Bali and Lombok, Indonesia

Our feet on the glass bottomed boat

Under the glass bottomed boat!

Swimming with some Sea Turtles!

 

After a long day of snorkeling

 

 

Gili Meno white sand beaches

White Sand Sand Castle!!

Chillin at the beach

Sunset over Bali

Enjoying food from the Night Market on Gili T; Chicken Satay and Chicken Noodle Soup

Royal Palace, Ubud

Antonia Blanco Art Gallery and Museum, Ubud

Antonio Blanco Art Gallery and Museum, Ubud

Elephant Cave and Gardens, Ubud

Elephant Cave and Gardens, Ubud

Greetings from Indonesia friends and family! We’ve been long overdue to fill you in on our whereabouts and activities so here it is! We flew into Bali on April 29^th and were shocked to pass by McDonalds after Starbucks after Quicksilver after Ralph Lauren after McDonalds after Starbucks…(well you get the idea) on our short taxi ride from the airport to Kuta Beach. Kuta Beach is the main tourist destination for most westerners visiting Bali (or Indonesia for that matter), and it was probably the closest thing we’ve seen to America since we left it. However, we’ve made a point not to visit western establishments on this trip and stick to the local shops and restaurants (besides a moment weakness during shopping mall madness in Bangkok where we devoured some McDonalds fries… twice). Kuta beach has definitely been Denton’s favorite beach of the trip and we’ve been to dozens all over South East Asia by now. The beach is fine white sand, goes on for as far as you could see in either direction, has plenty of vendors selling or renting everything from surf boards to freshly cut fruit, endless people watching, a great western facing sunset, and best of all are the consistent 4-10 foot waves rolling in one after another. We only stayed in Kuta for two nights knowing that we would eventually return before our flight out. Our next destination was the second most traveled city in Bali, Ubud. Ubud is where everyone goes to get their cultural experiences including nightly traditional Balinese dance performances, a large market full of local crafts, jewelry, and art.  There were dozens of museums and art galleries, nice scenic walks through rice terraces, and best of all not a single McDonalds! Needless to say this place quickly became Marisa’s favorite place with all the great shopping, cheap delicious local food, and beautiful scenery. We found a quaint local homestay near the center of town that backed up to a quiet rice terrace and served free breakfast on our private front patio. We had a great time in Ubud taking in the stunning views, enjoyed the truly unique experience of a traditional Balinese dance, spent hours window shopping all the ‘boutique’ craft stores, and visited some sacred temples and sites. Most of all we were just impressed with elaborate and ornate detail they put into every structure in this town.

                Our next destination was a place that came highly recommended by many other travelers we’ve met along the way, a series of 3 very small islands called The Gilis. We decided to take the cheaper, yet considerably longer route to the islands. This consisted of a one hour shuttle ride, 5 hour ferry to Lombok Island, another one hour shuttle, then a one night layover in their pre-selected accommodations (meaning expensive and not so nice- where Marisa received at least 15 bug bites), another hour shuttle in the morning, and finally a thirty minute boat ride to our final destination Gili Trawangan. All the travel quickly became worth it once we finally arrived on the most beautiful beach either of us has ever seen.  Gili Trawangan had fine white sand and many shades of crystal clear blue water.  We found some cheap and clean accommodation about 100 meters from the beach with a very nice local family. Over the next week we spent a little time on each island relaxing on the beach, finishing a few books, eating delicious fresh grilled fish and other local foods, walking the circumference of the islands along costal paths, and swimming with sea turtles during a snorkeling trip. The snorkeling trip was the highlight of the islands since we were taken to the best sites by a glass bottom boat, had high visibility, saw huge diversity of marine and coral life, and of course swam next to giant turtles.

                As of now we have one week left in Indonesia and plan to head back near Kuta Beach Bali where we first started, and plan to explore a few of the other beaches that we missed the first time around. We fly to Singapore for 3 nights on the 25^th, which will be our last stop in South East Asia before we head to Europe for the summer. We fly in to Barcelona on the 29^th and are very excited to be joined by Denton’s parents in Madrid on June 3^rd! We’ll spend the next two weeks traveling through Spain together, which will feel like a vacation to us since it’s all been planned by Denton’s dad, Russ. After they fly back to the real world on the 16^th, we have just 11 days to figure out what we are going to do before departing from Venice on a 12 day Mediterranean cruise with Marisa’s parents! This will be the first time either of us has been on a cruise and it sounds amazing. It stops at many cities we already want to visit in Europe, including: Barcelona, Venice, Florence, Rome, Naples, Athens, and Istanbul among others. After the cruise we hope to continue traveling with Reuben and Denise to visit the Lacampagne Family living in Pau, France.

Overall, this is shaping up to be one exciting summer and we are both happy to be joined by our families very soon. We hope to update much more frequently in Europe where we’ll have better access to the internet. Stay tuned for more pictures and updates coming soon including the best and worst of Thailand, Indonesia, and Singapore!