Day 88: Mataram - the end of Ramadhan & Hari Raya

After Gili Island, we spent only one night in Senggigi. The experience was not good – had lunch at Yessy Cafe, a tourist trap recommended by our hotel staff. The hotel (Raja's) was nice, but it was the only hotel during our Indonesia trip so far that did not include a complimentary breakfast. It was also located between a club and a mosque where rock-n-roll and chanting went on till 3am. Not much sleep.

The next morning we took a bemo, similar to the jeepney in the Philipines, to Mataram, the largest city and the only KFC outlet on Lombok island. It was the eve of Hari Raya, the end of Ramadhan. The streets were filled with people busy shopping to celebrate the new year. What a change of scene from the Gili islands only a couple hours away.

parade on the street on the eve of Hari Raya

Originally we wanted to rent a scooter to visit a remote waterfall. Unfortunately all the scooters were rented out due to Rari Raya, so we took a bemo to visit the Water Palace. The rain started pouring down hard soon after we got on the bemo. Not wanting to turn back, we continued with the bemo ride. The street where we got off the bemo was flooded to ankle high. There weren't that many tourists due to the rain. Only a dozen pilgrims praying at the temple and some locals fishing at the Water Palace (yes, fishing right at where the king used to live).

the very wet Water Palace

pilgrims sheltering from the rain

In Mataram, we took a room at Oka Homestay, where we met Alex (Dutch & 1/8 Indonesian) and Nico (French) & Veronica (French Canadian). Nice people. Alex is contemplating about living in Indonesia for good while Nico and Veronica are working in Australia. We hung out at the homestay and talked late into the night while the fireworks were going off on the streets. Nico and Veronica took the same ferry as us back to Bali and had some interesting conversation. They live by the fruit season literally. They go wherever there are fruits to be picked from Okanagan in Canada to Cully in Switzerland. They are going back to Australia, just in time for the mango in October and cherry in late November (with one week of gold panning in between – which they are very serious about this prospect). Nico is going to spend one year in Canada, not knowing what he will do yet, maybe something in the oil sands. Veronica will spend one more year in Australia picking fruits to save up, so she can invest in a piece of land back in Montreal.

From left to right: Nico, Veronica and Alex

on the ferry back to Bali

Good luck to you all, Alex, Nico and Veronica!