Bali and Lombok

Hindu Temple

Let’s talk about my holiday, for those of you who are interested, I have to post these photos.  As you know by now I have been to the Islands of Bali and Lombok in Indonesia from 17/11/11 to 27/11/11. I went with a tour group of ten consisting of Germans, Canadians, Australians, and English. The group turned out to be fantastic and we really enjoyed each other’s company and doing everything together. For me it was like a new experience after being away from people and on my own for so long. We went to one of the volcanoes on Bali and did the usual ‘tourist trap’ round where you are pressured to buy stuff you do not need before taking the ferry to Lombok. We had guided walks through rice fields and farms that are in operation for centuries, still using traditional water buffalo ploughs. We saw monkeys in the rainforest and traditional weaving in the villages. On the NW coast of Lombok are three islands called the ‘Gili Islands’. We spend two days there, swimming and snorkelling the coral reefs. We even met some turtles in the water. The food on these Islands was very good and not expensive at all. This was the highlight of the tour. If I ever go back again I would go straight there and just enjoy a good rest away from the world on an Island that you can walk rite around in 1.5 hour. If you ever want to get away from the world and still have a good time, this is it. You can fly directly to Lombok and take a taxi to the Gili Islands. 

The negative part of all this was the fact that whenever you meet or deal with somebody it cost you money. I don’t mind giving tips [because I look at it as charity or aid to my fellow human beings], but they tend to take you for as ride whenever they get a chance. Porters at the Airport are only satisfied with $10 to carry a bag 100 meters. Even the children know two words in English: “Money please?” About the taxis in Bali I don’t even want to talk. I have had some bad experiences while traveling on my own in Bali. Bali is not a cheap place to have a holiday. The beaches that I saw looked dirty and not so nice compared to the beaches of Australia. Lombok is much better. Maybe because the people there are Muslim while they are mostly Hindu in Bali and more used to ripping off the tourist.

I suppose things are being done differently in the places we travel to, which is why we love to go there. We have to accept these differences in our dealings with local people and not try to change them for our own benefit or comfort. Some places operate on a different concept of time and things happen when they happen. If you want to have a happy and cheerful trip you should keep calm, cheerful and friendly as humanly possible. It helps a lot if you are with a good group and group-leader. Making new friend is one of the greatest joys of travel these days because you can stay in contact over the internet even if you never see each other again. I can add about ten more to my list. That is great.  

 To enjoy yourself you have to be open-minded about development and poverty in local areas, and respect that the local people may wish to develop economically and gain access to material possessions that we take for granted. This undoubtedly changes villages and makes them less ‘unspoiled’ for travellers. A role we can play is to share some of the realities of our western culture, which may be materially rich, but is often lacking in spiritually and community awareness. We can already see the negative influences that come from increased material wealth. This will take a long time [as in the western world and everywhere else], to remedy. Unfortunately development has to go everywhere, even the remotest islands, no matter the cost to human emotions and states of awareness; it is part of evolutionary development and the big Plan. The Sun shines on all. Where It shines, there is growth, and where there is growth there must be evolution.

In general, if you are in a guided tour group, you are much better off than traveling alone. They still take you for a ride but it is not as bad as being on your own. If you go with a tour and the tour cost $1000 than be sure to take another $1000 for all the additional expenses. Double the price of the tour and you can have a good time. This is a good guideline all over the world…. I think I am getting to old for this.



THE LAST NIGHT.