Ferry landing circled. Our hotel location shown with an arrow.
The staff here at our “SunsetHouse” hotel in Senggigi are very friendly and helpful and many often singing so they must be happy!
It is an great place to stay – a small hotel right on the beach with a lovely breeze blowing most of the day. The other tourists are a great mixture – a swiss family, Russian family, two Italian couples who are building their own place here on the island and a couple of Australians.
The seafood here is wonderful and I had a whole fresh small snapper
at a beautiful Italian restaurant right on the beach for $7.50 –
prices we only dream of in Australia especially for fish.
Daily $10 1hour massage for Maurice.
We have been walking for 1 1/2 hours every day and eating only breakfast and dinner so we are trying our best to stay in shape or getinto some shape after much eating drinking in Sydney and Melbourne!
The sunset house is at the tip of Maurice’s hat.
We have been walking along the beach areas and back streets of the Sengiggi area which lead straight into the jungle and to several small villages.
Some lovely views from the top of the hill.
The photos of the beaches and Mt Agung on Bali in the distance were taken after we climbed up a large steep hill. The views from the top were beautiful.
The farmer pl
oughing his land shouted hello.
The men stripping the teak were friendly and eager to chat to us with their limited English.
Peter our friend in Java put us onto Kudus a lovely young man and driver who took us into Mataram the capital which has grown considerably since we were here over 20years ago.
We then went to his village Orong to meet his wife and two cute little girls,one seven years old and an eight month old baby. He lives a long way off the main road in the jungle in a village of 180 people and in a compound that he shares with several of his siblings and their families.
We sat on the raised sitting platform in his yard which allows the breeze to circulate around it and drank his home brewed Lombok coffee which was delicious. We just did not to drink the last mouthful as the grinds are at the bottom of the cup.
Everywhere you see mounds of dried coconut shells used for fuel for when they make bricks. There are a few foreigners who have bought land with Indonesian friends who own the land. The foreigners then build a house – even in Kudus village there are French,
Belgian and Dutch people who have built houses there even though it is well of the beaten track.
According to one of the staff at our hotel 85% of people on Lombok are Muslim, 10% Hindus, 5% christian and the rest Buddhist and others. There are Christian, Muslim and Hindus working at our small hotel. They are all lovely and extremely helpful. Maurice would like to take home a little muslim man with a great smile named Mohammed – he is so friendly and works like a trojan from morning to night with a sleep in the middle of the day.
Wayan pictured with Maurice is Hindu and likes working at our hotel as it is small and he can get to practise his English and other languages and likes to talk to the guests.He was working previously in the Sheraton here but he said that they were not allowed to really converse with the guests so h
e likes it at our hotel much better. He also only earned 275,000 a month at his old job which was only about $27 whereas he makes 800,000 now a few years later – about $80 a month. He lives in a Hindu village and moved here from Bali to live with his uncle when he was a boy and has since brought over his mother and father. He says it is cheaper and quieter to live on Lombok.
On the 10th we will again take the slow boat back to Bali and stay 10days in Candi Dasa on the east coast before moving to south of Ubud for 2more weeks.