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Senggigi to Bali
Monday, 24 May 2010
Our last day on Lombok was spent in Senggigi. Even though our bungalow was highly recommended by a guy from Kuta, it ended up being on the dirty side on a busy street and the bed sloped severely to the left. The room reeked of cigarettes and the touts on the beach were relentlessly trying to sell you stuff. It is unbelievable how many men here smoke cigarettes, I never saw one woman smoking though. Tobacco is the third largest crop here, after rice and garlic. We rented a motor bike and went on a search for some snorkeling gear. We tried two beach resorts and a dive shop. After about an hour we finally found a guy on the beach who rented us some gear. As we walked along the beach we said “no” countless times to the sellers. They mostly sell t-shirts, hammocks, jewelry, and sarongs. One guy was even trying to sell us a blow gun, ridiculous! They carry so much around with them and they are so nice. But they just don’t take no for an answer and they try and try and try. I feel sorry for them. However, it gets so exhausting saying no day after day. Our patience always ran thin. We reached the snorkeling spot. By this time it was too late in the day and the visibility was terrible. We saw a lot of sand, some seaweed and one lonesome fish on a small speck of coral. All that for nothing. It was comical though. We walked back on the beach, saying no thanks and got back to our room for lunch. Even when you eat at your hotel they come up and try to sell you stuff. So much for a relaxing on the beach!!
The town of Seggigi is on the sad side. Once upon a time it seemed like a bustling town, but now many stores and resorts are abandoned. At night however, the town has a little more life. There are some lights on in the restaurants and the horizon is dotted with fishing boats. We had one of our best dinners ever. The grilled fish is so fresh and I loved the red pepper and garlic. It is not too potent, but full of flavor and warmth.
The next morning we took a boat back to Bali. We said no a couple more times at the harbor (ugh!). When we got back to Padangbai we quickly found a taxi drivers amongst the bustling touts. The talkative driver entertained us on our way to Sanur. We stopped along the way to watch some people making beautiful silver jewelry. For our last night we splurged and stayed at a really nice resort. At these nicer resorts there are no sellers on the beach so we had a little peace and quiet. The ocean water was refreshingly cool and the resort swimming pool had a waterfall and bar where you could sit and have a drink. There was also a nice brick walkway on the beach I jogged on. It was a nice place for one night. More than that I would have felt like I wasn’t in Bali anymore!
We got to the airport at 11am. Our first flight left at 1pm. It was a 3 hour flight to Singapore, then a two hour layover, and a 4 hour flight to Hong Kong. We had another one hour layover and then an 11 hour flight to San Francisco where we got another 2 hour layover and a final flight to Reno. They lost my back in Singapore (doh!). We took a taxi ride to Truckee. 30+ hours of travel and we were home at 1:30am. I highly recommend Singapore airlines.
Truckee is cold! I got caught in the rain/snow on my bike. Even though I was being pelted in my face with the chilly mountain air I was smiling. It’s good to be home.
Posted: 05.24.2010
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