Get home that night to a text message from guess who? Rock & Roller... "Hey bro, how are you doing?". I should have guessed - he was so blitzed from the night before, he probably remembers little of his actions today. Despite that, I feel as much like hanging with him again as I do dropping ecstasy with Julia & the First Bloke. Ecstasy, sure - with those two, no. Polite message returned with a sure fire closer in the 'thanks but ahhh nope' vein.
Night 4 / day 5
Candi-Dasa and Lombok
Early start today as we need to get to Candi-Dasa, where my parents have purchased another villa and then get back in time for a 6.30pm Garuda flight to Lombok. Driver picks us up at 9am and we're off in a flurry of phone calls and traffic. Long day spent at a local Notary's office, before finally seeing the villa and taking in the beauty of this much more sleepy lifestyle here. I have lunch at a warung next door with the driver - he and I share cigarettes, a Nasi Goreng, banana pancakes to finish, juices for me, plus something he recommends called Green Sand. Not unpleasant actually, in an apple-Spritey sort of way. All of this has been served to us by 2 x 10 year old twins, the daughters of the owner. About 35,000 rupiah I think it was for all that lot. Short drive then to the villa and a chance to take in the great sea front and a really cute little township amongst all that greenery. Yes, of course, we stopped at Vincent's for a very quick nosh on the drive back - and I can see what drives people back here again and again. It reminded me of the quieter, funkier places you'll find in Fitzroy's back corners (and I mean that as the highest of compliments). I'm glad I'll be coming back here again and again over the next years. This is more my speed.
On to the airport and a quick sprint through domestic - we fly Garuda to Lombok on return tickets that cost just AU$60 each, online, bought 2 days before. Of course Garuda called me to confirm the credit card details and asked quite a few questions, but once it was OK'ed, never had another issue. So we left the ground 10 mins late, the flight took about 20 mins, I have just enough time to suck back the complimentary Sosro Fruit Tea (blackcurrant) and we're landing already - welcome to Lombok!
Lombok International Airport is a brand new terminal with shiny lines and fresh materials, but not much else. It reminds me of the cleanest corridor of any western office building I've ever been in. Efficient, and none too spectacular. I can only imagine what the previous terminal was like. But, here it is and I should guess from the hordes of locals rimming the fence line adjacent to the airport runways, fingers entwined through the security fences, faces craning skywards, warungs set-up alongside to feed them all, that this place doesn't see too much action.
Our hotel driver is there to pick us up and we're transported the 1.5hrs to just north of sleepy old Sengiggi with our driver practising his english a mile-a-minute along the way. Passing through the central south of Lombok, you can't help but be struck by the abject poverty of these people. Shanty towns line the main road we drive along, and as dusk settles in, very few lights are coming on to break it up. People line the roads, motorbikes are everywhere, most of the youth are perched on them in the dark and often block our direct route through intersections. As we drive further north west along the coast, the roads get smaller, and the traffic more intense - tiny horse-drawn carts start to appear, dogs and chickens are everywhere and the wide open spaces start to contract markedly.
Blink, and we're out the other side of Sengiggi and 10 minutes further on, we're in another world - the rareified air of Jeeva Klui envelops us. All clean stone and polished wood, soft lighting, expensive furniture and can't-do-enough-to-please staff at every turn. We know the owner through a friend, so get the choice of rooms - a double story villa at the back of the property with it's own pool, or a beachfront single story downstairs apartment with the sound of waves crashing through it's open doors. Having quickly checked out both, the beachfront seems to be the only logical choice. Bags are dropped and we hurriedly make for the restaurant, open until 11pm each night, for a late dinner. Alone in the open air structure, we take the time to choose carefully and enjoy our first of many meals here, looking out across the infinity pool to Bali in the background. From where we sit, the eastern most corner of the island juts straight out towards us across the Bali Strait, with a broodingly dark Mount Agung towering in the rear. It's an awesome sight, even in the half light of this near-full moon evening.
Retiring to our beds with sheets that can't possibly be under 500 thread count (so crisp they almost cut), we're both so greatful my step-dad decided to stay behind in Bali. 2 days of doing not much await...
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