Our destination for the day was Sengiggi, a small resort town located just North of Lomboks capital city Mataram on the Western side of Lombok. The island of Lombok is very small, it only takes a couple of hours to get from one side of the island to the other, so there was no rush.
My motorcycle required fuel though, I had travelled just over 500 kilometres since refuelling last and I had never exceeded 500 klm's in range before. The first petrol station I stopped at had no fuel, then a second again had no fuel, I was beginning to think I would have to stop and refill at one of the numerous road side homes selling fuel in bottles, the risk with that option is that some sellers combine kerosene with the petrol to increase their profit but it decreases the already low octane level of the fuel commonly used in Indonesia. Eventually, with the trip meter reading just over 550 klm's I stopped at a third petrol station, they had fuel and feeling relieved I filled up.
The sky ahead looked black and threatening so I put on the plastic wet weather jacket and pants before exiting the petrol station. It can be a tough call to dress in the plastics, ride on with no plastics you get wet through, but that also cools you down in the tropical heat. Dress in plastics you stay mostly dry, but the plastics form a bit of a sweat suit which can be uncomfortable and physically draining. So far I have chosen to use the wet weather gear and remove it as soon as the skies clear. there was no chance of the sky clearing today, I rode on and on in the constant rain all afternoon, then as we approached Mataram the vehicle traffic became dense, slowed and we crawled into the outskirts of Mataram, we continued to crawl in dense traffic as we skirted the city on our way to Sengiggi. Not far North of Mataram the traffic thinned and the road begun to hug the coast, the view made up for being wet and tired, and soon enough we were in Sengiggi.
Michael has friends living in Sengiggi, so after a quick phone call for a hotel recommendation, we were checked into two very nice hotel rooms and I had dried off ready to head out and about. Sengiggi is home to quite a few expats and it easy to see why, beautiful coastal views, clean and tidy street scape and a cheaper cost of living in comparison to Australia. We had a drink with several Aussie / Kiwi expats at a bar owned and run by a New Zealand women. Apart from Michael and I, there was also another Mick, so for that evening we had Mick 1, Mick 2 and Mick 3.There are many hotels and resorts in Sengiggi, most occupying prime real estate along the coastal strip. There are also a few top notch restaurants, some of which provide a spectacular view while dining, backing on to the picturesque black sand beaches along the Sengiggi coast. Michael and I were keen to sample some fine dining, so after a little internet research a few notes were made and we had a list of the dining establishment for the next few days. Rather than head to the number one listed restaurant in town first, we ate at one within the top ten. When fish is not available I also like a curry, I was not disappointed with the restaurant choice or my choice of curry, it was exceptional and would prove hard to beat. We ate at the number five listed restaurant the second night, I had fish and it was also exceptional, night three it was time to try the number one listed restaurant in town, and it proved a little disappointing, to be honest, it was forgettable, literally I can not remember what I ate that night. Let me just say, at the risk of sounding like some sort of food snob, the restaurants main meals I ate were valued at less than ten dollars each, cheap compared to Australia.
Apart from some great eating while in Sengiggi, our boyhood intrigue was sparked after reading an article in a local magazine about a sport played in the area that involved spinning tops. "Gasing' is the sport, played by two teams of six to eight men using timber spinning tops. The spinning tops, in various shapes and sizes, some painted bright colours have one encased ball bearing in the bottom that allows the top to spin for a considerable amount of time on the uneven dirt playing area.
One participant from the first team sets his top in motion by winding a thin rope around the upper edge of the top, then while maintaining a hold on the other end of the rope he throws the top to the ground, launching the top into a spin. One player from the opposing team then launches his top into motion with vengeance towards the opponents top, trying to knock it out of the arena, stop its spinning motion or worst case scenario, which happened while we watched, break the opponents top in half. This continues until each teams participants top have been launched at the others. Then it is a waiting game, the team with a top that remains spinning the longest wins.
After several very relaxing days in Sengiggi it was time to move on from the island of Lombok, a ride / drive South to the town of Lumbar had us boarding another ferry for the 4 hour trip to the Indonesian Island of Bali.
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