INDONESIA, BALI, LOVINA - 20 TO 24 AUGUST 2022

 

20 AUGUST

BALIAN

A terrible surf – windy and messy.

LOVINA

Time for a change. We organized transport for 550000r and booked the Lovina Beach Hotel and off we went. A nice drive and after two hours we were settled into our hotel.

We walked over to the restaurant area in Kalibukbuk and were bombarded by sellers along most of the way. We had a a nice lunch at the vegan restaurant.

I had a relaxing massage. Later in the afternoon, we sat down near the beach, had a few beers and watched the sun set and the local people doing their afternoon weekend thing.

Dinner was in ‘town’ then back to the hotel for sleep.

21 AUGUST

We started the day with a long walk along the coastal path towards the east. It was quiet and it was interesting viewing the area without the bothering. the local village was friendly.

Later, a swim in the hotel pool (very hot here) , another great lunch at the vegan restaurant and sunset drinks on the beach.

22 AUGUST

I went for a snorkeling trip to Menjangan Island. It took a while to get there by car and boat. The snorkeling was good though you had to dive at least two metres down to get the clearest view of the corals and the fish.

23 AUGUST

We had a morning walk to the west. We passed fishing boats and a muslim village. The village was fun to wander around ... no dogs.

Breakfast and then a massage down the road.

Vegan lunch and a sensational dinner on the main road with a short Balinese dance performance.

24 AUGUST

We had another morning walk to the east but veered up a street towards the main road dotted with accommodation and restaurants.

Back to hotel, breakfast then a drive to Balian.

LOVINA - BALI - DOLPHINS,SNORKEL AND CHILLING - 25 JULY 2019

LOVINA

23 JULY

The drive took about 1 ½ hours over the mountains from Balian via Pupuan and Siririt to get to Kalibukbuk at Lovina.

We stayed at the Angsoka Hotel for 300 000r for aircon/hot water room. Heaps of room with a pretty garden, good pool and friendly staff.

Once settled, we wandered down the beach for food. It was hot and seemed very empty. After eating we wandered along the black sand beach and rested in our room and at the pool.

In the afternoon we sat on the beach, had a beer and watched the sunset. The sunset was beautiful. After matihari (sun) went to bed we wandered down the promenade and settled into a nice restaurant with live music. The food was good, the atmpshere nice and the wine (two islands) was easily consumed.

24 JULY

We woke early for a sunrise dolphin boat tour.

The boat was new and fast, the captain Made was entertaining and good at pursuing the dolphins and we had the company of a lovely French family – Katherine and Renale and their two small children. There were lots of dolphin sightings close and distant and even three breechings. The amount of boats was phenomenal, at least 60! It was all ov er the top at the start but the main group of boats eventually slintered off into smaller groups and sightings became more easierily seen. Still, it was fun and personally I think the dolphins used the boats to help theem hunt for fish.

After the hunt/chase/boat adventure, we all went for breakfast. Our friends were from Paris and of French and Moroccan descent.  They were on a three month adventure exploring parts of south-east Asia. Lovely people.

The rest of the day was spent eating and hanging around the hotel pool.

25 JULY

A broken sleep!

We walked down to the beach and towards the east. I had a long snorkel. There was not much to see at the beginning but the coral and fish gradually increased. It turned out to be a fun and enjoyable snorkel.

Back to the hotel for breakfast and packing.

Gousti arrived at 11:30 am to take us back to Balian.

INDONESIA - BALI - LOVINA - ' BEACH, TEMPLES AND HOTSPRINGS - 2 SEPTEMBER 2018

29 AUGUST 2018

I woke to very sore eyes. One eye had been weeping so much that the eye lids were stuck together.

Nyoman arrived for our long journey to Lovina (600 000R). We turned off the main way and traffic to visit Nyoman's warung and home. The Warung D'Bishe was simple but nice. There were lots of different types of seating, A ladder to climb for a view from the top of a tree and heaps of funny signs - 'No wifi so talk only'. The view was so pretty over the surrounding valley and mountains. He has plans to build a guest room. We ate mie goreng and babi guling. Nyoman's wife turned up briefly as she was at a ceremony.

Next, we drove a short distance to Nyoman's home. His home as in traditional style - separate kitchen and sleeping rooms for each part of the extended family.  Nyoman's room was very large and recently renovated with more artist design than the other rooms. Unknown to us, Nyoman was a bonsai plant hobbyist and had a number of beautiful plants that he had grown and nurtured.

We continued our journey to Lovina. The road was very steep and windy in long sections.

We arrived at Hotel Angsoka (275 000R) and settled into our room. The hotel looked nice big dining area, reception with a pretty garden path to the room and pool. The room was big with large shower area, fan and aircon.

First stop was a doctor for my eyes. She gave me medicine and a script for more medical eye drops - one drop three times a day plus 10 minutes with eyes closed. This as part of my routine for the next three days.

Back at the hotel we organized one of the workers to pick up the scripts for me in Singaraja.

After my eye drops, we wandered down to the beach, looked at the dolphin statue and the promenade then had dinner at the Vegan restaurant. It was very tasty.

30 AUGUST 2018

I was up early, my eyes were feeling a lot better. I meandered down to the beach, did my stretching and shoulder exercises and had a swim with my head above the water (No water on my eyes for three days).

Back at the hotel, Jacinta was awake. We had a basic breakfast at the hotel. We spent the rest of the day lazing around the beach, pool and room. We both were feeling a bit weary. At sunset, we sat in one of the restaurants and had a few beers.

We had dinner at a very roomy restaurant right on the beach which had very tasty food and live music. A nice ending to the day.

31 AUGUST 2018

The eyes were feeling in more better so I hired a motor bike (70 000R pd) for the next two days.

I took the bike for a sightseeing tour and Jacinta stayed around the pool as she didn't feel like a ride.

I visited the Buddhist temple at Banjar, put on a sarong and walked around the pretty gardens, temples and gardens. It was very nice and relaxing.

Still feeling good, I rode to the Banjar Hot Springs (20 000R entry) for a soak in the very warm waters.

Feeling very relaxed, I tackled the traffic back to the hotel.

Jacinta and I had lunch at one of the beach restaurants.

Later, we sat on the beach, swam and watched the sunset.

1 SEPTEMBER 2018

We had a early walk along the beach, swam and did exercises. There were a large number of people cleaning the beach. A short while later a large cruise sailing boat arrived and then the plot thickened. A small section of the beach was laid out with kayaks, wake boards, etc and a fleet of buses arrived. Time to leave the beach.

We rode the bike to Singaraja to visit the Chinese Temple and the old sea port. It was a nice stroll and we sat in one of the pier restaurants and had cold drinks.

Back at Lovina, we had lunch down at the beach and a chat with some of the people from the cruise ship. Seemed like there as good and bad parts to their boat tour.

We had a nice dinner at one of the restaurants in the laneway. We met and chatted with the owner and Sri, who worked in the restaurant. We decided on one beer at a small cafe but the music was good and the people friendly so we stayed for a few more beers. So much for an early night. Haha.

2 SEPTEMBER 2018

We packed to leave, had a wander around the beach and swim then it was time to go.

We had a good time in Lovina.