We docked in Lombok as planned by 7 am this morning. It was a short cruise ride from Bali. The excursion manager said that the times for trips will vary as they set up and organize transportation and guides. Some of these stops are new to Viking, so I get that it takes a while for things to work smoothly. Anyway, Surprise, our tour today was earlier than originally scheduled, with a 7:30 am start. We made it but our bus was more than half empty, other PAX must not have checked new times, or decided they would rather sleep in.
The population in Indonesia is 267,000,000; with about 5,300,000 living on Lombok.
Sunrise views from our cabin:
The local community greeted PAX as they left the ship.
The prime religion on Lombok is Islamic, whereas in Bali it is Hindu. Unfortunately there is so much poverty and trash that it was a disappointing stop, other than the mosque visit. Islamic center Mosque, the biggest mosque on the island, is located in Mataram (capital city). Women must cover shoulders and knees. I borrowed a full covering gown in order to see the inside. Oh and shoes off to enter.
Lombok is known for its beaches and surfing. I'm not clear on this beach at the town of Senggigi...one person described it as 6 miles of white sand and our guide talked about the black sand. It was pretty much deserted, however the beach at the hotel where we were dropped off was busy with visitors and lots of locals selling their wares. Ready to bargin. They weren't picky with currency, USD was just fine.
Locals working the rice fields. In this, the poor side of the island, much work was done by hand (and in bare feet). In big commercial operations this work is automated.
The local fisherman use these outrigger boats, ideal for handling the big waves. It looks like the outriggers are made of pvc piping.
The internet on Viking is giving me fits. Oh is it slow. Today it has taken 5-7 minutes to load each photo. Therefore today you get the cream of the crop photos. I hope you enjoyed them!
The covering look so stylish, did they let you keep it after you left the temple?
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