June 9th, 2016

Day 70: Blue Stone Beach & Bali

We decided to take a short trip out of the city during our free morning in Ende. If you look at “Things to Do in Ende” on TripAdvisor.com, not a single activity is in the city (3 out of 4 are in Moni!) – but the Blue Stone Beach was only an hour and a half away, so it was an easy drive back and worth before our flight. So after breakfast at the hotel (Indonesian-style, but at least there was butter & jam for toast), we headed out toward the airport hoping to find a taxi or some ojeks. We were quickly spotted by a taxi driver who seemed really excited to get such a large fare (we tried to bargain him down from 400K IDR for the round-trip, but he stuck to his price) – throughout the drive he was constantly tooting his horn, even when he wasn’t passing any cars. It was as if he wanted everyone in Ende and the rounding villages to know, “Look! I have customers today!”

So, this next part may be a little TMI for some readers – I apologize in advance – but about halfway to the Blue Stone Beach, Lindsay started to get a little stomach ache. At first she thought it was just a little gas, but soon realized, oh no!, this is much, MUCH more than gas. She started squirming in her seat, and told Igor that she might be getting her first bout of traveler’s diarrhea. However, we were almost to the beach, so we continued on.

Short day-trip to the Blue Stone Beach, via taxi – but check out the “Titanic”-themed public bus ahead!

Black sand and beautiful blue stones cover the beach – and trash-free, despite what some reviews say

Some reviews on TripAdvisor.com complained that there weren’t that many stones left – we beg to differ! There were plenty of stones to admire (it looked like they were small chucks from the nearby cliff sides). We did notice many locals selling piles of neatly organized blue stones along the side of the road – looks like they were for construction / interior design purposes, rather than tourists.

Lindsay collecting a few stones – see how blue!

Other than a few locals hanging out near the trail from the road, we had the beach to ourselves

It was really pretty, but Lindsay desperately needed a Western toilet ASAP, so after a few quick photos, we jumped back in the taxi and returned to Ende

I’ll spare you all the horrific details of the conclusion to my, er, stomach issues. Suffice to say that I made it back in the nick of time, but took four Imodium tablets before boarding the plane. After “emptying the tank,” I didn’t poop again for about 3 days. Igor, on the other hand, was perfectly fine – we had eaten the exactly same thing the night before, so we deduced it must have been the butter on my toast during breakfast (Igor only takes jam). Lesson: don’t try to eat Western food – the locals cook their own cuisine best.

Our return flight to Bali had a quick stopover in Labuan Bajo, so we were served two lunches (thanks, Garuda Indonesia!). We ran into two of our new friends from the Komodo tour – small world! In fact, we found that we were constantly bumping into the same 6 people throughout our trip to Flores – it’s definitely less crowded than Bali so all Westerners really stand out. This is the Indonesia we were expecting!

When we arrived in Bali, we dropped off our big bag at the baggage storage for an hour so that we could make a quick run to the mall in Kuta to pick up some essentials: sneakers for Lindsay (to temporarily replace her lots boots), sunscreen, hand sanitizer and toothpaste. We were in and out of Payless Shoes and the drugstore within 40min (paid with credit card), and off to our hotel outside the city.

Since our first hotel in Bali was super cheap, and selected for the convenient location next to the airport rather than comfort, Igor splurged for an Expedia “Special Deal” and got us a room at the 5-star Pan Pacific Nirwana Resort – right next to the Tanah Lot temple (we had a clear view and back-door access via the resort golf-course)! As we were sipping our cool welcome drinks in the lobby – traditional Balinese flute music wafting through the air, next to a serene lotus pond – we decided Bali might not be so bad after all.

Time to relax! Ordering room service at the Pan Pacific Hotel in Bali