Bali/Lombok Indonesia (2016) Diary

12-9-2016 Monday
Up at 5am to make sure we were ready and everything was closed up. We'd ordered a taxi (not Uber!) for 6.45am to the airport and the traffic was flowing pretty well. By the time we checked in, bought our duty free and had some breakfast it was time to board. Once we were all boarded we got an announcement that one of the stewardesses was suddenly taken sick so they had to get another one. Lucky they found one and our takeoff was delayed only by about half and hour. The 6 hour 40 min flight was good and when we arrived in Denpasar (the capital of the island of Bali) we knew we had to go and pay for a visa because only 30 days was free for Australians (we were staying 33). We paid about $95 but when we went further to the next check place, the guy told us we paid for a 30 day visa but we will have to pay for an extended one, for the days above 30! We were stunned as we knew the first 30 days were free but all rules seems to change when you stay over that. He said we can go to the Immigration place in Denpasar and so we thought we'd do that tomorrow as we wanted to get to our hotel.

Dave had arranged with the hotel for transport back to the hotel for $15. We found our driver with our name on his sign, amongst the sea of signs, and it was about a 40 min 'hairy' ride to the hotel - no extra charge. Leaving the aiport all the cars just seem to drive in no order whatsoever, not paying any attention to the white lines on the road or the number of lanes and giving way to those on roundabouts doesn't seem to be the law here. They all seem to cut in front of each other, drive very close to each other, and toot their horn a lot. We'd read that they use the horn to let vehicles know they're there when they get too close, especially with scooters that ride up the shoulder constantly, and weave (dangerously to us) in and out traffic. The tooting is not an anger thing most of the time but sometimes it probably is. There are many, many scooters and the horn tooting is very frequent. It's common to see, as Dave saw in Vietnam, families of 4 (Mum, Dad, and 2 kids) and sometimes more, travelling on scooters. Most wear helmets but not all.

Stop signs seem to be advisory here too as we turned left without stopping, following a scooter that did the same. Two people who were about to walk over the pedestrian crossing were a bit miffed when our driver stopped right on it and they had to walk around our car. Driving along we noticed these frequent structures on the side of the road, decorations on a long thin pole, bending over at the top with a fancy decoration at the top, blowing in the wind. At the bottom is what we think is an offering (to their God) of a small roughly weaved basket, holding coloured flowers, vegetation and some food like a couple crackers. I suppose the dogs eat these and the people probaby think the Gods have eaten them. We saw these offerings in many more places, just placed on the side of the roads. I saw a similar offering recently which was actually a small meal of curry and rice, at a Thai restaurant in Brisbane.

We finally got to our hotel, the Cityzen Renon Hotel at the town of Denpasar, Bali (Indonesia), for 4 nights. It's a fairly cheap place with a lot to be desired but it has air-conditioning and the bed isn't too bad. It was nice to walk into the air-conditioned room after feeling the heat just walking from the car to our room, and it's not really summer yet. After unpacking we walked about 10 mins down the road to get some coke, beer and nibblies, and a quick 'add hot water' noodles thing for dinner. Our walk probably took double that time because there aren't normal safe footpaths as we know them, rather just the narrow sides of the road, constantly watching for the cars and scooters. When there was some sort of footpath you still had to look out for holes, open concrete pits, broken concrete and there are very wide gutters about half a metre (3 feet) wide to cater for the enormous amount of water from the rains. We were pretty tired from being up so early so we were glad to get to bed.

13-9-2016 Tuesday
It rained this morning and we got a nice cooked breakfast of omelette and fried potato at 8am (included in the price). Accompanying it was a glass of sweet warm black tea like the sweet iced tea we get at home, which I like, but I don't like sugar in hot tea. Afterwards we walked down the road to see the Monument Perjuangan Rakyat Bali, also seems to be known as Bajra Sandhi Monument - a monument built in 1987 but not open to the public until 2003. It was a built in honour of the struggle of the Balinese people, a very important symbol memorialising difficult moments in the history of Bali. The outside of the ornate building appeared to be carved out of dark coloured stone with very decorative wooden carved doors. The name of Bajra Sandhi comes from its form, which looks like a bell used by the Hindu priests when reading mantras.

Inside where there are beautiful light coloured marble columns is a large collection of 33 impressive dioramas, that cover various incidents in the history of the Balinese, including the Balinese kingdom, the introduction of Hinduism, the Majapahit era, Dutch colonialism, and the struggle for independence. In the middle of the dioramas was a big pond fed by big concrete frogs spouting water, and big coloured fish swimming about.

A high circular staircase brought us out at the top (but still inside the building) where we could walk around (apparently a meditative area) for 360 degree views of Denpasar through big glass windows. The grounds and gardens are well manicured with many trees and palms dotted around. There was some completely yellow flowered frangipani trees, a colour we're not used to seeing at home. We saw many couples which appeared to be brides and grooms, having their photos taken at various areas in the place. Some couples were dressed in their traditional very heavily embroidered colourful outfits. The rains held off which was fortunate for them.

On leaving we walked a bit further down the road to the Immigration building to check on our visa problem. The lady there told the same story as what we got at the airport i.e. because we're staying for more than the usually free 30 days, we pay for the 30 days and also pay for the rest in one of two different ways. We can go through them in which case we have to come back about 3 times over a week to get the extension which will cost $35 each or we can pay at the airport when we leave, which will cost $30 each, for every day of the 3 days - $180. With the $95 we paid at the airport already, that would be $275 - expensive for the extra 3 days. So take note everyone, if you're thinking about holidaying in Indonesia.

It was about midday and we'd had enough for one day so we went to the convenience shop called 'K', stocked up on some more supplies and made our way back to the hotel about 1pm, into the air-con. Later we walked back to a restaurant called Bakso, that we saw across the road from the monument today, and had a nice but simple meal. Plenty of locals were eating in there so we thought it should be good. We'd ordered just 'iced tea', not the 'sweetened iced tea' that were both on the menu because we thought it'd be the same as this morning's tea we got at breakfast which we didn't care for, but it wasn't. It was like the stinky green tea we had in China which was worse. We asked for some sugar to put in it to try to improve it, but it didn't. The sugar they brought was a clear sweet liquid.

Our meals were the more expensive ones (with seafood although there was very little of it, albeit nice) and cost (Indonesian Rupiah) IDR31,818 each, which is about AUD$3.18! The complete cost of our meals and drinks was $8.40! Dave told them to keep the change out of IDR100,000 which is $10 - big tippers! It's hard for us to get our heads around the money business. The green IDR20,000 note is similar in colour to our AUD$50 note but it is only worth AUD$2.

14-9-2016 Wednesday
We got a taxi this morning (Blue Bali Taxis) and the driver spoke English and was very helpful with quite a bit of information about the area. After about 20 mins we reached our destination, the Pura Maospahit Temple, (Dave nicknamed this one the 'moshpit') established in the 14th century. It was damaged in a 1917 earthquake and heavily restored since. Large statues of Garuda and the giant Batara Bayer are the most interesting features. Garuda Indonesia is the name of one of Indonesia's airlines. At the end of this day's diary is some information about Garuda. To go into this temple there were a few rules, one of which was that we had to have a sash tied around our waists. Most of the old buildings were small and with thatched roofs. As with everywhere we go, there were small offerings to the gods placed at these buildings and at the feet of the statues. There were about 4 ladies in there toiling away making things.

