So , my husband is a notorious early riser and I mean reeeaaally 2-4 Am early .. not so me...forget about it ! But the awesome, mystical , surreal chanting for the call to prayer, in the rainforest clad hills surrounding us at 4 Am ..certainly had it's effects on me. It was like I didn't want to miss a minute of daylight.
What did we do that first full day ? I know we had a very laid back breakfast - Me, Rob, Geri and Lance, because I have video evidence with Shaz and Karl arriving a little later.
Bali's 'Mt Agung' is visible behind the tree.
Tree reflection in the pool, directly in front of the restaurant.
This photo was taken from our table.
Searching my memory banks I think we ventured forth our first day on a mission to get ?? ..could of been a number of things but Bintangs, phone cards, remote control helicopters, snacks, toiletries, shavers, lavender hand wipes, sweat rash powder, crackers were all purchased !
The free hotel transport turned out to be a drop off in Senggigi at the drivers kick back store which was a 5 minute drive away. We got inundated with bracelet sellers too. We were on our way to the Matarm Mall and eventually got hold of a couple of Bluebirds. They all seem to hang out at the top of the hill and around a corner and there aren't a lot cruising around.
One of the outstanding memories of our arrival at the mall, was the smell of the Durian fruit....urgggh overpowering. Hey I know the majority of Indonesians love this stuff they adore it. I can't stand it even at arms length. If I was experiencing any sort of nausea at the time of entering the mall ..forget about it! I definitely would have come undone.
Geri commented she felt a little like a celebrity with all the attention we were getting ...funny how different peoples perceptions can be. I felt more like a zoo exhibit they would like to poke with a stick. The shopkeepers were mostly friendly though.
We never really had lunch as the big breakfasts usually tied us over till dinner. I did become very partial to the Jeeva's crumbed calamari served with a fantastic pesto dipping sauce which was on the tapas menu at cocktail hour...but i digress.
There was a snorkel, booked with Eko that afternoon which turned out to be the wrong time to go. The jukung (or perahu ) had a small 10hp motor and by the time we got to Gili Meno the currents were running and it made for poor visibility. This did make me a little jumpy as the year before when Rob and I had gone for a snorkel off of Gili Trawangan just having waded in from the front of our hotel we had almost got caught in the rip ...frightening! We had also got a few knocks and grazes from the coral that day that took ages to heal.
A little video of our return trip that afternoon.
Not a big deal this day though we jumped in and the boat drove down to where the current was pushing us and met us there. I was a little disappointed because the previous year there was so much to see and I had reeeaaally been looking forward to checking it all out again. But hey I was still smiling , look where we were!!
We - Rob, Geri, Karl and Me (Shaz + Lance decided they were going to just chill) had a great time. The water is so warm and is something like 28-30 degrees (I never have to do that little ooooooaaaaa dance and give that little involuntary squeal (I hate that)) in these waters!
Rob dragged a lure there and back with no results which was a shame because he is a fishing fanatic it would have been awesome to see him catch something big as he did last trip . There was a bit of excitement at one point but it was just a snag.
From memory it's necessary to head back across the Lombok strait by late afternoon because the water chops up.
It was interesting to watch the rain clouds gather around Mt.Rinjani in the afternoons too. There was rain every afternoon here but it missed Klui beach every day of our stay bar one. I love tropical rain, especially whilst enjoying a cocktail at happy hour!
Eko had organised a car to take us to and from a good beach to climb on and off the boat on Lombok on this first trip (wish he had stuck to that plan the next day). Then it was Cocktail & Calamari hour!
We had dinner at Taman that night, lovely atmosphere, but just ok meals.
Eddy was our very attentive, comedic waiter that night.
Karl ordering extra chilli that was unusually hot for him this night. And that's saying something for a man that has chilli on his apple pancakes in
the morning!
We sat up on the second floor with a view of the street. It was a good vantage point to watch the action below. There was a good band playing in the bar across the street which was fun to watch as they got members of the audience up to sing.
Then it was back home to the Jeeva Klui and off to bed (or should I say wonderful floating cloud) for these little black ducks.
I didn't manage to even watch a DVD the whole trip. I could never stay awake long enough. Roles were definitely reversed as I beat Rob to bed almost every night which is very, very unusual. Too much fun and excitement during the daylight hours!
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