Blogs from Lombok, Indonesia, Asia - page 46

Aamulla herättiin aikaisin herätyskellon pärinään, koska minibussi tulisi hakemaan meitä hotellilta. Suuntimana olisi tällä kertaa Gili Air. Gili tarkoittaa Indonesiaksi saarta, mutta saaret tunnetaan kuitenkin nimellä Gili-islands. Saaria on kolme kipaletta ja ne sijaitsevat Balin vieressä olevan hitusen pienemmän saaren, Lombokin, luoteisnurkassa. Tomi jätti taas pakkaamiseen viime tinkaan ja hyvästä nyrkkipakkaus-yrityksestä huolimatta lähdettiin hitusen myöhässä. Auto heitti meidät Padangbai-nimiseen kylään, josta lähti autolautta kohti Lombokia. Aamuisesta sähläyksestä huolimatta oltiin reilusti etuajassa. Varhaisen lähdön takia emme ehtineet syödä ilmaista aamupalaa hotellissa, vaan meidät jätettiin odottelemaan laivan lähtöä Pandangbain sataman hintavaan ravintolaan. Paikka oli tietysti ”kätevästi” matkanjärjestäjän toimiston vieressä, joten väkisinkin siinä rupesi miettimään k... read more

Aaaaaaaaaaah, how annoying - the computers here are so slow that I was just saving a blog and it took so long it timed out and wiped what I'd written - second time lucky! So we woke up at ridiculous o'clock (5.30am) and we were picked up by a bus that took us to a boat (to Lombok) where we got on another bus that took us to another boat that took us to Gili Trawangan (GT). All in all a 13 hour journey - start to finish. However, I think this could have been almost halfed if we hadn't been ushered into friends' restaurants for breakfast and generally waiting around unnecessarily. We were lucky enough to watch an absolutely stunning sunset though on the final lap of the trip. There are three Gili islands altogether ... read more

What a beautiful place that not many visit!!! Gili meno is a small island off the coast of Lombok Indonesia........it is basically just a big lump of sand with trees on surrounded by clear waters full of turtles! Over looking Mount Rinjani every morning when the sky was clear of clouds! The only transport being your feet and pony and trap, you have to be careful you don't run into a chicken as the island is full of them clucking around! We went from Bali to Lombok by bus then by a ferry that took around 4hrs, it was a big boat full of very uncomfortable wooden benches that we sat on (we were lucky as some people did not get a seat). It was full of locals trying to sell you everything before we ... read more

Hello world - I am using a rainy afternoon in Ubud (Bali) as an opportunity to write up about my trip to the top of the vocanic giant - known to the Indonesians as 'Rinjani'.... I first saw this monster as I lazed upon the beaches of Kuta (Bali). Although it is on the neighbouring island of Lombok - Rinjani looms large and aggressively for perhaps 100s of miles... I didn't think it would be hard - I mean I have climbed the hills of Exmoor and even ventured into the valleys of Wales - How hard could it be?? Wow, words cannot explain the sweat, emotions and physical exhaustion encounted over this 4 day multi miled trek.... There were 7 of us in total, along with a guide and team of porters - who carried ... read more

SO, first I have to apologize for the lack of gusto in this entry, since I'm not quite feeling 100%. I got a bit sick after the trek (dirty mountain food, dodgy trekking guide. I should have heard the alarm bells ringing when we saw a dead bird in the guides restaurant the day before....hmmmm...) We started the trek, all six of us, Monday morning, from the little town of Senaru. We organized the trip with a man named Harry, that we were told about while we were in the Gili Islands through someone else, through someone else, through someone else (thats how it works in Indonesia). Our transport from Bangsal to Senaru was included in the price, along with the night before the trek spent at the trek-organizers hotel. There were the six of us, ... read more