Nusa Lembongan, Indonesia
My friend Craig, who traveled in Indonesia in September 2010, highly recommended that we spend a few days at Nusa Lembongan – a small island about 12 km from Bali’s main island. In order to catch a boat ride to Nusa Lembongan, we hired a car to take us to Sanur – a town about an hour south of Ubud that is the favorite place for expats because of its pristine 4 km beach and laid-back style. On our way to Sanur, we stopped by Maes to eat their famous suckling pig. They sell roasted pigs every day from 11 am to 3 pm. If you ever follow Anthony Bourdon’s show on the Travel Channel, he filmed at the same restaurant we were in for his segment about Indonesia. We got there early enough to enjoy the beautiful surroundings before the meal. The staff brought in a golden colored pig right on time and started cutting it into pieces. This pig has been roasting (stuffed with herbs and basted in coconut juice) for over 8 hours. They immediately carve the pig into many plates of meat and skin (the best part). We got our orders just in time because many locals were there for takeout. Before we could order our 2nd helpings, they had already completely sold out the 1st pig. The restaurant sells a limited number of pigs each day, and if you come late, you will be out of luck. The skin is crisp and tasty, and the meat is succulent. We ate our share by hand, wrapping a ball of rice with pieces of meat like the locals. It was delicious.
We stayed at Hotel Jati Homestay in Sanur, which has a group of bungalows in a Balinese-style courtyard. Not as serene as Okawati but more than adequate, with clean rooms and free wifi. Our room even has a kitchen, so we can make our own tea. We took a taxi to the downtown station to buy tickets for the boat ride to Nusa Lembongan. The taxi was very cheap; it was only about a dollar or two for the 2 km ride. Since we were right by the ocean, we looked for a seafood restaurant for dinner, and locals directed us to Wapo KKN. Not much to look at – a big open space filled with tables and local people (always a good sign). The seafood (clam, squid, shrimp and all kind of fish) were sold by weight and can be fried, in hot & sour sauces or by grilling. We had a red snapper that weighed 1 kg, and it only cost us $7. They grilled it in a local spicy sauce, and it was heavenly. The food was so good and so reasonably priced; we went back for dinner again.
The boat ride took about an hour. There was no dock, so we all had to tread water to get on and off. A nice young man from Hotel Paruna was there to meet us. It was only a 5-minute walk to the bungalows that are associated with World Dive Company. At $15 a night for an oceanfront bungalow, even without A/C, it was well worth the price. We ate lunch at the hotel café. The menu is somewhat limited but reasonable. Nusa Lembongan didn’t have cars but only a few trucks. People use motorbikes or “push” bikes (regular 1-speed bikes, so you push a lot going uphill).
Since neither Shiqiu nor Xiaoqiu had ever snorkeled before, we borrowed snorkel masks and practiced at the hotel swimming pool. We needed to teach them to breathe through the snorkel with their mouth, not their nose. Xiaoqiu picked up quickly because she is a confident swimmer. Shiqiu was nervous but felt better after a while. We gave a try in the ocean and she didn’t go too far away from the docking boat. We decided to go snorkeling tomorrow morning.
Nusa Lembongan is nice, clean, and quiet. Locals plant and harvest seaweeds for cosmetics and as a gelling agent for ice cream. The beach and the water is very tranquil and blue. Most people we met were from Europe and were on this island for diving and surfing. We walked to one end of the island where there are many luxury villas and resorts. We had a not-so-fancy dinner at one of the restaurants and came back, just sat on the front veranda, and listened to the ocean waves. This island is truly full of unspoiled natural beauty. The tide is in and pounded the coast so loudly I got up in the middle of the night to check whether the wave is breaking through our front door. The wave stopped at the wall about 10 feet from our front porch. I have never slept so close to an ocean before. It is almost scary. In the morning, the beach is peaceful and quiet. At low tide, locals can walk out to the seaweed farms to harvest because the water is only waist-deep, and it is easy to pull the big baskets to shore. Both men and women worked, and the baskets carrying the seaweed looked quite heavy. After they brought the seaweed to shore, they spread it in piles to dry in the sun and sell it to Bali, then Jakarta, then the rest of the world.
We went snorkeling with Captain Newman. First, he took us to the Mangrove area. Xiaoqiu and I went in immediately, and the sight is breathtaking. The variety of coral reefs is large, and the colors are brilliant. We saw lots of tropical fish, mostly small to medium-sized, and a few were larger. Xioaqiu is a good swimmer but has never snorkeled before. She was quite excited about what she saw in the ocean. Shiqiu put on a snorkel but decided not to use fins and stayed hanging onto the boat ladder. Even so, she saw some fish and coral, and that was enough to get her excited. She was still nervous and ended up getting some water in her, but that didn’t diminish the pleasure she got seeing tropical fish in the ocean for the first time in her life. I think we got both of them hooked to snorkeling.. We stayed for about an hour, and the current was getting stronger. The captain wanted another 100,000 (about an extra $12) to take us to the Mushroom Bay area. I didn’t really like the extra cost, but it was still a pretty cheap deal for us, so I didn’t argue; I just didn’t tip him. The water at the Mushroom Bay area was calmer, and there are a lot of private resort platforms around. The water was turquoise blue, but the coral wasn’t as bright as in the mangrove area, and there were fewer fish. Shiqui was getting braver and could move a little farther from the boat, and she was awed by all the fish she saw. We held out some old bread, and the fish swarmed around us; some of their teeth were pretty sharp. Even in the wild, the fish recognized food when they saw it. We stayed for another hour and finally went back happily for lunch.
After a nap, Ray rented a motorbike (60,000) and took me around. I tried my hand at driving it, but I was too nervous to keep it in balance. I just let Ray drive it, and I enjoyed the scenery from the back seat. The road is bumpy at times but drivable. We saw some graves with an umbrella over them. That is how local people show respect for their deceased. We went up the hills to Bali Hai Resort, where they rent out some fancy huts for about $110 a night. It was nice but for that money I can stay at Paroda for a week and enjoy other activities. We went further to Dream Beach. This beach is sandwiched between two cliffs and has bigger waves and is the favorite spot for surfers. We watched a person canoe surfing. It looked quite difficult and must be hard to master.
The next beach is Sunset Beach, where many people were already there to catch the glorious sunset. I snapped a few pictures before a cloud covered the sun, and we missed the last shot when it dropped into the ocean. I guess I will have to come back to Nusa Lembongan; that’s all.
We came back to Sanur for one more night before saying goodbye to beautiful Bali. This time we had some time to walk on the beautiful Sanur beach. A big Bali Hyatt resort is nearby with fancy rooms and facilities, but all Bali beaches are public, so we can enjoy them alongside any rich clients from the resort. This makes Bali an even more attractive place for us, and I am sure we will come back to paradise again.
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