So for once in my life I was organised & packed the night before & good job because low & behold my pick up was 7am not 7.30! No time for brekkie then, I quickly checked out & went to the van waiting for me. We picked up some other guests and then drove to Padangbai for the fast boat to Lombok. I arrived into the ferry port & there weren't many people getting off... Most were heading to the Gilli Islands. I overheard a couple speaking English & asked if they knew where to go, they were only flipping Irish! We shared a taxi and swopped details to meet up later. I got to my hostel where I'd booked to stay 2 nights in Sengiggi. There was a mosque at the end of the street with prayers being chanted really loudly out of a speakerphone. There were no tourists. Where the hell was I? Maybe I should have done my research before actually arriving but remember this is the new me, living on the edge (erm something like that anyway!). I was told my bed wasn't ready so I sat in the reception area hoping someone would turn up. A Swedish guy arrived who was pleasant but clearly didn't want to engage in any conversation. Next thing I'm forced to go & sit down in front of a travel agent across the road to discuss my travel plans (I'd let slip to the hostel owner that I wasn't sure where to go). I was pretty tired & listening to him trying to sell me something was not how I pictured my day but I managed a 'I'll just have to think about it'.
Back at the hostel reception I sat there thinking about what to do & a friendly girl sat down. She was called Tatiana & was from America & had also just arrived & was thinking the same as me. Hurrah! We decided to go for a walk & see what Sengiggi had to offer. Wow, it was nothing like Bali. Really unspoilt. Hardly any shops, bars & tourists. Later we banged into another few Westerner's (we all stuck out like sore thumbs) looking for accommodation. We gave them some tips (from the few hours we had spent there), and mentioned we were going for 2 for 1 drinks on the beach later if they wanted to meet up. Things were looking up!
The beach bar was lovely. Prices were a lot cheaper here than on Bali (I already thought Bali was pretty good vfm). We tried some cocktails containing the local tipple 'Arak', and enjoyed the live music & stunning sunset. We were now joined by the people we had met earlier, Rachel & Justin from the UK & Maura & Rob from Amsterdam. We all sat & chatted about travelling & life in general. What a great bunch. I wasn't quite feeling myself as I had the cold & I was tired from my day so an early night was in order. Slept ok but the mosque has the chanting from the loudspeaker 5 times a day.... one of these is at 4.30am for 30mins. I managed to put my ear plugs in at this point!
The following day we went to the beach for a relaxing day. Not many people trying to sell you stuff here. This was good. That was until a group of boys arrived to play on the beach. They were about 11-15 years old & clearly hadn't seen many ladies in bikinis (the island is 80% Muslim). Well they were coming over & wanting their photo with us, trying to practice their English. Then a group of girls around the same age joined them. There were probably 20 people crowding round us. It was funny to start but did get a bit annoying. I wonder how many photos we now appear in! We had a nice relaxing day & met up with the same gang for 2 for 1 drinks, then to a live music bar where the band were really good, playing some U2, Coldplay & Mumford & Sons. Next stop, Kuta Lombok!
No comments:
Post a Comment