Lombok Garden Hotel Mataram

... to the Bali one! It basically is just a road that runs along the beach. There are various market stalls in bamboo huts along the beachside of the road, and accommodation places line the other side of the road.<br><br>We found one of the cheapest and better accommodation places that we&#8217;ve stayed in during our time in Indonesia. It only cost 100,000rp (NZD$15/night) for the both of us and included breakfast. It was a family-run place with a ...

... Kate and I attempt to change our course and avoid eye contact or communication; but it was too late. They had spotted us. One was calling out to me. I tried to ignore him but he kept coming towards me, saying something over and over&#8230; the same two muffled words. All I could think was that he is demanding &#8216;hands up&#8217; &#8216;hands up&#8217;. Then I cocked my head so the wind wasn&#8217;t so strong in my ears&#8230; the voice was clearer now ...

... scooter, so we packed our small bags (a Christmas present courtesy of mum and dad greenway) and took off again. Now, our lonely planet book had prepared us to see some of the best white sand beaches in the world so expectations were high. Never a good start. Everywhere we went the sand was greyish with flashes of yellow and flashes of black (volcanic). So after our disappointing search we settled with it that this was not the beach paradise we were expecting ...

... or<br>Lombok. There are increasing numbers of westerners living on the Gilis<br>and operating businesses from dive companies to resorts and there is a<br>strong environmental focus here as the reefs have ben damaged in the<br>past. While once people came to dive, snorkel and party, a more<br>upmarket tourist is showing up now and ...

... hier in de tropen zijn de zogeheten chik-tjaks of tjiktjaks of &#8230; nou ja, hoe je dat dan ook schrijft. Stel je even voor een klein hagedisje, minder schuw, voelt zich aangetrokken tot licht en eet insecten van de muur. Elke avond weer leuk om naar te kijken. Nou hebben deze tjiktjaks (tchiktjaks, tjik-tcha&#8230; laat maar!) een grotere broer, een veel grotere broer, de gekko! Dit monster hing aan de muur van een bungalow op Lombok die ik toevallig ...

... evening until&#8230;..<br> ****** we headed off back to get changed and go out. Shelley wanted to get a lift back on a Cidomo or as Shelley calls them a &#8216;Clipperty Clop!&#8217; one of the pony and cart horses used on the islands because no motor vehicles are allowed. The driver quoted us 40,000 Rph. I was like &#8220;Bollocks&#8230; it&#8217;s only down the road&#8221; and he then quoted 30,000 Rph. Now bear in mind it only cost 10,000 Rph to sail to the Islands and we ...

... strips of nice white sand and not many people. The main activity apart from relaxing was diving but the most energetic things we achieved were ...

... a couple of hours as we didn't think it would be a further journey than Ireland to England. On Lombok we had two 2 hour minibus rides to the coast near the Gili's. Here another boat brought us to these little beautiful islands. It was a horrible journey organized by what looked like locals and probably was as there was a lot of faffing around at ever change over. Anyway we made it just before ...

... go to negative buoyancy while the snake swims above me." It went on and on like this for days. I'm fairly certain you had to be there for this to be even remotely amusing. We did actually see a couple of sea snakes, though, which are so poisonous that if you get bitten by one you will probably be dead before you can get to the surface. We also saw big sea turtles, lion fish, a boat wreck, and lots more colorful creatures. As dive buddies, Dan and I had been ...

... visit the beach nearly every day, but had to spend most of the time swimming in the water to avoid the constant barrage of sales pitches. One notable exception to the seemingly endless line of money grabbing locals was the owner of a fruit/juice store called Nani's Fruit Stand. She never tried to beckon us in and had the best prices on fruit juices in town (7-8,000 Rp). I asked for Jack Fruit, mostly because I had never tried it before, but she explained that she ...