Dear Friends, Family, and Readers,

It was brought to our attention after our last email that a category 6.9 earthquake hit off the coast of Sumatra, Indonesia on November 18th. We are safe, far away from this unfortunate tragedy (on another continent). Fortunately for us, we are a few months ahead in our travels, and our last email was previously scheduled due to us being away from internet connectivity over the last week.

Our hearts go out to those in Indonesia currently. Bali, where our travels occurred, is off the coast of Java, Indonesia - the large island further to the south and east of Sumatra - and to the best of our knowledge was not impacted.

This week, we cover part two of our adventures in Bali: Nusa Lembongan, a small satellite island to the east of Bali.

Just to recap the geography: Nusa Lembongan is off the east coast of Bali, which is off the east cost of Java, which is located to the south and east of Sumatra… you follow? 😬

Let’s dive (ha, that’s a pun you’ll get in a minute) back in.

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Pete’s Travel Diary

Nusa Lembongan

Bali itself has a great deal to see, but you needn’t limit yourself to just the lone island. There are a number of satellite islands with nature preserves and a treasure trove of animals and sealife to see. Nusa Lembongan, one of these smaller islands, is in close proximity to the famous Wallace Line, an area where the Indomalayan and Australasian biomes meet. You can see sea life here that can seldom be seen in one stop on the map.

Nusa Lembongan hosts excellent scuba diving opportunities for those who enjoy shipwrecks, abundant coral reefs, and tropical fish. This is also a seasonal territory to potentially spot the wondrous oceanic sunfish, also called Mola Mola - my goal. The opposite season promotes an opportunity to see whale-sharks.

Getting There: the Ferry (and a Dramatic Port Experience)

As we made our way from Ubud to the seaside, we encountered a number of, again, very persistent individuals vying for our business to transport us - this time by boat. We were quickly approached by an independent man selling ferry tickets when we got out of our vehicle.

Perry had already secured our spot on another ferry, but we were not opposed to hearing other options and haggling a little since our tickets weren’t pre-paid. We haggled back and forth, throwing out a number that was lower than our reservation, and the man would try to intentionally miscommunicate the prices. He would agree, walk us up to one of the tour company stalls to try to sell them on our price, they would say no, and then he would change the number we had agreed upon in attempts to get us to slip up. Pretty shifty.

To make this experience even more dramatic, another group of travelers overheard the numbers the man had agreed to. They became quite upset as they had paid twice the amount. The man then attempted to lead us to yet another ferry company so as to not further upset their already hooked clientele. Following the traditional rules of, “never follow a stranger to a second location,” we brushed him off, firmly, and resumed our original plans. I have a feeling this was a good idea as the price was cheaper, up front, and no surprises. Odds are, if something isn’t passing the sniff test, it’s not a good idea.

Follow your gut and arrange passage in advance. We found the best price with Maruti Group Fast Boat.​

When boarding the boats and ships to Nusa Lembongan, you hop directly on the boat from about a foot of water and will get your feet wet. It isn’t a pants or blue jeans sort of day. They have a large bin to stow your shoes for the ride. Folks don’t like to try to clean sand out of their boats around these parts.

There are some areas of beach with a lot of broken coral and seashells. In one location where we boarded, it appeared to be quite sharp and we insisted on keeping our sandals on. They wasted no time debating and simply allowed us to proceed, so that is an option.

Nusa Lembongan had a very “small town” vibe and the gentleman managing our hotel even noted that the town was one where everyone knows everyone which, “made it much safer.” We saw no evidence of a police presence in our stomping grounds of the island and gathered that it may be somewhat self-policed by the locals. There was also considerably less harassment from locals trying to drum up business in Lembongan.

While walking the streets one day, we passed an older gentleman leaning outside a shop who shouted, “Cuh-boy, Cuh-boy!” He was not attempting to get business - there just aren’t a lot of cowboys wandering his island home and that's probably the correct response to seeing me. Very flattering.

Divers ‘Til the Bubbles Stop

Scuba diving widens the realm for adventure considerably when traveling abroad, and if you aren’t claustrophobic or prone to panic, I recommend looking into getting certified by PADI, the Professional Association of Dive Instructors.

