From Eh to Selamat Siang!

Hi there we know it's been about a month since our last post but boy has it been busy! We flew to Indonesia! In case your Indonesian language skills aren’t up to snuff and didn’t get the reference in our last post we wanted to come right out and say it. But anyways in light of our recent decisions/life changes, we decided it would be kind of fun to get away for a one week vacation (from our vacation) before James starts his new job!

Upon scouring SE Asia, we found our cheapest destination from Cairns (from the international terminal) was Indonesia. Now this wasn’t a fully thought out and developed idea, and "cheap flights" were still quite expensive but what do you expect when we came up with the idea on a Thursday night, booked flights on the Friday and left on Sunday, we call that reckless spontaneous efficiency!!

We landed in Bali late on Sunday and spent the night at a hotel a stones throw away from the airport. Despite being able to see the hotel from the terminal, it was still a taxi ride away, one that we didn’t have the exact change for. We weren’t there for long, about 5 hours total as we had an early morning flight to Lombok. Doing the math here, I think at this point, we spent more time in the Bali airport than we did in Bali…

The early morning puddle jump to the nieghbouring island of Lombok was short & sweet and in no time we were bartering with taxi drivers as the sun began peaking through the clouds. Our first stop on Lombok was Kuta, a small beach town on the south side of the island full of surfers, homestays and coffee shops. Our homestay, the one and only Yuli’s, was super accommodating of our early, early check in and let us relax by their pools, and they even kept a close eye on our luggage. We walked around and explored the town making it down to the beach to take in our first views of the crystal blue waters. While the water was stunningly beautiful, the plastic waste on the beach was not so much so, the first indication that Indonesia is the most plastic polluted country on the planet.

One super cool shop that we visited in Kuta was Project Hiu, a company that our roomie Michael told us about as his girlfriend knows the owner! Project Hiu is a really cool company that repurposes the local shark fishing fleet and creates tourism opportunities. They employ previous shark fisherman to lead dives, rent the fishing vessels to use as dive boats, tag sharks, provide scholarships for shark fisherman to continue their education, and so many other cool things! We haven’t done it justice in our explanation but feel free to check them out! :https://www.projecthiu.com

In the afternoon, we did as all people do and rented a moped to zoom around the island. We scoot scooted to Selong Belanak beach, a beautiful white sand beach where tons of surfers were absolutely shredding on gnarly waves, dude. Just kidding, this is the beginner surfing beach and the gnarly waves today were about 6 inches high. Having avoided the persistent attempts to get us to sign up for surf lessons we scootered home but not before stopping at a paraglide launching zone to take in stunning views over the islands coast. Our scooter struggled making it up the steep hill but thankfully it didn’t backfire too many times. 

Over the course of our exploring and relaxing by the pool, we worked up a real appetite for some Indonesian food! We tried two different places and ate some pretty tasty rice and noodle dishes. In fact, for nearly all of our meals here, James has eaten noodles. (This is some foreshadowing). After two good first days in Indonesia it was time for the main event, hiking Mount Rinjani, a ~3700m active volcano in the Northern section of Lombok!

The hike was the one thing that had been accompanied by a plan while we were in Indonesia, we booked a tour in advance with one of the top companies, and was it ever worth it, they picked us up, fed us, and sheltered us for THREE days!

The first day, our private driver picked us up from Kuta and drove us 3 hours across the island to get to the tour office. Lombok is not that big of an island but it takes a surprisingly long time to get from one end to the other, however the drivers here do everything in their power to make the drive shorter and get to their destination ASAP. By 8:30PM we made it to the Green Rinjani office where they served us dinner, briefed us for our next 2 days, and then sent us off to bed before our big hike started! 

Here’s a summary of our briefing: Mount Rinjani is an active stratovolcano and the 2nd highest volcano in Indonesia! It’s also the 15th highest peak in the country, but who’s counting. It has unique geography as it used to stand at around ~4300m with a twin peak, but in the 1200s the largest volcanic eruption of the last 2000 years took place, blasting the top of the volcano straight off, encompassing the world in volcanic ash, starting a volcanic winter leading to famine across Europe. This gigantic eruption created in place of a peak, a crater, housing a large lake with the active core of the volcano sitting in the middle. Mount Rinjani now stands at 3726m and our chosen route takes us to the crater ridge on Day 1, then to the new summit sunrise and then all the way back down on Day 2.

Now meet the team: we have our fearless leader Roby, who paced us excellently and timed us so perfectly as to ensure his next carton of cigarettes was never too far away. Then there was Marie, an Austrian nurse who hates hiking but booked this hiking trip and several others… (we're not sure she understands the word Hate properly). And then there was us, keen and ready to climb! Our small group ready to take on the volcano the following day. 

Bright and early we were served breakfast with the most stunning view of the mountain, and then we were off to the Mount Rinjani National Park office to check in and start trekking! Day one was a 10km uphill hike to make it from 1000m to 2639m, camping at the ridge of the crater. Day one was pretty easy, with tons of breaks including a very long lunch break where we were served like royalty in a tent with a table and chairs, enjoying a massive fruit tray, hot and cold drinks, rice with veggies, and chicken.  The trails were in good condition, and on the lower portion you were accompanied by herds of cattle grazing the grasslands, though many unfortunately placed piles of manure were also present.