Frangipani flowers seem to feature everywhere here, in the temples, in the offerings to the gods, used in craft items, and the trees are everywhere. We saw some very old frangipani trees with thick, gnarled trunks. As we walked inside the open walled area we heard a rooster crow and finished off with what sounded like a laugh. Walking towards the sound we saw about 5 small cages with different coloured roosters in them and one of these was making this unusual crowing sound. It crowed often and we couldn't help laughing each time we heard it.

Next we walked to the Pura Jagatnatha Temple, the state temple, dedicated to the supreme god, Sanghyang Widi. This temple is used more frequently than any other Balinese temple with local people coming every afternoon to pray and make offerings. Often it can be closed to the public so we were lucky to get in. We met a fellow out the front associated with the temple, who gave us the required sash and sarong (as we had shorts on) and he offered to be our guide for RP50,000 ($5). He was quite good giving us information about all the statues and carvings, and gave me a go at playing one of the xylophone instruments they use for their festivals. They have 2 major festivals each month, on the full moon and new moon, a feature is the shadow puppet plays (wayang kulit).

Next we visited the Bali Museum located just next door. We explored the 5 different buildings with all their extensive displays and interesting artefacts. There were two particularly interesting ones. One was a small (probably carved stone) sarcophagus, complete with lid and in the shape of a big egg. It's size appeared to be that of a child's. The other one was the remains of a skeleton that'd been buried with his/her personal goods, including a cup and plate. Outside between the buildings there were walls with steep steps leading up to ornately carved doorways, and fierce looking monkey statues seemingly guarding them on either side. There were several bride and groom couples having their photos taken here too.

Outside there were people cooking street food over small elongated makeshift BBQs so we tried some. We had pork on wood skewers with some sauces, and they were quite nice. We try to make sure we only eat street food if it's just been cooked. Across the road from the museum and temple is Puputan Square, a park that commemorates the heroic but suicidal stand of the rajahs of Badung against the invading Dutch in 1906. A monument depicts a Balinese family of 3 in heroic pose, brandishing the weapons that were so ineffective against the Dutch guns. The monument is in the middle of a large scalloped pond full of water lilies and small fish.

We walked past a roundabout with the towering Catur Muka statue which represents Batara Guru, Lord of the Four Directions. The 4-faced, 8-armed figure keeps a close eye (or is it 8 eyes?) on the traffic swirling around him. As we stood there a fountain started up around the statue. We walked all the way back which was over an hour and we were quite hot and thirsty. It was late afternoon by the time we got near our hotel so we stopped for an early nice dinner at The Sambas Restaurant, which had been recommended to us by one of the guys at the hotel where we are staying.

The National emblem of Indonesia is called Garuda Pancasila. The main part of Indonesian national emblem is the Garuda with a heraldic sheild on its chest and a scroll gripped by its legs. The shield's five emblems represent Pancasila, the five principles of Indonesia's national ideology. The Garuda claws gripping a white ribbon scroll inscribed with the national motto 'Bhinneka Tunggal Ika' written in black text, which can be loosely translated as "Unity in Diversity"
India and Hinduism has influenced many countries of East Asia and the Indian Subcontinent as a result of commercial and cultural contacts. Ganesha is one of many Hindu deities who reached foreign lands as a result. The worship of Ganesha by Hindus outside of India shows regional variation. The acceptance of Hindu ideas in ancient times still continue today in world religions.

15-9-2016 Thursday
Today we didn't have too much planned so we made our way to a few streets away to visit a church Dave had partially seen. It ended up being a catholic church called Sacred Heart Cathedral - an impressive 2 storey large brick building. Inside was very large and open with very high ceilings. It was mostly all white except for the brown timber pews and colourful leadlight windows. There were very large white sculptures placed up high around the walls. There was what appeared to be a security guard in there keeping an eye on everything.

After that we made our way back towards the hotel, taking a walk through a labyrinth of streets where we were surprised to see some big beautiful gated houses, obviously a wealthy area. Most of the places nearby to here are quite modest and on the poverty side. We didn't have much for breakfast so we had a late lunch at the same place as last night, The Sambas Restaurant, before getting back to the hotel and air-con.

16-9-2016 Friday
We checked out of our hotel this morning and our driver was waiting for us - we'd booked the same driver who picked us up at the airport last Monday. His name was Made, pronounced Marday, which meant he was the second son in the family. Apparently the first 5 sons in the family are given 5 different names, but if there is a 6th one or more, the same sequence of 5 names are used all over again. This is the same for every family - not sure if the same goes for the daughters.

Made charged us AUD$70 for the day, taking us to 4 different locations that we'd named and then to our hotel. We felt it was good value as he was with us from most of the day from 9.45am until about 6.30pm, ferrying us around and our bags were secure in his car until he dropped us at our hotel. All up he did a lot of driving, the traffic was scary and we were glad he was driving. Our first stop was the Goa Lawah Temple (both of us having to don sarongs and sashes again), unusual as a cave was the main part of the temple and it was full of bats! They were medium sized ones and you could see them hanging from the ceiling, right at the front of the cave - you could smell them too. A service was being held just outside when we were there. Our guide told us no-one actually goes right inside the cave because there a snakes in there that eat the bats.

Next we drove to the Taman Ujung Water Palace - a palace built on any in-land island, surrounded by water. It was a beautiful, tranquil place. The last king of Karangasem completed the construction of a grand water palace here in 1921 which was extensively damaged by an earthquake in 1979. What remains is a tiny vestige of the old palace. Photos on the wall showed King Karangasem with 12 of his children and 2 nannies in 1922, and another showed him in 1925 with 24 of his children and 3 nannies - didn't seem to be any wives in the picture. There were extensive grounds with many water features, statues, water lilies and big fish in the pond. Lots of ugly and fierce looking statues are dotted all over, in their own colourful sarongs and appear to be the guardians of the place. Dave climbed the many stairs to a lookout, saying it was a good view form up there. There is also a resort attached which I'm sure would be very expensive.

It was lunch time now so Made drove us to a nice restaurant, Warung Shanti, which we noticed was a bit more expensive than other restaurants we've visited lately. Having said that the meals were still cheaper than at home. They seemed to know him so he obviously brings other customers here too. It's customary to pay for the drivers lunch too on a private hire job like this but he doesn't eat with us. Next we drove to the Taman Tirta Gangga Water Garden (Water of the Ganges), another equally beautiful water and gardens place, built by the same water-loving rajah after completing Ujung. It was built in 1948, damaged in the 1963 eruption of Gunung Agung and again during the political events that rocked Indonesia two years later. There are several swimming pools and ornamental ponds, which serve as a fascinating reminder of the old days of the Balinese rajahs. There were many carved stone (?) animals serving as fountains including a cow and monkey.

Next was the Tenganan Traditional Village where people did live but also had shops and stalls for selling their wares, arts and crafts. You felt a bit compelled to buy but we didn't, thinking of all the souvenirs we'd bought over the years and now have to find a place for them. Close to this place we passed a big group of people, mostly men, circled around something. Dave thought it was probably a cock fight. At this village we saw some roosters in those single cages, like we saw the other day and asked our driver. He doesn't speak much English but we understood his actions to be that they were used in the cock fighting.

