The Diary Beth was still feeling unwell so Oz and I walked to the temple by the sea called Batu Bolong. Another pretty unremarkable temple and we had to pay for temple scarves as we'd forgotten ours. We'd stopped for lunch on the way back and then went in search of a newspaper. No such luck, everyone still had Saturday's paper.
Batu Bolong
In the evening we went for a meal in a very quiet and relatively expensive restaurant. On the way I managed to pick up a paper from the supermarket.
The Diary We went to the beach. A pretty good beach by what I've seen of Indonesian beaches. I left Oz and Beth to be bothered by the sellers as I went for a walk into the nearest hotel in search of a paper and some news. They had copies of Saturday's Jakarta Post and I managed to discover that England had beaten France 31-13. I went back to the beach and the three of us were surrounded by eager schoolchildren wanting to practice their English.
We were quite helpful, drawing maps of England, pictures of snowmen, showing them our passports and the London Underground rail map. We weren't so forthcoming with female genitalia though. I reckoned if their teacher wouldn't tell them then neither would I.
In the evening very heavy rain came down, we had a power cut so we ate at the home stay restaurant. As usual we were pestered by their dog Oscar. Oscar had a damaged rear leg. This must be hereditary as over 50% of the dogs here have a similar limp. Mind you I could understand it if they'd all been run over as they either lie in the middle of the road or pick the most inopportune moment to cross.
2012 The heavy rain late every day was due to the fact it was the wet season in Indonesia. Wet/Dry rather than 4 seasons was something new to me. We also had great difficulty trying to explain spring, summer, autumn, winter to the kids.
The Diary We woke early - cockerels, screaming cats and the sound of rain on the roof. Beth was still ill and wanted to go somewhere a little more civilized. I certainly wasn't going to argue though I could have put up with another night there. I went for a walk down the front - the beach didn't change, the accommodation was the same all the way along and, all in all, it wasn't very interesting.
Oz and I wandered to one of the restaurants to book our trip back and it appeared that national tv was on the scene filming two blonde tourists while an Indonesian Oprah Winfrey figure sang in the background. Oz went for a bit of snorkeling while we packed. By the time he got back very dark clouds had appeared overhead. Minutes later it was absolutely pouring down and big pools of water were forming all around us. Fortunately it stopped just in time for us to dash along to our fishing boat. The storm clouds above held off while our little craft made the slow crossing. The kids carrying the bags scam was repeated but this time I donated 1,000rp. A little kid who tried to pick up my bag and almost fell overboard with it was chastened by one of the bigger kids. The bag probably weighed as much as he did.
Back at the not quite so dry land, we waited for the bus. People arrived for the journey across to the islands to be greeted by the sight of the boats in the deep water. The kids here must earn more than their parents. One European lad took real exception to this and was shouting at the locals and trying to get them to bring the boats nearer. Alas, we had to leave so we never did find out of he succeeded. Methinks not. Amazingly, Beth found her hat on the bus !!!
We arrived in Senggigi Beach and for once we decided to be fussy about where we were going to stay. The first place was rejected as not good enough, the second - a major hotel - was too expensive. The third was just right once they managed to get the water working. Senggigi was well on it's way to being a Benidorm of the future. There are several large hotels here and more are being built. There is even a supermarket, by far the best shop I've seen in Indonesia. HP sauce for sale. It must be good.
The evening meal was interrupted by a dog and a cat having a fight beneath our table. It would never happen in England.
The Diary Up early to catch the ferry but I have a feeling we'd have been up early whatever as the sound of several hundred Balinese cockerels is enough to wake the dead. Perhaps that's why they cremate people. The ferry journey was dull and uncomfortable, smokers everywhere, Sian threw a strop because Adam left their camera downstairs and Beth was still ill.
The Perama bus took us to Bangsal via Senggigi. The journey was quite interesting. Lombok has a different feel about it. The religion is different so the temples are not quite so dominant. I thought Lombok south of and including Mataram was definitely more affluent than Bali. North of Mataram the roads got worse and the population was more sparsely distributed.
We went through a very green and wet mountain pass, with monkeys running everywhere, before arriving in Bangsal. Perama even distributed free bottles of cold Coke, Fanta and Sprite to it's thirsty passengers. What service. Then it was on to our next ferry. Did I say ferry? It was a fishing boat and it was quite a way out into the water.
Take your shoes and socks off, give your bag to a local kid, and wade waist deep through the water. The kids carrying the bags was obviously a well worked scam as they had your bag as soon as you put it down and it would have been quite easy to bring the boats in closer. Still I only parted with a 500rp tip. 13 tourists crammed in for the 45min trip to Gili Trawangan.
Our accommodation was a wooden hut on stilts, 3 beds with mosquito nets and an adjoining hole in the floor, more usually known as a toilet. Poor old Beth still had a squidgy bum and it would be hard to find a less hospitable place in which to be ill. To flush the loo you used a bucket from the trough full of rainwater.
The weather was dull and rainy and the beach was covered in wood that was floating in off the sea. Not at all what I would describe as idyllic. Sleep was mad harder by the noise from the local restaurant that went on until 3am, the TV in the school opposite and the damp air due to the fact it was pouring down. To cap it off Beth had left her hat on the Perama bus.
2012 It seems that there are plenty of scams still going on at Bangsal and that the kids carrying the bags is the least worrying of them all.
I think our view of the islands was coloured by the poor weather and Beth's illness. If it was bright and sunny like most of the photos you will see I think we may have had a better first impression.
