Tuesday December 23, 2008

Martin leaves today and I will be on my own again. The thought is not comfortable for me, though it shouldn’t be a big issue, it kind of is. I know I’ll meet more people but there is always that ‘ooops I’m alone again’ feeling I don’t like so much. Anyway, it’s all good here in Singgigi. I don’t know if I even noticed the morning call to prayer I’m getting that used to the place. Falling straight into a small routine I woke and positioned myself at the tables in the relaxing hut thingo to drink great coffee, eat a simple breakfast and write up some more of my blogs. Considering I spent such a long time at my computer yesterday I really didn’t get a lot of bloody work done. I must have been too busy gas bagging haha. Martin soon joined me for a feed and caffeine hit before he catches his ferry to Bali. We shared a few jokes along with our food and enjoyed each others relaxed company until in what seemed like no time at all his driver was waiting on him. Yet another goodbye followed with vague promises to catch up. Martin works in Hong Kong so I think I will make the effort to see him again on my way past. A place like that is best explored with some insiders’ knowledge and he really is great company.

After breakfast and a long refreshing shower in the sun of my groovy bathroom I set of to have a long walk around Senggigi. Not a lot happened, it was just to orientate myself with this pretty little town but I did find a decent net café so on my way back I stopped to do some things. By then it was time for cold ale on the beach and some shady relaxing with my ipod cranked. Talib Kwali is pretty good beach music I discovered and as I wondered the sandy shore after my beer I couldn’t help but crank some more Downplay. Before I could build up too much of a sweat I found another bar with icy beverages and some more shade to work through Andy Struksha’s EP. I spent those few hours just chillaxing and observing. It’s a charming place here, the beach is outstanding, there are little hoarse drawn karts with exotic hottie passengers, young diving enthusiasts, fit long haired Indo gigolos (guides), tiny jaded hookers and older couples strolling hand in hand. As I wandered back to the net café to finally update my blog I had The Doors rocking out through my headphones. When that track “People are strange” came on I literally felt like I was in a film clip. It was awesome hahaha.

Back at the café I spent a fair amount of time doing stuff. I tried to get a few video’s up that I owe you but they just would not go. While I stuffed around I chatted with Az on Facebook chat. It was so cool to talk to ma bruv… seems like ages since I’ve seen everyone. I’ve been pricing this visa extension everywhere I go as well with the best price so far being $200US eeeeeck!! I don’t suppose I have a lot of choice now. By lazing around here in Senggigi I have really forced myself into a corner and will have to get it underway tomorrow. Even if I chose not to worry about it I would not make it out of Indonesia in time without flying so it’s time to just bite the bullet. In my heart I know I want to stay for a while anyway. Tomorrow, I’ll get myself a proper motorbike for a few days as well and start to do some exploring again.

I finally gave up on my cyber activities when my tummy told me it was time for dinner and was standing outside trying to decide which of the many places I would try this evening when I heard a ladies voice “Monshta! Hello againsh” (how do you like my Dutch accent hahaha) it was Eva who I had bumped into a couple times in Flores. We haven’t had a lot to do with each other and it took me a few seconds to recognize her. I accused her of stalking me, which made her laugh, and quickly shared our adventure stories since last time we met. I joined Eva, her partner and their German friend for dinner at a groovy little restaurant in the main strip of Singgigi. We chatted, feasted and drank beers for a few hours together and it was a very pleasant few hours. They had just gotten to Singgigi this afternoon after climbing Ringani, the massive volcano in the centre of Lombok. It would be an awesome adventure but sounds a bit beyond my physical abilities hahaha. Yes I’m too flippin lazy to bother, if I could ride my motorbike to the top that would be a whole different story.

