears to pick me up. This time I have closed shoes, long trousers and helmet on, when I sit behind Made. I was not relaxed at all as I observed the traffic. I realised, that my body is in stress and I have a great tension in my muscles. I figured this cannot go on like this for another 3-4 hours. So I imagined this to be a dance, when the only thing I have to do is to trust my partner, to follow his movement without trying to lead. This actually helped. The tension was gone, and I enjoyed the ride.

First we went to the Gitgit waterfall, where I was alone for at least 10 minutes, no other tourists. This also meant, that I was the only potential customer in the bazaar to the waterfall as well. In high season there are so many people, that you can hardly see the waterfall itself.

Next stop was the Pura Ulun Danu Berata temple. Actually this was the reason for today’s trip, this is the place I wanted to visit before I leave Bali. It was partially built on the lake, so tourists usually refer to it simply as “temple on the lake”. There was a ceremony when I got there, but wearing sarong was not compulsory. The locals walked in and out freely, for foreigners the entry fee is 50.000 rupee (4 USD). Beautiful temple, though it has less charm with the many tourists. I’m happy I visited, as I missed the classic tours to Uluwatu and Tanah Lot temples.

Made’s uncle is a bus driver on a local line, so they offered a good price for using his services to Gilimanuk. I had to be ready in the hostel so that he picks me up at 3 pm. I was wondering why is the pick up at the hostel and not in a bus stop, if it is a public bus, but does it matter? I wanted to use public transportation anyway, so it is worth to try. At 3 there was no one to pick me up. Then Made came to tell me, that the uncle’s bus broke down, but he will wait for me until I find another bus. He drove me to the bus stop, that was not even an actual bus stop, just the side of the road with some shadow. We were hunting for bemos or buses. The bemo is small, like a microbus, without normal seats, just a bench on each side. Some came, but didn’t head towards my destination, or were totally full. And I should’ve changed at least twice to get to Gilimanuk anyway. The first bus that stopped – of course there’s no schedule – was exactly what I needed, and even when the driver wanted to quote a really high price, 75.000 rupee (5,5 USD) is still okay for the 2 hours drive. The windows were locked, no AC, lot of sun: this mix made me sleep for half of the ride. There were only 6 men travelling with me, so at least I had plenty of space.

Gilimanuk is the harbour, but I stay in Bali for the night, I don’t want to search for accommodation in the dark in the other side. Instead I have a walk. The village is obviously not pure hindu, there’s a mosque and women dressed respecting the religious rules. There’s a lot of trash everywhere – this has nothing to do with religion. I walked to the beach for sunset, but the trash made me really sad.

My place is nice and clean, maybe new, with a little tidy garden. I’m happy with it until in the bathroom I try to get rid of a big cockroach to enjoy my shower, and all of a sudden a huge rat runs towards me, jumps on the bathtub while me standing there under the shower. It was running a circle around me, and after I targeted it with some water, it ran up in the wall to the roof. When I mentioned it to the host, he seemed to be surprised, but his wife was just nodding saying, that there are some big mice around. Fantastic. I was also entertained by the neighbour, who had a great celebration in front of his house, being half of the village his guest. It was not a party to join, but a prayer-like ceremony that went on until 11 pm, with an old man doing the prayer in the loudspeaker. I was fighting with the mosquitos and the image of the rat for a while, but then I fell asleep. My next destination is Java.My place is nice and clean, maybe new, with a little tudy garden. I’m happy with it until in the bathroom I try to get rid of a big cockroach to enjoy my shower, and all of a sudden a huge rat runs towards me, jumps on the bathing tube while me standing there under the shower. It was running a circle around me, and after I targeted it with some water, it ran up in the wall to the roof. When I mentioned it to the host, he seemed to be surprised, but his wife was just nodding saying, that there are some big mice around. Fantastic. I was also entertained by the neighbour, who had a great celebration in front of his house, being half of the village his guest. It was not a party to join, but a prayer-like ceremony that went on until 11 pm, with an old man doing the prayer in the loudspeaker. I was fighting with the mosquitos and the image of the rat for a while, but then I fell asleep. My next destination is Java.