We arrived here on Lombok to find it completely full of people: tourists and local people alike. It’s so choked here that we’re actually struggling to find hotel rooms. Last night we arrived fairly late to a place called Senggigi. Guidebooks and internet sites had whispered sweet things in our ears about long, abandoned white sand beaches and beautiful sunsets. Well there was nothing wrong with the sunset, but the beach was absolutely crawling with people. The street behind it was chock-full of backpackers who were desperately trying to score a bed for the night. (Note: the picture above is NOT what it looks like right now. Add 300 or so people and you’d get a more accurate picture)
After being strong-armed by the local accommodation mafia (who wanted us to stay in a 90 dollar hotel room and book a 350 dollar tour) we decided we’d had enough. We took a taxi in to Mataram: the dusty capital of Lombok. After cruising around for about an hour, we found ourselves at the Astri Homestay, paying a more moderate rate of 10 bucks per night. Never mind that I found a rat bouncing on my belly at five o’clock this morning. That’s just a fun little travel adventure.
Today is the Indonesian Independence day, so we’re staying put to take in the festivities. After that, we’re getting the heck out of Dodge – we’re booked on a 24h bus ride that will hopefully take us back out of the mainstream of the tourist trail. So far, we’re missing the pristine beauty of northern Sumatra, but I think things are about to look up again.
Related posts:
- Ubud – not our thing I’ve read Eat, Pray, Love. I’m pretty sure you have...
- Honesty is the Best Policy We’ve told you about the low tourist rate around here...
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You know the saying, “to fly by the seat of your pants?” Well, that's been our philosophy for most of our adult lives – before and after meeting, falling in love and marrying. We're now taking that idea on an extended round-the-world trip. Follow us as we share the good, the bad and the downright nasty of life on the road.
