Nuptual Queries

I have already rec'd several common questions re.: this wedding.

1. Bride looks awfully young!?
Yes - brides can be as young as 12 and average 14/15.

2. How many wives?
Being a muslin country - men are allowed as many wives as they can afford up to 30. Most Indonesian men have 2 wifes.

3. Where is groom in pics?
The groom is not "carried" like the bride. He is at the end of procession, walking, hitting a bong with the rythm of whatever the "band" is playing.

Weddings, Circumcisions, & Mountains

This is the beginning of a wedding procession we ran into in the mountains. The men in costumes leading are really a "band" comprised of incredibly loud flutist and symbol players playing tunes sounding middle-eastern.

Myself and a Dutch couple. split the cost for a driver and guide (total = $70) to take us on a 300 kilometer (about 175 mi) tour of the mountains on Lombok Island, Indonesia. The 9+ hour drive was interesting with a few surprises.

The girl in white is the bride being carried - she is positioned in the middle of the procession. There are 2 others being carried on hoisted chairs behind her. These are young boys who are going to be circumcized (sp?) - in a separate ceremony. Odd combination of events - combining the ceremonies allows the families involved to save money on the band which is evidently a must for both ceremonies!



Another pic of the wedding/circumcision procession.



#173 - Me at a mountain waterfall - after a 1+ hour trek down which was followed by a much longer trek back up!



Left: A view of the terraced rice patties found in the mountain areas of Lombok.

Right: The view from the mountain pass we crossed over during trip. Very cool at this elevation - 70 vs 90+ at sea level.

Lombok, Indonesia - Asian Critter Must and "Cidemos"

Of course I had to get a pic with my main Asian critters. Note the dry, dry conditions!


The lesast expensive and most common mode of public transportation is called a Cidemos - carts drawn by tiny (and not very friendly) horses.

Lombok, Indonesia - Hindu Temple Critters

This temple is dedicated to a Hindu monkey god - and is populated by hundreds of some type of large monkies. They were all very friendly and gentle with all who visit and, off course, feed them. This was obviously the alpha male.

This was the alpha female - all very gentle - NOT grab and run types.

Sasak Village, Lombok, Indonesia

On the way to Kuta Beach we stopped at a traditional Sasak Village which is a candidate to be designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site - because the population is dwindling. They are incredibly proud people and cling to all of their traditions.



Me strolling through village comprised of 350 structures and a population of around 800 - all on this single little hill top.

Several villagers allowed us to enter their homes. Inside each there is a platform made of clay and polished with cow dung. The men sleep on this platform. There are 3 steps (that I am sitting on) that led to a small upstairs room where all the women sleep - each step represents 1 of the 3 religions they follow (Hindu, Islam and Animism). Also note the dried water buffalo head to the left in the pic - evidently this is some sort of "house blessing" that they do to commemorate an important family event such as a birth or death.

At Kuta Beach in Lombok, Indonesia

Many people both locals and what few tourist are around spoke about "the perfect beach" called Kuta located in sountern Lombok - about a 2 hour drive from Senggigi Beach where I was staying. So I teamed up with a German couple and we split the cost of a driver and car for a day ($40) and we were off to Kuta Beach.


in terms of snow white sand and pristine waters and occupied by only a few locals - Kuta was indeed perfect. But this time of year it is incredibly dry in southern Lombok! The surrounding area was parched - like central Mexico AND there was. Only one vendor in the entire area selling young green coconuts.


There were some beautiful young girls around - almost all Sasak whose religion is a mixture of Hindu, Islam, and Animanisn. They were very friendly - this is a pic of me with a girl named Sante - "Nancy" in English. Her striking hazel eyes made her stand out - she was gorgeous - we talked and played in the water for a couple of hours.

Indonesian Diving & Food

Photo: A typical Indonesian beef sata with wrapped and unwrapped sticky rice.

Today's diving trip was kind of a bust: visibility was restricted to about 25-30 feet (I prefer Belize's 100'), most of the coral was dead, and like snorkeling yesterday, few critters to be seen and those that were present were predominately small with a few medium size here and there. There were a considerable number of turtles that I was happy to see weren't being eaten by locals. Exhausting day because of the considerable time spent commuting between dive sites in choppy seas in a small, dugout with bamboo outrigger pontoons - like the one in the background of pic 160 below. Anyway - that's about all there is to report re dives - so on to something more interesting.

The people of Lombok Island are known as Sasakss. They even have their own dialect which is unique to this island (as do the people of Ball).

One of the common foods eaten here are "sata" - pronounced satay. Like Thailand, these are beef or chicken pieces skewered on bamboo sticks and grilled on small charcoal grills. Unlike Thailand, pork sata's are not available - because Indonesian is an Islamic country.
Satas are served on the bamboo sticks with this incredibly good sauce. made of shredded young coconut meat mixed with a little chicken fat and cooked for 4-5 hours - it has a distinctive meaty taste. This is totally different from Thailand,'s satay sauce which is peanut based.. The Indonesian sata sauce is not thick like the Thai satay sauce. Instead it has the viscousity of a cream-based soup or bisque. It's delicious!

