Advertisement
Published: September 20th 2008
Edit Blog Post
We decided to charge on to Lombok, which is an island east of Bali. We took a sloooow ferry (4 hours). The distance you travel is short enough to see land on both sides. We were told to wait at a restaurant and they would tell us when to board the ferry. We were enjoying our coffee when they started yelling, "board, go, go, hurry!" We started running with our big packs on our backs while carrying our smaller bags. As we got closer to the ferry there were locals lined up sitting on the railing also yelling, "run, run, go, go, hurry!" It wasn't until I heard one of them yell, "come on, big finish" that I realized...it was all a big joke to get a laugh out of watching the tourist run. As we crossed onto the ferry I joined in, raising my arms in victory. We were boarded last so all of the indoor air-conditioned seats were taken. We joined the other tourists outside on the upper deck. Two hours later we were no longer on a cruise, but baking in the sun. It was painful. Not to mention we were back to the squat toilets, but this
Ferry
Baking in the sun time you are trying to keep your balance as the ferry sways, all the while water splashes out of the overflowing bin next to you. Finally, we see the port, just as the captain announces we won't be able to dock for two hours. Immediately a baby starts wailing from inside the cabin. I look over at Bonnie, "If we were babies, we'd all be crying too."
We spent two nights at a lovely place called Raja's. It was really great; the people that owned it would come over and sit and chat with us throughout the day. We enjoyed quite a few banana pancakes and Bintangs (beer) on the patio. After I remarked to Bonnie about how fast she was drinking her beer she said, "I like it when it's cold."
September is the month of Ramadhan: Muslims must participate in the fast and this includes children. During the month of Ramadhan, Muslims fast from dawn to sunset every day and in addition to fasting, Muslims are encouraged to read the entire Qur’an. Muslims don’t eat or drink anything from sunrise ’till sunset. This also includes abstaining from sexual activity, smoking, partying and any other form of
entertainment. Raja's was located between two Mosques, so we would go to bed hearing the Qur'an chanted over a loud speaker. It was increadibly relaxing; I enjoyed this time of night very much.
There wasn't much to Sengigi's beaches but I would entertain myself by bantering with the guys selling bracelets. The conversation usually went like this...
"Want to buy a bracelet?"
-"No thank you"
"What's your name?"
-"Bobby" I joked
"Where is your husband?"
-"At home washing dishes"
"No, (pause)(pause) I like you, you're funny. Want to buy a bracelet?"
So Bonnie and I decided to rent a moped. Well she decided and I said, "Are you serious? Okay, you're driving."
Get your motor running heading on the highway
Looking for adventure and whatever comes our way.
After a couple practice laps in the alley behind Raja's and convicing Bonnie that she didn't need to pedal her leg along side the bike to make it go, we were ready. Seeing Lombok from a moped was a blast, not to mention the amazing views. Although at one point we had to stop and get gas. Families sell gas in plastic water bottles displayed in their front
yards. We asked the guy how much, he said, "5 rupiah". He emptied the bottle into the tank, looked at us and said, "7." Interesting business tactics.
From Sengigi we took yet another boat (much shorter) to yet another island (much smaller) called Gili Trawangan. This island is known as the "party" island and the restaurants had signs outside advertising for magic mushrooms posted along with their daily specials. Luckily it was the off season, so we spent a lot of time snorkeling and reading on the beach. It was very nice and relaxing, little did we know, we would soon be spending two nights in the Singapore airport.
Travel Info
Lombok:Raja's guest house was the best, it is behind the main street by the mosques. Elin's is not so bad, they have cheap and more expensive rooms, it is on the main street.
We bought our Ferry ticket to Gili and then back to Bali from Raja's and everything was included with no extra charges. Walk from the restraurant to the boat, don't use the horse carriage.
Gili T:We stayed at the Pondok Sederhana GH on Gili T. It was amazing, go to the left after
getting off the boat, look for the ALDI's sign and walk about 3 blocks off the main street. $15 good deal for the island. Gili Air is cheaper from what we heard.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.078s; Tpl: 0.01s; cc: 11; qc: 50; dbt: 0.0368s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 2;
; mem: 1.1mb