After leaving our last stop Made drove for about 2 hours to our hotel. We arrived about 6.30pm at Centra Taum Hotel in the town of Seminyak, Bali (Indonesia) for 5 nights. We were surprised that it was so far to go but Made seemed happy with his money at the end of it so that was good. On the drive we saw a serious accident on the way between a truck and a car, luckily for us, on the opposite side of the road. Our hotel room is nice except that it has a split level with about 16 steps up to the bedroom. Thankfully there is a bathroom and a TV on each level.

17-9-2016 Saturday (Seminyak)

We had a nice buffet breakfast at the hotel, included in our hotel deal. The eating area is located beside the pool which is a lovely setting. We were to have a rest day today and just take a small walk around the town and down to the markets and back but it ended up quite a long walk, and our clothes were quite soaked with sweat when we got back. We walked to the beach with the sand being the dark stuff we'd seen before. We'd been told these particular markets weren't that cheap for clothes and they did seem dearer than we expected. Having said that I saw a couple of nice cool flowing dresses so bought them after getting the price down a little. We decided to just relax for the rest of the day.

18-9-2016 Sunday Rest Day
Having a proper rest day today, unlike yesterday where we did a lot more walking than we intended. We caught up on our photos and diary and made an afternoon walk to the nearby mini mart for supplies.

19-9-2016 Monday
Our driver Made, picked us up at 10am for our day's tour. First we drove to the Pura Taman Ayun Temple Mengwi. It's set on a large tract of land, with well manicured grass and gardens. The sign reads 'built in 1634 in the reign of the first king of Mengwi. This temple is a place to worship the Royal ancestors and to invoke prosperity for the Kingdom people of Mengwi.' This temple is a collection of buildings and pagoda type buildings with neatly trimmed dark thatched roofs. Visitors are not allowed inside to walk around these buildings evident by the separation from the general public by a moat running right around. You have to use zoom if you want any close up photos.

In a different area, in a roofed building with no sides, a man was sitting painting pictures. There were plenty finished ones leaning against some structure and they were very good. In another such larger building were statues of men holding roosters, in a stance ready for a cock fight. Around them were tiered levels probably for onlookers and gamblers to sit and watch. Apparently cock fighting is popular here and only legal in Bali, and not the rest of Indonesia, as the island is mostly Hindu and it is a Hindu tradition. We drove up higher and higher winding roads to our next stop which was the Pacung rice fields. Our driver said this field was actually small compared to some others. These are terraced up the hill and can be seen easily from the road and also the restaurant beside the road. We had nice buffet lunch and a table which had a good view of the terraces. The fields were lush and green, probably due to all the rainfall encouraged by the mountains not far away.

After lunch we drove to the Ulun Danu Temple on Lake Beratan - again, lovely well manicured grounds, beautiful flowers and interesting buildings and statues. In one of the buildings, people (mostly men I think) in traditional dress were performing traditional music which actually, to me, just sounds like a jumble of drums, wind instruments and bells (not pleasant or easy to listen to). As we were walking around there were a group of about 17 young Balinese boys (probably early teenage age) who we saw ask a couple young non-Balinese girls to have a photo with them. They were so excited when the girls said yes. As they moved near us I gestured that I'd like to take a photo of them and they excitedly said yes and posed quite happily, smiling from ear to ear and putting their arms up in various waves/poses. They were so happy that we asked for a photo with them and some stood with me while Dave took a photo. It was a pleasure to see them so happy and excited about just having a photo with foreigners and foreigners wanted to have a photo of them. 

Our last stop was Pura Tanah Lot Temple, yes I know, another temple, but so far they've all had something different about them. This one is actually built on a large offshore rock which has been shaped continuously over the years by the ocean tide and this was quite evident. The temple is one of seven sea temples around the Balinese coast. Each of the sea temples was established within eyesight of the next to form a chain along the south-western coast. At the base of the rocky island, venomous sea snakes are believed to guard the temple from evil spirits and intruders. The temple is purportedly protected by a giant snake, which was created from Nirartha's selendang (a type of sash) when he established the island. We were lucky that the tide was out when we went there and were able to walk down to the base of the temple. We didn't actually climb the stairs to go in though.

To get to the temple we had to walk through some quite large markets. One of the shops was a coffee shop, a Luwak coffee shop i.e. coffee is made from the coffee beans that have been eaten by this furry cat like animal, and passed through its digestive system. I'd heard of this on some tv programme a while ago but had never seen them or had luwak coffee. Professor Google says "Palm civets, also known as civet cats, are small mammals which belong to the Viverridae family. Normally they prefer to eat just the ripest coffee cherries. In Indonesia these animals are known as luwaks. During the digestion process the coffee cherries and the pulp are removed but the coffee beans are not digested. During this process some kind of unique fermentation occurs which is responsible for giving the civet/luwak coffee its special flavour."

Outside the shop there was a basket of these 'post digested' beans on display (couldn't smell anything thankfully). But, also outside the coffee shop, were 2 of these brown coloured luwaks lying asleep on 2 small tables. It was so exciting! They were very still and then one did actually move. They apparently don't seem to run away probably because they're being fed. After researching luwak coffee I've found the following information and am now reluctant to ever try it. The cost is also prohibitive, to me anyway. Where a normal cup of coffee would cost $2-5, apparently a luwak one will set you back about $35-100!! (not sure but probably US$)

"While there are some ethical suppliers of hand-gathered civet coffee, recent investigations, both by journalists and animal-rights activists, have revealed a cruel and avaricious industry. To satisfy global demand, many suppliers keep captured civets in cages and feed them almost exclusively on coffee cherries. Enduring appalling living conditions and an unhealthy diet, these nocturnal omnivores suffer mental distress — incessantly pacing and gnawing on their limbs — and succumb to illness and death. These grim farms are not confined to Indonesia. Farmers elsewhere in Asia have jumped on the bandwagon. By one estimate, 50 tons of mass-produced civet coffee from Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines and China flood the market every year."

Also outside this same shop hanging from a branch, were 2 bats! They were only about 4 feet off the ground so you could touch them but there was a sign that says not to. We were so amazed. We'd never been this close to them before, or the luwaks! Two firsts in one day! The bats were hanging upside down as they do in daytime, sleeping, with their 'batman' cloaks wrapped around them - I can hear the Batman music right now - nananananananana Batmaaan. You could see a part of their heads, ears, noses that weren't fully covered by their wings. You could also smell that familiar unpleasant smell as well.

Also in the markets were sights that have become common to us - artificial phalluses for sale, mostly made out of wood and in all sorts of colours, sizes and painted with fancy decorations. The most common are the bottle opener ones - a topic of conversation at the next party. We had some rain on the way home and luckily it didn't rain whilst we were walking around at the sights. We had a bit of a long drive back and for what seemed like a long time, the traffic was very slow moving. I asked our driver if the traffic is like this every day and he sighed and said yes. It's a good job there are so many scooters on the road because if it was cars instead, the place would be impossible, gridlock. Drivers really take their right of way, whether they have it or not. You have to be almost aggressive to get anywhere. We got home about 6.30pm.

20-9-2016 Tuesday Rest Day
After yesterday we thought we'd have another rest day today, plus we'd booked our free, or should I say "included" (in the price) 1 hour massage this morning. We didn't have to go far as it's in the hotel. We had a couples one where we're both in the same room and being massaged at the same time. It was very nice and relaxing. Dave especially liked it as he doesn't have massages regularly as I do.

