In Lombok during the Ramadan
Ferry from Padangbai (Bali) to Lembar (Lombok)
According to the official at the Ferry terminal there was a Ferry every 90 minutes and took up to 5hs to Lembar, in Lombok, one of the islands of Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. First lesson in Lombok: things here are not always as they say. We arrived at the terminal at 9 o’clock the morning and got in the queue of bikes waiting to board for 2 ½ hours. When we arrived there was Ferry there, which left behind a small queue. After a long time another Ferry came, lowered the door, raised the door, everyone in the queue got prepared, put helmets, turned the bikes on, but no one went aboard and the ship left again. Only 11:30 AM we could embark on a Ferry, with many other bikes, trucks and cars. Under the heat of midday, the Ferry still took almost another hour to move. 5 hours travelling… leaving at 12:30.. our hopes to arrive in Lombok and hit the road in daylight had already disappeared.
During all this waiting a looooot of very insistent vendors trying to convince us to buy their products, from sunglasses to take away nasi campur (fried rice with pork and chicken). In a normal situation we might have got irritated with this, but there in that queue, where we had nothing else to do but wait, it was even fun.
The Ferry is huge, has a variety of accents, and 5hs inside it were ok, although we could already feel the difference in behavior of the people from Lombok to those from Bali. The sense of security and tranquility we used to have in Bali had already begun to change in the queue to board, and for the first time since I left NZ I was concerned about the backpack on my back while I sat on the motorbike waiting. During the trip, not even for a minute, we left the backpacks on the bench without any of us watching them. It is difficult to explain this feeling of insecurity, and why it comes so suddenly, but coming from Brazil we know how these things are, we feel the threat in behavior, in the eyes of people. When we were arriving in Lombok a group of boys jumped inside the Ferry, began to roam all around talking loud and going through people, one of them stopped just behind me and it could have been a bit of Brazilian paranoia, but I thought it was better to lean on the wall and prevent him to open my backpack.
The bathroom’s Ferry also is worth remembering… it was the squatting style one, with marks to put the feet, a little buket steeped in water to flush.. so far so good, nothing that I was not expecting … another lesson that I had learned in Bali is always carry toilet paper in the bag.. I just was not prepared to the floor flooded and a tap dripping 30cm from my foot, causing the “water” from the floor to splash on my leg at every drop ..I was also not prepared to target the hole in the pot with the boat shaking to one side and another.. But everything was all right in the end of the day… I should have taken a picture of that toilet..
The exit of the Ferry was a hell… Felipe and Pasqual had gone ahead to get the bikes while Ale and I left the boat walking later. There was no exit for pedestrians and we had to go down and walk in the middle of the trucks, breathing diesel smoke in a closed and dark place… when we finally found Felipe and Pasqual on the bikes, they were impatient with the crowd around them … we climbed on the bikes and left without quite knowing which way to go until we found a peaceful place to stop and look at the map.
First impressions of Lombok
Lombok, as the vast majority of Indonesia, has the Islam as predominant religion and we arrived there during the last week of Ramadam, the holy Muslim month of purification. I got in the Ferry wearing a sleeveless summer top and skirt and got out wearing pants and a scarf around my shoulder.. that I just felt comfortable enough to take off after arriving at the hotel. We saw many women wearing veils on the head and none, absolutely none, Muslim or not, was showing the shoulders. Second lesson of Lombok: the vibe here is much more tense.
Our destination was Kuta, a beach in the south of Lombok that, in addition to the famous Desert Point, is the region where are the best waves of the island and also has a certain structure for tourists (hotels, restaurants, etc.).. All we had was the Lonely Planet map and a few tips that Luis had given us. It is very easy to get lost here, the roads are confusing and there are very few signs. We stopped several times to ask, everyone was always very helpful, but did not speak English… then we asked in Indonesian how to go to Kuta, or to the next city that was on the map, and tried to interpret the gestures of the answer, indicating the direction. On the first stops I’d already learned the third lesson of Lombok: women do not speak to men. The few times I took the initiative to ask a man something, or he completely ignored me or gave me a angry look… ok.. we are no longer in Bali, from now on no more smiles or conversations to anyone, let the boys speak first… unless the initiative to talk to me comes from the other person.
From the Lembar to Kuta we took about 2 hours on the road. It could have taken half the time if we had not got lost at night in the middle of nowhere and without anyone to ask for information.. and especially if the roads were not so bumpy.. A stretch that has no road, only holes.. It seems that they are building a parallel road that is supposed to be a good one, but we have seen no sign of works and there are even some houses in the middle of the way where the road should be..
Meanwhile we had to ride through the huge holes.. My butt and my back have never suffered so much!
