Nusa Lembongan & Ceningan, Indonesia

fresh off the fastboat - 1 hr. from Sanur to Nusa Lembongan (mushroom bay).

beautiful weather - skies, waters, gentle breeze - very nice.

no idea where we'll stay - we jump in a truck and head to, Tamarind Bay.  driver wants us to stay w/ his friend - even to the point of being pushy - we push back and walk on, turtles in a foreign land w/ too little information.  this turns into a common theme as we're traveling on budget so the places that fit our criteria very rarely advertise online.  we must stay somewhere for 1 night while we scope out the area for subsequent nights.  trouble in Nusa Lembongan turns out to be electricity reliability - which is to say the juice is sometimes on at night, sometimes not.  there even seems to be a pattern to the service but after a few simple hypothesis are tested and disproven, we throw up our arms and adjust our strategies.  without electricity, air con units are worthless and concrete, bunker-esque hotels, are hot - no air flow.

eventually we find Ulu - bungalows built in true Indonesian fashion, 2 stories high w/ balcony, windows for evening breeze, and outdoor shower / bath on the first floor.  not often i get a view of the stars while i'm sudzin' up - what a joy though when it comes my way.

possibly the best sunsets we had in all of Indonesia were on Nusa Lembongan... 

not a great beach for tourists - more of a working beach, from hosting moorings for guiding, fishing, and local ferry boats to giving access to locals transporting their seaweed haul, this slanted beach at Tamarind Bay was buzzing.  surfers come to Lembongan to ride the 3 surf breaks off shore.  they hire local fishermen to take them out to a covered raft near the 2 most popular breaks, "laceration" and "playgrounds."  i get the feeling this area is not for beginners.

waves breaking at breakfast - what a treat!

the oldest / biggest tree on Nusa Lembongan!

we had a blast renting scooters and exploring the islands.  between $4 and $7 gets you a scooter for the day and they go everywhere!  Carly like riding hers into things like walls.  no harm done though and we all enjoyed laughing at her mishaps - nice, supportive, family that we are.

Bintang!  a daily splurge in the evening - hard to avoid, why try?

we loved Indonesia's obsession with architectural decoration - carvings, casts, statues...

no house reef for snorkeling here - half hour by boat to the Mangroves (too silty = bad visibility), then to Nusa Penida (beautiful and clear but cold for the kids - approx. 23 degrees C).

one day we happened upon a funeral ceremony which we observed from the road.  apparently these ceremonies last all week - evident from my attempt to find the local doctor to treat an ear infection.  every time i stopped by, he was "away at ceremony."  i thought maybe this was just a standard dismissal but no so - they clearly attend ceremony often on Nusa Lemongan. 

Gamelan players waiting for the post-ceremony procession through town.

if your family has enough money, you get cremated when you die.  if not, you're buried until there's enough cash to afford the wood, and presumably priests' fees.  umbrellas on every gravestone apparently for added comfort from the midday sun.

dream point, near dream beach - powerful waves nearly swept Basil and Ryan off.  couple scrapes, some angry scoldings by loved ones, and a dead cell phone later, four travelers back on scooters head for trauma therapy - food, beer, & middle of the night contemplation.  nothing keeps a mind engaged in the wee hours like a lesson on human frailty as taught by the indiscriminate might of the sea.

all waves are not equal...

the islands of Lembongan & Ceningan maintain a thriving seaweed farming culture.  they grow, cut, haul, dry, and presumably much more in the way of processing it to produce skin creams & jellies.

moving the harvested seaweed during low tide from the bay in between Lembongan and Ceningan

this young girl looked to be about 15 years old - strong and proud of her task!

wherever there's flat, undeveloped land, there's seaweed arranged for drying...

Kayl and Ryan stay behind for a scooter adventure to Ceningan (fanta, laps in the pool for exercise, and 4x4 rubiks cube lessons…by Kayl of course), Carly and Basil jump on the Dive Concepts (great dive company run by a bunch of competent, friendly, french guys) SCUBA boat to Crystal Bay and Manta Point.  little chilly but worth it for an encounter w/ Mantas!

…and Oriental Sweet Lips

gentle giants glide nearby, unafraid & even curious.

manta rays have feeding grounds & cleaning stations - different depths, different locations...

…and we're off!  to Bangsal, Lombok by fast boat.  Mt. Rinjani looms physically as well as in our thoughts - do kids often climb this massive volcano?  will we find available guides & porters at prices we can afford?  how will the actual experience contrast with the marketing literature?