At the hotel on Tuesday nights they have an optional BBQ Seafood night, (another option to the normal dinner menu). It's dearer than normal meals but our discount scoopon deal we had for the hotel allowed for us to have the BBQ at half price so we thought we'd try it. There was an array of seafood - fresh whole fish, prawns with shells on a skewer, fish and vege kebabs, calamari on a stick, clams, and fish mixture wrapped in banana leaf. There was also a fish soup, salad and fresh cut up fruit to accompany. You put on a plate what seafood you wanted, they cooked it on the BBQ and brought it to the table. We must admit we didn't think too much of it - the prawns didn't have a lot of taste but I don't think they put anything on it when being cooked like oil or salt, Dave didn't like the look of the clams, and the rest was ok but nothing to write home about. There was only 1 other couple there which is not surprising. We've noticed we are usually the only people at dinner each night and that's probably because you pay for dinner (breakfast is included) and you can get a lot cheaper food outside the hotel. With our scoopon deal we get lunch or dinner without any cost at all so maybe we're the only 'scoopons' or others could be getting room service(?)

21-9-2016 Wednesday
We checked out of our hotel this morning at 10am and our driver, Made, was waiting for us to take us to our next hotel. We drove north-east for about 2 hours and like the other day, the traffic at times was slow and hard going. I was surprised because it was outside what our (in OZ) peak hour would be, which is a lot better. We drove back through Denpasar. We arrived at our hotel about 12.30 - Kupu Kupu Barong Villas & Mango Tree Spa by L'Occitane at the town of Ubud, Bali (Indonesia) for 5 nights. Unfortunately we couldn't get early check in so had to wait til 2pm. We had a bit of a walk around the place, many, many stairs to which I'm not looking forward. The place is beautiful and should be considering the price. 

The hotel is set in a lush tropical sanctuary, amongst real rural jungle, located along the Ayung River Jungle. Villas are built on tiered levels with gabled roofs that are thatched with sandy coloured, organic material, very in-keeping with the surroundings. Looking down below onto the Ayung River we could see (and hear) a couple of inflatable boats full of people, riding the mild rapids. Alongside the river are some rice fields and we are allowed to go down there for a look around (I believe there's a lift to help us with part of the steep descent). Out 'butler' ferried us and our luggage (thank heaven) in a golf buggy type cart to our villa so we didn't have to negotiate all the stairs with our bags. Our villa is so luxurious! It is very big, 2 storey with a circular staircase (more stairs unfortunately) leading up to the very spacious bedroom (and toilet), a bed that looks like a four poster bed due to the white mosquito net hanging from the ceiling and tied in away giving it the appearance of posts. The net is a must here, being in the tropics. Downstairs is divided into 2 with one half being an enormous bathroom, with a large walk in shower and a separate big round bath next to the glassed wall of the building front, so you can look out over the jungle while bathing, with glass of wine in hand! Even with the large shower, toilet and and separate bath there is still heaps of room to walk around - you could have a party in there.

Out the front we have our own private garden with a small infinity pool so we can cool off when we like. A small table and two chairs sit next to the pool so we can sit with our afternoon drinkies (although will probably want to be in the air-con). We went to an early lovely dinner at one of the hotel's several restaurants.

22-9-2016 Thursday
After breakfast we caught the 10am free hotel shuttle into the main part of town. We walked around the busy streets, full of many tourists, and then down one of the narrow markets alleys. Each stall was packed with heaps of merchandise, clothes, souvenirs, toys, carvings, etc. It was very busy and it was surprising how many motorbikes kept driving through although very slowly because it was narrow and people had to constantly get out of the way. It was very annoying and puts us off doing it again. Amazingly even one small car came through, hardly room for it at all. All the vendors obviously try to get the best price and they try to make you feel like you're special by saying they're giving you a good price because you bring luck to them! Ha ha!

After making our purchases we walked a little way back the way the shuttle had come, to a bridge over a deep gully with running water and much vegetation. It was a nice picture. We walked back over the walking bridge, which was parallel to the road bridge. On the way we stood in awe, watching 3 middle aged women shoveling black rocks into round metal containers, putting them on their heads and carrying them across the road up an alley to where there was construction going on - not a man in sight here. Those containers would be very heavy and they weren't brawny looking women by any means but obviously strong. There was also sand and besser type blocks in piles which they would be also be shoveling and carrying, and these piles were on the side of the road where the traffic was moving.

It was quite hot and humid so it was good when I had to get some cash out of the ATM because the cubicles are air-conditioned - nice. Wherever we walked there were guys holding 'taxi' signs, looking for business. When we were just about finished we went back to the drop off/pick up point which is the car park of a museum and as we had a little time we went in. There were 4 buildings and nicely manicured grounds of the Museum Puri Lukisan - the oldest art museum in Ubud. The museum is the home of the finest collection of modern traditional Balinese paintings and wood carvings on the island, spanning from 1930 to the present. It was not really of great interest to us but there were some beautiful paintings and interesting statues.

After that it was nearly time to catch the 2.20pm shuttle back to the hotel and just in the knick of time as the sky had grown very dark and we heard thunder rumbling. It surprisingly didn't come to much where we are except for a few spots of rain. We were quite happy about this because we got into our togs and hopped straight into our private pool with our drinks - it was heaven. We have privacy on all sides from neighbours and the walkway. In the distance we could see 5 what appeared to be volcanoes - great sight. I was very relaxed and stayed in the pool for a couple hours, only getting out when it was time to get ready to go to dinner. This evening we went to the Indonesian restaurant for a lovely meal.

23-9-2016 Friday Rest Day
After breakfast we went down the lift to the lower level of accommodation, where there is an access gate down to the rice fields and the river. Through the gate we descended many steps which were randomly steep and then not so steep (oh the poor knees). As we got down closer to the rice fields the going got a bit tougher with no proper steps, just climbing down big jumps cut into the grassed earth - with Dave's help I managed it. We saw a Balinese guy in the fields and he had a rifle! As we got closer to him we gestured, asking if it was ok to walk through the rice fields (and quite a few papaya trees) and he smiled and said yes. Our 'butler' lady had told us it was ok to do so but we thought we'd better ask, especially as he had a gun. We also asked if we could take a photo of him but said no - we weren't going to argue. We enquired with gestures and simple words, why the gun?, and the message was to shoot what was eating the produce - we assumed it was the bats that'd be eating the papayas (and maybe birds with the rice?). There were 2 plastic bags hanging from a nearby tree branch and it looked like there was a bat in each one - we didn't take a photo.

So now we were at the rice fields and the plants had plenty of rice growing on them. I hadn't seen rice plants up close before, with the heavy rice in the husks(?) hanging down off them. The husks are a sandy colour and in contrast to the green plant. The pretty pattern we'd seen from high up above were made by the elevated 1 foot wide, grassed walking track around the rice paddies, the ones that we were now on, trying to make our way to the river. Well, we weaved our way around the fields toward the river, sometimes having to jump down to a different level, until a particularly thin path gave way under Dave's weight and falling into the next paddy. The water started pouring from the higher field into the lower one and luckily Dave was able to stop himself from falling right over into the plants and water.

We then had to track back the way we came to see if there was another way down to the river but we couldn't see one, so we made our way back up the steep climb. We saw many inflatable boats taking people for a ride down the fast flowing river, riding the rapids. It was very hot and humid and we were pretty sweat soaked by the time we got back. We got into our togs and hopped in the pool - lovely. By late afternoon the clouds came over and there was good steady rain for probably a couple hours, tapering off thankfully when it was time to climb the steps to dinner.

