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Post by Baz Faz on Feb 11, 2018 10:07:40 GMT 2
We have had a final day in Munduk, walking trails, not getting lost, seeing a couple of waterfalls. We have been here for a week and people recognise us. A girl today showed us her phone on which the wallpaper was a photo so us taken by her mother. Fame. It has been a good experience but we are ready to move on
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Post by Baz Faz on Feb 12, 2018 11:15:00 GMT 2
After a week in Munduk we left today. Our guest house gave us farewell presents of two little wood carvings. This was generous of them since we were only paying the equivalent of £14 pounds a night for our room with bathroom and terrace and an included breakfast.
We had a car and driver to take us to our next stop, Baturtiti. Our hotel is much grander and we have been upgraded to a villa with a lake view. According to Boking.com it is common to be upgraded as the hotel is seldom full. Anyway we are sitting on our upstairs terrace admiring a misty lake. We have been on an expedition to view the Hindu temple in the lake. Unfortunately it began to rain so that was a disappointment.
There are botanical gardens here which we hope to visit tomorrow. Please cross scissors that Tuesday is rain free.
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Post by tiltedflipcurves on Feb 12, 2018 15:06:18 GMT 2
Good news -- it has rained so much here that our basement flooded and there can't be any left for you. Happy trails!
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Post by Baz Faz on Feb 14, 2018 16:07:44 GMT 2
A car and driver picked us up this morning and drove us down to Padangbai. This is the port where 95% of tourists go to what they call the Gillis. Gilli is the Bahasa word for island of which Indonesia has 17000. We shall be catching a ferry on Saturday to Lombok and then making our way to Gilli Gede, which is not the Gillis that other tourists go to.
It is good to be beside the sea at last. There are beaches to either side of the port so we'll be swimming tomorrow.
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Post by Baz Faz on Feb 15, 2018 4:11:18 GMT 2
We are enjoying Padangbai. We have taken what is called the de luxe room in our guest house. This means the shower has hot waterub6_david02 and a man appears to take our breakfast order and bring it to our terrace,
Whoever we go travelling I always sample the local hairdresser. It was a problem here as there was no light in the hairdressing salon (I use the term salon generously) but thankfully I noticed after 5 minutes that she believed my parting was on the right when it is on the left. Maybe she frequently makes this mistake as her English was limited to the word Sorry. Anyway I have ended up with a sort of North Korean cut. Call me Kim-il-Faz from now on - or at least until my hair grows somewhat.
We plan on a beach day. Unfortunately it has clouded over. Mrs Faz warns this is the very worst for sunburn. I am not daunted. I have unzipped my convertible trousers into shorts. I shall be wearing sandals. The Brits are notorious for wearing socks with sandals but Mrs Faz would probably go to a different beach if I did.
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Post by Baz Faz on Feb 15, 2018 10:55:45 GMT 2
Today's beach excursion was not a success. We climbed over the headland to what is without intended irony called Blue Lagoon Beach. No sign of blueness in the water. As for the beach I would say it was about 50 metres long. A tree gave a bit of shade at one end but mainly over rocks. Mrs Faz went in for a swim while I searched for other possibilities. In the end I rented a couple of loungers from the cafe. It was a waste of money because after 5 minutes a drizzle started. We retreated to the cafe and the drizzle turned into steady rain. We had coffee. Then we had lunch. When the rain stopped at 3.30 we cut our losses and walked over the promontory and back to our room and its terrace.
Tomorrow we'll try the beach over the promontory in the other direction.
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Post by Scrubb on Feb 15, 2018 18:46:39 GMT 2
Hmmm. Well, I hope that Mrs_Faz enjoyed her swim, at least! Better luck tomorrow.
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Post by Baz Faz on Feb 16, 2018 2:15:47 GMT 2
This morning it is hot and sunny. We will try the beach on the right hand side of town. Mrs Faz is keen we should take umbrellas.
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Post by kuskiwi on Feb 16, 2018 4:47:40 GMT 2
Mrs Faz always makes sense.
