The African Queen

Our shuttle driver arrived at 8:30am and parked at the bottom of the hill even though we, and all of our stuff, were at the top of the hill. He was in a long van with many seats and took our backpacks and crammed them into a small space between the last space and the back door.

P- Did our packs fit in that small space.

G- He squished them in.

P- I wonder how many people we're picking up.

Not far down the main street we turned up a side street and picked up a couple from Canada. The driver smashed their packs in the back too. After driving for another 15 minutes, it became apparent that we were not picking up anyone else.

P- Why in the hell did he not lay down that backseat so our packs could fit in without being smashed?

G- I don't know, but he definitely is not the sharpest tool in the shed. All of the drivers we've had have been totally on the ball, but this guy is lacking.

We chatted with the Canadian couple, gave them warung recommendations and told them about the fabulous snorkeling at Bunutan Beach. We were dropped off at a tour office near the ferry, given a receipt to show the driver in Lombok, and told to follow a guy to the ferry.

P- Where's the guy we're supposed to follow?

G- I don't know. He jumped on his moped and sped off. What the hell?

P- How are we supposed to keep up with him? Can't he see we look like pack mules?

G- Let's just walk toward the ferry.

Fortunately, the guy on the moped returned quickly with 2 ferry tickets. We continued to the ferry, then climbed to the 3rd level as we declined offers to purchase water, rice wrapped in banana leaves, pineapples and bananas.

P- Dear God! I can't believe we had to walk all the way around carrying our shit. Why didn't the guy just drop us off near the ferry?

G- Well, because we had to get the paper from the guy over there, of course. I guess the Balinese don't consider that a far way to walk.

P- And going up all those stairs after our climb from hell yesterday. My legs may never forgive me.

G- Nothing like dripping in sweat first thing in the morning. Our asses and hamstrings are going to be so tight after this trip!!!

P- If we make it to the end of the trip.

We sat under an overhang, to protect ourselves from the sun, on the side of the ferry so we could get the breeze. There was an inside area, but it had no air con and didn't get much breeze. The views were beautiful as we pulled away from Bali, and the water got bluer and bluer the further we went. It was almost a royal blue and reminded us of the water around Greece.

G- Ok, I've got to go to the bathroom.

P- I'm afraid of the bathrooms on this ferry. I doubt they're western toilets.

G- No, I totally expect squat toilets. I'm taking pinky and the toilet paper.

P- Good luck with pinky.

I returned and did a triumphant jig!!!

P- Was it ok?

G- Yep. And no problem using pinky. It's amzingly easy to use when I'm not standing on the back of a boat being heckled and ridiculed. There is no garbage can in the bathroom for your toilet paper, but there is one just outside the door.

P- Good baby, I'm proud of you.

G- You need to go?

P- No, I'll wait. I don't want to use a squat toilet.

G- You're gonna have to use it before we get off this ferry because we don't know how long the ride from the ferry to Sangiggi Beach is going to be and we still have to find a place to stay.

P- Oh, you're right, but I'm going to wait as long as I can.

We had a few items of clothes we had washed but that had not dried in the drenched environment of Ubud, so we followed the crewmembers' lead and hung our clothes on the ferry's railings. We ate a lunch of peanut butter on bread and some fruit we had collected from breakfast. We motored through a patch of garbage; a disgusting contrast from the beautiful blue water. Overall, the 4 hour trip passed fairly quickly.

As the ferry landed, the locals poured from the interior. We were shocked to see several people in coats, long pants, and sweaters.

P- Are those people crazy? I'm about to drop from heat exhaustion and that guy is wearing a leather jacket!!!!

G- I have no explanation. It's their winter, but it's hot as hell. Remember Connor told us he saw a lot of people in Chiang Mai wearing coats when it was warm?

P- I can't understand why they don't pass out.

G- Look at that little kid in the thick socks, long pants, sweatshirt and the mullet!!!! Sweet Jesus!! We're on the other side of the world and here, at Lombok, is a kid with a mullet.

P- You have to blame his stupid parents because he's only about 2.

G- Mullets are global. Who would have known?

P-Yes, bad taste is universal.

The second we docked the ferry was swarmed by people collecting used water bottles and cans, presumably for recycling money, and hawkers trying to sell us more crap, fruit and water. Other travelers had told us war stories of paying for transport but not being met at the other side, so we were a little apprehensive, but as we exited we saw our driver holding the ticket that matched ours. Our transport was a van, circa 1981, with a hodge podge of seat covers; but the driver was friendly, even though he spoke almost no English, he smiled a lot. Because the traffic was so much less than on Bali, we were able to travel at a good speed and there was a warm breeze coming through the open windows.