24-9-2016 Saturday Rest day (for Joy)
This is a rest day for me but not for Dave. He had booked a tour yesterday and was getting picked up at 2am this morning for a 2 hour trek up one of the volcanoes, Mt Batur, for some sunrise photos, and expected back by about 10am.  I told him I'll just look at the photos when he comes back.  I didn't want to go for 2 good reasons - one is getting up at 2am and the other is doing a 2 hour trek which will be somewhat strenuous - doesn't leave any real incentive for me to go really. He got back at 10.40am, very leg weary and sweaty but happy, and only had time to have a quick shower before we went to our booked Balinese massage at 11am. This was a welcome activity for him after his trek. I on the other hand slept in til 9am, got dressed and walked up and had a leisurely breakfast, equally happy, and then ready for my massage - now that's a rest day. Dave had a big sleep and his trek experience story is next.

Mt Batur trek
With a wake-up call at 1.30 am it was time to get ready and wait at the resort gate for my driver. After a few hotel pick-ups, there was 7 of us in the group. After stopping for a small snack at the trekking Co HQ, we eventually arrived at the start point for our trek at the start point near Lake Batur at around 3 am.
The 7 of us were split into 2 groups with a guide for each small group; I was teamed up with my guide and a young couple from France. We were provided with torches and away we went. The first part of the trek is sandy tracks and a shallow climb, but it soon turns steeper and with lots of loose rocks on the steep track causing difficulty - in some places it was like stepping on marbles so extreme caution is the order of the day. About 3 quarters of the way, I was getting into real difficulty with some tiredness, but mostly a sore right knee. The young French couple were much quicker than I, so they went ahead and with the company of our guide, I finally made it to the top about 10 minutes before the 6 am sunrise.
A spectacular view and stunning sunrise over Lake Batur, the Mt Batur outer caldera, Mt Abang and almost directly behind that, Mt Agung which is the highest volcano at 3031 metres. Don't expect to see this on your own, I would estimate at least 200 people sitting/standing at the caldera's edge to watch the sunrise.
After the sunrise show was over, we walked on to the inner caldera where wisps of steam can be seen rising up through the ground.
Then the long scramble back down and by the time we arrived back at the trekking HQ, my knees were screaming for the torture to end - anyway luckily I made it back to our resort stay just in time for our 11 am massage (luxury)

Mount Batur 1717 metres (Gunung Batur) is an active volcano located at the center of two concentric calderas north west of Mount Agung on the island of Bali, Indonesia. The south east side of the larger 10×13 km caldera contains a caldera lake. The inner 7.5-kilometer-wide caldera, which was formed during emplacement of the Bali (or Ubud) ignimbrite, has been dated at about 23,670 and 28,500 years ago.
The first documented eruption was in 1804 and the most recent was in 2000.
The last serious eruption of Mt Batur was in 1968 when the lava field tragically covered an entire village. The volcano was active again from 1997 to 2000, and in 2000 it shot 300 meters of ash above the crater. The hiking trail was also temporarily closed down in 2009 after some activity was detected.

25-9-2016 Sunday
After breakfast we caught the 9am free shuttle into Ubud and walked about 15-20 mins up Monkey Forest Road to the The Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary. There were monkeys, macaques freely roaming around everywhere and if you're not careful they'll steal your stuff.  We put our sunglasses away but one of the little buggers stole (quick as lightning) my packet of hand wipes (sticking out) of the front of my lightweight over the shoulder bag, and then proceeded to eat them!  Yuk!  I also had a small packet of tissues in the other front pocket so thought I'd put them out of sight.  As I was doing so I felt a quick fleeting weight on my right arm, as one of them jumped down on me and was going to steal those too, but didn't get them.  At one stage Dave was sitting on a low wall and one of the monkeys came and sat on his lap, and tried to get his water bottle - I didn't see it and so didn't get a photo but later, one sat right next to him, leaning his back on him very relaxed like and so did get a photo of that. 

Monkeys, big and small, were walking around right close to us, eating sweet potato and corn cobs that the keepers gave to them out of locked inaccessible metal cages and you could also buy bananas to give to the them. There was certainly no shortage of monkeys. They are known as the Balinese long-tailed monkey and in English called the macaque. There are about 600 monkeys living in this area and we witnessed a few squabbles here and there. There were some very small, nearly new little babies making their way about, but not very far away from Mum. A walled off area housed The Holy Spring Temple which was locked off to the general public but the monkeys had free reign.

There was a couple of impressive giant trees with roots running from the branches down to the ground, with an arched bridge over running fast water below. Some of the big strong roots ran along walls and steps, and encircled a big rock, making it its prisoner. The monkey and its mythology is an important element in Balinese art tradition, appearing in some of the dances, and being a prominent figure in the story. The sanctuary is not just a tourist attraction or important component in the spiritual and economic life of the local community, but also an important spot for research and conservation programs.

The good weather held out for the morning which was good. We caught the early afternoon hotel shuttle back home and hopped straight in the pool, for the last time as we leave tomorrow. We walked to dinner at the hotel about 6.30pm and just as we were seated the sky got really dark, the rain started and we had to be moved to a different table. We were under the roof (it's largely open air dining with the forest outlook) but at the edge of it and were starting to get wet. When we moved to the next table the rain got heavier and the wind stronger and we were starting to get wet once again. So we moved for a second time up to the next level in the restaurant where it was ok. The rain got heavier and heavier and 2 more couples had to be also moved up to where we were. By the time we'd finished dinner there was a break and we got back to our villa unscathed.

26-9-2016 Monday
We checked out of our hotel around 10am, after 5 days and a very relaxing stay. Our driver Made, was already there waiting for us, to drive us to our one outing for the day and then to our next hotel. He packed our bags into the car and we drove northward for about 1 and a half hours to the Jatiluwih Rice Fields. These rice terraces comprise over 600Ha of rice fields that follow the flowing hillside topography of the Batukaru mountain range. These are well-maintained by a traditional water management cooperative known as ‘subak’, which dates back to the 9th century. Subak is a traditional ecologically sustainable irrigation system that binds Balinese agrarian society together within the village's Bale Banjar community center and Balinese temples.

Halfway up, the view is truly impressive, with 180 degrees of gently sloping terraces as far as the eye can see. Entrance to the main area requires a fee (a whopping $2 each) that goes to the local village cooperative fund. There are walking tracks for the visitors (people aren't allowed to walk around the fields on the grassed walls) and we took the shortest one which took 45 mins - the longer ones take hours. At one stage it was a bit tricky going and is not suitable for the disabled. The place was truly amazing, amass with rich lush green plants and the extent of the place is just mind blowing. The place is very tidy, well manicured, and makeshift clothed scarecrows with coconuts for heads, seem to keep the birds away. The Pacung rice fields we saw recently are small compared to these. Dotted around the terraces are little shelter sheds with cows in them, probably used to pull the ploughs because the place is so big - up til now we'd only seen people pushing a big paddle wheeler type contraption which churned up the water soaked earth.

