A nice blue sky morning….we both went for the banana pancakes…sorry no maple syrup …here you get hot chocolate syrup > quite tasty. More conversations with the other guests {some young guns from France and the Netherlands} …as the elder statesman I could relate various old Bali stories to modest effect. In any event, today we are transferring to the island of Nusa Lembognan, with our pick-up early, the next stop is the beach to get the fastboat to Nusa Lembognan ….home for the next four nights. First a short prayer to the water gods …best to be erring on the safe side as a boat blew up crossing the strait a few weeks ago:
The “dock” is the beach our boat is the Dream Beach Express > 4 outboards, so something should work.
………..so off with the shoes and everyone troops into the water and climbs aboard…..porters carry the luggage and various supplies.
As soon as everyone is more or less aboard we are off…safety lecture = zero, no clue where the life jackets are or anything else. As we were told by others, these are fastboat “cowboys”….anchor up, 4 X 250 hp badass outboards rev up, as does the mega sound system blaring out U.S. and Indonesian hip hop at max volume, in fact the music is turned up loud enough to drown out the roar of the engines and the bass obviates the pounding of the boat on the waves…..SHOW TIME !! Actually the tunes work as the boat is seemingly in sync, pounding through some decent swells. All is good , no one vomits and 40 minutes later we are past the standing waves in mid strait and glide into the sandy beach without incident !!!
Next we reverse the procedure and once on the beach, we are directed to a mini truck and follow a mini road to our digs……way cool ….. the “cottages” are situated on a rise overlooking the harbor and Bandung Strait, with the hulking mass of Mt. Agung (volcano) in the background.
Can’t argue with our unit …all wood cottage , outdoor bathroom > my brother-in-law Bob would love this feature:
…. and a nice porch to take in the million dollar view …….after lunch, yes more Indonesian dishes …yummy! we figure a walk is a good idea. Countryside here is a tad sparse and with lots of garbage on the sides of the road …..environmental concern is probably a decade and a generation away. End up at the Panorama Bar & Restaurant….nice view of the townsite, bay etc. and the hordes of scooters and mini trucks…as the Bar sits on the curve of the road affording said panorama …….ahh the sweet smell of petrol as you suck down a Bintang Radler!! On the way home, I get to practise my negotiation skills with an 8-year-old beer merchant {not a typo} ….after beating him down by 20%….we march off with our prize of 4 ice-cold Bintangs!! Then a swim in the infinity pool, some beers and dinner….and it is time for the writer to sit down and scribble the account of this rather good day. No TV ….no Hillary or Trump news…….we don’t think anybody really cares in these parts.