Across the Java Sea

I have resurfaced after days without wifi.  Pictures -- many pictures -- to follow.

Sunday & Monday  -- Now I am in another place in Indonesia called Lombok a mainly Islamic Island across the strait of Lombok between the Indian Ocean and the Java Sea.  It is across from Bali.  We were transported here on a slow ferry with a combination of a few assorted scruffy looking International tourists and mainly locals.  It was a slow boat to Lombok with people renting mattresses, buying snacks and getting sick from the extreme rolling back and forth through the waves.  It took us a little over four hours and sometimes it takes as much as seven.  We were lucky.

On the way to our hotel we encountered a wedding procession.  By tradition, the story goes that the woman is kidnapped and then married.  After the marriage the whole procession goes to the home of the bride where they groom offers payment.  The bride is not supposed to look happy since she has been kidnapped but she is very well dressed nonetheless (with false eyelashes).  We stopped to watch the procession and once it started all the traffic was stopped.

We arrived at another basic but pleasant guest house in a place called Tetebatu.  The highlight besides another wonderful walk through the village and the rice fields was a show put on for us that night by the local villagers.  The greeted us in full dress and proceeded for a relatively small remuneration to put on their traditional ceremonial celebration with big drums, cymbals, and a local wind instrument.  The whole village joined in the festivities.  After they had done their local things, a drum piece a woman dancing, a man dancing, two men jousting with each other they then danced with each of us individually.

Tuesday  -- In the morning we left in local horse buggies and went to a local market.  The horse buggies are the taxis in this part of Indonesia.  We visited a local market, mostly outside, with women sitting with their produce and fish. We bought toys and pens for children for our visit later in the day to a traditional, very poor village in the hills where there is no electricity and the people sleep on the floor with no mattresses.  Just about when we reached the furthest stop the gods opened the heavens of the rainy season and we all huddled in the traditional communal area with waterproof thatched roof and the rice storage area and there was a deluge. Our little basic local bus found us with some difficulty so instead of a half a mile we had a relatively short sprint and got very wet instead of totally drenched.

I must say I am a little sick of the same food every day.  There are a few choices and they always come with a large mound of white rice unless you order the special rice and then you get a large mound of a type of fried rice.  We have had a few buffets and catered Indonesian style meals.  they too came with big mound of white rice but were more interesting because of the variety.

Wednesday  -- This morning we hiked to a waterfall which was not easily accessed.  We are now six.  Three Australians, a German, an Englishman who missed the first part of the trip because of the stoppage at Heathrow Airport, myself and the Javenese tour guide who by the way is gorgeous and has helped me up many rocky climbs.

We took our dilapidated bus over very bumpy roads to the water where we piled in a sort of water taxi and we are at an island which is really quaint.  The hotel is quite nice even if the water is brackish and there are many flies.  There is air-conditioning and a television with Indonesian only.  There is a hot spot near by and I checked my e-mail yesterday.  The signal seemed weak and I kept going on and off line which made it difficult to accomplish anything on line.

It rained steadily all night but seems to be clearing finally which is good since our plan is to spend the day in a boat snorkeling and going island to island.  I will continue after our day in the sun, I hope.  The day stayed quite nice, it only poured all night.  I kind of freaked out about breathing while snorkeling so I mostly hung out and a few of our present group hung out as well.  We went to another buffet, had a few drinks, slept well even with the roosters and geckos who never shut up and we are waiting at the moment to go to our last stop, Senggigi, another coastal town in Lombok Indonesia.  The hotel is supposed to be nice with wifi.

We have arrived and we have wifi.  [Ed. note -- There's a slew of pictures but it may take a day or more to get them posted.  Hold tight.]

Judy