The food for the trek was delicious and came in massive portions, which is crazy considering that porters carry all of the stuff up the mountain in baskets weighing 30-50kg wearing only flip flops. Not only was there a ton of food and water to carry but also 2 four person tents for the 3 of us, plus our dining room set up, all the cooking gear, sleeping gear, and a toilet tent. Safe to say we gave them a generous tip for their hard work at the end.  

After a delicious dinner, we tucked in to bed before our early morning. On Day 2, we woke up and started hiking at 2AM to make it to the summit in time for sunrise. The ridge line up to the top was skinny, windy, freezing cold, and made up of loose volcanic gravel, making the hiking slow going, but the views from the top made it all worth it!! It was stunning!! 

At this point the noodles and oil-rich foods had taken a toll on James’ stomach so the way down the mountain was a more rushed pace. But we made it up and down with only a scratched elbow and an upset GI tract.

The hiking was great! Not the easiest terrain with the loose volcanic rocks, mud, and cow patties, making it a bit slippery on the way up and down and a few quite steep sections, but we crushed the hike. We can thank the Pyramid hike in Cairns as it was really good training for Rinjani, as neither of us found it too difficult, but that can also be partially attributed to the monumentally slow pace that our group kept to, mainly due to Robby needing a smoke break every 400m!

The most dangerous part of the hiking experience wasn't summiting the mountain but in fact the drive after the hike. On the way to our next hotel the driver seemed to be training for an F1 race in a Toyota minivan. He was swerving and weaving, honking his horn every 6 seconds and passing every single car/motorbike on the whole of Lombok. Grasping the handles and trying not to fall over on turns was more physically taxing than anything else over the last few days had been!!

But we made it out alive and arrived to our last destination on Lombok: a resort and spa. This resort was a little bit of a splurge, when comparing to other options on the island but the price was nothing compared to what it would’ve been at home or in Australia. Our plan for the next two days was to relax and recover. Do absolutely nothing. And we did that very well. We relaxed by the pool and then got absolutely pampered. We booked a 3-hour couples spa package which included a 60 minute couples massage, a body scrub, a facial, a manicure & pedicure, then wrap it all up with a milk bath. 

Our spa experience was very relaxing, and a bit comical at times as the beachfront spa had one way glass, the glass acts as a mirror on the outside and of course multiple people were taking mirror selfies of the sunset, but from our perspective made it look as though they were taking photos of us. A bit unnerving but we found the humour in it. Properly pampered, we had a drink at happy hour and watched the sunset before peacefully sleeping. 

Early the next morning we were off to the airport, thankfully our taxi was less of a speed racer than the last. With a quick bite to eat we hopped on the plane back to Bali, our plan was to spend a couple days in Ubud, relaxing by the rice terraces and exploring the markets. After an uneventful puddle jump we grabbed yet another taxi to whisk us off to Ubud. There we were staying in yet another gorgeous hotel, complete with a spa and a private room pool (here we were really living in luxury).

Upon arriving at the hotel several hours early, we sat by the communal pool, took in the fresh air, and made plans for the next day. After a few hours of relaxing, the room was ready and WOW, it was stunning, by far the nicest place either of us has ever stayed, and it still didn't cost a fraction of what a motel at home would! With the day behind us we grabbed a bit to eat at the hotel restaurant, and if the experience wasn't already amazing, the food was incredible! With our bellies full we headed to bed, ready for our final day together in Indonesia before heading our separate ways.

In the morning we decided to make the most of the roomside pool with the complimentary "floating breakfast", a delicious breakfast of fruit, coffee/tea, eggs benedict, and a croque monsieur, all served on a floating basket poolside. Now that's a way to start the morning!

With breakfast eaten, and only a little bit of dragon fruit making it's way to the bottom we got ready to head into town to check out the markets, rice patties, and temples! We started at the markets, and after almost buying a funky pair of sunglasses for Katie, and a metallic frog for our roommate (in retrospect we are glad we didn't as it was certainly made of lead) we decided it was time to check out the rice paddies.

We stumbled down a narrow alleyway, over bamboo bridges following a dirt trail until we reached the fields. It was a beautiful walk, heightened by a series of concrete pads etched with the names and memories of those who volunteered to build the path, we even stumbled across an Aaron & Alex honeymoon tile, and wondered if they had snuck away to Indonesia...

At the end of the path was a little cafe, filled with coconuts carved into all manners of faces and art. We enjoyed a homemade fruit juice before heading back down the trail to grab a cab to the hotel.

With our final day behind us, we once again grabbed dinner at the hotel restaurant, which was just as delicious as the night before. Then James met his Grab driver, and headed for the airport, Katie made her way back to the room and got ready for her early morning flight to the Philippines!!!

As we are writing this, James is back home in Cairns, learning the ropes at his new job, and Katie is spending everyday underwater diving in tropical paradise! Keep your eyes peeled for another update coming soon, lots has happened since starting the writing of this post so more to come next time!