Over the hills, under the moon - and off the beaten path

  From Nusa Penida, we went back to Bali, and now we're again island hopping.  This time we're definitely not explorers.  Our next stay, Gili Islands -  three small islands just northeast of Bali - are on the beaten track of the tourist masses, but, as we were told, they are absolutely worth a visit  The small ferry boat from Bali made a stop first at Lombok, then at Gili Trawangan, and from there, we should find a local boat to get to our chosen island, Gili Meno.    No cars on the Gilli Islands - all transport is horse-powered The major Gili, Gili Trawangan, feels more like a youthful playground with lots of burger bars and midnight raves on the beaches, while our chosen Gili, Gili Meno, is quite the opposite. It's quiet, calm, and relaxed.  And our pre-booked hotel was only a short walk away along a coastal path - past a few warungs and through a small forest.   The Seri resort S...

Most of the places we've rented during the last weeks have been small, often quite primitive cottages, but these days - just by coincidence - we've actually come from rags to riches. We're staying at the palace in Sanur, where the former royal family, the Karangasems of East Bali, are now having their residence.   The last of the Raja Karangasem Like the other eight royal Hindu-Buddhist kingdoms on Bali, the Karangasem was incorporated into the Indonesian state in 1950 and the descendants of the Karangasem are now getting a living out of running a hotel, Puri Maharani, on the property of one of their old mansions. We are surrounded by beautiful rooms with chiseled golden doors and Venetian glass chandeliers and a park filled with beautiful orchids, where the 3-year-old crown prince is biking around on the garden paths on his tricycle, monitored by a devoted nanny. We spent the first few days, just sitting in the roy...

We have now moved to the western part of the island of Nusa Penida.  We stay in a  small cot just a few meters from the ocean, but when we go towards the beach,, we have to cross a pigsty and pass a few chickens, and some cows rummaging between the palm trees. This is definitely not a beach town, but a small village of palm leaf wicker huts, where local seaweed harvesters live in the season. The underwater patches make it almost impossible to swim along the coast   Harvesting seaweed   The patches are rows of cords stretching between sticks that hold the weed, and we can see the vast underwater fields when we snorkel. Every day from early morning the men and women are walking into the shallow water collecting small tufts of seaweed which are moved into baskets either balanced on their heads or floating in the water. When harvested, the weed is brought to the beach where it is laid out and dried in the sun, before being...