24 hours, three flights, four airports, two taxis, one bus, six movies, one flu and a hint of sadness at returning to daily life after such an incredible trip, we arrive home and are delighted to curl up in our very own bed.
Thank you.
An early rise to pack for the boat, horse cart and truck ride to Senggigi on Lombok’s beautiful West coast, where we collect a shaky Suziki Jimny to tour the island. We drive the length of the island, stopping occasionally to look at unusual trinkets or to taste new snacks. Just a few miles from Kuta, we pass through Sade, where by a stroke of luck a rare traditional ceremony is taking place on the roadside. A local woman, Alfie, tells us the ceremony is to mark the circumcision of the villages toddler boys. Girls with powdered faces and cigarette adorned headdresses are carried on painted wooden horses (like Swedish Dala) mounted on the shoulders of four dancing boys.
We follow the procession and stay with the party for some time before driving on to Kuta where we take advantage of a last minute deal to book a beautiful and luxurious private Villa at the nearby Novotel. Once settled and having freshened up in a proper shower we make our way to the Lombok Lounge. True service with a smile accompanies a delicious Chilli Crab dish and Nasi Goreng special. We are approached by two local girls aged eight and ten who speak fluent English and give us a well rehearsed sales pitch for their self-made friendship bracelets. After getting them down to 15,000 rupiah for one (still a high price) the duo slip off to the next table where they proceed to converse in French.
Breakfast on our verandah followed by one of us surfing the small pointbreak at the south end of the beach while the other lounges with a book. We spend a lazy afternoon on the beach before returning for some more grilled seafood, this time adding a red snapper to the order. Later we wander down to one of the many bars showing world cup matches to watch England play Germany. The outnumbered Germans sang and danced as the goals went in while the English, dejected, sunk into their seats.
Breakfast at 8:15 for the 9am fastboat to the Gili Trawangan, largest of the three Gili Islands. It is beautiful here and has a really fun vibe. We check into our bungalow before hiring bikes and going for a cycle around the one mile square island. There are no motor vehicles on the island so push-bikes and horse pulled carts are the only transport option. It is a welcome break from spending most of the last few days driving and in hectic towns centres.
Many of the sea front eateries display the days catch for your picking. We had an incredibly delicious and fresh meal of grilled gambas, prawns and tripley at a paraffin lamp lit table on the beach before heading over to the Horizontal Bar to take advantage of their beach ‘beds’ and bonfire.
As we sipped on our triple strength cocktails the group in front of us leapt from their seats urgently calling a waiter and a great deal of commotion ensued. We were later informed that the group had found a scorpion on their lounger.