We saw a motorbike accident on the road.. Around here nobody uses helmets (which is compulsory in Bali), we haven’t seen traffic police anywhere, we saw entire families on one bike, father, mother and two children, and adolescents love to speed while riding the bikes.. Fourth lesson in Lombok: is not so much fun riding a bike over here. We wanted to visit other parts of the island, go to the Gilis, but because of the situation of the roads, we preferred to stay only at the southern part.
We went through several villages on the way, all very poor.. Lombok seems to be abandoned by the government of Indonesia… houses made of wood and bamboo with straw roof, a lot of garbage all around, children playing on the garbage..
The lost hotel
When at last we arrive in Kuta it was about 8PM and for the first time on the journey we had booked our stay.. From Bali we called two hotels that Luis knew, and both of them were full.. Then we called another one that was in the guide, and we finally managed to book two rooms at fair a price.. The place was called “Melon Homestay” and the details of the guide to get there were not very accurate.. We wandered around Kuta (which is not very big) and did not find it, we were super tired.. then we stopped at a restaurant to ask… Opan, the boy who works in that restaurant, is the one that saved us this night. He led us up the Melon Homestay personally, arriving there the guy who barely spoke English answered and he was helping us to translate what meant that there was no rooms for us. They had booked two rooms that they thought that the guys in these rooms were going leave that day, but they didn’t.. So there was no vacancy, it was full. Pasqual wanted argue and discuss with the guy in the inn, I was so tired that I just wanted to find another place to drop our bags, eat something and sleep. Recalling the first lesson: things here are not always as they say, especially with Melon Homestay. Then Opan led us to another hotel that had a few rooms available, but we thought they asked a too high price for the rooms they were offering and that none of us liked.. Then Opan said “okay, I will lead you to a place that you will like the room and the price” .. and he was right, finally we found “Segare Anak,” a hotel in front of the beach with simple rooms (cold shower), a restaurant in front and a swimming pool at the backyard for 80,000 Rupees (approx. US$ 4.00 each) per day, including breakfast… and people working there were all very nice people.. who needs more than this? We spent our 5 days in Lombok hosted there.
Em Português.
First day as intense as Bali
The day before I already had combined with Pasqual, my friend from Brazil and New Zealand, LuÃs, Pasqual’s friend, an amazing person that received us in Bali as a long term friend even without knowing us, Steve, an OZ guy, who lives in Ubud - Bali, does yoga and is very excited about the wedding with his Japanese girlfriend who is waiting for a baby, and Tilo a German who already left Bali and is travelling for a long time, to go surfing in a secret spot in east of Bali leaving at 6 in the morning.
The promise were good waves and few people in the water, again I have to thank Louis for the tip. We agree on time and I came out of the inn and Pasqual on the same bike, he headed in the rump and I go find the rest of the staff at the home of LuÃs Get there and again we were very well received with a super breakfast. From there follow pro peak giving half hour of Sanur. We went to a desert beach of dark sand, with several coconut trees, two people in the water (as in the most famous points of Bali like Uluwtu you easily come to see 50 people), perfect waves breaking to right and left with 4 to 6 feet, the right longer and the left short but heavy, a beautiful blue sky, warm water, the majestic Agung on the background, the biggest volcano in Bali and Nusa Lebongan in front, a dream for any surfer.
In love with Bali
Selamat pagi everyone. We’ve been in Indonesia for 2 weeks, but it feels like a lot more and as long as it’s been awhile that we don’t post anything, prepare yourself because here comes a big story. It is a feeling of newness at every minute and at the same time of identification, something here makes me feel at home. New Zealand seems so distant now, and the feeling is that Australia was no more than a quick passage and that the journey only began on the day they we took off from Perth. Today, more precisely, we are in Lombok, one of the islands of Nusa Tenggara, but I came here to tell a little bit of what were the first weeks in Bali.
Arrival
At the airport in Perth and throughout the flight I broke a strange nervousness. My heart seemed that was beating up at my mouth, I got dizzy and could not explain why. Only later I realized that I was about to fall in love. It was love at first sight of the colors of the sea, the architecture, the smiles, the first scent of sandalwood, the sea and restaurants, the first sound of bells, the sea, the horns, the first desire to take off my boots, my pants and wear only a summer dress as it was 30 degrees inside the airport. The kind of love that even knowing the shortcomings of other, falls in love more and more every day. Bali is a place to fall in love with. Even with the intrinsic poverty, chaotic, noisy and polluted traffic, the open sewers, the garbage on the streets, the corruption, the excessive number of tourists … Bali is still lovely. The little we could know of the island before coming to Lombok showed us that Bali is beautiful, colorful and smiling. Every corner, every house, every object, is an example that Bali is overflowing art, history and culture by every pore. The food is wonderful. Before leaving NZ we received several warnings to do not even brush our teeth with tap water at the risk of contamination, even so since the first day we’ve been having natural juices, tea with ice, eating in small local restaurants (which do not speak English, do not serve Western food and do not charge us 5x the normal price) and yes, we do brush our teeth usually with tap water and have not had any problem, neither I nor Felipe.