I got my start in Rock Springs, Wyoming through Mountain Bay Scuba, who are excellent educators and divers. I highly recommend them if you live in Wyoming or wish to get some freshwater mountain lake dives under your belt. I am a certified Rescue Scuba Diver, which is a few tiers and classes above the initial Open Water certification. Getting my start diving in the mountains means that visibility is never greater than 2-3 feet in front of you while diving. As such, it has long been a dream of mine to dive in water so vast that I could see in 100 yards in all directions. In Nusa Lembongan, I finally achieved this goal and learned a lot along the way. I have never felt so small in my life, and it felt fantastic and humbling!

I booked two days of Scuba dives with Big Fish Dive Company. They were reasonably priced and offer much that would be expected at a dive resort, including the option for pool dives and PADI certification all in a few days of adventures. (They also offer their own lodgings, but they have no hot water so we kept our original booking. Lembongan can get hot enough that you don’t truly need hot water anyhow.)

If you have a passing interest in Scuba certification, here is the link to PADI’s website which includes up-to-date information about dive shops, resorts, and accurate ratings of their quality. I never bother diving with any company that does not sport a 5 star rating with a thorough scouring of reviews. Where we are so far from home there is no room for additional risk. I also recommend reading reviews of companies on Tripadvisor to get the full scoop of folks’ experiences diving before booking anything.

There are three Hyperbaric chambers on the main island of Bali; however, they are only open on weekdays and none of them appear to be an emergency clinic, so keep that in mind when booking dives in Bali or the surrounding islands. Weekend dives can be booked anywhere but the medical care if things go wrong isn’t always available. Obviously, you shouldn’t need emergency care if you plan the dive and dive the plan safely.

Dive! Dive!

Why diving in Nusa Lembongan? It is perched closely to prime viewing grounds for thousands of different fish, coral, and other sea life.

Most impressively, and at the right time of year, there is an opportunity to spy the elusive Mola Mola - an Oceanic Sun Fish! This is an incredibly rare privilege to see these monoliths of the abyss as they often run deep and in some of the coldest waters. During the late summer,= the cold water pushes upwards, which causes the Mola Mola to rise to the coral reefs where their pals, the banner fish, can clean them.

No matter who you dive with, there's no guarantee of seeing a Mola Mola. However, there is plenty to see regardless and the dives and visibility are spectacular. Unfortunately, my dive camera finally bit the big one on this dive and we saw no Mola Mola. Some of the critters I did see included:

• Clown fish
• Sea snakes
• Scorpion fish
• Red-toothed Trigger fish
• Nudibranch (for a comedically inappropriate explanation of Nudibranchs here is a video link that is not safe for work or children)
• Banner fish
• Sea horse
• Sea turtle
• Marble ray
• Frog Fish
• Sea Stars
• Fire Coral (and about 500-1000 other species of coral)

Hell’s Honeymooners

We stayed at Putra 7 Cottages. It was a delightful, well-kept, little garden of bungalows with a pool, well-kept gardens, and helpful staff. We would easily stay here again.

While the bungalow walls are fairly thin, you don’t the hear casual conversations of other guests. However, if you have marital disputes please take them elsewhere, as the other bungalows can certainly hear full-scale screaming matches.

Want the longer story? At about 10 PM, Perry heard a man unlock and enter the neighboring bungalow. He was promptly greeted by a female: “Where the — have you been?” The couple then spent the next four hours screaming, cursing, and slamming furniture, which woke me up.

I half expected to find the husband dead in the pool the next morning. With no police presence to speak of, it certainly wouldn't have been wise for us to get involved in a knock-down drag-out that far from anything that resembles a hospital. I peaked out the window when things quieted down to ensure there were no casualties.

The gal doing all the caterwauling was both a fearsome warrior in spirit and incredibly embarrassed at breakfast that morning when I shot them the most menacing, darkest glower imaginable while shaking my head side to side in disapproval. They ate their eggs looking down in the silence we were robbed of as the coffee purged my soul of the bone-chilling darkness that filled the void that sleep usually fills.

The host running, and presumably owning, the bungalows was very appreciative of my report about the events and topped my coffee off for the trouble as we chatted about the mountains of my home. The couple was gone the same day. I later saw the host entering the bungalow with a tool bag. We feel for him.

Putra 7 Cottages appeared to be a family-run operation which made it all the more charming… impending divorcés notwithstanding.
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Perry’s Travel Diary

A View of the Pool and Jungutbatu Beach

Pete’s dive shop offered snorkel options, but we learned after his first day that everyone else on the boat was a diver. Snorkeling sounded like a lonely proposition, and I prefer to be lonely on dry land. Next to a pool.