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Post by Baz Faz on Feb 16, 2018 10:53:31 GMT 2
No rain but we did see ominous clouds on the horizon. We followed a sign off the road that promised White Sand Beach 300 metres. After thre or four minutes there was another sign promising White Sand Beach 300 metres. Another couple of metres there was... Well, you've got the picture. We scrambled down the last bit and there was a nice white sand beach, much bigger than yesterday. We rented a couple of sun loungers with a big umbrella to keep the sun off. The water was warm though the sandy bottom shelved steeply and we were warned about currents.
We had a simple gado-gado lunch at one of the cafes. When I paid the bill I was asked how old I was. When I told the girl she said "you strong man". I blushed becoming.ly and she gave me two chocolate bars.
We took the umbrellas to kep the rain away. It was effective. The downside was it was two more things in the daypack which I was carrying.
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Post by Baz Faz on Feb 17, 2018 11:59:01 GMT 2
This morning we caught the 9 am ferry that only left an hour late. Four and a Half hours later we landed on the island of Lombok. Then a 45 minute taxi ride. Then a ride on a catamaran to the island of Gede. It is a smallish island with no cars. I guess there are tracks because I know there is a village. But for the moment we are just getting used to the place. Our guesthouse has no wifi but what you do is go to the hotel next door, have a cup of tea, ask their wifi password and then it should work in our villa. We shall see.
First impressions are that our place is attractive in a quaint way, has a nice garden and is right at the edge of the sand. But everything is 50% more expensive than Bali.
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Post by Baz Faz on Feb 19, 2018 6:34:26 GMT 2
There is something about the island of Gede that induces indolence. Our guest house (caller Flower Paradise) has a couple of wooden platforms with roofs to shield us from the tropical sun. Yesterday we seemed to spend most of the day there, reading, maybe even resting my eyes. Mrs Faz had a swim. I didn't even manage that. However we did have a stroll along the seashore.
We spoke to an Australian who has been here for decades. He bought a big chunk of land (In the name of his adopted Indonesian sons) and had plans to build villas. His money ran out and only a couple of houses have ben partly built. We went walking up through his land this morning and enjoyed a fabulous view to islands all round.
We are having drinks at the next door posh hotel (I think it is the only hotel on the island) to use their wifi. The code we got a couple of days ago won't work from our villa. I hope the new password we have been given will connect us as it is expensive visiting here.
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Post by Baz Faz on Feb 21, 2018 11:15:02 GMT 2
We are idling on an idyllic island. It is sunny, the sea is warm, the walks are gentle, the views Tropical perfection. Do I need to say more?
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Post by Scrubb on Feb 21, 2018 20:06:32 GMT 2
Sigh. We had an "extreme cold warning" this morning. It was -31C when I woke up, but with a wind making it colder. Sigh.
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Post by Baz Faz on Feb 23, 2018 12:49:29 GMT 2
Today we left the island of Gede and went to Lombok. We hired a car and driver and came to the village of Tetebatu which is near the dormant volcano of Rinjani. I hope it stays dormant but this afternoon we did come across a sign pointing out the evacuation route.
I didn't post much from Gede because I find the iPad fiddly and also it was tricky getting online using the smart hotel next to where we are staying. After six days we were sad to leave. Sayuti (the owner of our bungalows) also seemed sad. She came down to the shore as we clambered aboard our little boat having embraced us warmly. It must be almost unknown for a Muslim woman to kiss an unrelated man on both cheeks. And Mrs Faz got even more heartfelt hugs, with tears welling up in Sayuti's eyes.
We are staying in a very rustic place run by a number of young brothers. It is all delightful apart from the dodgy steps up from our bungalow to the restaurant. I enquired about dinner and they have fish from their own pool so it should be fresh. They also have rice wine which one of the brothers said was much more warming in the stomach than beer. I think Islam is a bit frayed at the edges here.
We have four nights here. Tomorrow we are going on a hike to a waterfall (provided I have survived the rice wine).
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Post by auntieannie on Feb 23, 2018 13:40:19 GMT 2
stay safe. do you think the rice wine will "kill the potential germs" in the food?