Immigration
We left Perth with 1 hour of delay and arrived at the airport in Denpasar (which indeed is not in Denpasar) at 3:30 in the afternoon. First stop was to pay the visa - US$25 each, 50,000 rupees for both, as Felipe had taken a few rupees before leaving Australia. Second and loooong was the stop at the immigration queue, which despite the delay of approximately 1 hour, was very calm, they got our passports, the forms that we had filled out during the flight, the receipt of payment and returned it with the stamp “Republic of Indonesia” with a 30-day visa. No questions, no other document required, simple like this. When we finally left, our bags were waiting on the floor in the lobby of the airport. Airport security guards surrendered the bags to their respective owners. We also passed by the police with bags and surfboards with no question, or even a X-ray. But behind me I saw a guy having to put the surfboard on the table, open and show the police officer what was inside it. The Indonesian law has zero tolerance for possession of drugs and if the person is carrying any, he can get death penalty here. Leaving the airport, there was a huge crowd outside. A total madness, everyone squeezing themselves behind a little gate, shouting, holding labels with names, pushing each other… a lot of people, and a very hot weather. From inside we saw Pasqual and Ale, by the corner, a little separated from the crowd, waving to us.
Reception in Bali
Pasqual and Ale are a couple of very good and dear friends, also from Curitiba and who also live in New Zealand, they left NZ 1 month before us and we’ll be with us during this trip in several parts of the way. They arrived in Indonesia also 1 month before us and when we arrived not only they were waiting for us at the airport but also had already arranged a taxi to take us to a friend’s house and had even rented a motorbike for us for the next month. Thanks a loooooooot, dears! In Singapore we’ll be waiting for you. We got the cab to Luis’ house, another Brazilian, also from Curitiba, who’s been living in Bali for 7 months with his wife, Aline, who is from Switzerland. Luis’ house is located in Sanur, a city on the east coast of Bali. The first shock was the traffic, we already knew the fame of the chaos of traffic here, but from inside the taxi we were even more impressed. Many many bikes, sometimes whole families on a bike, the cars and bikes pile up, if they overtaking, the turn in front of each other without waiting their turn, they only warn with the horn .. it means that everybody horns all the time and it seems that everyone “almost hits” all the time too. In Luis’ house I finally managed to get off my boots and pants and relax. We paid the rent of our bike, 600,000 Rupees for a month, which is equivalent to US$ 60 (that’s right, US$2 per day). At night we moved the four of us to “Kesari Sanur”, an excellent inn in Sanur, western style, with pool, internet and rooms with air conditioning. Price: 150,000 Rupees per day each room - US$ 7.50 per person. We spent 3 days there and then we moved to “Sun House”, another excellent inn, Balinese style, but also with pool, air conditioning and the same price. We spent 2 more days there. I recommend either of them for who is looking to go to Sanur, only the pool is worth it on this freaking hot city.
We still alive
The heart of Western Australia
Overview
Perth is the capital of Western Australia which is supposedly the richest state in Australia thanks for the mining boom in the north of the state. It is also a region of recent settlement with about 180 years of history. Everything is very new and modern.
We got a pleasant climate, and even catching a few moments of rain, the temperature was always around 20°/68°F degrees dropping a little at night. The summer is very hot and dry and the winter is cool and rainy.
The topography is mainly plane with a great river dividing the city in south and north. The city is very widespread, with neighborhoods distant from each other, spacious houses with big gardens, large parks and areas with the typical vegetation of the region, with many eucalyptus trees and bushes in a bright red soil that tends to dye houses and sidewalks.
The public transport is good, with trains, boats and buses, but unfortunately has a bad coverage, the boulevards are wide and almost everyone uses car to get around the city and apart from the center, it’s difficult to see someone walking in the street.
Even modern and structured, Perth maintains a rustic atmosphere of a small town, where people have more time, speak slowly and like a chat in a very friendly environment. We felt that Amanda and Roberto were well received and hosted by the city and are enjoying an excellent quality of life.
Arrival
The arrival in Perth was a little strange, landed at an airport in reforms, it was as if we had land on a construction site. The bags come in different places and take at least 1 hour to find my cousin Amanda, who was nicely waiting for us, she lives there with her husband Roberto there for almost 2 years. It was great to stay with them, not only by the VIP treatment (thanks Amanda and Roberto), but also for tips and stories about the city.
From the airport went straight to a famous brewery city, Little Creatures in the artistic suburb of Freemantle. There we updated the conversation and took what they say is one of the best beers in town, in addition to the place has a lot of personality, which is basically rustic with some sophisticated details.
