ambergesa: Lombok

I quickly agreed with all of my friends who have been to Bali before me that it is overcrowded, overpriced, over commercialized, and I was over it. Three days into Indonesia and I jumped on the four hour ferry from bali and headed east to the island of Lombok.

In Lombok I traveled to the northeastern tip of the island where three smaller islands called the Gilis (islands in Bahasa Indonesian) sit. I went to the largest and furthest one out, Gili Trawangan.

This is my kinda paradise. Beautiful turquoise waters with reefs great for scuba diving, small restaurants and bars and a decent amount of nightlife.

The only transportation on the island is bicycle (which I rented one day and rode around the island) or horse drawn carriages.

There are even individual movie booths right on the beach. Pick a movie, relax on some beanbags in the privacy of your own booth...and the cost is only ordering something to drink or eat (in my case a $2 beer). The movies are pirated so you can see the most current hits!

I stayed on the island for four days, diving every day and enjoying the vibe of the island and it's people.

Then I headed back to Lombok to see the island from a different perspective. I decided to take on Mount Rinjani. Mount Rinjani or Gunung Rinjani is an active volcano and rises to 3,726 m (12,224 ft), making it the second highest volcano in Indonesia. I met two friends from Canada while on Gili Trawangan and we hired a guide to take us up the hill, along with two porters who, THANK GOD, carried our food, tent, and sleeping gear. The trip was extremely challenging, as I haven't exactly been working out much on my trip, nor have I been above sea level in over two months so my lungs got quite the shock.

View of the Mountain from the car