Freitag, 11. März 2011

My Bali and Gili Islands road trip


After 10 days in Ubud it was time to hit the road again and explore the rest of Bali and the Gili’s, therefore my friend Angelique and I rented a scooter and started our adventure tour, which brought us to beautiful temples (Pura Luhur Batukau), lush hillsides covered with jungle; the Jatiluwih rice fields; fruit trees and coffee plants; lakes and waterfalls (Munduk), fishing villages and beaches (Tulamben, Amed) and much more.

As pictures sometimes speak louder than words – I won’t write much this time but show you images of my beautiful journey instead. I hope you enjoy the pictures as much as I enjoyed this road trip. Here you go:

First stop one of Bali’s most spiritual temples: Pura Luhur Batukau. Please read who CAN’T enter the temple :)





The nature of Bali is amazing and diverse: rice fields, jungle, volcanoes, ocean…
Jatiluwih rice fields


Mount Agung

lush hillsides and ocean view

North coast of Bali
West coast of Bali








Gili Trawangan - is there a more beautiful place to celebrate ones birthday?
The people of Indonesia are super friendly, hardworking, funny:

Banana fritters - the best ever

This picture is for Tom-Justin: Justin, here the kids learn to ride a scooter with 9 years - you'd wish, mh? :)
old-style farming  


even the cows get a shower





The little guy on the left side reminded me of Goran, don't you agree?

fresh fish for sale

temple offerings...yammie

A visit of a local market can’t be missed:



Of course I had to try the Luwak coffee – one of a kind:

Here I am trying different kinds of coffee's and teas from Bali.
Kopi Luwak coffee comes from the Indonesian island, an area well know for its excellent coffee. Also native to the area is a small civit like animal called a Paradoxurus. The locals call them luwaks. These little mammals live in the trees and one of their favourite foods is the red, ripe coffee cherry. They eat the cherries, bean and all. While the bean is in the little guy’s stomach, it undergoes chemical treatment and fermentations. The bean finishes its journey through the digestive system, and exits. The still intact beans are collected from the forest floor, and are cleaned, then roasted and ground just like any other coffee. The resulting coffee is said to be like no other. It has a rich, heavy flavour with hints of caramel or chocolate.


Indonesia has amazing huge trees:

find me in the pic :)



The last part of this trip I’ve done on my own and traveled to some small Islands. One was called ‘Gili Trawangan’ and the other one was called ‘Nusa Lembongan’.

Most people come to those islands to dive, snorkel, surf and relax.


I, of course, did lots of walking, biking and snorkelling and maybe some relaxing :)


Here are some pics of a little mermaid who tries to practise her free diving skills. The ocean here is really beautiful, full of fish, sea turtles and colourful corals.










In Lembongan 85% of the population work at farming seaweed and it’s fascinating to just be there and watch their daily routines – most of the seaweed is used for cosmetic products and the production of carrageenan – which is used to thicken ice cream as well as cheese and many other products.











In 6 days it’s time to say ‘Good bye’ to Bali and ‘Hello again’ to India, I am curious what India will bring me this time – I am going North.

I had a beautiful time in Bali, which I will never forget.
Hugs, smiles and kisses a last time from Ubud, Bali, Indonesia

...soon on the road again.
Yours Eylin