Just before we got back to the car it started to rain, well timed, and as we drove southward the drops got heavier. After getting some more supplies we reached our hotel shortly before 4pm - the Courtyard at Marriott in the town of Nusa Dua Bali (Indonesia) for 8 nights. It appears to be a big swanky hotel (especially with the large reception area) and our car was checked here at the gate and not far back at some checkpoint, for illegal products like drugs and backyard alcohol (it seemed pretty much just a cursory check opening one passenger back door and the hatch back and having a very quick look) but there was also a "K-9" sniffer dog check as well . They probably thought we looked too old to be involved in that activity. This was the first time we've experienced this while in Bali. The road running past the hotel was wide, well made and much more up market than the ones we've driven on for the last 2 weeks. Our room is nice and big enough, not as big as the last 2 places, but the best thing is no stairs! inside our room or anywhere much outside, and a lift takes us to our 3rd floor room - thank heavens, we were starting to get 'Bali knees' - ha ha get it!? (Dave gets the blame for that one)
We were a bit tired this evening so we decided not to go out for dinner, and just have some purchased nibblies in our room.

27-9-2016 Tuesday

We slept well and had a nice buffet breakfast (included with the room). There were many choices along with Indonesian and Western style foods. There was plenty of salad and vegetables available which was very welcome because up until now, there hasn't been much of that in any of our meals, unlike what we're used to at home. I'm certainly noticing the difference after being here for 2 weeks. The restaurant is beside the pool which was closed today because of all the rain last night - it drastically changed the pool's chemical balance and much muddy water had washed into the pool from the garden.

After breakfast we caught the free hotel shuttle to the beach where the hotel has a Beach Club restaurant and bar right next to a stretch of beach which seems to belong to the hotel (probably rented/leased but don't really know). It seemed that this is common with the adjoining bit of beach on each side, belonging to other hotels. Deck chairs are laid out for the guests and people were lying in the shallow water which stretched out for quite a way because the tide was out. We could walk out along the rugged rocky reef structure stretching out from the beach into the deeper water. The water was clear and blue but warm as it was shallow. There is a big shopping centre right there called Bali Collection, so called I presume because there were a collection of different shop types and we noticed they were more expensive than elsewhere because this is a big tourist area.

We bought some supplies and walked back to the hotel which took about 15-20 mins. It was a pleasant walk though because it was so different to any other road we've walked along in Bali thus far. These roads and surrounds are luxurious with a big expanse of grassed land and trees on each side, and the footpaths are wide and decent (not dangerous with holes and broken concrete, and no mbikes parked on them), so you didn't have to look at every step you took. Alongside the footpaths are well kept small gardens and you are walking right away from the actual road and don't have the scary feeling of a vehicle/mbike driving dangerously close beside you. Traffic is minimal and there's not a million noisy bikes fighting cars for a piece of the road. It's no wonder this is a popular tourist area and there's a few hotels here enjoying this nice area. Walking back through the hotel security gates, the guards didn't want to see in our bags (us old people must look innocent) and a few of the guards had (drug?) dogs with them and K-9 on the guards' shirts.

Went for a nice dinner in the hotel restaurant this evening whilst beside the pool, a group of 4 men sang familiar songs by groups such as The Beatles, The Bee Gees, Lionel Ritchie, etc., which was most enjoyable.

28-9-2016 Wednesday
After breakfast we got a taxi to the town of Kuta which is about 10ks away. Kuta is known as the party place, where a lot of young Aussies go for a happy, wild, alcohol (and drugs) fuelled holiday - not us, we deliberately didn't stay here but wanted to have a look around this famous/infamous place. Our first stop was the 2002 Bali Bombing Memorial which has been erected on the Paddy's Pub site (see below for more detailed information). It was the worst hit and now is a monument to remember the victims of that terrible day. 88 Australians were killed, the highest, with Indonesia 38 coming next and then England with 23 (final death toll was 202, maiming hundreds more). There were 22 countries in all suffering losses, and all the names were printed up on the wall.

We walked down a long narrow street lined with many shops, toward Kuta beach. Everyone is calling to you to come and buy their stuff, calling "hello papa, hello mama, you come look.." or "hello sir or madam". Once one guy said to Dave as he walked past "hello boss" and as I was following behind Dave I said to this guy "I am the boss.." to which he laughed. The sand on this beach was actually nice, white like ours, and the place was certainly being well patronised. The waves were good and plenty of surfers in there. Of course there were many hawkers there renting surfboards, selling t-shirts, sarongs, massages and of course, drinks - beer, soft drinks and water. One of the eskies had written on the side "bloody cold piss mate" - really catering to the Aussie tourists who we understand are the lion's share of the tourists.

We were quite hot and sweaty so made our way back up a different street, we saw a pub called Kooters Bar and Grill (a meshing of Hooters and Kuta I expect) which said it was owned by an Aussie so we went in for a cool welcome drink. We ran into a couple from Melbourne, around our age whom we'd spoken to at the memorial. They'd just arrived yesterday and have found the travel agent has booked them into a 'party' hotel which apparently really whoops it up on Wed, Fri and Sat nights and no-one can get any sleep - so glad we're not there (and good luck to them tonight).

After walking back up to the main street we'd had enough and got a taxi home. Around 4pm we packed up all our bags and were shifted to another room, far away from the construction work and the constant hammer banging right next to us. The hotel is building an additional accommodation block. Yesterday they started at 6am and didn't finish until just after 8.30pm. As we've got another 6 nights to go we weren't happy to accept that every day. The hotel was very good about it and changed us without hesitation. We were a bit tired after our day so just went to dinner and retired for the night.

2002 Bali Bombing information
At 23:05 Central Indonesian Time on 12 October 2002, a suicide bomber inside the nightclub Paddy's Pub (sometimes referred to as Paddy’s Irish Bar) detonated a bomb in his backpack, causing many patrons, with or without injuries, to immediately flee into the street. Twenty seconds later, a second and much more powerful car bomb hidden inside a white Mitsubishi van was detonated by another suicide bomber outside the Sari Club, a renowned open-air thatch-roof bar located opposite Paddy's Pub.
The bombing occurred during one of the busiest tourist periods of the year in Kuta Beach, driven in part by many Australian sporting teams making their annual end-of-season holiday.
Damage to the densely populated residential and commercial district was immense, destroying neighbouring buildings and shattering windows several blocks away. The car bomb explosion left a one metre deep crater.

29-9-2016 Thursday Rest Day
Dave was feeling a bit sniffly and off colour today so having a rest day. We had a 1 hour appointment for a foot reflexology treatment and a head and shoulder massage but only I went - was very nice and relaxing. Apart from that we stayed mostly in the room in the cool for the day.

30-9-2016 Friday

Dave still not well today so we had another easy day.

1-10-2016 Saturday Rest Day
Dave is feeling a lot better today but still not planning to do much today. We have 8 nights here so can afford to just chill and recharge the batteries.

Tried one of Indonesia's many indigenous fruits called Salak which is available at breakfast at the hotel. It is from a species of palm tree and it has a round to conical shape. It is also known as Snake Fruit/Salacca Zalacca/Salacca Edulis due to the reddish-brown scaly skin which looks like a brown snake skin pattern. It has a sweet and acidic taste, with a pineapple, pear and banana-like aroma, and a texture that's quite dry and crunchy - unusual and I don't mind it. It has vitamin C, tannin, fibre, antioxidants, good for the immune system and able to combat diarrhoea (good to know).

