The "Speed" Bus' Cousin

My red moped developed a bad habit of not starting when I was far from home. Some sort of issue with the connection between the key & the battery, even though the battery was charged just fine. So instead of fixing the bike, my neighbor dropped off a different bike. The exchange of “issues” are that on the new bike the speedometer and odometer are defunct. So now I careen all over southern Bali guessing how fast I’m going- someone told me it will make me a better driver- keep your fingers crossed. The other issue is that I think the bike might be a cousin of the bus featured in the movie “Speed.” When the engine’s cold, and I go below a certain speed, the engine doesn’t explode, but it does roll over & die. Keeps me and the dogs sleeping in the street on our toes in the morning. PS some people asked for photos of the bike with the surfboard strapped to it- here goes:

Brisket

To balance out my obsession with Salak, I’m terribly missing my mom’s brisket. Perhaps it is because healthy looking cows live about 10M from my room. They are most vocal when I use the shower, and in bed just before I fall asleep. Or rather, correction, I notice them when my head is still and I’m hungry, they’re probably not louder during those moments. I’m happy that my house is surrounded by cow pasture instead of rice fields, given that mosquitoes lay their eggs in the still water of the flooded rice paddies, but I need to break the association between the moooo and the craving for tender brisket!

Salak

I’m back in Bali, and currently obsessed with a fruit called Salak, or in English, Snakefruit. The outside looks like snakeskin, and the inside fruit looks like giant gloves of garlic. The consistency is a bit like raw garlic but the taste is mellow apple-esque tanginess.

Paradise, with a few additions

This post will give you an idea of the pace of life in the Gilis for the rest of the trip. It involved reading, playing ukulele, beach walks & snorkeling around our hotel area.

Here is the view:

The camel shaped, driftwood lamppost that greets visitors: The shady spot to chill by the ocean, sweet with bees from all the fragrant flowers (the landscaping was incredible):
Ahh, paradise. But perhaps there is more that one could add to paradise? Perhaps a giant, boat shaped (now defunct) outdoor disco? Perhaps a giant, boat shaped outdoor disco that hovers over a heart shaped pool?

Perhaps it could be accessorized with a crocodile head festooned with fins and deer antlers?

And dolphins jumping over sea foam?

And perhaps the effect would be all the better if a bird-turtle was put on the head of one of the dolphins?

For relaxation, peace & entertainment value, I highly recommend the Hotel Savanah/Salobai!

Snorkeling in the Gilis

Finally kicked whatever viruses were rattling around me out, or at least mostly out of my body. The victory celebration involved booking a snorkeling excursion in a glass bottomed boat. I thought that a glass bottomed boat was superfluous given how clear and beautiful the water already was, but I had no idea how cool it would be to see the shallow, crazy colored water through a giant window:

The list of promised animal sightings did not disappoint. The most majestic being the sea turtles. I followed one that was as large as the hood of my Honda Accord for a bit. The patterns on it shell were repeated on its head- the rectangles and trapezoids of armor.

Still no Nemo sightings (i.e. clownfish), but all kinds of tropical fish (sorry no underwater camera to bring this all to life…)

The 3 Gili islands are flat, with a dry climate. Lombok, looming just a few miles away looks very different, the mountains seem to trap more clouds & condensation. When I first glanced at this view I thought it was snow accumulated at the peak!

I was to find out from friends who visited Lombok after this trip that the climate and landscape is more like northern California, minus the kajillion people.

Below is a shot of my favorite, well, the only pirate boat around the Gilis. It's either a pirate boat or the creepy boat in the movie "Dead Calm."
To test the limits of just how healthy we were, we took the long way around the island on our bikes to get home. Even though my bike had a nifty rat trap, it did not have nifty clean gears or fat tires. So I ended up pushing the bike through plenty sandy spots. The ocean views did not vary much from our home hotel, but the path at times was charming:

Sick in the Gilis

Gili Trawagan upon arrival showed lots of temptations: fish laid out ready to be grilled, calm aquamarine waters, the promise of sea turtles, reef sharks, and stingrays on snorkel trips, and unfortunately I can’t take advantage of any of it. I’m sick, holed up in my (thankfully) AC hotel room, going through packs of tissues and local Tylenol.

Luckily when we arrived we slogged all the way to the northern tip of the island for a room,

and lucked out on a deal with this isolated, but sweet bungalow:

Arrival in the Gili Islands

Decided to take a side trip to the Gili Islands with my friends. I sprung for the 80 minute boat ride over the 6 hour boat ride to avoid the possibility of getting seasick in front of my friends.

80 minutes is a world of difference from the beaches near my home in Berawa- no waves, white sand instead of black sand, and no constant whine of mopeds. There are no motorized vehicles on the island, the 3 options of transport being 1) foot 2) rusty and sand-clogged bicycle 3) horse cart:

Note the surfboard on the roof!

For an overview before I plunge into my overview, check out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gili_Islands