We arrived at the port of Lombok early this morning (neigbouring island of Bali), Indonesia. It's capital is Mataram and the currency is Rupiah – R10,000 to $1!!!!!! It's going to be fun shopping with all those millions!!
The morning began as we were rudely awoken around 7ish (yes, a reasonable time for a wake up call) with the screams and squeals of the tender boat, whilst it was being winched below our cabin – fortunately not too many tenders this trip – 3 to Venice.
Once ashore we teamed up with Meg, Mal, Anthea & Dennis and two other couples and hired a small van to take us around the sights. We visited a pottery factory and although I vowed not to buy any sourvenirs this trip, I bought a nice hotplate/wall hanging whatever. Next we visited a weaving village and enjoyed walking around their small humble dwellings and they certainly seemed to be very happy, especially the dear children. We gave them some little Aussie kangaroo souvenirs which they enjoyed – we are sure 2 boys put them in their pocket and then said they didn't get one!!!!!
Back in the van and we continue dodging and weaving through the incredible multitude of bikes and scooters, trucks and buses – best not to watch!!! We ended up just driving through Mataram and having a look at the busy town with meagre shop stalls and out of the blue, a huge modern shopping mall – we kept driving and were happy to get back to the ship in good time and happy with our scenic tour of pretty Lombok.
Photos: Impressive statue of bullocks and a mosque in the background; The 'little' horses and carriages used to taxi people around; Happy kids; Humble dwellings with TV and sterio system etc.; Mal being shown how the rice is dried; Rice paddies; Super duper new shopping mall; and a picturesque village in a perfect location.