Turns out my friends also have a room at Raja Bungalows so we eventually made our way back to the hotel together. On the way Eva’s boyfriend (I have unfortunately forgotten his name) was telling me about the accident that claimed his left eye. Turns out surfboards in the ocular cavity are not a very good idea, who would have thunk it haha. He has a great attitude about it though and has not lost his passion for surfing and diving. I didn’t realize there was such a plethora of surf and dive spots in the Netherlands but it sounds like if you own a good steamer and are not afraid of getting a little chilled you are a bit spoilt for choice. I know I am forgetting some details about my night but I am anxious to get onto more exciting developments that have since occurred so I will move on.

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

You may have noticed I have been missing from my blogs for quite a while. You may also find the following entries to be a jumbled up and confused… that is because so much has happened in the last week, without me finding even a few minutes to get things written down, I am fair bursting at the seams with information for you all and in fact hardly know where to start. Christmas eve started pretty much like any other day here in Singgigi so far. I slept in a fair bit and bludged in the relaxing area over coffee and my Ipod. It was around 10am when Wawan popped in to see me and we decided it was time to go get my visa underway. Wawan recommended a few options for me and allowed me to decide for myself. That is a rare thing around here as most ‘helpers’ have specific people they get a commission from and will do just about anything to convince you every other option will result in the loss of your wealth and maybe even body parts haha. I decided to go with a different person anyway, a lawyer I found the other day who is legally culpable should anything go wrong with my passport or application and result in me being prosecuted or incarcerated. Wawan seemed to agree that it was the safest option and had no issue at all borrowing a car and giving me a lift to the office some 10 minutes down the road toward Ampenan. We soon had everything underway with the lawyer and my wallet was 2000000 rupiah lighter… ouch!!! It will be worth it to stay for a while. I’m developing an idea to stay at least until my birthday. Maybe I can do New years on Gili Trawangan but that is a decision I can make in a few days time.

Once we sorted all the passport/visa issues Wawan dropped me back to Raja and delivered me my Honda Tiger motorbike. I immediately dubbed him Big Red. He is a 250cc proper motorbike. No more scooters for Monsta for a while thank fuck. No sooner had I shelled out my dosh and signed on the dotted line of the contract when I felt the overwhelming desire to get the wind in my hair and take this little beasty for a strap. It was so satisfying actually riding a real bike again. I hadn’t realized just how much I had missed the thrill of changing gears and cornering properly. That afternoon I probably went a little overboard and rode in a fashion that would have sent my fathers hair a lighter shade of silver (if it where only possible hey boofhead). Not even a nuclear warhead could have removed the ridiculous grin I wore as I rounded glorious corner after corner, up hill and down along some of the most spectacular coastal roads I have ever had the pleasure to ride. Every ten minutes or so you encounter a new bay, it’s like heaven on earth here. Each bay is separated by a mountainous headland so the riding is as varied as the scenery. You crest the head land and get smacked in the face by a vista straight off a tropical island postcard, descend the road to skirt the edge of the beach through small village like settlements, past chickens, hoarse drawn carts, locals going about their business, kids playing or flying kites and eventually come to another climb up yet another headland where upon clearing the apex you are again bashed in the head by another glorious scene of palm trees, turquoise waters and sandy beaches that alternate between coal black and powder white. Truly amazing!!

I could have ridden my life away, just cracking lap after lap of Lombok but it was starting to get late and I had heard the sunset from Hotel Lina was well worth inspecting. Lina is back in the main Singgigi strip so I chucked a u-bolt and whooped with glee as I retraced the roads I had just been over. When I finally made Lina, I had bugs in my teeth, dirt in the creases of my face and a near maniacal smile that begged to be fed ice-cold Bin tang. Being a soft touch I obliged and set up camp on the foreshore with my beers disappearing faster than backpackers in the Belangalow forest. I was making some calls to home and sending various texts bragging about my life when I overheard a thick Aussie accent behind me. Turns out it was a young bloke named Monty (Nicknamed Monsta - now there’s a freaky coincedence) from Perth. He’s mates with some of the Syllabollic crew and is a pretty accomplished beat-boxer. We immediately hit it off and spent a few hours crapping on like two long lost buddies. Monty’s old man Steve has a house here in Green Valley, which is a suburb of Singgigi Beach. They have a local man who looks after everything they need and his name is Ogi. Ogi learnt English at University and is a cool, smooth, friendly character. He was sitting with Monty and we also immediately made a strong connection. Monty asked me to come to Happy Café tonight for Christmas Eve drinks where I could meet his family along with some of the other locals they hang with and have do work for them. Of course I agreed and we parted to freshen up and meet in a few hours.