Also, unlike Thailand, Indonesian satas are served with sticky rice rolled up & intricantly tied in coconut palm leaves, and then boiled. The skewered satas are cooked on tiny charcoal grills. When served, you unwrap the rice which holds its shape (bc it's sticky rice) and dip it in the sata sauce. Satas are available on the beach - sold by vendors in fixed locations. Once and sometimes twice a day I go to my favorite beach sata vendor.

Photo: me and 2 of my beautiful beach buddies I befriended (with my "boyish charm") enjoying our lunch satas at my favorite vendor's site on the beach. When eating, you sit on straw mats laid on an elevated platform in a very communal atmosphere. Great way to meet and interact with locals - few tourists frequent these places. I hope that you can see and note the beautiful smiles of my beach buddies - Indonesian women are dark-skined, have silky/long/straight black hair, most have gorgeous white teeth, and their predominantly almond shaped dark eyes make them stunningly beautiful women. Again - I hope the attached pic brings out these striking qualities.

The Picture Says it all

Well almost all - doesn't really capture the bright reds of last night's sunset - but I thought I would pass it along anyway.

By tthe way - here sunrise occurs around 6AM and sunset about 6:30PM.

Lombok to Gili Islands, Indonesia

I spent the day going from Lombok to Gili Islands. Gili means island and there are 3 small islands off Lombok called Gili Air (smallest), Gili Meno (the middle and in-between in size), and Gili Trawangan (largest of the 3 Gilis). This pic was taken along the Lombok coastline as we road a powered dugout with pontoon outriggers on both sides! Note the dramatic coastline - that's an isolated thatched hut fishing village on the beach and volcanic mounts in the background. Incredibly picturesque - well it is in person!

We stopped in several places around the Gili's to snorkle. Reef was in sad shape - but fishes were plentiful in the medium/small size range. Strange was the fact that there were sea urchins!?! This pic was taken on Gili Meno where we ate lunch at a beach side restaurant. I had BBQ snapper with a sweet/sour sauce - fresh and delicious especially for just $2.50!

The Gili Islands have terrific white sand beaches and small accommodations - some but few with AC. They have no wells or cistern systems. Therefore, there is not source of fresh water for bathrooms and showers - they all use saltwater. for these purposes. If this had not been the case, I would have stayed there - but showering in saltwater bothers me too much. One benefit of not having any fresh water is because of its absence, there are no mosquitos!

Tomorrow I am doing 3 dives - and will be leaving the Blackberry at the hotel.

Lombok Island, Indonesia

I am staying at the Senggigi Beach Hotel on Lombok Island. It is located just 123 kilometer (about 72 mi) south of the equator and is really hot - but a constant trade winds makes it comfortable. Technically Lombok and Bali. Islands are the Java Sea. I have been here less than 24 hrs and am still getting settled. I will be staying here for a week.

1st photo: Me on the front porch of my Lombok Island's lodging - I say first bc I intend to move around while here. Bungalow has great AC, indoor and outdoor showers, nice front porch, very comfortable KS bed, refrigerator, and TV. Breakfast included.. Cost = $68/day including outrageous taxes of about 24%! And YES they have bacon! Not in the open at the breakfast bar - but you can order it and ham!

2nd Photo - the crib's landscaping is incredible - that's my bungalow to the right. That "mountain" in the background is a volcano - dormant for just 30 years!

The hotel beach - note perfect surfing waves - 2'-3', breaking perfectly from left to right, about 30 yds from shore. Many surfer dudes around – mostly Indonesians, but have also met some Aussies and South Africans.


me at the beach bar. I can't tell on BB if this pic is legible or not - I hope that it is ok!?

Arrived Safely in Lombok

Ends up that Lombok Island is in a different time zone - so the flight was only 1 hour 20 mins AND it was non-stop!Btw - I was wrong about smoking being allowed ANYplace in airports.

It turns out that you are allowed to smoke in any restaurant/coffee shop in the airport terminal - but NO where else! When I left the coffee shop with a lit cig in my hand I was descended upon by 3 heavily armed "policemen". Scared the s__t out of me! But they recognized I was yet another crazy westerner and let me go immediately after they took my cigarette away from me.

The incident was unnerving because Indonesians strictly enforce all their laws. For example - in bold, all upper case letters on their custom's form it states "Drug trafficing is punishable by death!" It's a little strange being in a muslim country again - it's been 15+ years since I was last in one for any length of time - and that was Turkey which is a very moderate Islamic country. For some reason being in one still makes me a little uneasy. I am looking forward to Lombok and Bali areas which are the only predominantly Hindu areas in Indonesia! I may even be able to get bacon here!?!?

Will get in touch again sometime tomorrow after I getting settled in at my hotel.