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Post by Voy on Feb 23, 2018 16:38:12 GMT 2
re the rice wine.. somewhere deep in the depths of my mind comes a bit from studying early Islam in college -- beverages from "the fruit of the vine" were ok, it was only "fruit of the grain" that was a nono.. ok ok.. rice is a grain, but it's also the Method whatever - I hope it was ok drinking !
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Post by Baz Faz on Feb 25, 2018 3:08:45 GMT 2
The internet is very poor here. I wrote a report and it just vanished. Grr.
The rice wine was stronger than we were told but we still managed to negotiate the steps to our bungalow.
As you know our backpacks are smal. However still need to buy some little gifts. So we are off mow to a local market..
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Post by Scrubb on Feb 25, 2018 5:26:07 GMT 2
Be careful on those steps...
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Post by Baz Faz on Feb 25, 2018 14:39:12 GMT 2
Bad news tonight. They have almost run out of rice wine. We have commandeered what is left in the bottle so the Australians will have to make do with beer.
We have had a good day, seeing a traditional market which was like something out of the Middle Ages. Then we went to a village cooperative and were vastly entertained by a charming woman who made us rings for our fingers out of thin bamboo strips. We bought several little presents to take back to England. This afternoon we walked up the village street where people now greet us as old friends. There is a fierce dog that apparently bites westerners but a woman shooed it away. We went up further to the dammed lake where girls wanted to be photographed with us. One girl of fifteen or so was very unislamic and even leaned on my shoulder.
It is a bit chaotic at the guest house restaurant as the least capable of the five brothers seems to be in charge. Let us hope he can cook our food properly. We have ordered fried fish and gado-gado.
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Post by Scrubb on Feb 25, 2018 18:40:40 GMT 2
Hmmm. I thought you might have been willing to "sacrifice" that rice wine to the Aussies...
Good luck with the fish and gado-gado!
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Post by Baz Faz on Feb 26, 2018 3:27:08 GMT 2
We are staying in a guest house that is pretty self sufficient. Its orice padi is right next to where I am sitting. Last night's fish came out of their pond when I ordered it. This morning at breakfast Mrs Faz ordered a pancake which comes with chocolate and grated coconut. One of the brothers was sent to pick the coconut. Further supplies of rice wine were found last night so all was well.
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Post by Baz Faz on Mar 2, 2018 15:46:09 GMT 2
We are safe in Chipping Sodbury but only just. We had a 29 hour journey from central Kuala Lumpure by Uber (cheaper than train) to KL airport, plane to Istanbul, delay while our next plane was de-iced, on to London Gatwick, Mrs Faz ran to stop our bus leaving while I waited for the final backpack on the conveyor belt, in to Bristol bus station, caught the bus and got to CS at about 5. The bus lost traction in the snow and the driver said he wouldn't be doing the journey again. There have been no buses since and almost no cars.
Outside there is about 5 centimetres of snow. Unbelievable that Britain comes to halt with this.
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Post by auntieannie on Mar 2, 2018 18:29:43 GMT 2
glad you are both safely home. I hope you can take a couple days to readjust to Britain.
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Post by Scrubb on Mar 5, 2018 4:58:38 GMT 2
Ugh, that journey home sounds grueling! Glad that you and Mrs_Faz made it, and hope you're comfortably warm inside!
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Post by Ethel Mertz on Nov 30, 2019 5:59:50 GMT 2
Since I can no longer travel, I've discovered that by simply reading Bazes travelogues and Mrs. Bazes photos, I can be mostly sated. I can proudly say that my very last trip, I was able to pack a small carryon Faz style. I still was over burdened.
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Post by Baz Faz on Nov 30, 2019 11:46:45 GMT 2
Since I can no longer travel, I've discovered that by simply reading Bazes travelogues and Mrs. Bazes photos, I can be mostly sated. I can proudly say that my very last trip, I was able to pack a small carryon Faz style. I still was over burdened. Ethel, you'll be able to travel vicariously from the middle of January when Mrs Faz and I are off for 6 weeks to Thailand and Burma. Keep coming back here.
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Post by Voy on Dec 2, 2019 17:25:26 GMT 2
Not to disparage Baz and MrsFaz travelogues - but don't miss Mark's !
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