I made my way back to Raja, had a quick shower and changed my clothes from the putridly dirty set I was wearing to a slightly less stinky set. I really need to do some washing again haha. I was soon back at the same restaurant from the last night where I demolished about three main meals, several beers and a couple of Araks all for the princely sum of around $11Aus. That is actually a lot here but when I looked over my table I could see I had gotten my monies worth. The same meal in Australia would have to top $120. I was so full I feared I would require a small forklift to get to Happy Café, which is only 400 meters up the road. Turned out my legs did the job superbly and I was soon at the bar with Bin tang in hand. A quick look around the Café located Monty sporting a Christmas hat, looking like a big white elf. I joined his table and was introduced to his old man Steve and local man Charlie. Ogi was also there so we had a decent small crew. Steve and his wife have several businesses in Oz, one of which is property development. He is a big, jovial, grey haired, white bearded typical Aussie larrikin. A top bloke to share a beer with and I was glad to be doing just that. Charlie is a small Susack Indonesian who is the life of every party. I didn’t even have to know him for more than five minutes to tell just that. He must be over 40 years old but is a super fit little disco animal and heaps of fun to be around. I still cannot believe how lucky I have been meeting people in my travels.

We stayed at Happy café for quite a few hours and picked up two more members in the posse, a couple of young Oz students from Canberra. I didn’t really spend that much time talking with them though they seemed like decent blokes. It’s just that I really find my self gravitating towards Charlie, Ogi and Monty. We decided to try a different club called Marina down the road and set off on wobbly foot with much drunken cheering and laughter. It was at Marina I met Ani. This is something I have been advised to be careful writing about but I have decided to just be as open as I have with everything so far. Some people may be inclined to pass judgement on me and on my actions over the next week or so. I understand that inclination, I have done similar in my past, hell I probably will again in my future but this blog is as much for me as anyone else out there and if I censor myself I will have only a partial record of my adventures. I know my intentions and truly do not care what anyone else out there thinks. I’d be disappointed if my friends and family could not understand but I think you all know me and my nature well enough. So brace yourselves this gets pretty surreal from here on in.

Charlie is a very well known man here in Singgigi. He has worked all over the island and even in Bali with tourists since he was just a boy. Not only that but he is such a generous, lively man and has touched the lives of so many of the locals he is somewhat of a legend in these parts. So we arrived at Marina, grabbed some drinks and immediately people started to approach Charlie to say hello with many an enquiry about the mob of boozy yobbos he had in tow. One of those people was a young woman named Ani. Charlie asked me if we minded if Ani joined us and could I shout her a drink. I vaguely remember nodding my consent, looking her in the eyes and blabbing on about how beautiful she is hahaha. Yeah I was drunk enough to actually do something about chatting up an attractive girl! Monty was pissing himself laughing at me as I dragged her up onto the dance floor. It must have been a sight as little Ani would be hard pressed to reach midway up my bicep. We spent the whole time at Marina carving up the dance floor with the live lady-boy singing group. She is so tiny I would just bundle her up in my arms, hold her at eye level and dance around the place with her feet a good 50 cm from the floor. Before too long the posse wanted to move on and try club 69. So with several more locals in tow we set off to the opposite end of Singgigi.

