Blogs from Lombok, Indonesia, Asia - page 44

Where to start.... Stars? No, too cliche. No one wants to hear about how you rediscovered the immense empyrean that exists right above the hazy fog of Korean nights skies, and how somehow it opening up above you opens up the crevasses inside to reveal all kinds of vibrant emotions that were seized in the heart, like air embedded in rock. Too obvious. Start smaller... White sand? Come on now, really? Toes tickling soft silt while the sun sets and the beer in your hand drips droplets of dew down your fingers and onto your bare legs? Really? Isn't that the title of a book? Probably... Turquoise water? Very original. The least you could do is add in the cyan sky and soft puffy, perfectly white clouds balanced on the edge of the horizon. And use ... read more

Udon Thani to Gili Trawangan was not easy. From Udon Thani, an overnight sleeper train to Bangkok. The next day a flight (delayed) to Jakarta, Indonesia. We had an overnight layover, followed by an afternoon flight (delayed) to Bali. We arrived late, had another overnight layover, and another flight (delayed) to Mataram on Lombok. On Lombok we arranged a taxi to the port and then a boat to Gili Trawangan. We arrived in a heavy rainstorm, with our rainjackets tied over our rucksacks to try to keep them dry and light we walked in ankle deep water down the middle of the street until we found accomodations that would allow a couple of tired and drenched weary travellers. Phew. 4 days, 3 flights, 3 delays, 1 train, 1 bus, 1 boat, 7 taxis, 1 rainstorm. Priceless? ... read more

...so i have managed to seduce a good looking boy and have stolen his computer. it may sound ridiculous and far fetched but i assure you its true. we all know that capitalization and punctuation are for well educated bloggers...and as an underpaid, overworked snowboard instructor we know that educated is something i am not. as we were... back at the ferry "terminal" in Lembar, Lombok...Tristan and I were starting to feel quite at home in our new found Indonesian province of choice. even though the taste of banana pancake lingered from an early breakfast, we found ourselves starving waiting the 2 hours for the twelve o'clock ferry back to Padangbai. its funny, in Lombok i don't remember eating with utensils. the locals just eat with their hands, and of course their is a finger dish ... read more

A new year, a new island. Tomorrow I leave for Sumbawa, the next island to the east. If things go as planned (which they usually don’t) I’ll pass through here (Kuta, Lombok) again in a month or two and enjoy some of these waves in less stormy conditions. It wasn’t easy leaving Areguling. Ibu Rahim, my adopted mother, didn’t say much but cried a lot. They were obviously genuinely worried about me leaving for Sumbawa by mountain bike. Sumbawa is larger than Bali and Lombok combined but only two small areas have recognized surf strongholds, Western Sumbawa where you can find spots with names like Supersuck, Scar Reef, and Yo-yo’s, and the Lakey Peak area much further to the east. Between the two is a very long stretch of wild and nearly inaccessible coast…isolated animist ... read more

We booked our transport out of Ubud, relieved we were leaving and hopefully looking forward to some nice weather at the beach for Christmas. We were more prepared this time around for the journey to be a hassle but it actually wasn't as bad as we expected. We arrived in plenty of time for the ferry and even had time to have a banana jaffle for breakfast. For those not acquainted with jaffles, they are simply toasties...the Indonesians though take toasties to a whole new level putting bananas, pineapple, egg and various other things in them. Banana jaffles, in our opinion, are definitely the best followed closely by ham and cheese! Anyhow, we were only a little worried arriving onto Gili Trawangan on 20th December with no accommodation booked after our experience of the hotel owners ... read more