2-10-2016 Sunday Rest Day
I think I've caught Dave's cold but am feeling not too bad, so far. After a late breakfast we walked a short way from the hotel to a group of shops to stock up on supplies. As soon as we walk out of the hotel grounds there are guys calling from across the road, asking if we want a taxi - they're everywhere, although I'm not sure they belong to the official taxi companies. Uber and the like seem to operate here also and we would take steps to avoid them altogether. We have taken a taxi a couple times but have always got the Blue Taxis, an official company, and one which Lonely Planet recommends.

It's certainly hot and humid and we spoil ourselves a bit being in the air-con - but it's so nice. We're so glad getting back into our room after our short walk. Around lunch time we both had complimentary head and shoulder massages, and foot reflexology today in the spa here at the resort - in readiness for the NRL footy final this arvo. It's good the game is being broadcast here so going to watch it in the comfort of our room. With daylight saving time starting in Sydney from today that means we'll be watching it at 4.15pm instead of 7.15pm as there's a 3 hour time difference between here and Sydney.

3-10-2016 Monday
This morning after breakfast we hired a car and driver from the hotel for 3 hours to go to the 11th century Uluwatu Temple or Pura Luhur Uluwatu about 35 mins away. It is right down on the south west coast in the locale of Uluwatu in the Kuta South district. It is one of six key temples believed to be Bali's spiritual pillars, is renowned for its magnificent location, perched on top of a steep cliff approximately 70 metres above sea level. After donning respectful sarongs (as we were wearing shorts) we paid a guide to take us around the temple, up and down lots of uneven steep steps as he told us about the place. He had a small sort of sling shot, with nothing in it, but when he showed it to a nearby monkey, the monkey reared back, bared its teeth and scooted off, obviously having had experience with it. The temple is inhabited by monkeys who are notorious for snatching visitors' belongings like sunglasses, jewelry and wet wipes, as was snatched from the outside of my bag at the last temple we visited.

The temple has direct views overlooking the beautiful Indian Ocean and has daily Kecak dance performances but we didn't want to stay for that which is around sunset. Inside the temple itself is off limits to tourists, open only to the worshipping Hindus but we could look and take photos through the gates. The people certainly like white. The priests (not sure what their proper term is) wear all white and so do the worshippers (with the exception of a splash of colour on a sash, etc) which we've noticed at other temples. Next we drove a short way to the popular Padang Padang Beach, which you can view from up high as well and where you go down quite a few steps to access it. Dave went but I didn't because of the many and again, uneven steps, and he had to pay $1 to go - apparently this is a fairly new thing. The driver was surprised as he thought it was free. When Dave came back he said the beach was smallish and while he was concentrating on taking photos, the water came in and lapped over his joggers making them and his socks quite waterlogged.

We booked dinner down at the Beach Club tonight for a change and got there by the hotel's free shuttle.

4-10-2016 Tuesday Dave's Birthday
We had an early breakfast this morning, checked out of the hotel and got a hotel shuttle ride to the airport for our domestic flight to the island of Lombok. Everything went well, the flight was just over half an hour, just enough time to gain the right altitude before it started its descent. Our driver from our next hotel was waiting for us. As we were leaving the airport and heading for the carpark, we saw only a few metres in front of us, a couple military dressed men and one of them was pushing and kicking some guy, pushing him away for some reason. It was a bit unsettling. We also saw some more military guys as we were driving out. It seems they provide the security here for the airport.

We had an hour drive to our hotel Imaj Private Villas at the town of Batu Layar, Lombok (Indonesia) for 5 nights. Our driver told us that Lombok is primarily Muslim and there are 1,000 mosques on the island. He said Bali is primarily Hindu and there is a 1000 temples there. As we drove we saw mosques all the way, all different shapes and colours. There were also lots of rice fields as we expected, but there was also many corn fields. Our driver said that corn is the second most grown crop. We drove on some big good highway type roads and then through villages on lesser and more congested ones. It was just after 1pm and we noticed lots of school kids in the streets. We'd noticed this before on Bali, where school kids were in the streets just after lunch. Our driver said school time is 7am-1pm, so that explains it - must be due to the heat.

Turning up the street to our hotel we were told it was now just 1km away, but it certainly was up a steep and winding road. We won't be going for a walk down it anytime soon. We are quite high up with good views and our villa is the honeymoon villa - don't know why we got this one - we think maybe because it's the only one with 1 room. It's quite big and has a very big bath just as you walk in the front door. Luckily there is also a shower which I was happy about. It is very private and we have our own private pool - will be using that! Had dinner on our balcony as the hotel cooks the meals but doesn't actually have a restaurant or dining room. We didn't do much today but travel really from one hotel to the next but it was enough as there was plenty to see, so just rested for the rest of the day.

5-10-2016 Wednesday
After breakfast we got a ride from the hotel to the nearby town of Senggigi, about 10 km away, just to walk around and check it out. There were plenty of shops and ATMs as we've seen in many other places. There hasn't been any problem finding an ATM while we've been away, and they're usually air-conditioned and the most modern addition to any town, sometimes looking quite out of place amongst the poor surroundings of some places. In the bigger tourist areas there's often 4-6 along side each other. A little man, looked like a farmer, approached us with across his shoulders, a rod and baskets hanging from each end and filled with small bananas, pineapple and mango. I wanted some bananas so asked what a small bunch was and he said Rp25,000 (about $2.50). As we took out an amount equal to $2.20 he eagerly reached for it, nodding and smiling. We couldn't help thinking we'd probably paid way too much for them, but as he agreed to have his photo taken we were happy enough (everyone was happy). We'd probably financed his living costs for a week.

We walked down to the beach and saw many small outrigger fishing boats with nets, pulled up on the sand. They're painted quite colourfully. Here also is a ferry (for people only) terminal, with a couple ferry companies operating trips over to Bali and the Gili islands. Here too were many hawkers trying to get us to buy their sarongs, bracelets, etc. There is a town on the southern coast of Lombok called Kuta but it's not a party place like the one on Bali. On the way back we saw a bar that had Aussie flags hanging inside so had to go in for a drink. It was owned by an Aussie who was back in OZ at the time. While we were sitting there it poured with rain but luckily eased up by the time we had to go back to our pick up point. Had a hotel cooked dinner on our balcony while we could hear the Muslim mosque prayer chantings (adhan or azan) in the distance.

6-10-2016 Thursday Rest Day
We planned to do nothing today except have a hour and a quarter aromatherapy massage in the resort grounds, just before lunch time. We had a couples' one again where they massage us both at the same time. I arrived there first and what a surprise - it was in open air! The 2 massage beds were outside in the garden, under a roofed structure but without walls. The garden was private enough with fenced walls and vegetation but I still felt a bit vulnerable - certainly a new experience! I've noticed they ( and other places we've had massages on this trip) also expect you to strip off (to your undies) and lie on the bed with them in the room. Even my doctor or masseuse at home lets me get undressed behind a curtain and lie down before they start. Add the 'open air' thing on top and it was a bit unsettling (didn't worry Dave of course). Thankfully it was a good massage. I just hope we don't end up on U tube sometime! Other massages we've had were all included in the hotel scoopon deals so didn't pay but I think they weren't expensive, maybe AUD$8-10. This one however wasn't included and was US$35 each which we wouldn't have done, but she said she'd give us 2 for the 1 price, so we thought we'd let loose and do it.

