Lombok

Pretty mellow day today. It started early enough, catching up on some work from the deck outside our room. Once again the Internet leaves a little to be desired, so some things I hoped to accomplish didn’t come to pass, but I kept myself busy nonetheless watching the grounds crew scurry up and down the 60 foot coconut trees with nothing more than a pair of tennis shoes. I debated whether one might fit in our luggage, as I have plenty of need for such tree climbing skills at the cabin, but remembered that space has mostly been taken up now by beads and other such trinkets.

We were excited to find that the hotel has bikes for the guests, and after breakfast we planned on taking them for a ride into the small town down the street. Unfortunately, of the 6 bikes neatly arranged for use, we could find only one that didn’t have flat tires, and with no staff around to help, we abandoned the idea and decided to just walk the half mile or so.

No sooner had we hit the street, than the touts appeared, offering everything from car and boat transportation, to watches, to bookmarks. For the most part, I find if you just say no and keep walking, they quickly tire and leave you alone (or at least turn you over to the next set of touts down the street). Ang, on the other hand, feels bad ignoring them, so has opted for the “maybe later” approach. Surprisingly, they take this an indicator that there is potential for a sale, and soon we are leading a small parade of merchants that refuse to leave our sides for fear one of their competitors might sneak in. I soon feel like poor Sam in Green Eggs and Ham…

Not on the beach
Not on the street
I don’t need flip flops for my feet
I will not buy them here or there
I will not buy them anywhere
Not by the bank
Not by the tree
Please sir, please just let me be

On an up note, while ducking into stores in hopes some other unlucky tourist would draw the attention of our entourage, we found some artworks that we liked. The artist is part owner of the shop and we made arrangements for him to come in and talk with us about his work tomorrow evening. There are a few pieces that we like, so hopefully that will give us some more perspective on which one to go with. We also just like the opportunity to meet the creator when we have the chance as it gives the work more of a story.

We picked up a few snacks for the room fridge and the obligatory Cup o’ Noodles (which actually tastes good here) at the local grocery store. We also found the perfect gift for Joey there, which was totally unexpected. From there, it was back through the horde of vendors to the hotel for some chill time at the pool (which has the coolest statue head with a waterslide coming out the mouth that makes us miss the boys terribly).

Tomorrow we have booked a driver to take us around the island and to a few of the local villages. $35 for nine hours of air conditioned comfort and not having to be with a tour group seems like money well spent.