I pretty much have no memory from here on in. I’m told I totally lost Ani in the club after about five minutes. She hung out with the rest of the posse while I cut sick upstairs on the dance floor with more lady-boys hahahahahaha. Charlie kept his eye on me so they did not take advantage of the drunken white dickhead. He told me the next morning I apparently made a big impression with my dance skills as well as my deft manoeuvres at avoiding having to make contact with any of the trannies. They were very disappointed when they would make their move because I’d be weaving and dodging, yelling “No Banana!! Papaya Only!!” (My sad attempt at telling them I’m not into chicks with dicks). At some stage during this time I found Ani for long enough to give her my mobile number and receive a small origami swan she made for me as a present. On the swan was her mobile number. Other than those small contacts in 69 we pretty much didn’t see each other at all. I don’t remember leaving, I don’t remember chowing down on a big plate of goat and rice in the 24hour Warung (eatery) on the way home, I don’t remember walking to Raja with Ogi and Charlie in tow (they are both good mates with the owner and crashed there the night instead of trying to find a way home), I don’t remember getting Charlie to call Ani to see if she wanted to stay the night with me… In fact my next memory is one of waking up butt naked with the equally naked Ani wrapped up in my arms. It was an awesome night. Santa was very kind to me this year lol.

Thursday, December 25, 2008

Whatever I had missed out on last night due to my memory blanks we more than made up for that lazy, hung-over morning. However there where a couple things I had failed to pick-up on that became clearly apparent this am. (1) Ani is very young (19 years old it turns out) (2) Ani has a young baby girl (the picture on her phone should have been a dead give away) (3) Ani does not speak English, though she understands some if I speak slowly and clearly (what a waste of all that playful banter last night haha - some of my best work and it was not understood at all). As these facts dawned on me I could feel a cold sweat develop and chills creep up the back of my spine. Just what have I done? What have I gotten myself into?? Eventually I got up and had a shower before sneaking off out of my room to find Ogi and Charlie seated at those small tables in the chill out area, drinking coffee and grinning at me. I stumbled over my size 11’s, holding my head in my hand and groaning at my headache. It was at this point that I began to wonder if I would even live to see the end of this trip hahaha. Some of these hangovers have been bad enough to encourage a man to end it all. Besides, if I keep getting that loose in these strange and far away lands I’m bound to get rolled at some point or another and wake up minus my wallet or even worse, an organ. I’m lucky to have Charlie and Ogi around to look out for me here.

We didn’t do a whole heap Christmas day. I gave Ani some cash so she could get home once she finally managed to get out of bed and then just died on the floor of the chill out zone at Raja with the boys constantly teasing me about Ani. “Jepp give Ani a special banana last night”. “Jepp like his papaya young and small”. Stuff like that and there were many other comments even more crass. On a side note; nobody can say my name correctly.. there does not seem to be an F sound that the Indonesians use. Even the Indonesian word for Telephone is pronounced Telpone. Mobiles are called handpones. You get the picture I’m sure. I have tried to tell everyone to call me Monsta but they believe it to be a cruel, insulting name and refuse. It is the obscure concepts I have most difficulty communicating. Nicknames are commonplace (Charlie’s real name is Hendro… but he uses Charlie when he is with tourists) but to explain that Monsta is actually used by my friends affectionately is way beyond my very basic Bahasa Indonesia skills. Once my head settled down a little along with the ribbings, Charlie made his excuses and walked off into Singgigi in search of work.

Ogi needed to get back to Steve’s House and look after his boss so I gave him a lift on my bike. Steve’s house is awesome! It’s hidden away in the back parts of Green Valley, has about 4 or 5 bedrooms and a massive salt-water pool. Ogi is Steve’s right hand man here in Indonesia. He sorts everything out for the family, hiring contractors, cleaners, driving the members around to various places and basically looking after all of the families needs and wishes. It’s a busy life for the 30ish father of two. Ogi has a university education in English and business. He is a larger bloke than the norm for these parts with a solid frame, a clean-cut appearance and a toothy, friendly smile. When he speaks it appears he has perfect English skills but I soon discovered I still needed to go slowly and clearly for him to get everything. We have spent a good deal of time together philosophising about life and what it is to have a meaningful time here on earth. I like the way he thinks, well I should say I like what he says.. it will take more time to know if he is full of crap or not. I met all of the Steve family members today. Angie is Steve’s wife and she reminds me of the mum in Absolutley Fabulous. Not that she is a drunken, drug addict, but that she has that very “Darrrrrling” way of talking and obviously loves her make-up and fashion. She strikes me as a very warm-hearted person in the same way Steve and Monty had yesterday. There was one of Monty’s brothers and his girlfriend there as well but I didn’t get much of a chance to talk to them. They both seemed decent enough people as well. I felt like I was intruding a little though, after all it was Christmas day, so I soon made my excuses and headed back into down town Singgigi.

