Day 83: Padang Bai - the gateway to Lombok island

Most people come to Padang Bai to take the ferry crossing to Lombok island without spending the night. We read from somewhere on the Internet that Padang Bai was a nice, small fishing village, so we decided to spend a few nights instead of immediately hopping on the ferry to Lombok.

blue lagoon

boy playing on the beach

After we checked into our room, the hotel owner told us about a festival starting the next day. The festival takes place once every six months and lasts for three days. Pilgrims from all over Bali would come with their offerings. At 6am the next day, we heard chanting and footsteps outside our door. There was already a line of pilgrims with baskets of offerings on top of their heads on the way to the temples on the mountain. The line of pilgrims was still going strong when we went to bed at 11pm, and continued for two more days.

pilgrims walking to the temple

We also rented a scooter to visit south-eastern Bali. The drive from Kamasan to Tirtirganga via Sideman was nice – Balinese countryside with terraced rice fields. Although the rice fields in Sideman are not the grandest we have seen (e.g. Longji in China), these rice fields had a particular charm with coconut trees and religious stones scattered on them.

katy relaxing on the beach

our free breakfast served at our beach-front bungalow - only US$7 one night

One evening we checked out a restaurant serving chickens (recommendation from a local). The place was packed with about 20 police officers from out of town who were in Padang Bai for security reason during the festival. We had dinner with them. It was interesting. One guy sitting with us was funny and chatty. It was the first time we ate without any utensils in Bali – just bare hands and water. The chicken was OK, but we wished the portion were bigger (spoiled by the seafood meals). The police officers seemed content with their meal. Maybe the Balinese have big lunch and small dinner.

dinner with the police officersKaty and a local girl admiring the magnificent waves

temple by the cliff