Kuta beach, Bali

early in the trip, the boys were often spoiled with their OWN twin bed.

hotel Lusa quickly became a favorite of ours.  1) because USA is hidden in the name, 2) it was close to Kuta beach, 3) the pool.  many laps, games of chase, & breath holding contests were hosted in this lovely pool.  breakfast, complete with Bali coffee, always enjoyed poolside.

Basil and Ryan's first attempt at surfing.  we came to discover that many elements of surfing successfully are hidden beneath the surface of this sport.  timing is everything here - from knowing which wave to ride to checking weather conditions / swell reports to determining whether high tide or low tide would yield the most fitting conditions.  let's be clear, surfing is for 20 year olds, ready to risk life and limb for glory and adrenaline.  i'll stick to my snowboard and backcountry freshies!

cold bottles of coke, 10,000 IDRs ($1) / cold cans of bintang, 20,000 ($2): comes w/ free chair rental

Carly and Kayl less inclined to surf after initial experiences - respect for the sea, lesson #1.  Kayl opted for a local Balinese resin tattoo that would last for several weeks before fading.

the finished tattoo...

navigating the streets of Kuta after a fabulous dinner of Nasi Goreng (fried rice with shrimp crackers).  a couple of Chocomuchos (anyone out there share our obsession with these candy bars?) from the circle K for dessert and then a slow walk back to the hotel, keeping an eye peeled for pubs with big TVs and FIFA world cup banners.  kayl and i would later sneak out of our hotel room at midnight to join a mostly crowded bar full of football fanatics.  one half of the bar was watching USA v. Germany, the other half, Portugal v. Ghana.  of course who could resist trying to keep tabs on both games!  i admit the walk back at 2:30am with my naive and youthful fellow football fanatic had me a bit on edge.  the deserted and often darkened streets urged us to keep a brisk step and limit our gaze.

nights 2 & 3, done.

on day 4, we're picked up in a van and driven to the port at Sanur.  4 nasi goreng's please while we wait for the fast boat to Nusa Lembongan…making this up as we go!

Hello Indonesia, first stop, Balangan, Jimbaran, Bali

Shanghai Pudong airport, 1:05am departure time, hanging in there but tired.  Kayl and Carly would end up watching several movies on the 6 1/2 hour flight to Bali.  Basil and Ryan tried sleeping and were moderately successful.  when i invent a more comfortable airplane neck pillow, i will fly you all to Bali for a party!

kids love pools, hell i love pools, bali's hot - better have a great beach or a pool or you're staying indoors during the middle of the day.

loved eating breakfast on the beach - just a 5 minute walk from the Balangan Sea View Resort - simple, delicious fare, excellent coffee, killer views of the morning surf break and the crazies who surf it.  my hat's off to those who've braved it here - Balangan Beach is not for beginners.

O mysterious, powerful, beautiful ocean, i see, hear, smell, and feel you - do you know i am here?

pocked rocky shoreline, only beach we've seen like this - very interesting.  basil enjoyed sitting in the holes…until a wave would surprise him, sending him springing up and retreating for cover.  kayl got surprised once also, slipped, and lost his glasses in the retreating tumult.  fortunately one of us used supreme optimism to go look for them before the next wave and voila! 3 or 4 meters away, inside one of the holes - we wondered if the hole "caught" his glasses, keeping them from being fully claimed by the sea.

you can get a cheap room with a fan and padlock on the door for about $10/night.  great vibe.

pretty quiet beach - definitely an advanced surfer's destination.  they even have photographers with cannon style telephoto lenses if you want your picture taken while you're battling the break.

could've done without the "taksi" driver's recommendation to take us to a "friend's restaurant" in Jimbaran.  "only 15-20 minutes away" turned into 45 minutes as he drove us right back to the Denpasar airport!  we could see the planes landing from our table!  at first i thought, "hey great, this reminds me of a beach restaurant in Costa Rica Carly and i went to in Montezuma.  that place was awesome."  however, the prices at Sri Ganga were outrageous and i felt like a total shmuck "right off the boat" tourist who was being taken advantage of.  so we had some drinks, and after a few conversations with management and our driver, paid the bill and got the hell out of dodge.  back at the "resort" we ordered some fried rice and fried noodles and settled into a satisfying meal.  lesson learned.

day 1 and 2, down...