Nusa Penida and Nusa Lembongan

Some friends wrote and said they were going to the very nearby island Nusa Lembongan and thought they'd visit the larger Nusa Penida next to it. Since it's only a half hour fast boat ride away, we've been there often. So they asked what we suggested. (Nusa means island in Balinese)

Katrinka wrote first: On Lembingan we like to stay right on the beach at Jungku Batu. Nusa Penida I am not as familiar with. Its a big island with lots of territory to cover. Crystal Bay is the big snorkeling spot there. You can get on a snorkelling boat & they will take you to 3or 4 spots both on Lembongan & Penida. 

Then I wrote:

In Nusa Penida, Goa Giri Putri, the cave temple, is impressive. The entrance is frighteningly small but it opens up right away so don't let that stop you and if it does, you can go around back to a large opening. We never got to the temples further in. It's a big place. They keep improving the roads. They keep building everywhere they can as fast as they can. Penida has trucks and some cars. Lembongan has no cars, just taxi pickups.

I like to approach Crystal Bay from the beach. Get a ride there. It can get a little rough at times.

You can go swimming with the mana rays which can work out or not. It and Crystal can be done from Lembongan just as easily.

We have stayed at Tarci on the beach in Lembongan a number of times. It's not five star for sure but it has served us well. There are better places. Next door is a good French restaurant and a snazzy place to stay. Indiana Kenaga Boutique Hotel and Restaurant. Mainly we've stayed on the beach there and walked to the right as for as the mangroves and to the left as far as Coconuts. Can't go further on either end.

We like Ginger and Java a few places down on the beach. But it may be too health foody for you guys. I don't know. Bali Eco Deli is out on the street and pretty good.

We like to go to the Mangroves and visit a couple we've always seen there - except for this last time - Adi and Iluh - who have a little place with local food. Seafood of course. There are only a few places there to eat. It was still funky the last time we were there three years ago. They or anyone around there can take you riding around in the mangroves or you can do it without them. Just rent a little canoe. It's fun. You can go out from there to the sea - it's not deep for a long ways. Straight out from there is the best snorkling. That's where the boats go - or Adi or someone can take you.

I love to go to Coconut Beach - it's at the end of the beach walk and a nice walk. Swim on the right side. Don't go too far out. I almost couldn't get back from the left side last time. Maybe that depends on the day and particular conditions. Good to ask. Anyway it's a nice place to stop.

I suggest not going into the water at Dream Beach. It's dangerous.

Devil's Tear is a must see. Frightening how close to the edge some Chinese taking selfies have gotten. You can walk there from Mushroom Bay. There's a good place to eat in Mushroom Bay, a little pricey. Katrinka - what's it called?

A Tiny Blessing

ATM is the best way to get money from the States. Best exchange rate. Especially if you don't have to pay any fee for the withdrawal which is true with my credit union and on this end too. My debit card expired and I wasn't prepared. Hadn't thought about the expiration date even when I looked at it. We don't keep much extra money here so I had to deal with it. With rare exception our mail goes to a PO Box in the US. A new card was already waiting for me to come back with Katrinka next time she went up there but now we couldn't wait. It came DHL It was different. No numbers on front. No strip to pull off, not a number to call. I called the bank. The card was activated. I went to the ATM - I always go to my bank with a 24 hour guard. Not that I've ever heard of a bank being robbed here but because naughty Eastern European men have been fiddling with some machines so they can read your card when you insert it and poof! your account is drained. That's called phishing. I've been phished twice and since the 2nd time it's always an ATM with 24 hour guard. I stood before the machine eager to get some cash and then I realized I hadn't gotten the pin number. Had it been sent in a separate envelope? Had it been accidentally discarded. I'd have to go back home and call the bank again. But what the heck. I'm standing here in front of the machine so I tried it and voila! those smart bank people had applied the old pin to the new card. A tiny blessing. Shopping ensued.

Paws High Too

 On the way to Satvika Bhoga yesterday, we stopped at a new pet store near our home. Katrinka was looking for a leash. Bandi and I stayed with Nyoman in his bemo. There was a standup sign outside the store on the sidewalk that said "Pawsome Pet Store" and some other stuff. I rxplained to Nyoman that paws were the dog and cat feet and that the "some" ending made them into an adjective which was a play  on awesome and explained what it meant. Then we looked at the name of the store. Paws High Too. I thought and thought but told him I couldn't figure out what sort of word play that was. The intent of the name escaped me. Said I wasn't smart enough obviously to get it. Later I asked Katrinka about the store inside. She said it had unusual dog and cat food and accessories, all pretty pricey.  We talked about the strange name. I said I had seen a lot of cute names in Bali but none that didn't make sense. "It's like a store name in Japan," I said. "They'd have store names that didn't make sense. They'd just use words they liked the feeling of." And then I realize - "Japan. Of course. That store is owned or part owned by a Japanese. She looked at the leash. The design on it used strokes from hiragana and katakana, the Japanese syllabaries. And it was especially well made - sturdy materials, a clasp to connect the leash to the collar that was like the connectors that climbers use. We have a problem with our mental ones freezing up. A collar that fastens like a belt, again, less subject to not functioning well. a little ring to tie a doggy bag. The mystery was solved.

A bit of India in Denpasar

We had lunch at Satvika Bhoga today. The little natural foods store is now bigger, got the larger space next door to expand the store and turned the former store space into a restaurant serving Indian food. The couple who own it, Deepak and Hira, are 2nd generation Indonesian Pakistani Hindus. Today there was a couple obviously from India visiting. Talked to them on our way out - Punjabi Hindus. They had spent a lot of time while we were there each yakking away on their smart phones. Made it even more like India there, noisy India. I told Katrinka that the noise of India is so hard to escape, that the sound for their movies is traditionally added in the studio so that they dub their own language. And the masala chai in that place. I get one when we arrive and one to go for after lunch. I make chai, spicy tea, every day, but theirs, using Hira's recipe, reminds me of India. Now I'm back in Bali. A procession just went by on the street our alley runs into - a large shrine carried on shoulders, the clanging and ringing and drumming of gamelan.  I heard them approaching, went out on the street, and watched them go by.

Doomer Report

 Green energy down, carbon stuff up

Where have we been?

Haven't been posting much here on the nonZense blog. There's still plenty of nonZense but I am so concentrated on other stuff - the podcasts, making an audiobook for Thank You and OK, wasting time on getting songs of mine recorded here and online. I'll try to do better. Let's see now, I could mention I spent some time with US news yesterday. I generally avoid news except science and environment news. But all this stuff about a coup is sort of compelling. Sure takes them a long time to deal with it and I bet they can't even do anything about it except make an ironclad case. But then there's the alternate reality folks and I get "the other side" from one of my few close American friends here. He quotes Info Wars, Russian bot sourced info, and that from the prior president's acolytes. So I get informed enough and go back to science news.