I can’t remember exactly what I got up too for the afternoon but I am sure it wasn’t much. I eventually found my way back to bed early in the evening after a feed and a few beers and that was where I stayed until I was woken by Ani. I near shit my pants and punched her in the face when she gently shook my shoulder. Ani found my fright incredibly amusing and I guess I would have too had roles been reversed. She jumped on me as I lay there in bed and shook my shoulders pleading with me “Jepp, Marina! Marina! Marina!!” God how I groaned at the thought but she looked so cute and was so keen. I had somehow managed to find an Indonesian Tez, a certified party animal that I found hard to say no to, so I let her drag me out of bed and put me in the shower. After a cold wash and a healthy drag on my water bottle I felt at least a little bit awake so we jumped on my motorbike and made our way to Marina. It wasn’t a very busy night and I was rather subdued until I remembered that Tequila is a hung-over mans best mate and ordered several shots to share with Ani. She didn’t seem to enjoy it too much but worked her way through her share while we chatted with various friends of hers (mostly lady-boys). What is it with all these lady boys?? In a way I’m glad to know Ani is a mum.. at least I can be sure I have the correct gender by my side because let me tell you it would be very easy to get duped by one of these blokes. Some of them are stunning and I’m told many have had complete sex changes. We hit the dance floor for a short but sweaty stint getting our groove on, had a late night feed of Nasi Goreng and finally, wearily called it a night.

Friday, December 26, 2008

The next morning after a long and cuddly sleep in Charlie roused us from my tiny little single bed when he knocked loudly on the door. Ani and I soon found myself in the chill out zone there at Raja, wearily wiping sleep from the corners of our eyes. Ogi soon joined us as well and we had an interesting morning conversation that would guide my activities for the next week or so. It turns out Ogi knows of a house in Green Valley (which I have now dubbed happy valley as every face I have seen here has worn a large smile and everyone takes the time to chat when ever they pass each other) that is up for rent. For less than the cost of staying in Raja I could rent my own joint that is basically fully furnished. For a little more I could equip it with those things that I need to be able to cook and clean. The same house is also up for sale, which is something I was keen to investigate. Lombok is a gorgeous place with amazing people and soon will have it’s own International Airport, the second largest in Indonesia, which is being built and paid for by Saudi Investors. The Saudis have also recently pumped billions into the roads here which makes for a much more comfortable place than most Indonesian Islands I have been to so far. You can just feel the potential of Lombok electrifying the air, especially around the tourist area of Singgigi. There are some of the worlds best surf breaks, dive spots and beaches very near by and in a way the area feels like the American Wild West must have. You could, if you are clever, make a lot of money investing in this area. I had promised myself I would keep an open mind on this trip and remain receptive to any good possibilities that may arise. This is one of those possibilities, at least that is what I believe, and so I made mental notes to investigate this further on a day soon.

