Part 2: With Fast boat from Padang Bai to Gili
...I only spent one night in Ubud. The next morning I walked to the famous rice fields, known from postcards. There I had a sweet coconut for drink from a local with whom I had a pleasant talk. But I had to leave soon as I had bought a shuttle bus ticket to Padang bai. The ticket cost me 50.000 IDR. You have to look around, there are many places selling shuttle bus tickets. Some are a bit more expensive. The first travel agency place I asked for a ticket told me that there were no busses and they wanted to sell me a tour or get me an expensive taxi. Don't let anyone misguide you!
In Padang Bai you find the harbor where the ferry leaves to Lombok, the next big Indonesian island to the east of Bali.
Every 1 hour 24/7 there is a ferry departing to Lombok. So you don't have to worry about missing a ferry. The next one will be ready soon enough. The ticket for the ferry costs only 36.000 IDR. The ferry crossing to Lombok takes 5 hours in total. That's why the ferry is also called the "Slow Boat" here. One thing you should know: there is only 1 destination for the Ferry on Lombok. The Ferry (or slow boat) will get you to Lembar. I was told that there are also nice beaches there. From there you'll have to make your way to your next destination. With ferry and shuttle bus you can make it to Gili for only 90.000-120.000 IDR. It takes about 2 to 3 hours from Lembar to Gili,in total 7-8 hours from Padang Bay. If you are in a hurry you can also take a so called "Fast Boat". They will get you in about 1 to 2 hours to Lombok. There are Fast boats departing to Lembar, Senggigi, Kuta Lombok or one of the Gili Islands, but also to Nusa Penida and a few other destinations I think.
A few warnings:
Don't buy fast boat tickets online!!!! The fast boat companies are one of the biggest scammers around. For example, on their internet pages they sell their tickets from Padang Bai to Gili for 660.000 IDR one way or 1.200.000 with return ticket or even more. As I said DON'T buy your tickets online. And I repeat again Don't buy them online. Only use the website to get information on the schedules. On site you can get the tickets for as low as 200.000 and even cheaper for one way if you bargain a little bit more. I know of people who managed to get their tickets with return included for 300.000 IDR! Furthermore, they will tell you to buy a return ticket directly at their place, as it is supposed to be more expensive on the Gili islands. That's a plain lie. You can get the tickets for the same prices on Gili.
Dangers and Risks of Ferry and Fast Boat:
In this sea, many boats shipwreck every year, the fast boats are no exception. I've heard quite a few horror stories. For example, once a Fast boat was hit so hard by a wave that the windows bursted. Many passengers got cut pretty badly.
But Don't over panic. Regard the weather and look if the sea is calm or not. Depending on the season the sea is rougher or calmer. When I was there at the end of March, the sea had gotten already quite calm. I was told that the sea is usually dangerous till February and than gets more and more calm. I was lucky and had perfect weather conditions when I was there. So I had not much to worry. If you have already bought your tickets but realize that the weather is not so good you might want to reconsider boarding the boat.
Blue Lagoon and a ritual - A day in Padang bai
Once I arrived in Padang Bai I went to the harbor to check on the ferry and get my tickets. But I was undecided when to leave. I wanted to see a little bit of Pandang Bai while I was there, so I went back. The ferry departs every hour, however, the shuttle buses have their schedules. They only drive at certain hours and only a few times a day. So if I took the ferry to Lembar I would have had to get a taxi to get to another place from there, as there would have been no shuttle buses the time I arrived. The next one would have departed the next day and a taxi would have been too expensive. My Idea was to take the ferry at 1 am and sleep on the ship, so that I would arrive the next morning in Lembar. This way I could have catched the early shuttle bus to senggigi.
In Padang Bai, I was approached many times by people wanting to sell me accomodation or transport. Then I came across a very persistent guy. He tried to convince me to take a fast boat. Well, I played his game and managed to get his price for the fast boat to the Gili islands down to 200.000 IDR plus accommodation in Padang Bai for 50.000 IDR a night. After rethinking the matter and being too tired and wanting a real bed I accepted in the end.
I left my stuff at the hotel and took a look around Padang Bai.I finally got to a nice beach called the 'Blue Lagoon' and decided to spend my day here. The beach is surrounded by volcanic rocks and is quite nice. The only thing that bothered me were the many coral parts at the beach. An ignorant or simply unknowing tourist might think that it's awesome to find so many beautiful shells on the beach which might act as souvenirs. Maybe you don't know this but corals are also animals. They are closer related to us than to plants. Corals form reefs, which can be described as the rain forests of the sea. Their growth takes long times even in tropical regions. If you take a look at the corals you'll see that most of them are fully shattered. Dead husks and skeletons of once living animals. There are two possibilities here: #1 is a natural cause,e.g. a powerful storm (It's not unusual), or #2 man made causes. In this case it is man made and there is no denying it. This is the result of the ongoing dynamite fishing in this area, which destroys the reefs and with that the basis of life in these seas.
The day I was in Padang Bai it was Umanis Galungan Day. A day where Balinese visit their relatives and prey to the gods for forgiveness. I was invited to a temple ceremony by the owner of the hotel I spent my night at. To visit certain temples in Bali you need to wear a so called
Sarong (kain kamben): around your legs
Temple scarf (selendang): around your waist
It's possible to rent them at many temples but of course you can get your own pair of sarong and temple scarf. These are sold everywhere. I borrowed mine from the hotel owner. It was nice of the hotel owner to invite me and it was nice to observe the ritual.
Fast way to Gili
The next morning I was fetched by someone from the fast boat company and taken to the pier. The fast boat was already there but yet they made us wait for more than 1 hour in the hot sun before they were ready to depart. I had the feeling that the companies have arrangements with the merchants who were trying to sell us stuff. At the end, the crossing alone to Gili took almost 2 hours and not 1 hour as I was told. In total it took about 3 hours from the time of scheduled departure till our arrival on Gili. But I must say that it was a nice crossing with no problems. It's also possible to sit on the roof of the fast boat. But I only suggest that at optimal weather and sea conditions.
I'll add some pictures soon, so check back :)
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