Lombok - Home of The Mighty Rinjani
Posted On Tuesday, October 24, 2006 at at 1:01 AM by Alvin
We caught a ferry from Bali to Lombok during midday and arrived just in time to view the famous Sengigi sunset and also arranged for the climb up the mighty volcano - Rinjani the next day. Met up with two Dutch men (father and son) and a British teacher currently posted in Jarkata during this over-night expedition. The climb itself was basically a series of "step-masters" which would last almost 8 hours where at the top, we could enjoy a great view (that came free with sore limbs) of the volcanic lake and Mother and Baby Rinjani ! The wind up there was fierce to say the least and we worried all night that our tent might get blown away (with us in it !). Our Dutch friends soldiered on to the top for another night while the rest of us could not wait to get to the Gili Islands where warm seas and tropical fish awaited.
The Gili Islands was the perfect place to sooth our tired limbs as there was nothing much to do except snorkeling and relaxing on the beach. The early dawn views of the distant Rinjani were spectacular ! We reluctantly left The Gilis and moved on to another peaceful destination - Sanur back on Bali proper and finished off our sojourn here with a few bottles of chilled rose to go with the soothing sunset, and of course, a few candle-lit dinners to keep Mandy happy ! During our journey to Sanur, we also spent a night at the port town of Padangbai where we stayed in an original room where we had the whole roof to ourselves !
The Gili Islands was the perfect place to sooth our tired limbs as there was nothing much to do except snorkeling and relaxing on the beach. The early dawn views of the distant Rinjani were spectacular ! We reluctantly left The Gilis and moved on to another peaceful destination - Sanur back on Bali proper and finished off our sojourn here with a few bottles of chilled rose to go with the soothing sunset, and of course, a few candle-lit dinners to keep Mandy happy ! During our journey to Sanur, we also spent a night at the port town of Padangbai where we stayed in an original room where we had the whole roof to ourselves !
Ubud - A Quiet Balinese Town
Posted On Sunday, October 22, 2006 at at 12:56 AM by Alvin
We spent a few nights in this quiet town of Ubud in the middle of Bali and acclimatised to the humidity of the Balinese climate. The amazing villa (La Subak) we stayed added much of the fun (now that's another story). Ubud was surrounded by rice fields and we spent most of our times strolling around, had some lunch and quickly went back to our amazing villa ! Little did we know, all this comfort and peace was to prepare us for the strenuous climb up the Rinjani !