We knew Lombok is mostly Muslim, compared to Bali which is mostly Hindu, but we were surprised by the number of Mosques we saw as we drove north to Sangiggi Beach on the west side of Lombok. The fields had rice growing, but also corn, and for the first time we saw roadside stands selling potatoes. Also, we passed many “taxis” being pulled by small horses. Because we had no accomodations, our driver took us to the tourist office. Tourists offices in this area of the world are not run by the city or county, but are as plentiful as fleas on a junkyard dog because they are basically just little booths, run by a local with a connection to a few hotels or van drivers. We negotiated a deal with the “tourist office” manager for a hotel we had seen on line, and were wisked away to the Puri Bunga Cottages. After checking in at the front desk, we were instructed to follow a tiny guy who carried my pack on his back and Phyl's on his front. He walked us past the pool, large and very nice, and began climbing steps, headed through the beautiful landscaping, up the side of the mountain.

P- I hope we don't have to climb too many steps. My legs and ass are still killing me from the rafting climb yesterday.

G- I don't think there are many people here, so I can't imagine we'd have to go too far up the mountain.

Frodo made the corner and headed up yet another flight of steps. He was climbing the steps, with both packs on his back as fast as a squirrel runs up a tree. We were laboring up each step, dripping sweat and murmmering curses.

P- Oh my gawd!!! How much further is he going? I don't think I can make it.

G- Just concentrate on climbing the steps and stop talking.

P- Where'd he go? I can't even see him?

G- I can still see him. He just stopped at the top of the next flight of steps and turned left. One more flight and we'll be good.

P- There is no way these rooms are filled, why did that bitch put us so high up.

G- I don't know. Maybe she thought she was doing us a favor by giving us a good view.

P- Screw the view!! My legs are killing me.

G- (as I reached the landing and made the turn, I saw more steps ahead) Holy shit!

P- Don't tell me there are more steps!

G- Just keep climbing, Gladys. I can see Frodo and he has stopped and is opening our door.

P- I hope they have room service because once I get up there, I'm not going to be able to get back down.

As we entered the very large room, gasping for air and drenched in sweat, Frodo was trying to get the air con to come on. I opened the doors to the balcony to let in the breeze and was pleasantly surprised at the beautiful view.

G- Come see the beautiful view.

P- We should be able to see China after climbing all those steps. It doesn't look like he can get the a/c to work. If that a/c doesn't work after I've climbed all the way up here, I'm gonna kill someone.

G- You couldn't even catch someone in order to kill them. They're like little billy goats around here.  Besides, Frodo is so sweet, you leave him alone.

Grab a cold water out of the mini fridge and come out and see the view.

P- Yes, the view is nice. The a/c seems to be working and Frodo has left. Let's put on our bathing suits and go get into the pool.

G- Good idea.

It felt so good to jump into that swimming pool! We had been suffering in the heat since we left Legian Beach, and it was nice to have a pool to cool off in again. We swam for a while, then hauled our asses back up the steps. This time, Phyl counted them....................82 steps!!!! We turned the air con to high, showered, watched a beautiful sunset from our patio, treked back down the steps (which is really worse for Phyl's bad knee than going up) and ate dinner at the restaurant across the street. When we returned to the room, it was cool.

P- Since we have a bathtub, we have to do laundry. Our shirts still smell even though I washed them in Ubud.

G- They need to soak for a while. Fill up the tub and add the detergent we bought and that packet of shampoo.

P- It says it's antidandruff shampoo, but it smells good.

G- Great. We won't have to worry about dandruff on our body hairs. I just want my clothes to smell better. I'm tired of smelling like a mildewed goat.

P- Well, I washed them as best I could in that little sink, and they just didn't dry well because it was so damn humid.

G- I'm not blaming you, I'm just not accustomed to smelling bad.

We filled the tub with hot water and aggitated the clothese with our feet as we sat on the side of the tub.

G- When we get back home, if I hear one person complain about doing their laundry in a washing machine............ which basically only requires you to put the clothes in, put in detergent, and turn it on............I'm gonna smack them in the head.

P- You go right ahead. I'll help you.

We left the clothes soaking overnight, climbed into the king size bed, under the a/c, did not pull a mosquito net around, and fell asleep in heaven!



the view from our balcony