Losing Things and Leaving Indo

May 11^th- 15^th

Padang Bai, Bali – Lembar, Lombok

            I departed Nusa Lembogan this morning at 8. After an egg, cheese, and avocado jaffle, coffee, and fresh banana, melon, and pineapple covered in squeezed lime, I hopped on the public ferry. Not before doing a quick once over all my things. I realized that another prized possession was a victim to “the road.” My precious Nalgene bottle, only just purchased in January…

            My Lost List:

1.      Favourite Jeans

2.      Rain Jacket (my Dad’s)

3.      Good Jumper (sweatshirt)

4.      My Nalgene

The combination of grey skies, sprinkling rain, and an unbalanced boat (slightly to the left) led to some children with green faces and predictable consequences.

            Nusa Lembogan was expensive, but worth it.

            I arrived at the Sanur Harbour to a freshly drenched motorbike and helmet, and flat waves. I consulted with some guys selling ferry tickets in regards to the Padang Bai Harbours ferry times to Lombok. I glanced at a map for a general location and took off.

            Although the road was pretty well paved and newer than most, the surroundings were nothing of the sort. Rice paddy fields with a few local workers in the foreground and a volcano in the background.

            I made it to Padang Bai in a typical fashion to my travels, I was lost once. As feared and previously forewarned the only ATM within one hour was out. Not of cash, but of Visa because it only took MasterCard. Who has a MasterCard anyway? A man told me that there was a Visa ATM on Lombok, so I purchased my ticket and left with only about $10 after my 80 cent lunch.

            I have never seen more heckling than on the boat here. With the ferry riders stuck in their respective seats they are waiting targets for a close to mobbing experience. The couple across from me was really getting it badly because they had one thing in their hand, thus showing that they were willing to buy more and they did. Smarter, I ignored the hellish vendors with my a blasting Ipod and sunglasses.

            The ride was much bumpier than I expected it would have been given the size of the ship. At one point, I even went down below to make sure that my scoot was still in tack and had not fallen to kill my boards.

            We arrived to the Lembar port within five hours and thanks to a previous heads up, I knew that it would be another hour until we actually exited the ship. The longer we sat in the harbour, the darker it became outside as the sun slipped behind the mountains and the clouds were filled with water. This was going to get interesting.

            Finally, I took off in search of Shengigi, as I was told that there would a Visa ATM there. I was going North. I drove until the rain started really pouring to badly that I could not see 15 feet in front of me. I pulled over at a mechanic’s and so did a few others drivers that lacked the necessary gear to drive through cats and dogs (literally dogs too, wet ones).

            Just as it seemed the rain was slowing down, it would just start dumping again. It had to have been close to an hour that I waited, but I got a young guy to draw my up a map of where I was heading.

            Out of boredom and hunger, I left the next time the rain slowed. It wouldn’t last long. It came down hard and my poncho, although reluctantly covered my bag, did not cover my lap. Eventually I was driving down a road with water so deep that it was constantly coming up over my feet.

                        The power just turned off… I wonder how long this will last.

15 minutes goes by

                        Ah, not too bad

            This would go on for a long ways. Not to mention the road wasn’t exactly even legal to ride on by United States standards, but it was so drown that you just had to hope for the best.

            A huge ATM 24/7 sign grabbed my eye, so I immediately pulled over only to find two security guards “working on it.” I belted a four letter word and they sent me off in what would soon be the wrong direction.  I did find an ATM eventually.

            After getting some cash I now needed a bed. The security guard here apologized for his lack of English, but the poor guy would suck at Charades too because he couldn’t make out my sleeping hand gesture and my big bag and face of despair didn’t give it away.  

            This went on for a while until I got a solid lead and I was close. I found the reception desk only to find out that they were out of rooms because of a conference meeting (even though the place seemed dead and it was about 7pm). I asked the guy for another place to stay and after talking broken English and sounding out every consonant and vowel, as if this would help him much away, I got yet another lead. I lost it quickly in the darkness and rain, so I went back to asking window food cooks and street vendors. My last hope and it came in English. It was not the man’s native tongue, but it would suffice.

It was pretty steep at about $10 a night, but it did include free brekky and a 4 channel (no English) television set. The woman asked me if I needed to shower. I answered that for 100,000 rupiah a night I would be taking a couple. This flustered her because for no apparent reason most of the showers in the rooms were out of order. I suggested that maybe we could work on the price as I am far more use to not showering then paying so much for a room. She quickly declined and thus got back to looking for a room with a shower. After about 10 minutes she was in luck. I showered and went out. I found the cheapest internet in all of Indonesia at 5,000 rupiah an hour and a quick bite to eat. The food was only a window stand, but it was fabulous. A fried wrap tortilla with egg and veggies inside covered in homemade chilli sauce.  

The following morning I used the cheap net out of its cheapness of course then hit the road down to Kuta, Lombok. I was asking for directions just to get out of the capital and most of the time the directions were either conflicting or none were given at all as most of the people in this reserved Muslim island turned their backs to me. I would often just laugh loudly and buzz to the next stand. I was finally spotted by a fellow surfer; a local. He saw my boards and the fact that I was going inland and set me straight for the coast.

I stayed in Kuta for a few nights. The place was a lot mellower then Bali and equally as cheap. I surfed a few times at a couple different spots. I met up with some the Aussies again from Nusa Lembogan. I went out to dinner with people that I never plan on seeing again. It was cool, but I was very happy to get back to Bali. It was a full day of travelling to make it back to Bingin after about 3.5 hours on the scooter and a 5 hour ferry ride, I was in dire need for a feed and a large Bintang.

I surfed for most of the next following days. I was sad to find out that the swell would be maxing out during the weekend (and I leave on Thursday). That’s just how it goes I suppose. I have still gotten some great waves the past few days.

I started lugging my stuff up the 175 uneven stairs in sections on Thursday evening. It was a weird feeling to leave since I had spent almost a ¼ of the time that I spent in Australia, just in Indonesia alone and it had flown by. Just quick trips now. Singapore for the weekend…