Lombok

Hello from Lombok!

A week ago, I arrived in Lombok with my travel partner Sarah, where my brother Lucas was waiting for me. The reunion was very nice, even though it's strange to meet your brother at the other end of the world.

For the first few days, we rented a beautiful villa and then decided to invite Sarah as well since we had plenty of space!

The plan for Lombok is simple: chill, surf, swim, and of course eat lots of delicious food :) and that's exactly how the first days went; we just took it easy, did some reading, and went for massages. One morning we also hired a surf instructor because the last time I surfed was already a year ago. The lesson definitely helped me get back into it and regain some feel for it. However, the surf instructor was quite unfriendly and rude to all of us, which of course took some fun out of it. But with growling stomachs, we headed for breakfast and soon the annoyance was forgotten.

After a few days, Lucas, Sarah, and I went to a small village in the Normen, “Tetebatu.” We rode our rented scooters from Kuta there and enjoyed seeing the small villages and nature. The scooter ride took a while, but it was really fun. We also noticed that there were very few tourists on the rest of the island because as we passed through each village, people waved at us, pointed at us, and talked to us. Especially the children were curious, came up to us, and we exchanged many high fives.

The village where we stayed overnight was very quiet (except for the mosque right next to our house), very non-touristy, and sweet. We explored the area a bit, had lunch at our little homestay, and of course went for massages in the evening ;)

The next morning, a man from the accommodation gave us a tour of all the rice fields and the black monkey forest. It was really nice to see how everyone tended to their rice and chili fields! After hiking for 3 1/2 hours, we were pretty much exhausted and wanted to go back home because rice terraces don’t look that different, and I had already seen many last year in Bali.

Back in Kuta, Sarah, Lucas, and I also met the other two girls from Tioman again. We had all made plans to spend a week together in Kuta and then go on the Komodo tour. It was really nice to see each other again, and I am very grateful to have met such wonderful people!!

The next morning, after breakfast, we headed to the beach, where we lay in the sun and read our books. Unfortunately, I began to feel very unwell there, and I noticed that something was happening in my stomach. This can sometimes happen here, since this is entirely new food and bacteria for the body. However, the hope that it would get better on its own - as it usually does - was crushed when I had to throw up for the first time. And that repeated throughout the entire evening and night, so I couldn't keep anything down. This morning, however, I woke up feeling better. I am still very tired, weak, and have a headache, but hopefully, the worst is over. Now it’s all about drinking lots of water, electrolytes, and dry crackers and rice. I can't really explain where this food poisoning came from, but that’s just how it is; bacteria can be anywhere.

But I hope to feel better by tomorrow or tonight, and I’ll be back on my feet soon! Luckily, I have some wonderful people who go to the pharmacy and supermarket for me and take care of me!