Vacation is what we found, but first we had to get there. Getting from Flores to Lombok ended up being the longest continuous journey we've taken yet, at about 30 hours door to door (8 hour ferry from Labuan Bajo that left 2 hours late, overnight bus across Sumbawa, early morning ferry to Lombok, back on the bus for another hour, and lastly a hired minivan for a couple hours). You meet way more interesting people using public overland transportation than you do flying and we met our share of characters. On the ferry we met a couple guys who in their words run a "local exim". After a little while we deduced that was short for export import. They take the 8 hour ferry each way twice a week, carrying oranges one way, and bananas the other, staying the night in an apartment they rent for $2 a month. By the way they were dressed this is apparently a very profitable line of business. We thought we'd get some rest on the overnight bus, but with the freezing air condition and blaring Indo rock music, we didn't have a chance. I had the good fortune of sitting next to an older man who had hiccups that manifested themselves as burps every three seconds. Just as the music is beginning to die down and we're beginning to fall asleep we stop for the promised "included dinner"...at 2:30 AM. Six women got on after dinner all screaming into the cell phones, and we completely forgot about sleep. As the sun was rising on the second ferry we talked to a guy who worked in Cleveland for two years and loved American casinos. He had been to them all and couldn't wait to go back. Atlantic City was curiously his favorite.
Our first of two stops in Lombok was in Kuta in the south of the island. Primarily a surf destination, it's been hit hard by the succession of bad luck Indonesia has had recently (Bali bombing followed by the tsunami). This meant magazine-cover beaches that we had to ourselves. Our daily routine was hopping on our motorcycle to drive to one beach in the morning, have lunch at a great vegeterian restaurant atop a hill with superb views, and then head to another amazing beach in the afternoon. Grilled fish caught that day every evening.
From there we head to the fabled Gili Islands. The Gilis are three tiny islands in between Bali and Lombok. Motor vehicles are not allowed on the islands which isn't a problem as you can walk around each in less than two hours. Every morning all the food and water are boated over along with any visitors. We liked it so much on Gili Air we stayed for a week, which is longer than we've stayed in any one place since Nosara, Costa Rica. After the lack of reliable toilets and cold water showers of Flores we were excited for a little accomodation luxury and I think we stayed at the nicest place on Gili Air. For $20 a night we stayed in a modern bungalow with an outdoor bathroom, beautiful pool and great snorkeling right out our doorstep. Breakfast brought to our deck in the morning, and walks over to the west side of the island to watch the sunset behind Bali's massive volcano in the evening. Good living...
Vacation's over and we're on our way to Sumatra. Back to the real Indonesia...
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment