Previously Unseen Footage

A slow day, finally. After having gotten up anytime between 1 am and 6 am in the last week, I allowed myself to sleep in today and had nothing scheduled. I swam 2 km in the pool, played some basketball and chatted with a few people. Therefore, there are no new, exciting pictures for you today, instead you get a collection of all those pictures I‘ve taken since I got here, that would otherwise not have made it here. Most of them were taken in Ubud, some here on Nusa Penida. Like the guy sitting in a tree like a monkey, trying to take a picture of Kelingking Beach or the sentiment about coffee shared by those who don‘t wanna face the fact that there are, in fact, other beverages out there. But then again, according to the song the employees of the hostel listened to on repeat and sang earlier today, all you need is coffee and a joint.

In case you‘re wondering what these little packages with mentos are, you find them everywhere here. Just the packages, not the mentos. They are considered offerings and mainly contain an incense stick, plants/flowers, often a drink, and usually some kind of food. I‘ve seen baked goods, mainly. Crackers or cookies. I just found the pragmatic use of a wrapped, reusable mentos hilarious in comparison to other offerings that easily spoil. Cleverly done. Let‘s hope the gods approve.

Speaking of incense, do you want to bring the smell of Bali to your home? Now you can! With this easy, three-step, natural ingredients recipe, you too can feel authentically Balinese. All you need is: Exhaust fumes. Spread everywhere, be generous. Next, take a ridiculous amount of incense sticks, place them all over. You really can‘t go wrong here. The last ingredient: Soffell - Your trusted mosquito repellent spray. Just apply it to whatever you think might profit from being safe from mosquitoes. (A secret but brilliant tip: That stuff also works great as a perfume. Not even lying.)

Lastly, let me conclude by talking about safety. Bali knows that when you get there, you want your stuff to be safe and kindly provides you with lockable storage options. They really do work. I mean, you have to de-rust the mechanism first to be able to actually lock it. And then you just pray nobody has larceny in their hearts paired with upper body strength. Another inside tip: If you‘re travelling with toddlers that are prone to temper tantrums, keep them away from the lock. They WILL be able to open it.Read more