Nusa Penida… definitely a  different experience visiting this island. Let’s just say after our time on the island, as we were heading back, I thought we could all possibly die. Obviously I’m here to share the story with you so enjoy!

We enjoyed our morning together before packing up our things and getting picked up by Rafik at 9am. Goodbye fancy place. Rafik drove us to Sanur Beach Port so we could catch the ferry. He helped us drag our luggage through wet soil and rocks to where we needed to be. We waited for a good hour and didn't start boarding the speedboat until after 11:15am. They had everyone take off their shoes and we waded out the ferry. It was only about calf to knee high so not too bad. Matt and I sat out in the back for a bit to enjoy the ride and soak up some sunshine.  About an hour later, after grabbing our things we found our driver that Indra (Bali Driver...whom I highly recommend if you need a driver for Bali.) had set up for us on the island.

Let's just say our driver, Jack, was well... something else. First stop was a market for some snacks and water. Which we found out later on that these markets didn't have a whole heck of a lot to offer and didn't accept credit cards. I believe this is when the PB oreo addiction was first introduced and became a problem lol. Next stop was Angel's Billabong and then Broken Beach. We spent most of the time at Broken Beach since Angel's Billabong wasn't anything special to Matt and I. We took some pics and drone footage of that clear blue water. We also did some cliff photos for Matt while walking back since that's just his thing. After Broken beach we drove to Kelingking Beach. To sum it up, it's part of the island that sticks out and a person can walk on the top to the end or down to the beach if they wish. The heat was so bad and we were dying in the humidity. By far, the hottest day there yet. We also had a friend come and say hi. A small monkey came over and started grabbing and biting at the camera bag.  I took a video with my phone.  As I tried to shoo him away he opened his mouth to threaten me then ran off. Down the path people were giving the other monkeys their water bottles and videoing them drinking out of the bottles. Matt and I packed up our things and made our way back to the vehicle. The driver blasted the AC for us and it never felt so good as that moment. I definitely had a headache though and felt a little shakiness from dehydration I'm sure and the heat.

We then headed to our hotel, the Kuba Reot Taman Asri Villa. We had our own little house next to the pool. The lady that checked us in didn't speak much English at all. And I swear we were the only ones staying at that place besides another couple that came later that night. Matt and I just hung out for a while enjoying the AC and enjoying our meal of PB and chips. We were wiped from the long day so we crashed early that night. We woke up 4ish to pack and get ready for our sunrise hike. We were supposed to be picked up at 5 am but our driver didn't show up until 5:10. He apologized and rushed us to Atuh Beach. In his hurry, he took the sharp corners quickly in the pitch dark and Matt and I looked at each other praying we would't go over the cliff. We made it there safely and hiked down a ton more stairs, worse than the day before. The stairs leading down had sand on them and we grabbed a rope on some parts just because it was so steep. The beach was empty except for us and the driver and we enjoyed the beauty of the sunrise over the ocean.  Once we had packed up our things at the hotel, our driver took us to the wrong pier for our ferry ride back to Bali. He got upset when he found out it was the wrong ferry. In a hurry to get to the correct pier he drove like a madman. We weaved in and out of traffic and sped, even though we had plenty of time to catch the ferry back. 45 min later we finally boarded the ferry and headed out back to Bali.

This should have been a simple ride, but it was anything but that. About halfway there we hit 8ft waves. At first it was all fun and we laughed, but in a few short minutes we realized it was pretty serious since there were no lifejackets on the boat. Some passengers were hunched over looking like they were going to vomit, and others were taking video like me lol or looking around the boat at each other. One of the workers came and shut the windows in the front so water wouldn't come into the boat. The captain of the boat killed the throttle multiple times as we went over huge waves. There were a few times where we thought the boat was going to flip. Finally after 45 minutes of torture we made it back to Bali….ALIVE!

Our last two days in Bali weren’t too eventful. We spent time just enjoying the area and each other’s company. We sadly we flew out around 1am. The flight back seemed a lot faster...as that always seems like the case. Matt and I decided to not let distance come between us since we live 6.5 hours apart. We made plans to see each other every two weeks...which seems like craziness now as we hang out every couple of days. Sad to say that wraps up our adventure to Indonesia. It was an amazing experience and I’m looking forward to going back there someday! Traveling to new places always teaches me a lot of life lessons and helps me grow as a person and photographer / videographer. I’m looking forward to sharing more of our adventures and journeys with you! More fun to come! Don’t forget to check out the Indonesia video here! :  Indonesia Cinematic Video

 What are your thoughts on our story / adventure? Leave your comment below!