And a restaurant.

And a beach.

It wasn’t lonely at all, to be clear. It was glorious.

Jungutbatu Beach isn’t the best we’ve visited for recreating, but it sure is one of the most interesting. The water is shallow for a long ways out, and the boats dock by tying their ropes to stakes high up on the beach. (Watch your step.)

Seaweed farming is a local industry. We observed the local farmers tending to their claims as we walked along the shores.

The beach faces west and is perfect for a good sunset.

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Itinerary

Hotel

​Putra 7 Cottages ($32/night) - We had our own bungalow. The pool is gorgeous and the owner is a delight! Breakfast is reasonably priced on-site. Booking.com allows you to pay in advance with a credit card, which I recommend to avoid bringing millions of rupiah in cash with you.

Food

• ​Bali Eco Deli - So nice we ate it twice! Healthy food and coffee shop. Their wifi works well.
• ​Mickey’s Sports Bar - Nothing special. It ate.
• ​Warung Sebit Sari - The kindest woman owns this warung! Tasty food with a mix of both western and Indonesian. We also ate here twice.
• ​Kayu Lembongan - Comparatively pricey for the portion size, but yummy.

Transportation

To get to Nusa Lembongan, you’ll need to travel to Sanur by taxi. There, you’ll catch a ferry.

• Taxi to Sanur: We used Grab.
• Taxis in Nusa Lembongan: Grab does not work in Nusa Lembongan! You have to hail a taxi the old fashioned way - standing on the street until 17 locals shout, “TAXI?” at you. Bargain hard. Your hotel can also contact someone on your behalf.
• Ferry: We booked through Maruti Group Fast Boats, but our boat was operated by Glory Express. You may need to contact them through the form on their website. You’ll save money if you buy a round trip ticket.
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  We paid 150,000 IDR per person on the way there and 175,000 IDR per person on the way back, supposedly due to a new petrol price set by the government.
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  I contacted multiple ferry companies using their websites or contact us forms to price check. If you do the same, make sure you check their TripAdvisor reviews. One of the ferry companies has reviews from this summer (2022) noting that a passenger lost their foot when it got tangled in one of the boat ropes - and the other passengers got to witness this “involuntary amputation,” as one so delicately described it. Yikes.
• Shuttle: We tried a shared shuttle from Ubud to Sanur in an effort to save some money. By the time we took a Grab from our hotel to the shuttle station and bought two tickets, we had spent the same amount of money as a Grab direct from our hotel to the port. The shuttle itself is perfectly nice; it’s just not worth the money.

Currency

Take all the cash you need to Nusa Lembongan. I repeat: Get cash at the airport (as we recommended in our last email) or in Sanur. It is insanely difficult to get cash in Nusa Lembongan.

We ended up in a bind without enough cash to get us through the week. There are only two ATMs on the island, one by BRI and one by BNI. They are across the street from one another on the opposite side of the island from where we were staying. Both have poor reviews, with past travelers reporting no cash in the machine and instances of card skimming.

We were desperate, so Pete set out for the ATM. He had success at the BNI machine. We immediately turned our debit cards off using our Charles Schwab Bank App, stopping any further transactions, and would suggest you do the same if you find yourself in similar circumstances. We turned them back on when we returned and did not have any issues.

There are a number of money exchange houses. In a pinch, they will change US dollars for you (a good reason to always carry a few), but we can’t vouch for their rates.

Other: Important note about water!

You must drink bottled water in Nusa Lembongan, as the water table is brackish (a mixture of salt and freshwater). Your water filter won't function here - ours certainly didn’t. Bottled water is very cheap and always in big 1.5 Liter bottles. Stay hydrated as it is very hot during the day.

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Perry’s Travel Tip of the Week

So, Where Had He Been?

This week’s tip is for iPhone users: Make sure to share your location with your traveling companions using the “Find My Friends” app. You can do this by opening the app and then going to People > “+” sign > Share My Location.

Pete and I share our location with each other in case we're ever separated and kidnapped we’re doing separate activities. When he was scuba diving, I was able to see where he was even though he couldn’t text me. I then got to show him where he had been when he returned home! I felt like I had been along for the ride.

Using Find My Friends will also (in theory) save you the hassle of having the same argument as Hell’s Honeymooners.

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All our love,

Pete and Perry

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