As we are still in Lombok and there are more adventures to report I thought I would do a second blog on Lombok. Amulet and ourselves have hired a motorbike each for four days. This cost us the princely sum of 200.000 rupiah or AUD$25.00. So now we have wheels and can explore the countryside.
COOL BIKES
As we didn’t get the bikes until 2 o’clock we decided to take a run into Sengiggi, which apparently was not far. What they didn’t tell us was that being a Sunday and the end of Ramadan AND a holiday, every motorbike in Lombok would be on the same coastal road to Sengiggi! The main hazards to look out for are the roosters and chickens that roam everywhere, the occasional goat or cow and all the other traffic on the road.
OCEAN ROAD TO SENGIGGI
Monday we packed a lunch and headed north. The main road is fairly good, except in the villages and near bridges. The potholes are many and large, the bitumen broken up or non existent. Once off the main road, it deteriorates very quickly. We turned off to head up to Ganggi Waterfalls, riding through agricultural countryside with rice paddies, tobacco fields, corn, lombok chilli peppers, peanuts, vanilla and coconuts. This is very fertile land, and labour is cheap and plentiful; the harvest is packed onto motorbikes and transported into towns for sale.
FARMLAND
The road deteriorated even further, now down to a dirt track; perhaps we should have rented off road bikes. Arriving at a spotlessly clean village, which is a rare sight indeed in rubbish ridden Indonesia, a young chap offered to take us up to the falls. Naturally we are going to have to pay for this, but our guide speaks excellent English and is very knowledgeable about the crops and farming in the area. As we climb up to the waterfalls, he explains that his village is so clean because their Bupatti (village Chief) doesn’t like rubbish so he makes sure that his village is clean and tidy. Whereas nearly everywhere else the chooks, goats and cows roam free, here they are all confined to pens or tethered away from the houses.
GANGGI WATERFALL
Beyond the first waterfall is a second waterfall in the hidden cave. To reach this one has to walk over a rickety little bamboo bridge, but the view is certainly worth the effort.
HOLD ON TIGHT
On the return trip down the mountain, we stopped under a big shady tree for lunch. This turned out to be a very quiet spot as it was right out front of the local cemetery!! By this time our backsides were starting to feel it so we headed back to the marina for dinner and a Bintang.
We did a trip to the local market in Tanjung early one morning, and bargained for cauliflower and bananas. We are getting very good at haggling, and while I am pretty sure we don’t get it at local prices, I don’t think we are too far off. They wanted 9000 for the cauli, and I got them down to 3000; about 35cents.
Wednesday we headed for the mountains, up, up, and up, the roads getting smaller and steeper all the time. Huge ruts, very steep sections of concrete that had caved in on itself and still quite a lot of traffic convinced us that this was far enough. Definitely should have rented off road bikes! Back down the mountain and down to the sea under a shady tree for our picnic lunch. While heading back to the marina we found a Buddhist temple, so stopped for photos and to give our poor butts a rest.
BUDDHIST TEMPLE
WORKING HARD AT THE OFFICE
This was the usual cultural dance, the same but different, and a meal consisting of local dishes (read HOT) the obligatory speeches and fireworks. 
MEDANA BAY FESTIVITIES
In a day or two we will move on to Bali, but this has been a delightful stopover for us. We have been here nearly 3 weeks and have enjoyed every minute of it.
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