Afterwards we put on our togs and went for a swim in our private pool. Dave had used it but I hadn't. It was quite a bit bigger than the last one we had, and deeper - the water was up to my neck as long as I stood on tippy toes (but I can swim). Afterwards I had lunch by the pool and read a book while Dave hopped on the computer.

7-10-2016 Friday
We took a hotel drive tour today which normally lasts 5 hours but we were really finished in 4 as there were some things we weren't interested in seeing. First we stopped a short way down the road at the Chinese cemetery. There are 2 here and this was the largest one. The gravesites are quite large and showy, with big granite headstones with gold writing, and with little walls and floors, and some have steps leading up to them - like little houses. They're adorned with colourfully painted figures of animals, dragons, cats, etc. and behind the headstones, some have a U shaped pathway running right around at the back, with a grassed area in the middle of it. These must have been rich in life, or maybe they saved all their money so they could be rich in death, deserving of their entry to heaven..(?) Our driver Hardy, pointed out the Muslim cemetery next door which just had simple small headstones set close together and not really cared for.

Next we stopped outside the huge newly built mosque for photos - Mataram Islamic Centre, Lombok. It is still under construction and will be finished in about 1.5 – 2 years (Mataram is the capital of Lombok). The buildings looked complete but the grounds were still mounds of dirt. The Islamic Centre is built on 6.7 hectares and is decorated by 5 minarets (a slender tower, typically part of a mosque, with a balcony from which a muezzin calls Muslims to prayer, "adhan or azan"). Four of them are 66 meters high, while the main minaret “99 Asmaul Husna” (99 Names of Allah) with its height of 114 meters is now the tallest building in West Nusa Tenggara. From our villa we can see its distinctive shape in the distance and at night, it is lit up and the minarets change to different colours.

Driving a bit further we visited the Lombok Museum called Museum Negeri Nusa Tenggara Barat (for 50 cents entry). The museum is a collection of historical, ethnic and cultural memorabilia. An exhibit I really liked was the puppetry one with the accompanying musical instruments. There was a screen set up with the puppets which are actually flat cut-outs of people and things used in the show. These are positioned up against the screen with a light behind, showing it in silhouette (we've not actually seen one but have heard about them in a couple places). Another exhibit showed brides and grooms mannequins in 4 traditional wedding outfits of 4 indigenous tribes in West Nusa Tenggara. We had actually seen some of these wedding couples in traditional dress in Bali, having their photos taken in temples.

Another exhibit of interest was Jaran Kamput - 2 decoratively painted, rocking horse-sized wooden horses with particularly long curly tongues sticking out. They are positioned on carrier frames and are used to comfort the circumcised Sasak boys also called "Praje Sunat" (Sasak means an Indonesian people inhabiting Lombok Island). The Praje Sunat are seated on the Jaran Kamput and a couple people carry each one in a parade around the village (doesn't sound discreet or comforting to me!). Dave asked to stop at the local market which was near the cemetery. It was full of fruit and veges, and seafood. It was very primitive with floors of dirt, or mud in some places, as you walked through the narrow aisles between produce, and it really stank especially near the seafood. There were lots and lots of flies hanging around all over the seafood (fish and prawns mostly) and I wouldn't have been tempted to buy any of these unless I arrived there when they're first brought in.

We saw bunches of bananas, the small ones like we bought off the farmer the other day, and we bought a big bunch for $1, and it would've been probably twice the size of the bunch we bought from the farmer! So it was no wonder he was eagerly smiling and grabbing for the $2.20! (about 4 times what they were worth) But then I suppose we were paying for delivery and a photo of an indigenous farmer, so can't complain. We also bought a coconut Rupiah 7,000 (AUD70 cents), all peeled of outer husk, hard inner shell and fibrous brown layer around the coconut flesh, with the top cut off and 2 straws. I'd been wanting to buy one of these for a while but hadn't yet. The clear coconut milk wasn't as sweet as I remembered, as a kid when we had it at home. This could've been because it wasn't a fresh one, as our driver told us when we went back to the car. He reckons these older ones are used more in cooking - oh well, it was still good to eat. We were the only foreigners in the market at the time and were the centre of attention from the workers, all eager to sell to us.

It started to rain as we were going home around 2pm and later in the afternoon it really poured, accompanied by lightning and loud cracks of thunder, very close. It was lucky we didn't lose power.

A word about the fruits here on Lombok, and in Bali - we've found they're not as full of flavour as we expected, being on very tropical islands. The bananas are good but the cut up fruits we've had at the hotels - watermelon, rockmelon, honeydew, pineapple and red papaya - certainly have been lacking in the full strong flavour we expected and usually experience at home.

8-10-2016 Saturday Rest Day
We didn't have anywhere we wanted to go today so just caught up on photos and diary. Turned out this was good as about lunch time it became quite overcast and rained.

9-10-2016 Sunday
Checked out of our hotel today and got our ride to the boat port in the next village of Senggigi. We didn't have to wait long for the boat and it took about half an hour to get to the island of Gili Air. When we arrived the boat nosed into the beach instead of the jetty, and we had to walk around the narrow side of the boat, lucky there were hand rails all the way to grip, and climb down the short ladder off the front. We needed to gauge the waves so didn't get our shoes wet (should have worn thongs instead of joggers). Luckily the boat crew managed our bags so we didn't have to.

There's no vehicles on the island, only bicycles and battery operated scooters. So we used the local transport called Cidomo, a small horse and cart with 2 big tyres. We saw these on Bali and Lombok too, normal transport for the locals. The horse has colourful head gear with jingling bells, I presume to herald their nearness to walkers. As you climb into the back the cart tips, and you feel a little unsteady but we got in with our luggage and it gets along quite well. Just a few minutes to our stopover arriving at 12.30pm, the Scallywags Mango Motel on the island of Gili Air, Lombok (Indonesia) for 5 nights. It cost $10 which is pretty high I thought, but they're the only transport option on the island unless you just walk and wheel your own bags, and as we discovered, the roads aren't paved at all, are dirt and sand, and not conducive to wheeling suitcases. (It only cost us $5 to be driven from the hotel to the boat port and that took about 10 mins.)

Our room is basically a normal motel room with a bathroom but it is clean, practical and has air-con! We commented on how our whole trip has gone from a simple motel type room to start with, and then gradually progressed to more and more luxurious places, and now back down to where we started - a simple motel room. While unpacking it started raining quite heavily for a while. After it stopped we walked right down to the beach, about 5 mins, where all the action is, the restaurants and other businesses, dominated by the diving/snorkeling ones as you'd expect. The water is beautiful and clear, although the rain has stirred it up this afternoon. As we hadn't had lunch we had early dinner about 4.30pm at the Scallywags Restaurant (owned by the same people). We both had Bintang (beer) battered snapper and chips and really enjoyed it as it was a big change to what we'd had over the last 4 weeks.

The restaurant, like many other eating places, are located on the beach side and have sunbeds and umbrellas in front. For guests of Scallywags as we are, the sunbeds and towels are free to use. Other people can use them too but have to pay. While we were there, we saw the dark clouds in the distance and it didn't take long before it rained again. We waited til it cleared and walked back to our motel. We wanted to do this while it was still light as we weren't sure of the way and didn't know if the way was lit up. We skirted around the now bigger puddles, and and had to walk through a couple more. Back in the hotel Dave had had his shower when all of a sudden the power cut out - pitch black. Luckily the generators kicked in, noisy but welcome. We had experienced a few power cut outs in our last hotel.