We were up early today cause we do love a good sail in.... as the sun rose we were surrounded by Indonesian islands all lush and green..... Our entrance into the bay was dotted with Ferries, shipwrecks and Kamikaze Fishing boats which according to our captain like to play chicken with our ship as they keep crossing our path..
Today was also our first tender port and I heard rumours of that around 600 elites are on board so priority boarding is not so priority. Whilst others had to meet in the Florentine dining room for tender tickets, elites gathered in Jammers for theirs, but they were served Tea, Coffee and Juice...
We were down there early so even before the hot water had arrived they were leading us down to the first tender to leave the ship.. We always love dress ups at ports and it was so nice to walk off the pier and greeted by men dressed in traditional costume playing traditional music for us.
Today we were sharing a Van with Ros and Arnold to see the highlights of Lombok.
Our first stop was a small weaving village where women would sit on these elevated platforms for hours on end weaving beautifully coloured designs all by memory... We then moved on to a pottery factory where not only were they moulding pieces out of clay but covering some with fabric or egg shells giving an amazing effect.
Driving around the roads of Lombok is an experience of its own. Rules are easy.... If you want to overtake anyone just pull out in front of oncoming traffic... beep your horn so the car you are overtaking moves over and if there is a vehicle heading straight for you close your eyes and hope they drive around you.
Our next stop was Senggigi Beach probably the most touristy spot in all Lombok, our guides took us to change some money and then to a cafe for lunch.... We had a plate of grilled king prawns, a plate of Nasi Goreng , washed down with 2 large bottles of Bing Tang Beer all for the bargain price of 300,000 rupiah, lucky we get around 10000 rupiah for every $1.
With some time left before we needed to head for the ship we visited the Lingsar Temple, here Muslim and Buddhist worshipers are both welcome. You might wonder why we are all sporting these yellow belts... now 24 hours later and I am struggling to remember myself but it had something to do with separating our upper and lower parts of our body.
We made it back onto the ship in plenty of time and with our glass in hand on the deck 11 balcony we waved Lombok goodbye
If you think those notes are high denomination, the other day, a Rhodesian (she refuses to call herself Zimbabwean) friend showed me a 50 BILLION ZIM note; I think she said it would probably buy a packet of cigarettes, or something.
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