Today though I had to get Ani home to Ampenan, the small town some 20 minutes ride south of Singiggi. Her baby girl Noni has not been well and she was keen to get home to check on her. We mounted big red and set off down the well made if a little narrow and over used road south. Have you ever tried to get directions off someone you have on the back of your motorbike? It is not an easy thing. Well try it when you keep getting your Indonesian for left and right mixed up and then add the fact that the person giving you directions is a chick and mixes up her right from left anyway. That 20 minute ride took about 40 hilariously confusing minutes. By the time we finally found Ani’s home we both had tear streaks marking our cheeks through the road grime. Ani hates the way I ride too, between the laughter and muddled up hand signals I kept getting bashed in the back with shouts of “Slowly Slowly Jepp!” Have I mentioned the fact the streets here are still worked by hoarse drawn carts? I don’t know if you could really say they are horses, more like ponies, but the carts carry everything from stock, to building materials to passengers. I have even seen a hoarse drawn cart carrying another broken cart. They are especially prevalent in Ampenan and scare the pants off me. They have no indicators and are so totally unpredictable to me. I nearly got wiped out about three times as we navigated the streets of this busy little town. I could feel Ani’s tension whenever we would get too close and hear her tut-tutting and gasping when we came near to being side swiped. At one stage she thumped me in the back and shouted at me to give them space in Indonesian. My reply of “I no room, road small, excuse me please, sorry.” In mangled Bahasa Indonesian seemed to do the trick.. well at least it garnered a cute as pie peel of laughter.

Ani’s house was a bit of a shock to the system. Fuck, to be honest it is a shithole. She shares it with her mother, brother, sister, her sisters three boys ranging in age from 2 to 9 and of course little Noni (Ani’s daughter). It has two bedrooms, an outdoor mandi (Shower/toilet) and a semi enclosed kitchen. The walls are flaky, mildewed, rendered concrete and the ceiling shows where the roof is not water tight. There is no furniture at all just a bare concrete living room floor. The doors are obviously scrounged from a tip and have no locks. There is electricity but I suspect it has been installed by one of the family as sparks fly whenever you plug an appliance into the power socket. Running water does not exist so all drinking supplies must be bought and the working water they shower and flush the dunny with must be carried from a public water tap around a kilometre from the house. There is one fan, a rag tag collection of pots and pans and two or three photos hanging from the wall. I nearly fell over and must have been showing my shock as I entered because Ani’s sister immediately started to apologise in broken English over the state of her home. The house has no direct access to the road either. You enter a long gravel drive, park the bike in a communal parking area and continue by foot some several meters through narrow pathways to Ani’s place. God damn have I lived a privileged life.

I found out a lot more about Ani from her sister on this visit. Ani’s Father died when she was just a 1 year-old baby. By the time the girls where thirteen they had both been married off to various dudes. Ani made it clear to me she had been married before she was even menstruating! Ani’s sister is still married and her husband works on Gili Trawangan as a waiter but Ani is no longer with her bloke. He is Malaysian and they had been living together in Malaysia when Ani fell pregnant. Once the baby was born though the husband decided they could not afford her and sent the kid to Lombok to be with Ani’s family. Of course Ani then would make the long trip by ferry and bus to Lombok to see her daughter. She hated being away from her child and on her second trip home just 5 months ago Ani’s husband told her to not bother coming home. Just like that he arranged for the divorce and she was not allowed back into the country to see him and plead for him to reconsider. It just about broke my heart and also scared me to death. Once again I was thinking to myself just what the hell was I doing. I sat cross legged on the plain concrete drinking Lombok Coffee, listening to Ani’s story and watching the family size me up as a potential partner and very nearly ran like an Olympic class sprinter for the door. Something stopped me though. A voice in the back of my mind telling me it was ok… yes this is very different to what I have ever experienced, yes these people have different ideas about sex and relationships, but I kind of liked Ani already, nobody can force me to do anything I do not want to do and this experience of being accepted and included into a family like this is genuine and precious. To a westerner who has been brought up without an understanding of this kind of life, this families enthusiasm can come off a lot like they only see dollar signs when they look at me. I’m sure that it at least enters their mind, that I would be a good support to them if they could somehow snare me into staying. But I believe there is also a large component of genuine friendliness and curiosity involved. Besides I can always just pack my bag and run later hahaha. I wanted to experience something this real, to be intertwined into the lives of the people whose lands I travelled. I guess they are right when they say you should be careful of what you wish for. I left Ani’s house feeling like I had just gained an instant family.. add alcohol, a lonely westener, one hot little indo chick and stir. I was hoping it would not prove to be a deadly mix of ingredients.

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