On 24th April, my first destination was the temple of Tanah Lot, which was a highly recommended attraction on a tiny island just off the coast, 40 km east of where I’d spent the night. It was worth seeing but somewhat overrun by tourists, and there was a huge market with tradesmen trying to sell all manor of knickknacks, which considerably detracted from the experience.

Before too long I jumped back on the motorbike and headed off inland to Mengwi, to see the Taman Ayun temple, which was larger and more spaciously laid out than the Hindu temples I’d see up to that point.

After that I just cruised around enjoying the freedom afforded by the bike. Three 3 local guys said I should visit the Independence Monument at Marga, which I did (briefly) before taking an illogical route meandering past some recommended “old buildings” in Krambitan, and thus eventually ending up back in Denpasar. I checked the Amex office and post office for messages from the illusive travellers (Will and Helen) who are supposed to be here at the same time as me.

I then saw some crowds near the centre of Denpasar and went to investigate. There was some kind of festival with colourfully costumed people milling around, with some dancing. I didn’t really know what it was, but I’m learning that in Bali people live their culture in a way that I’ve not experienced anywhere else.

I returned the motorbike (rather reluctantly!) and after checking into the same hotel as before (Indah Inn) I had an early night on account of feeling a little feverish.

The flu symptoms had mostly disappeared by the morning (25th April), so I stuck with the plan to head to the adjacent island of Lombok. I went to the nearby Perama travel office – at 10 am a minibus showed up, and a crazy driver took us at great speed the 70 km to the little port of Padang Bai in the south east of Bali. We had to go via the inland village of Ubud, which I have heard is a bit of a backpacker hangout, and certainly looks pleasant…

After lunch in Padang Bai I boarded the Lombok ferry… which turned out to be rather antiquated. It took about 4 hours to cross to Lembar – I tried to watch the film they showed but it was just a silly Kung Fu film, so I read an Alastair MacLean thriller that I bought a few days ago.

I’d thought the driver from Denpasar was crazy but the one from Lembar to Mataram (the main town in Lombok) was even more insane. Lombok is Muslim (like most of Indonesia) so he was presumably protected by Allah, and felt that his passengers were too. From Mataram I headed a little further north to Sengigi, where I was able to check in to the Pondok Sengigi hotel. It was a bit expensive but I felt feverish again so decided I wanted some comfort.

A letter that I’d received in Perth, from my sister in Houston, had informed me of an upcoming work trip that my brother in law would be making to Indonesia. She had noted the phone number of the hotel in Jakarta where he would be staying on 25th April. I decided to try called the number – being a national call it was a lot cheaper than international. After a brief pause a familiar voice came on the line and I chatted for over 20 minutes for relatively small amount of money. It was the first relaxed conversation with a family member since – well, since my brother in law dropped me off at Houston bus station, back in November!

On 26th April, the flu symptoms had again all but gone, and I went to the Perama office to ask about transport north to the Gili Islands. Nothing was leaving soon, but I met a fellow Briton there, and we ended up chartering a bemo (tiny Indonesian three-wheel taxi) to take us to the little port of Bangsal.

However the driver’s idea seemed to be to try to pull a fast one regarding the price – suddenly saying that the agreed price was only to the village of Pamenang, and that to take us the last km would be an extra 4000 ruphias (3 USD). We refused to be ripped off, got out, and negotiated a horse and cart to take us the rest of the way for 500 ruphias (40 US cents). My companion said that in October he is starting at Magdalene College, Cambridge… which is a location that feels a very long way away from haggling the price of a horse and cart in a dusty village in remote part of Indonesia!

In Bangsal there was time for a second breakfast, then a boat showed up at the jetty and we all boarded. It was a small, rather slow launch with space for maybe 20 people, along with groceries and assorted goods.

Reaching the furthest of the 3 Gili Islands – Gili Trawangan – took 45 minutes, and once I’d found a suitable backpacker lodgings (a beach bungalow) I investigated the scuba diving opportunities. There was a dive shop nearby and I booked for the next day – the diving is supposed to be good here, though sharks are apparently common. I rented a snorkel and mask for the afternoon, and found excellent snorkeling just off the beach.

By the evening I was sitting in a beach bar with some Danish travelers, having rapidly adapted to the very relaxed lifestyle of the tiny Gili Islands…