Blimey, it's been a long time since I posted anything on here about our SE Asia trip (seven months in fact) and even longer since we were actually there. I appreciate that lots will have changed since our 2016 adventure, but for the sake of finishing what I started, tying up loose ends and more importantly having a personal record of our trip on my site, I want to finish the job.
I get so many lovely messages from people asking about our six month journey; usually practical questions regarding how long to spend in each destination, how we managed our money and what to pack. Given three years have now passed since we left for our big adventure (!!) I'm not sure I can claim to be any sort of authority on many of these questions. So whilst my motivation for these final posts is not to provide up-to-date travel / accommodation / eating recommendations, I hope that completing the series will give people an insight in to our experience in SE Asia and what they can expect. Perhaps even providing a little ~wunderlust~, who knows!
In that vein, I wanted to tell you a little about our few days off mainland Bali in Nusa Lembongan.
It is somewhere I have always wanted to visit, largely because I didn't get to see it during my first Bali adventure in 2011 and also 'cos it just sounds cool. Practice saying it with an Aussie accent and you'll see what I mean.
Anyway, we arrived from Gili T by boat - it took us via Padang Bai in Bali despite claiming to be a direct route, but took around 2hrs all in. It was absolutely pouring with rain when we arrived in Nusa - those tropical storms are insane, they come out of no where, pour down and then finish as abruptly as they started! The boat trip included a shuttle to our hotel once we arrived in Nusa.
We stayed in The Sunjaya just off Mushroom Beach, which cost around £17 a night at the time. It was fine for the price, and in a good location!
Did we enjoy our time on Nusa Lembongan? To be honest, it was probably our least favorite spot in Indonesia; we felt it didn't really have a center and the sea was so choppy we couldn't even go for a paddle without being knocked over. Funny story: the tide was in one day and we attempted to cross Mushroom Beach - I thought I planned my dash across the beach well, but after about 3 seconds was completely taken out by a massive wave and genuinely thought I was going to die. In hindsight, hilarious, at the time, not so much! Made worse by the hoards of Chinese tourists screaming at/for me when I collided with said wave. Lolz.
Things we did enjoy on Nusa:
It's super chilled! We set up camp at Mola Mola coffee shop after the wave incident, which was blissful.
Hiring a moped and exploring the island. There are some beautiful temples and shrines worth seeing!
Walking from Tamarind Beach along the coastal path to The Deck for lunch in the most picturesque setting.
Eating a fancypants dinner at Hai Bar and whacking it all on the credit card. I mean, it cost under £30 but relatively it was extortionate!
