Nusa Penida… The island everyone wants to go to – including me – at least I used to want to visit that place so bad. Until one day, I did have the chance to. But then I regretted it so much. I’m sorry for you who like the place. What I want to share here is my bad experience. Each one of you might have experienced different things. I’m sure some of you feel that Nusa Penida is the best place, and I’m sure some of you don’t think the same.
Okay, so what’s my story? Here we go…
Landed in Bali
After almost a year staying in Australia, I finally got the chance to go back to Indonesia for 3 weeks and my first destination was Bali. Because it’s closer from Cairns and there are a lot of direct flights to get there.
So before going to my hometown, I decided to explore Bali even for just 2 nights. As much as I regret that trip, I really loved the place where I stayed. I book a room through Airbnb. If you want to look it up, the name of the place is The Jero 18. It’s all over Google. You can book it via Airbnb like I did or via other platforms. I think they have different prices.
Since I only had 3 days, I had to use it wisely. My favorite part is that we hired a vespa motorbike! It’s Rp150.000/day (around AUD$15). So for 2 days, it was only $30. But trust me, for a local like me, it’s already a little bit pricey. If you want to hire the motorbike, you can go to their Instagram below.
https://www.instagram.com/innirentalbali/
After that, I spent the day having a full body massage. My body longed for it for so long! I got a good deal. It was only $40 for 2 people. I forgot where I got the massage because I just randomly chose the place. But it wasn’t bad!
After that I went to find dinner. Aldi, my husband, was craving for seafood. So we went to a traditional market to buy fresh seafood and asked to a local restaurant to cook it for us. We bought it too much we couldn’t finish everything. We brought home the remaining food but didn’t eat it again. In the end, we had to throw it away. What a waste!
If you’re curious of the market I went to, I’ll edit this article later. I totally forgot and now Aldi is working, so I can’t ask him. I’ll do when he’s on break or once he’s home.
Here it is. Nusa Penida.
The second day was (not) well spent in Nusa Penida. I didn’t stay over there. It was just a one day trip. We woke up early and rode the motorbike to Sanur Port. We didn’t even buy the ferry tickets beforehand. We just let the destiny take control.
Just about when we were to reach Sanur Port, there was a guy following us. He was on a motorbike as well, saying, ‘are you going to Nusa Penida? Follow me!’
Since it was quite hard to get to the port because we didn’t know the way (I used Google Maps but I felt like we were going in circles), so we followed the guy. We knew that he’d ask some tips but we needed his help. He even helped us to get the ferry tickets quickly because he knew the clerks.
If I’m not mistaken, the ferry tickets were Rp400.000 for 2. It’s around AUD$40. It might be affordable for you who don’t come from Indonesia, but it’s very pricey for us Indonesians! I was shocked. I could afford it but I didn’t expect that amount. Fortunately, the ferry was good. The harbor was good too.
We crossed the sea for about an hour. When we got to Nusa Penida, many locals gathered at the harbor to welcome the tourists. Some were picking up their guests and some were offering accommodation and transportation.
I took the offer and hired a motorbike from a woman. It was Rp80.000 – higher that usual. In Bali it’s only Rp70.000 for the same type of motorbike. Well, maybe it’s on an island, I couldn’t do anything about it. The motorbike was sh*t by the way.
Exploring Nusa Penida
My first impression of the island was… what the hell? It’s like mining island. The view wasn’t nice at all. When we got out of the harbor area, we were faced by some men who were asking for money. They said it’s for the island maintenance. It’s not a big amount. Only $2 in Australian dollar/person. But still!!! What maintenance?! After the harbor, the road was not paved at all. It was full black sand!
Long story short, we headed to Kelingking beach. On the way, we stopped by at a restaurant. There’s only a couple eating there. When we sat at the table and checked the menu, our eyes got big to see the prices. They were crazy! A portion of nasi goreng cost Rp.70.000 (around AUD$7). In dollar it’s not a big deal. But you’ll be surprised at how much it is usually.
A portion of nasi goreng only costs around AUD$1.5 or maybe AUD$2. More than that is already considered as too much! As you can guess, Aldi told me to just leave the restaurant. We then got on the motorbike again and tried to find another place.
Lucky we found a small restaurant or cafe (in Indonesian, we call it warung), in the middle of our way to Kelingking Beach. We ordered ayam goreng including rice for only Rp.30.000 (around AUD$3). It’s still a little bit higher than what we usually find but it’s a reasonable price. But again, I forgot the name of the warung. I’ll ask my husband later. The thing I remember is that I found it on Google. If you happen to pass through it, maybe you can stop by and eat there. By doing it, I believe you’ll help a family.
After lunch, I went straight to Kelingking Beach. It was quite far from the harbor. I think it was almost an hour by motorbike. Can’t imagine to go there by car. The road was too narrow and very bumpy. Where does the Rp40.000 (AUD$4) that we gave to the men by the harbor go?! You call this ‘maintenance’? Oh, screw you greedy people!
When I arrived at Kelingking Beach, we parked the motorbike and walked to the famous spot. There were a lot of tourists going to same direction. Most of them were from abroad. I got the first glimpse of the famous view several minute later. It was not something I expected. I already felt the regret right at that exact moment!
The place was too crowded. The path was full of people taking photos. I couldn’t even see which direction I should take. But when I walked further, I found that there was paved staircase that led to the beach. Without further ado, I walked down. It was so steep and narrow. And since there were a lot of people going down as well, we had to be patient waiting for them. Not to mention stopping most of the time to let the people walk up. Plus, it was in the middle of the day when the sun was right above our heads! What a torture!
After half an hour, we arrived at the beach. The first thing I did was buy a bottle of water. There’s a small stall at the beach. Again. I didn’t expect the seller to sell the water so expensive. A bottle of water of 600 ml cost Rp.20.000 (around AUD$2). It was crazy! Even on the mountains that I’ve ever hiked, 1 litre water was at the same price!
I couldn’t enjoy the beach as well. It was too crowded! I admit that the sea was so blue, the sand was so white. But the wave was strong and quite high. So it’s not ideal for swimming. I just walked to the end of the beach where there was a kind of cave and took photos and smoked for a while under a tree and left. I think it wasn’t even 30 minutes we’re there. We thought it wasn’t that worth it to stay for long.
And it’s unbelievable that the toilet fare was Rp.5.000 for taking a piss and Rp.20.000 for taking bath. This time, you can convert it by yourself to dollars. Usually it’s only Rp.2.000 for taking a piss and Rp.5.000 for taking a bath.
The locals who set the fare just didn’t consider about local tourists. They’re too happy to set it for foreigners.
Angel’s Billabong
We thought we wouldn’t get to see another spot but here we were at Angel’s Billabong. I think this one was better than Kelingking Beach. It wasn’t as crowded and the space was wide enough to accommodate people.
I like it when the waves hit the rocks. It created a magnificent view. Too bad I couldn’t capture the moment with my cellphone. Well, at least Angel’s Billabong mended my disappointment to Kelingking Beach.
Kelingking Beach is not that bad, though. I liked how we have to hike down and up to get to the beach. But… yeah… I told you everything already. But at least I got to see a beautiful sunset when I arrived back at Sanur Port.
