Once ashore I began what would be a week long battle of haggling minibus and bemo (little share taxi minibus) fares as Bali is definitely one of these places where tourists are seen as walking wallets (see outburst below). I'd decided I was on a bit of a budget push in Bali as I'd been kind to myself after being ill, but was still pretty tired after the 430am rise when I got to Lovina, so despite getting a nice cheap accommodation I signed up for a dolphin spotting boat trip the next morning, I really don't know why! I spent 2 nights in Lovina and really didn't do much apart from the aforementioned dolphin trip, some interneting and write some postcards (I even read some of the Physics papers I've been carrying around all this way!).
The dolphin trip wasn't bad, getting to see the sunrise from out on the water, and we did get to see dolphins pretty close. As always I ended up in the bum seat right at the front and got not a little wet. I also lost my hat overboard in the wind, but managed to scoop it back up when we went back for it (a temporary reprieve it turns out). I shared the boat with a German couple, and I got a frugal breakfast of tea and biscuits as well. On my last evening there I found a bar with the cheapest happy hour to have a few beers while I wrote some postcards etc. It had a friendly gang of cats, but unfortunately they were playing James-fucking-Blunt. When the album looped around for the 3rd time I had to ask them to change it, but was told it was "his friends album" and it stayed on, so I left!
Later that day I was in an internet cafe when an older woman (who I reckon by accent was German) came in and asked if the advertised superfast internet really was superfast. Upon discovering that it wasn't ( though it was about as fast as anywhere else in Indonesia) she began an irate rant along the lines of "Why do you fuck people for money in this country?". The woman in the shop didn't understand, or wasn't letting on, so the customer just kept repeating herself. " You fuck people for money in this country, why do you do it?". After a while she had a revelation: "The government must fuck you for money in this country, that's why you fuck people for money" And so on. Eventually she departed with a door slam, but returned just to ram home the point: " You are fucked by the government for money!" Well I must admit I was struggling to keep a straight face, but it is true that Indonesia, especially Bali, is bad for touting and overcharging.
After Lovina I wasn't really sure where to go, deciding I didn't really have the time, money or energy to go to the Gili Islands so in the end I opted for a night in Tirta Ganga (which means water of the Ganges), towards the east coast of the island. This turned out to be a good decision. After negotiating 3 bemo rides I got there and found an excellent cheap room right opposite the water palace. Then I went to the water palace itself, full of ornamental statues and fountains, and pools, including some that you can swim in, which I did, along with some little fish. Again I felt some of the long bus trips soaking away while I was in the water, and having visited the water gardens and palace baths in many places, this was the first time I was able to swim in it and get a feel for how it must have been. After that I went for a walk along the roadside, as Tirta Gangga is surrounded by beautiful rice paddies. Fortunately I bumped into a procession on its way to a temple. Unfortunately I lost my hat when it was blown of in the gust from a passing lorry! It disappeared down an steep embankment and my attempts to fish for it with a long stick failed, oh well. I took some more time to relax, which I've been doing a lot of in Bali, and left the next morning for Ubud, about which I'd heard nothing but good things.
Photos:
One of the pools at Tirta Gangga, in which I swam.
Paddys near Tirta Gangga.
Religious procession.
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