In Lombok

So right now Adam and I are in Senggigi on the island of Lombok in Indonesia. We took a bus from Kuta to an unknown port town on Bali, then a 5 hour ferry to another port town on Lombok. From there we took a minibus up to Senggigi. This place is a nice change of pace from Kuta. Kuta was kind of gross and crawling with nasty tourists. This place is a little slower and the people seem nicer. We're still getting hassled by touts every so often, but I definitely prefer the change of pace.

On the ferry here, we met two French guys and a British girl and spent the rest of the day with them. One French guy, Mike, was an interesting character. He seemed to have absolutely no hesitations when it came to doing what he wanted. Kind of a free spirit, but not in that really annoying way. Just in a mildly annoying way. He decided to hang out with the captain for the ferry ride. On the island he was handing cigarettes out the window to the locals.

That evening we checked out a live band playing covers at a bar. Lots of drunk old western men dancing. Afterwards, Adam and I and the two Frenchmen went to a nightclub to see what that scene was all about. Surprisingly, there was nary a westerner inside. They too had a live cover band, but their repertoire was a little more "young urban" and for some reason they were wearing pajamas. After the band wrapped up they brought out some near naked female dancers and a drag queen MCed for a bit. For the world's largest Muslim nation, Indonesia sure knows how to let its hair down. Mike even managed to get the MC to give us a shoutout in English too.

The party didn't go off the rails cause we planned on getting up early to check out the island via motorbike. It was around $4 each to rent a bike for the whole day, so we each picked one up and headed north on the island to check out the scenery. My god, was it ever worth it too. Rice fields, palm groves, beaches, cliffs, shantytowns and more were lining every stretch of road. Cows and chickens crossed every so often and kids waved hello from small thatch huts. There were a few scary moments, specifically when we had to pass a giant truck or when a chicken darted in front of my bike, but it was completely incident free and excellent!

So Lombok is great, and Gord and Charlotte, if you're reading this, you should definitely check it out, even if it means cutting some days off of Bali. Bali was alright, but fat, drunken, near-naked cavemen and the spring-break atmosphere soured it for me a bit. I'm having an excellent time here. Tomorrow, we are heading to the Gili Islands, a small archipelago of three islands off the northern coast of Lombok. Apparently there are no roads or police and all problems are handled by the island elders. Should be excellent.