I asked my friends in Singaraja and wondered myself whether I should travel by plane or by bus. I needed to hire a car from Singaraja to Denpasar. My original plans were to stay in Ubud for a couple of days and then fly back to Jakarta.
Instead, I decided to go to Malang by direct bus from Singaraja to Malang. I have never been to Malang and I would see much more on a land journey. My host Edy went to Singaraja with me to look for a bus company. They recommended Restu Mulya to us for Idr 190.000 or roughly 15 Eur.
The bus started in Singaraja about 5.00 pm. Staff were friendly and eloquent, we got a chocolate bread roll and a glass of Aqua water. As it was still light and the journey was along the coast, I could see Lovina beach, a few smaller beaches and the national park in the background.
We needed to change buses in Gilimanuk, the port where the ferry crosses the Bali Strait to Ketapang near Banyuwangi. A fair bit of patience is needed to wait for the connecting bus especially since it began to rain cats and dogs. We could walk a little bit around the port but it was still too dark to see. I prepared my raincoat on top of my backpack but the downpour was so sudden that I still became soaking wet as I entered the bus.
The ferry lasted a bit less than an hour but it was already dark and the rain troubled our sight even more. From Ketapang we drove along the coast and a bit past the villages. We had dinner along the coast, the driver told me the name of the place but I forgot again. I loathe public toilets but it is still possible to find a little spot under the tree. They also sold fruits like mangoes or salted fish.
The food was not so bad, several tasty vegetarian dishes, fruit, tea and just one piece of chargrilled spicy chicken. The bus was comfortable enough with reclining seats and a blanket in sealed package. There was wifi for my big smartphone but no TV or DVD but I was sleeping for most of the time.
I could book and choose my seat because the bus wasn't crowded despite level 4 status for mt Agung. Overall I would recommend a journey by bus outside the high season, school holidays or in this case the eruption of mt Agung. Most passengers were locals, the bus staff didn't speak English and guess they haven't learned their manners from Emily post. For me it was enough because they were caring and responsible.
We arrived in Malang around 5.30 am. I caught a flu in the rain but happy enough to reach Malang. I was too lazy to make pictures because I didn't expect I would see that much before it got dark.
