41188 km
NUSA LEMBONGAN
We have left Amed hoping that my Australian Visa will arrive in time we get to Denpasar. Majka's, of course, was in time while mine must raised some alarms and I had to send in additional 'paperwork'. The plan was to wait out our early morning flight on the airport. Once in Denpasar, it was obvious that we needed a new plan as my Visa was nowhere yet. Denpasar was not an option, Nusa Lembongan however is a small island close enough and sounding good enough to sit and wait. Next thing we know, our tickets rebooked for a week later and we are sitting on a ferry.
Nusa Lembongan was once known as a sleepy fishing village and one of the coolest surfer islands you can wish for. By the time I got here so did everyone else and there is not much that resembles the once sleepy village. It is by no means busy either but tourism has got here that's for sure. The island can accommodate any budget and to me it looks that the medium high end is an easier task than the backpacker. The best thing about it is that the elders still rule the island, therefore everyone wishing to bring in a car has to get the approval of wise old men. There is very few cars here and I am made to believe the wise elders are the reason. After all the islands are not so big, however we have managed to rent a scooter, which made our exploration much quicker. The island is by no means flat so the Honda Scoopy worked hard to get us around. Nusa Lembongan is connected to Nusa Ceningan by a narrow bridge, that makes it impossible for two motorbikes to pass each other and barely enough space to manoeuvre around any pedestrians crossing at the same time. Both islands offer cliff jumping spots, plenty of surfing opportunities and some snorkelling and diving places, however rip currents make it a difficult place for regular beach bumming.
Once we settled in and sort of surrendered to the idea of staying a few more days here, my Visas came across. That left me with a one last day of exploring, while Majka fed up with the heat enjoyed the shabby A/C in our room before we headed for the airport to finally leave Asia behind us.